Temples, Tombs and Timelessness - the adventures of ISH

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Re: Temples, Tombs and Timelessness - the adventures of ISH

Post by ajax87 »

Wonderful pictures and an entertaining tidbit of writing above. I’m pleased to have learned a new word today; it’s got me in a jocose mood!
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Re: Temples, Tombs and Timelessness - the adventures of ISH

Post by nbg »

Lovely pics. Pleased to hear you had a great time.

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Re: Temples, Tombs and Timelessness - the adventures of ISH

Post by Mikkei4 »

The picture of the Dam - This could be Egypt's new F1 circuit with banked track.
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Re: Temples, Tombs and Timelessness - the adventures of ISH

Post by asqwerth »

What an awesome writeup and beautifully-taken pictures. I got sucked in and like you mentioned, your watch was forgotten and became a mere after-thought.
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Re: Temples, Tombs and Timelessness - the adventures of ISH

Post by iain »

Looks like you had the holiday you hoped it would be. Pleased the watch bonding has finally worked out for you after a difficult time with it.

Great photographs but I’m disappointed to see they’ve been up nearly 24 hours and Korkki hasn’t been along yet.....
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Re: Temples, Tombs and Timelessness - the adventures of ISH

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

^^^ Oh God… :shock:
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Re: Temples, Tombs and Timelessness - the adventures of ISH

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

Mikkei4 wrote: Thu Mar 31, 2022 3:04 pm The picture of the Dam - This could be Egypt's new F1 circuit with banked track.
You could design a golf course. Greens and fairways might be a bit tricky, but there would be no shortage of bunkers and there is one heck of a water hazard.
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Re: Temples, Tombs and Timelessness - the adventures of ISH

Post by MiniMpi »

What a wonderful trip you had Steve, one to remember for years to come I'm sure 8)
I really enjoyed the amazing photos too, really give a sense of the place.
I'm also glad the Meistersinger turned out to be exactly what it was intended to be when you bought it :clap:
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Re: Temples, Tombs and Timelessness - the adventures of ISH

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

missF wrote: Thu Mar 31, 2022 9:31 am Maybe you could share some bits of writing as you go?
Here's a little test piece I wrote earlier while trying to make sense of my voice notes. I'm not sure where it will fit in, and it will need a bit of tidying up. You have seen the images before, but I had to borrow the Tutankhamun picture from National Geographic for reasons stated.

"Sensory Overload"

When you have seen something all your life in movies and documentaries, in books and photographs, how do you feel when you finally see it for real? It can be a very emotional moment for me, and I sometimes find my eyes blurring at the realisation of a long-held ambition fulfilled.

I remember watching a documentary film called “Galahad of Everest". It featured the actor Brian Blessed and his lifelong obsession with climbing Mount Everest. When he finally went to Tibet as part of an expedition the camera filmed his reaction as he saw the mountain of his dreams for the first time, albeit from a distance of many miles. To see such a big, brash and confident man in tatters at such a defining moment was curiously touching.

I have felt similar emotions on a number of occasions: seeing the tomb of El Cid in the cathedral at Burgos; standing in front of the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela after 35 days of walking; marvelling at the John Harrison sea clocks at Greenwich. On this trip to Egypt I was reduced to misty-eyed blathering on no fewer than four occasions - more, in fact.

On our very first morning in Egypt we visited the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. In a darkened room they displayed some of the smaller and more precious objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun. We were not able to take any photographs in this room because a pair of rather imposing gentlemen in uniform were striding around shouting “NO PHOTO!” A number of excited visitors suddenly moved away from a display case in the centre of the room, allowing me to see what it contained. It was the gold and blue mask of the boy-king; I had seen images of it so many times, but to gaze upon the absolute perfection of the real thing – there is no other way to describe it – was a hallowed moment. And after lunch on that first day…

You have seen them all your life from your very early childhood, you know what they look like and you probably know quite a bit about them. Yet nothing, and I mean nothing, prepares you for your first sight of the Pyramids. You are driving along the road in what seems to be one of the quieter suburbs of Cairo, and suddenly there they are, off to your left. As you approach you begin to get a sense of the colossal scale of these ancient structures, four and a half thousand years old. I used the term “Sensory Overload” quite a few times on this trip, but never was it more appropriate than when standing awestruck at the foot of these gigantic monuments to the dynastic way of death.

My third epiphany came at the most southerly point of our odyssey, after a three-hour minibus ride across the desert. We had already witnessed the spectacle of a sunrise across the Sahara and marvelled at the sheer emptiness of the expanse surrounding us; then we arrived at the rebuilt and resurrected site of Abu Simbel, two remarkable temples that would have been forever drowned in the waters of Lake Nasser were it not for the efforts of the archaeological teams and the engineers who raised them piecemeal a matter of sixty-five metres. Rounding the side of the artificial hill we were all stopped in our tracks, and each of us muttered something along the lines of “Oh…my…god!” as we caught our first sight of the titanic façade of the great temple of Rameses II. Our guide smiled. “It’s how everyone reacts,” he said quietly.

Finally, on our last full day in Egypt, we enjoyed a balloon ride at sunrise over the West Bank of the Nile. In eerie silence, apart from an occasional roaring belch of flame from the burners, we floated a couple of thousand feet above the ground. We marvelled at the bare, sallow hills that enclosed the Valley of the Kings, and we spotted the temples of Hatshepsut and Rameses and the Colossi of Memnon. Yet what took my breath away was not the work of Man but the majestic Nile itself, unwinding like a lazy snake down to the horizon, along the narrow fertile strip of land that that makes life possible in this wilderness. And the sun, Amun-Ra himself, beginning his daily journey across the sky in his wonderful golden barge, before being swallowed again by the royal tombs at day’s end…”Into the West”.

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Tutankhamun Mask (Nat Geo)
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Image
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Re: Temples, Tombs and Timelessness - the adventures of ISH

Post by strapline »

There's some nice writing in there, Steve, but it really serves as an overview of a whole trip. The first three or four paragraphs could be incorporated in to a prologue or preface I guess. Further paragraphs will probably find their way in to specific chapters, if you're planning on writing a travelogue of sorts. I have no idea on what you plan on writing; perhaps even a succession of short stories based around the Nile and its incredible history. Whatever, it clearly has been a trip that has stoked your writing ambition. I wish you luck and enjoyment with the creative process.

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Re: Temples, Tombs and Timelessness - the adventures of ISH

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

strapline wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 6:46 pm There's some nice writing in there, Steve, but it really serves as an overview of a whole trip.
Thanks, Des. That’s pretty much my feeling, but it was only done as a little essay to get the creative juices flowing. Part of the experience for me is not just to see but to try to understand what you are seeing. My Santiago book was a travel diary at first, but it branched off into history and anecdote as the need arose. I see this heading in a fairly similar direction, with several different threads being interwoven: my own journey; the history of ancient Egypt in a very brief way; the story of how these temples and artefacts were discovered and how information about them was gleaned; the history and development of tourism in the area, referencing especially the Golden Age of Travel which is something that really interests me; and how everything is presented for the modern visitor, which brings me back to my starting point.

Anyway, we shall see – there is no fixed plan right at the moment, I’m just transcribing voice notes and checking ideas around. :D
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Re: Temples, Tombs and Timelessness - the adventures of ISH

Post by Mikkei4 »

The story of Abu Simbel is amazing.

Somewhere in the back recesses of the oldest filing cabinet of my mind I had an obscure memory of these temples being moved but your words made me do a double take....

"then we arrived at the rebuilt and resurrected site of Abu Simbel, two remarkable temples that would have been forever drowned in the waters of Lake Nasser were it not for the efforts of the archaeological teams and the engineers who raised them piecemeal a matter of sixty-five metres. Rounding the side of the artificial hill we were all stopped in our tracks,"

What ?! They moved all that ? So of course I searched for more info. What an amazing story and the photos pre and post project are fascinating. I'll be looking for a more detailed write-up of the history, discovery and relocation of these temples.

Steve, Thank you for your words.
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Re: Temples, Tombs and Timelessness - the adventures of ISH

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

Mikkei4 wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 8:11 pm The story of Abu Simbel is amazing…

I'll be looking for a more detailed write-up of the history, discovery and relocation of these temples.
It really is quite a story, and merits a book in itself, let alone the chapter it will receive in anything I write. I have quite a lot of information already and I have a couple of interesting books that will help with my research.

Steve
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Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time


Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)