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Show By QUIG NIELSEN Contributing Writer the legendary location on the Nile where King Pharaoh's daughter pulled Moses from the bulrushes, the Abou Serga Church built over the cave were Joseph and Mary and the baby Jesus stayed after their light from Bethlehem to Egypt, then to the museum And in the words ol guide Frank. This is to be the most famous and best museum we have in world We call him Egyptian Museum built in 1901 But he contains what was find in ancient tombs And then Frank added, "1 like to remember something very impoitant nothing to be new In museum see boomerang, chair, sandals, eye makeup like today Frank was right The Egyptian Museum is regarded as one of With the air chilly and snow on the ground in Bountiful, it seems appropri- ate to write about a y land where winter temperatures vary far-awa- 1 between 65 and 80 comfortable degrees. Summers hover around a 100 Known as the cradle of civilization, Egypt, with its dazzling capital, Cairo, described as where past and present meet, has generated the development of culture and civilization for over 50 centuries. A visitor quickly learns that Egypt is the Nile and the Nile is Egypt. Egypt is the gift of the Nile, an historian wrote, and rightfully so, perhaps no other country anywhere is so dependent on a single river. From its headwaters to the delta the imposing Nile, the only major river running north, winds its way for more than 4,000 miles. Egypts latest population figures total 56 million with 90 percent living in the fertile Nile delta. Cairo boasts a population of 14 million and we thought half of them were on Pyramid Street the day we BUILT BY QUEEN HATSHEPSUT: The tried to drive through downtown. the rights of the nether world There they be, our guide Frank said. You wait all your life to see, there they be. Frank was referring to the great Pyramids of Giza. He stopped the bus and we all got out, gazed at the pyramids in the distance and shot pictures. We were enthralled looking at one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Egyptians consider the great pyramid, built by King Cheops around 2650 B.C., as the most famous structure in the world. It stands about 40 stones above the desert floor. Two and a half the most prominent in the world Perhaps it's most significant showpiece is the extraordinary Tutankhamun Deir el Bahari Temple is located near Luxor and was built by Queen Hatshepsut to perform 1 another global wonder. Interestingly, CHEOPS PYRAMID AND SPHINX: The famous Cheops Pyramid and the Sphinx, outside of Cairo, Egypt that of the female Pharaoh, Queen Nefertari, who was the wife of Ramses II Of keen interest to most of the touring group was our visit to Pit Tomb 33, believed to be the tomb from which French teeth, it was a perfect toothpaste smile. He had some idiosyncrasies such as I and at rest stops, Now hurry-ugirls. Prior to leaving for Cairo our group was instructed to avoid mentioning Israel unless we were asked since peace negotiations between the two countries were underway. One evening we were invited to visit some of the p, us on this trip, went to families. She accompanied one of the upper-cruwas particularly impressed with their st HOME OF JESUS AND MARY: Church of Abu Sergah, built over the cave where Joseph and Mary, and the Baby Jesus reportedly stayed after their flight from Bethlehem knowledge of America, their attractive living quarters and their graciousness. During the evening visit our hosts daughter played a piano selection and Kathy was shocked. The young girl played the theme song from the movie Exodus. Our days in Cairo were completely filled. During the day we visited the many sites and the evenings were taken up with performances such as sight and sound shows, dinners at interesting places and meetings in our hotel. One evening the women in our group got gussied up, the girls term, not mine, and why I dont know, and we all went out into the desert to a Caravan Tent dinner party. The food wasnt bad. The and rice, main dish was dishes side with Egyptian augmented watermelon. with off capped explained that the Hypostyle Hall, is the largest of any temple in the woild and covers 50,000 square feet The temple contains 134 huge columns and Queen Hatshepsuts 97 foot obelisk On another visit to Luxor with several of our Bountiful friends and a few from Salt Lake City, an experience occurred that clings to our memory The plane scheduled to carry us back to Cairo for some reason failed to show We trusty Americans from Utah gathered in the airport, were provided a lunch that turned many stomachs, told stories and sang songs Some of our group were members of the Tabernacle Choir so they gathered outside the entrance and sang some favorite Mormon hymns Others, not of our group who had been stranded, gathered around, thoroughly enjoying the midnight entertainment At about 3 20 a m the special plane sent down from Cairo for us marooned passengers arrived Shortly after 4 a m we scooted down the runway en route to Cairo arriv ing about 5 a m In all, Egypt is a fun place to visit We observed that Egyptians as a whole are warm and outgoing, have a sense of shish-ka-bo- The entertainment consisted of a whirling dervish, a dancing horse and an Egyptian belly dancer. Of course, the belly dancer needed someone to dance with her and I was elected It was fun to make a fool of oneself way out in the desert Some of the sites we saw in Cairo and the surrounding subuibs included Lebolo gargantuan structure. Our guide Egyptian families. Kathy, our daughter who traveler Antonio removed the mummies which contained the papyrus, later translated by Joseph Smith as the Book of Abraham We were not allowed to enter the tomb but we could, at least, gaze at the opening The Temple of Karnak on the outskirts of Luxor was built more than 2,000 years ago with each Pharaoh adding his own contribution Visitors stand in utter amazement viewing the iately. With those glistening white English-speakin- g taken us up and down on the elevator so we were familiar to him as we came down I go to America with you, he pleaded I be your servant rest of my life, take care of home, garden for you, even cook meals Again he go begged, Please, Mr American. America with you We could have spent more time in Cairo but we were scheduled to visit Luxor about 400 miles south ol Egypt's capital city Luxor is encompassed by the ancient Thebes which was the center of Egypts power from 2,100 to 750 B C. and as our guide told us is unlike Not far any other cjty in the world from the center of Luxor are awesome tombs, temples and statues, the likes of which dazzle the imagination If you have an inclination to visit tombs, the Valley of the Kings has them. More than 60 tombs of pharaohs and noblemen are there to be observed Of course, the Tomb of Tutankhamun, known throughout the world as King Tut, is among them Although the treasures from the tomb are displayed in Cairos Egyptian Museum, one of the three original stone sarcophagi with a golden coffin, guarded by apes painted on the wall, can be seen in Tuts tomb Our guide pointed out that the chief tomb in the Valley of the Queens is 1 monuments, the gigantic Sphinx, o ar boy, perhaps fourteen or fifteen, approached us Many times he had awe-inspiri- well-t- n 75-ye- shaped and placed together with great precision, went into the breathtaking and edifice. Three smaller pyramids apparently dedicated to Cheops wives or other members of his family, lie near the great pyramid. On the way to one of the smaller pyramids lies one of the worlds largest be mentioning, Cairo has many mosques Perhaps the most notable is the Mohamed All Mosque, also known as the alabaster mosque, located in The Citadel ol Salah in Eastern Cairo at the foot of Mukattam Hill We removed our shoes and all of us put on canvas slippers so we could walk on the old carpet It was impressive Our last day in Cairo a very touching incident occurred for my wife and me. We were ready to check out ol the Shepherd, a attractive hotel situated on the banks of the Nile, when an elevator El-Di- million blocks of stone, all neatly this legendary statute has the face of a man and the body of a lion. Scholars and scientists believe the sphinx closely resembles one of Egypts early kings. King Kephren, a son of Cheops. Everyone who visits the great pyramids enjoys, I think, the experience of climbing on one of those camels, once described as ships of the desert and being hassled the entire ride for tips by the camel driver. The pyramid camels have such familiar names as Moses, Princess Margaret, Houston, and Hi Ho Silver. After I had given my camel driver the regular tip he proceeded to tell me I should give him an extra gratuity. You see me before, he said. Where, I foolishly asked I was in Ten Commandments and I knew Cecil B. DeMille. That story is worth an extra tip, I replied as I opened my purse again. Our guide, Frank very knowledgeable and enthusiastic, was something else. His smile won you over immed- col- lection KAkNAK TEMPLE IN EGYPT: Entrance to the Karnak Temple built over 2 COO years ago at Luxor humor, and have a respect and liking for foieigners The history and relics of those thousands of years ago aie fascinating to see If you havent been there, get it on your schedule You'll never regret it |