Friday 23 December 2011
The rebar sticking up from the roof is interesting and is a result of the strong family ties in this region: When children are born, the extra “floor” is started on top of the home for their future use, but it is left unfinished so the children may complete the work when they start their own families.
Dendera Temple is very interesting in that it begins showing the Greek influence, something we did not see yesterday. For the Egyptians, the human body as depicted in their pictographs was very straight and smooth both in front and in back, but the Greeks added bulges to the pictographs showing both buttockss and bellies. Also, the Greek columns were more ornate, showing flowers and more decoration than the rather plan early Egyptian sites.
This is our second day on the boat, and we are still docked, taking a bus to the Dendera Temple today rather than floating up the river (again, due to the low water level). There seems so be uncertainty over when we set sail, with the Tour Guide stating Sunday (Christmas Day) and the Registration Desk saying tomorrow, Christmas Eve. In any case, it is still a very enjoyable time, and I am very pleased to say that my traveling companions are all still well-suited to this sort of thing. Yesterday’s cadre of Germans has disembarked, but a new group of them has arrived in their stead.
We drove along the “main highway” to the Dendera Temple, and all along the two lane road the scene was very much the same: Medium-sized masonry homes, with palm branches serving as thatched roofs, along with rebar and satellite dishes on the top. The satellite dishes are either free or low-priced and without monthly service charges, supposedly providing 600 or so channels. (I find this hard to believe, but our Tour Guide seems to be accurate in most of the things he states.)
The rebar sticking up from the roof is interesting and is a result of the strong family ties in this region: When children are born, the extra “floor” is started on top of the home for their future use, but it is left unfinished so the children may complete the work when they start their own families.
Though many look at Egypt as poor and economically depressed, it is not nearly as uncomfortable to me as other impoverished areas I have visited such as Manaus (Amazon, Brazil) or Bangalore India. In a strange sense, I feel very comfortable in this place of the world, which is odd not only because of the povverty but also in light of the current tensions between Muslims and the Western world, The governmental elections are ongoing, and while many things are up in the air there is no feeling of unrest in my mind, even with the small number of protesters still sitting in Tahrir Square.
Dendera Temple is very interesting in that it begins showing the Greek influence, something we did not see yesterday. For the Egyptians, the human body as depicted in their pictographs was very straight and smooth both in front and in back, but the Greeks added bulges to the pictographs showing both buttockss and bellies. Also, the Greek columns were more ornate, showing flowers and more decoration than the rather plan early Egyptian sites.
Though this is a very different world, I have not for a single moment felt unsafe or threatened at any point on this trip whether it be in Cairo or down here in the middle part of the country. The only tiny twinge of uncertainty I briefly felt was when I went for a walk, alone, in the very slummy neighborhood near the ship’s dock and got lost. (Yes, as I have said many times, I can get lost in a backyard.) Many of the locals noted me or tired to communicate with me, but after a few minutes I found my way and was no worse for the wear. While I cannot recommend a lone American get lost in a slummy Egyptian neighborhood, I can say that at most I was a curiosity to them, or perhaps a chance to obtain an Egyptian pound or two.
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