Hieroglyphics

From Egypt a card arrived that I thought was just a fun artist's impression of the hieroglyphic alphabet but when I looked it up, it seems to be pretty accurate.  The real thing is vastly more complicated though.

I remember learning about hieroglyphics at school, and how finding the Rosetta Stone made it possible to decipher the meaning.  Either I wasn't listening, or the teacher didn't make it clear, because I've always thought Egyptian hieroglyphics were more like Chinese characters than an alphabet, in other words they were little symbols of words rather than sounds.

Pyramid of Djoser

This is the Pyramid of Djoser, one of the oldest pyramids in Egypt, in the Saqqara region just outside Cairo.  It's easy to see the much more primitive step design compared with the later pyramids with their smooth sides.  At the time the design was revolutionary for several reasons: because previous tombs had been flat topped, added to that, this was by far the largest building of those days, and it was made of stone rather than mud-brick.

The Cairo Nile Hilton Hotel

This was sent to my father in July 1982 by one of his most prolific and faithful correspondents who sailed around the world on a cargo ship.

In many ways the picture could be that of any hotel of the period apart from the model of the Sphinx in a prominent position which does suggest Egypt, if not Cairo itself.  It is probably a free postcard of the sort that used to be left in your hotel room.  I don't believe I've seen any of those correspondence packs recently.  Maybe it's gone out of fashion, succumbed to cost cutting exercises, or I no longer stay in the right sort of hotel. :)

The message on the reverse gives some idea of the journey of the sender's nameless vessel:

Just passing through Suez for the Gulf.  Are going down to do a couple of ports in the Red Sea first.  This may be her last trip under the Red Ensign, and just waiting for word from London, as it will take roughly four weeks before she's empty of cargo.

St Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinaï

One of the oldest working monasteries in the world, St Catherine's, can be found in the Sinaï region of Egypt. It has never been destroyed (and rebuilt like so many) so it has a continuous history going back 1700 years.  That thought alone makes me sit back in wonder.

It is a Greek Orthodox monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for both cultural and scenic reasons.  The whole area is sacred to Christians, Moslems and Jews.  The library holds the second largest collection of codices and manuscripts, well known for their antiquity and importance.

This has to go down on my list of places I'd dearly love to visit. 

The Pyramids

I don't think this card need any introduction at all, because the pyramids are probably the first thing anyone associates with Egypt.  It may be one of the great symbols of Egypt but I don't think I have any other card showing them.  This one I think is particularly beautiful.  It was sent to me on 11 August 2009, and postmarked Cairo.

The three pyramids of Giza shown are from left to right, Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, after the Pharaohs buried inside.  They were built 4500 years ago.  The Great Pyramid is the only remaining example of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  The whole site is now designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The small boat on the Nile is called a feluca.

Egypt - the desert

Egypt - Western Desert: the White Desert near Farafra.
As usual I can't read the postmark clearly but I think it says Maadi, and the date is 23 October 2009.

I have never seen any sort of desert in real life so this is something of a revelation to me.  It looks so architectural with the rock formations, almost like some old town.  According to the message, other parts consist purely of sand dunes, and that is how I imagine a desert.  The message continues:

"A lot of this sand gets blown into the cities by strong winds so everyone has a problem of dust in their homes."

I have a problem with dust in my home too, but I can't blame the desert!

Luxor, Egypt

I can't read the postmark, but it's presumably Cairo because that is where my friend lives.  The date is 11 August 2009.
Egypt - Luxor: the Temple of Luxor, colossal head of Ramesses II.

My friend who sent this tells me Luxor used to be called Thebes.  I hadn't realised that.  The Greek poet Homer described the wealth of Thebes in his epic poem, the Iliad.

Alexandria, Egypt

The postmark is smudged, but the card is dated 19 June 2009.
Alexandria, Egypt
The Qaitbay Fort
Photograph by Michael Haag.

This stunning card from Egypt will break up the run of very Europe-centric cards I've been posting recently.

The Qaitbay Fort was used in the 15th century as a defensive front on the Mediterranean Sea coast.  It was actually built up out of the remains of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Abu Simbel, Egypt

Postmark illegible, dated 23 May 2009.
Egypt, Abu Simbel and the Nile.

Sphinx of Giza

Postmarked P&O London, dated 29 May 1980.
The ballerina Farida Fahmy at the Sphinx of Giza.

Farida Fahmy was the daughter of a British mother and an Egyptian father.  In 1959 she joined her brother's dance group, the Reda Troupe,  as principal dancer and this year celebrates the Golden Jubilee of her time with them.  Together they created a theatrical presentation of traditional Egyptian folk culture.

The Sphinx probably needs no introduction: a huge stone sculpture with the head of a human and a lion's body.

This card was sent to my father by a merchant seaman.  The message reads:

"At the time of writing just sailing through Suez Canal, and it's very hot.  Should be out midnight Port Said, then on to Odessa so should be in UK last week June as she's going to Piraeus for sale."

Statue of Pinutem, Luxor

Although postmarked London, it was written at the Suez Canal and dated 2 June 1982.  It was one of those sent to my father by someone in the Merchant navy.

Luxor - Statue of Phrao [sic] Pinutem and his wife.

I have seen photos of this statue variously ascribed to Ramses II, Ramses IV and Ramses VI.  All that seems to be clear is that it is a pharoah and his wife.  Hmm, I wonder which was which.

The message on the card reads:

We are on our way back to the USA with a cargo of coffee and empty containers.  No chance of going to the Falklands yet.  Weather nice.