Wednesday, December 22, 2010
End of the working year
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Melbourne Cup Camping at the Prom
Bonnie leading the way to Little Oberon Bay (in the background below)
Telegraph Track leading back to camp with Mt Oberon in the background. Last year there were severe bush fires through Wilson's Prom burning a large part of the bush. The burnt remains were quite a contrast to the new growth coming through
These tunnels in the bushes form part of the wombat "Super Highway" that surrounded our campsite. Our resident wombat (see below) came out most nights foraging in the grass. But beware they don't mind having a snoop inside your tent if they smell some tasty treats.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Around the Bay in a Day 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
The pyramids were a stupid idea
http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/atlas/index_kv.asp?tombID=undefined
Painted walls of Hatshepsut Temple - the blank area once had an image of the queen but her step son hated her so much that he had it chiseled off the wall after she died
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Up the Nile
To escape the heat (and the locals, sorry but sometime Sacha space is needed) I headed to the Mummification museum, which was small but interesting. I would have liked a bit more info on the mummification process than the body is washed and then wrapped in bandages covered in resin, maybe they should google it! Mummified man above and below, ram and crocodile.
Temple of Amun – massive temple complex spanning 100 acres build over a 1300 year period for the king of Gods, Amun. Though very difficult to see much given all the sand in the air.
Tomorrow is our last day in Egypt and we’re heading out to the Valley of the Kings, which was the burial site for the pharaohs at the time. Hopefully the sand has cleared and Warwick is well enough to come along.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
More big, old stuff.....
Giant calcite sphinx at Memphis - it is supposed to represent the king's wisdom (human face) and strength (lions head)
Giant sandstone statue of Ramses II found at Memphis (Warwick upstairs taking a photo)
The Step Pyramid of Djoser - the original pyramid and predecessor of the great pyramids at Giza is located at Saqqara, the burial ground for Memphis. Before this time, Egyptian royal tombs were mud brick underground rooms covered with low flat roofs known as mastabas. This all changed when an architect at the time called Imhotep, decided to try building several mastabas on top of each other but with stone instead of mud brick, resulting in the Step Pyramid. From then on there was no going back And the rest is history
The Step Pyramid is undergoing restoration as last year it started to crumble along the second level. Not sure if you can see but there are guys up on the 3rd level conducting repairs with no safety equipment
Titi Pyramid – believe it or not this mound of rubble is a pyramid and while the outside has not fared well, the inside is still intact and hopefully stable cause you can climb down into it. The inner walls are covered with hieroglyphics carved into the stone and the black granite sarcophagus is still present though empty.
Memphis and Saqqara are definately worth a visit and they are no where near as busy or touristy as Giza. Tomorrow we fly to Luxor to see more big, old Egyptian stuff
Monday, May 24, 2010
Giza - Pyramids, Sphinx and the poor of Cairo
Here you can see the 3 biggest pyramids on the Giza plateau. From left to right, Pyramid of Khufu (the biggest eventhough it doesn't look it from this point), Pyramid of Khafre (the second largest and the only one that still retains part of its original limestone casing at the top) and Pyramid of Menhaure (smallest and most recent built). The smaller little stone mounds to the right are the queens pyramids. We were able to go inside the 2nd pyramid to see the burial chamber - not for the claustrophobic's out there as the tunnel down is about 1m x 1m in diameter and the inside gets very little air.
The pyramids lose some of their appeal when you see the conditions the locals live in. Being the poor part of town, the settlements surrounding Giza are a huge expanse of poorly constructed and largely unfinished red brick towers. Each tower is an extended family home and they spend as little as possible in the construction, saving their money for their sons. The concrete framework remains exposed and the steel rods extending up from the top of each building waiting for the next level to be added on when the next son is married. No $20k kitchen make overs here!
All in all a good day spent in Giza
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Cairo is Crazy
The title says it all. Cairo is most definitely a crazy, crazy place. Our first full day in Cairo and the plan was to get Warwick registered at the conference and then head towards the Egyptian Museum. We passed up the numerous requests while leaving the hotel to take a taxi and in hindsight that might not have been such a good idea.
While everything appears to be in easy walking distance, this city is not designed for walking. There are no traffic lights and no pedestrian crossings and I’m not exaggerating, you basically take your life into your own hands trying to cross 3-4 lanes of traffic going each way. There are Tourist Police sitting at the side on the road who will occasionally get up from their seat to help you but only after you have been standing there for some time and even then don’t expect it. You are also constantly harassed by every taxi that goes past and there are lots of them.
Our plans to visit the museum were delayed when we met a nice older Egyptian man on the street who helped with directions and informed us that the museum wasn’t open for another hour. I should have realised at that point that something was up cause the guide book said it opened 2 hours earlier. But he was a fellow scientist specialising in botany and would be attending a conference in Sydney in 2 months time. He suggested we spend the hour in one of the nicer parts of town and volunteered to show us where....leading us straight to his papyrus shop. Looking back we were both impressed by how smooth he was getting us into his shop, offering us mint tea and a free piece of papyrus with an Egyptian painting on it. Then he indicated we would need to pay 400 EGP (80 AUD) for a second piece of papyrus, which he had already written Warwicks name in hieroglyphics on. Yep it was at that point that we decided it was time to get the hell out of there.
The Egyptian Museum itself was interesting though it was more like a warehouse of Egyptian artefacts with very little information on what was being displayed or the history behind it. It is amazing though that you’re looking at things that are 3000-4000 years old. My favourite was the Amarna Room, which covered the time of the rebel pharaoh Akhenaten in the 14th century BC. The art from this era was different from the past as it depicted people with elongated heads and protruding bellies.
Tomorrow we’re off to Giza to see the pyramids and the Sphinx, which if its anything like today, will be an interesting experience
Pics taken from outside the Egyptian Museum (no photos inside please!)