EGYPT SAKKARA

Hassan and I set out for Sakkara this morning, September 25.  First Hassan treats me to a breakfast of eggplant and onions fried in oil and spices he calls mousaka, falafel and egg mixed together and fried, yoghurt, and Egyptian pita bread.  I say Egyptian pita bread because it is nothing like our dried-up version we can get in America.  Yum!!!!

The morning is fairly cool for this time of year.  The sun is warm but there is a coolness to the breeze.  We are to see the museum containing some of the artifacts found at Sakkara, the tomb of Ptah Hotep, Mereuka,and Kagebni as well as the Serapeum.  These tombs are not of Kings, but of high officials, judges, and scribes and their families.

The museum is extremely well laid out with many wonderful and unusual artifacts.  Among the most unusual are dental instruments and a basket of cheese!  One of the mummies found had a dental crown made of silver.  The cheese is in the shape of balls exactly like you can find it today in the local street food markets.  Mind you I am talking about around 5,000 years ago!

There are also huge alabaster jars that are very symmetrical carved by hand.  They found thousands of these jars in many shapes and sizes.  These jars had various uses including beer and wine.

As we leave the museum we see a group walking towards us coming from a large bus.  They are Americans!!!!  Hooray, this is good news for tourism because if Americans are coming this means tourism may be improving soon.  It is the ideal time to visit especially if you don’t like crowds. 

The mastaba tomb of Kagebni contains some of the most unique depictions of life.  One particular scene shows a man holding what, at first appearance, is a pig.  He is holding it up to his mouth and it appears he is either kissing it or feeding it from his mouth.  Hassan tells me for years this is what is thought.  Recently he was there with a field manager in charge of excavating the worker’s village by Giza.  Richard told him that it cannot be a pig because there are toes on the feet.  It is a dog, a puppy, and the man is feeding the puppy. Probably the puppy was too young to eat on its own.  

Another special scene shows the process of milking cows.  While a man holds the rope that ties the mother by her legs they allow the calf to begin to suckle in order for the milk to release. Then he is “kicked” away while a man steps in to milk the cow.  This is depicted in two scenes: one where the calf is suckling and the other where the man has stepped in to milk.  The look on the calf’s face that has been “kicked” away and the look on his mother’s face as she twists around to look at the man now milking her are priceless.

In other scenes we see dragon flies, frogs, butterfly, and a HooPoo bird. The bird is an especially unusual thing to see.

Mereuka’s tomb has been closed for restoration the past three years.  Hassan is eager to see what has been done.  This tomb is the most wonderful tomb with many fabulous scenes of fishing, hunting, playing games, and the presentation of goods to the deceased.  Some of the fish depicted are still caught in the Nile today.  It is his favorite.  

However, the evidence of any extensive restoration is missing with only some cleaning of the scenes evident and Hassan is very disappointed. This tomb has always been included in the ticket for Sakkara, but now they are charging 50LE,about $8.00. 

Newly opened, the tomb of Ptah Hotep is included in the price of the general ticket. It is interesting, but less interesting than Mereuka and Kagebni.

The Serapeum contains the massive sarcophagi of the numerous sacred bulls buried over many years.  It has been under restoration for about 13 years! It was becoming unstable and needed major reinforcement.

When first Bob and I visited in 1993 and then I again in 1995, the way to the massive tomb was to walk over the desert to the opening of the underground tomb.  The floor was dirt, the lighting poor and the sarcophagi covered with dust.  But even though the conditions were not ideal it was awesome due to its sheer size.  

Today the way to walk is over the old road that curves its way down the hill and was used by the ancients to take the massive sarcophagus into the tomb. How they managed to get such massive pieces into the tomb and place them in their individual places in the carved out spaces in the walls is still a mystery.

As we traverse the road we notice the remnants of the white marble used to pave it.  How magnificent it must have been and how it must have shone blindingly in the sun.

Stairs have been built down to the entrance. Inside the tomb the pathway is now wooden covering the old dirt pathway. At intervals glass inserts show the old dirt floor.  Some of the rooms have massive steel “cages” surrounding the walls and ceiling of the carved wall receptacles. The lighting has improved and the dust removed.

We are walking above the sarcophagi, but one sarcophagus has stairs leading down so we can walk around it.  It has carvings of hieroglyphs and other items all over the black granite.  These things look massive from above, but when I walk down and stand next to this one is when I see just how massive they are.

Only one mummy of a bull, now in the basement of the Egyptian Museum, was found as the place was looted in antiquity.  The bulls were mummified with amulets of gold and precious stones making the temptation too great for the tomb robbers.  How they managed to slide the tops back to rob is another mind boggling mystery.

September 27 will find me winging my way to Luxor. Stay tuned for news from there.

Much Love To You All,

Mom/Grandma/Sara