Saqqara: the Step Pyramid

With Peter still in Canada, I hired a tour guide to show me around the Saqqara Step Pyramid site. My adventure started with my drive to our meeting spot, the furthest distance that I have driven so far in Egypt. I was focussing on my driving so much, that I didn’t look up to see where I was! Watch this video clip to see the 6 lanes of traffic that I crossed as well as my surprising view!

Heba, the tour guide, brought her friend, Nahlia, to drive our car the ½ hour trip through the chaotic Cairo streets and a pot-holed, farm-lined road beside a branch of the Nile.

 Along the way we saw farm families…

(This woman posed and we stopped to pay her some money. I love the paintings showing the pilgrimmage to Mecca.)

... and farm animals - passing right beside the car!

Saqqara has a wonderful museum and we saw a video about the Step Pyramid site (thankfully in English). This is what I remember. History buffs, please correct any errors. The Step Pyramid was the first pyramid built in Egypt and was the brain child of the commoner, turned architect, Imhotep. He constructed this 6 step stone monument to commemorate the pharoah of the 3rd Dynasty, King Djoser. The stones are stacked, not attached to each other in any way. Amazing.

The tourist site consists of a temple (the building at the left of this photo) through which you enter the plateau with the enormous Step Pyramid to your right at one end, and steps leading to the underground burial chambers (not open the public) at the other, behind the temple.

Here are some details that captured my interest. 

The outer walls of the temple had indentations where the commoners, who were not allowed inside, laid offerings.  This man is wearing the everyday attire for men working as servants, farmers, or those without education or position.

The stone temple ceiling was made to resemble the palm logs of the king’s palace ceiling. This way King Djoser would feel right at home after his death.

Inside the temple, sanctuary alcoves contained golden, jewel encrusted statues of Egyptian gods. Needless to say, these were all stolen.

The temple columns, like the pyramids, were stacked - no adhesive material!

The columns of later pyramids and temples used fewer, larger pieces of stone.












At both ends of the temple are fake hinges made of stone. These created the illusion of doorways allowing the spirit of the deceased to find the sarcophagus chamber (I am not 100% sure of this detail.) 

And when you step out from the temple, there is the  Step Pyramid!  This quick video might give you a bit of this sensation.

Straight across the plateau from the temple are cobras protecting the entrance to the sarcophagus, the chamber where the mummified body was laid undergrouond.

The cobras glare from a spectacular perch.

 ...and the stairway down to the burial chamber is equally spectacular in the opposite direction. This area is not open to the public.

We walked across the plateau to take a closer look at the pyramid. The Step Pyramid is the only  pyramid with a flat top. Later pyramids added the peak, a symbol of everlasting life and power.

Restoration is ongoing as new limestone is being laid over the original stones.

Heba wanted me to see some chambers under the nearby Pharoah Ti's pyramid involving a 10 minute trek down a narrow, deep, dark tunnel. I declined. Claustrophobia won.

The drive back retraced our path through the lush Nile Delta farmland.

I  saw Cattle Egret...

some straw houses ...

decorated houses ...

and a factory. 

And what would a day with a tour guide be without the mandatory goofy tourist picture?

the engagement party

Our downstairs neighbour had an engagement party for one of his brothers. He invited us to come. As Peter is still in Canada, I decided to give his wife a box of chocolates and to watch from our balcony.  I had no idea what to expect. Here is what happened.

When I arrived home from work they were busy setting up the sound system, lights, and chairs on the tiled area between the two rows of apartments. Maximum cell phone activity!

As at any party, there are always those who energize the whole affair. Watch what happens when one of the friends (and key party organizers it turns out) joins into the pre-party warm-up dancing.

People (only males, except for the nieces and other young girls) began to arrive. Each person was greeted by the brother hosting the party and seated. The videographer arrived. Then the new fiancée arrived in style. The first dance was with the three brothers. Our neighbour, who is hosting the party, is dressed more formally. Take a look!

The evening was magical to watch. There were many traditional dances. Everyone knew just what to do as soon as a song started. Here are two of my favourites - the stomp dance and a dance using scarves.

After a while the party was in full swing and everyone was relaxed and in the celebratory mood. Even the little nieces were dancing.

Near the end of the evening, a few more traditional rites of passage needed to happen. The new fiancée was tossed up into the air, then sat down in a chair in the middle of the circle while friends and family did a call and response style chant.

During all of this, the host family provided the dancers and guests with cans of pop, slices of cake, and cups of coffee. After the dancing part had finished, the party moved inside the apartment for more food and to join the women.

My neighbour beaconed to me from his balcony to join them, but as my Arabic is still pretty lame, I didn't go. I was just thrilled to have watched this big event. During the dancing, Peter and I visited on Skype and so I was able to show him some of the live action.  Too bad  that he missed this, but maybe he will be able to watch the finished video with our neighbours!

at Mona's club

My friend Mona lent me her exclusive club membership pass for the day. October 6^th is a national holiday to celebrate the Egyptian victory over Israel in 1973. I wanted to swim in the gorgeous Olympic size pool in my western swim suit without awkwardness so I planned my arrival for mid-morning. There were only 2 -3 other families around, so my plan worked perfectly. (Egyptians tend to stay up very late and sleep in.)  

Peter and I had been here a couple of times with Mona when we first arrived, but these were visits at night with a coffee and lots of conversation about the upcoming school year. This time I took a leisurely stroll to see all of the facilities. I saw…

…tennis courts and soccer (I mean football) fields. 

The villas in the background are extremely expensive (over 1 million EGY pounds) and are in a compound designed with access to the club facilities.

 

 

…lawn bowling (or something)

…restaurants
I stopped for a Turkish coffee, of course.

...handsome walkways

 …shady nooks and comfy chairs

The club is lush. This is a desert, so the attention required to create these grounds is phenomenal. Mona tells us these tall trees were purchased full-grown at great expense. Remember, 6^th of October is only 10 years old!

…sculpted trees and bushes

Attention to architectural detail seems to be an Egyptian hallmark!

 

… gardens, and flowers, and flowers

By the time I left, mid-afternoon, the place was filling up with families enjoying the holiday. Egyptians are family oriented, and love talking, eating and playing together. The club  was filled with laughter and at least 3 or even 4 generations in every grouping. 

I had a totally relaxing day, made complete with the essential wild dog spotting. We will do a future blog devoted just to the dogs. Stay tuned.

apartment mechanics

With Peter in Canada attending his father's funeral, I am going solo here for a few weeks.
My focus so far has been pretty close to home, so I will show you a few of the differences we experience as apartment dwellers in Egypt.

Let's start at the hallway. We have two "doors", one regular and one "gate."  Both have keys. You even have to use a key to unlock the metal gate to get out! Obviously air flow is the goal, but we always close our wooden door for privacy and quiet. The kids play in the halls, sometimes at all hours. They are super sweet kids, however. It is just so hot here, that understandably, activity often starts at dusk.

Some things are a bit more "do it yourself."  This is a switch to turn the water pump and heater on and off. If you keep the pump on too long you overheat it and the caretaker guy comes up and madly gesticulates...(we did this a few times until we figured it all out.)  There are two switches and two pumps; one for the kitchen and one for the bathroom. Oddly, red is "on" and green is "off".

You turn the stove gas on and off with this lever.

Good friends we rely on
...the two AC units that work. Murphy's Law, the one in the bedroom doesn't...

Two sets of doors lead to the two balconies, one louvered to let air circulate, but ensure privacy, and a set of glass ones to let in light but not sand or heat. We are still newcomers who love the warmth, at least I do, so our apartment is the only one we can see with the doors often wide open. On the balcony is the dryer. One hour does it!


















A couple more good buddies are purchased; the water dispenser (cold - or hot for instant tea!) and the USB internet connector that works anywhere in Egypt - a great idea!

And we have gone Egyptian, with Leila, who comes and cleans once a week. It is amazing how much sand accumulates.

I'm off to the cafe for a coffee, so I'll do the checks: ACs off, balcony doors closed, water pumps off, key ready to let myself out - ok I am good to go!

nearby villas

Now that we have a car (!) (pics about cars coming soon), we can drive around the 'burb'. About 4 minutes from our apartment compound (see earlier blog), there are many stunningly gorgeous villas. The days we travelled to school  by bus, we stopped at these kinds of villas to pick up some of the kids. Here are some of our favourites:


The friends who took us to Port Said live here. Mona designed this herself.

 

This pale green one is Meredith's favourtie.

 

This is Peter's favourite from two different angles.

And just driving around the "block" (a sandy lane strewn with rocks and potholes) you see...

Most villas are protected by a fence, sometimes a brick garden wall, or  hedge of trees or flowering bushes.  The effort, time, and cost to nurture these plants in the desert is amazing. Every morning the gardeners are up early watering and watering.

The entrance gates are also phenomenal. Each one is custom designed.

These palatial villas often sit next door to a lot which is under construction, a building site for someone else's villa. After all 6 October City is just 10 years old!

House proud, most villa owners are involved with renovation and refurbishing projects, so you see lots of tiles, bricks, and building materials. 

  

There are many jobs to be done, so villa owners have numerous live in servants, maids, nannies, gardeners, pool tenders, drivers etc. While the villa kids are inside watching TV and playing Wii, you often see the little ones of the servants playing in the streets. This little girl was playing with a litter of puppies.