THE LAND OF PYRAMIDS, MUMMIES AND PHARAOHS

The Mummies in the Cairo Museum can leave you aghast. They seem so real resting peacefully but if you fix your sight on them, you can see their tooth and if you still continue to gaze, you feel the Mummy is slowly rising Mira Pawar Not until you have visited Cairo-the capital of Egypt would you realise how similar their culture is to our own. The only baffling thing is their techniques that assisted in building the pyramids, temples and obelisks. One really turns fervent as soon as you have stepped foot on this land to discover their intrinsic worth. As you step out of the Airport and head towards your accommodation, the traffic en-route and the battered condition of the cars on road remind you of the homeland. Although prepared to experience some anomalous tourist attraction, some of it can be spine-chilling. Especially the Mummies in the Cairo Museum can leave you aghast. They seem so real resting peacefully but if you fix your sight on them, you can see their tooth and if you still continue to gaze, you feel the Mummy is slowly rising. It turns into a hair raising moment in there, but amazing at the same time as to how they have preserved the Mummies for 5000 years. During the mummifying process, all the organs of the body is removed and placed separately into canopic jars. The Museum also displays Tutankhamen's treasures, who became ruler at an early age of nineteen.

While in Cairo a trip to Khan el-Khalili market should not be skipped. One can get there without any hassle. This market was built in 1382 and is famous for gold, silver, Brass and Copper. You can get some exquisite jewelry to add to your collection at a very reasonable price. The Nile cruise to Luxor as compared to the Cairo Museum turns out to be a very pleasant experience. It disembarks at various shores and allows the tourists to do sightseeing. The structure of Karnak and Luxor Temples at Luxor are mind boggling. There is an unfinished enormous obelisk that developed some cracks due to which the structure was not completed. The light and sound show here is also riveting. Another stop ashore, leads towards The Valley of Kings in the West Bank that has the tombs of the Pharaohs. The tombs are all made in a similar manner with three corridors, a sunken sarcophagus chamber and an antechamber making it difficult for thieves to rob. But inspite of all the precautions taken, it is rumored that quite many tombs have been robbed for the gold and valuables it contained. A little distance away from The Valley of Kings in Luxor is The Valley of Queens where the wives and children of the Pharaohs are buried. The tombs here are rock-cut tombs instead of the traditional pyramid burial chambers to keep the tomb robbers at bay. One of the tombs here is of Queen Nefertiti-one of the wives of Ramesses II who is said to have been the third Egyptian ruler of the nineteenth dynasty and believed to be the most powerful. A visit to Giza should not be missed at any cost because it is home to pyramids built in 2500 B.C by Pharaoh Khufu. The burial tomb of Pharaoh Khufu is called Cheops. Also known as the Great Pyramid, it is the largest in the world filling thirteen acres at its base and is 481 feet high. This Pyramid was considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Pyramid's engineering marvels is much appreciated even by today's engineering world. The complex at Giza also has the Sphinx which is made of limestone located close to the Great Pyramid. It is believed to be 240 feet high and built by Pharaoh Khufu's son Khafre. The statue of Sphinx has the face of a man and reclining body of a lion. The Sphinx is supposed to be a guardian angel, protecting the tombs from evil spirits. It is assumed that one of the goals of a Pharaoh within the first year of his rule was to build his own tomb. The location, architectural design and even the decoration was decided by him for his final resting place. This might just seem creepy but definitely it has provided the Egyptians with marvels to brag about.