We are now in Nubian territory and the skin tone is much darker. The area is cleaner and seems to be in better repair. They had an original dam but it wasn't high enough to prevent all floods so they built a larger one. Egypt is 5% water, 6% vegetation and 89% desert. The line between vegetation and desert is very distinct. They get 22 inches of rain per year. With the dam they are able to irrigate enough land now to export fruits and vegetables. The dam provides for 25% of the electrical needs of Egypt. Egypt's biggest problem is overpopulation. The government thought that by supplying electricity to more households that people would watch more TV and the population would stabilize but the parents just used it as a babysitter and it didn't decrease overpopulation. A baby is born in Egypt every 27 seconds.
Before the dam, crocodiles and hippos lived all up and down the Nile but after the dam they now live farther south away from the dense population. The dam has raised the water table level and is endangering some of the ancient artifacts. The Philae island was to be flooded when the dam was built so they dismantled it and moved it to safety.
Temple of Isis
Isis is the greatest of all Egyptian gods. Early Christians transformed the temple into a chapel defacing the pagan relief's. The relief's depict the virgin birth and Isis feeding her baby Horus.
We purchased necklaces on the boat ride to the island. Necklaces and bracelets abound but we saw very few if any earrings, as Kristal pointed out the veiled woman would have no need for earrings. Our guide allowed this merchant onto the boat where he had a captive audience but our guide also set a reasonable price for what he had. We stopped at a perfume shop. The perfume contains no water or alcohol and will not evaporate or change in nature even exposed to air, heat or light. Five drops of the peppermint should be added to 50 ml. of boiling water and inhaled to relieve nasal congestion. The sandal wood may be rubbed on arthritic joints mixed with peppermint 50/50. When leaving the perfume shop one of the girls took Jim arm in arm and proclaimed they were now engaged. Abdalla explained to her that Jim lived where it was very cold and she didn't really want to be engaged to him. It was a short engagement.
In the afternoon we took a leisurely felucca (sailboat) ride around Elephantine Island. The island is probably named from the the smooth gray boulders which surround the island, looking like elephants in the water. We were serenaded by Nubian music on the boat. There were children that paddled out to our felucca, hanging on the side they would ask the nearest person what nationality they were and then would sing to them. Row Row Row your boat in English. Faraqua for the French. It was a profitable experience for them. Elephantine was the farthest point south that a ship could sail without encountering rapids or cataracts. The ram-headed potter god Khnum is elephantines main deity. Because rams are associated with fertility and potters with making things, Khnum is seen as a creator god.
Later we walked over to the bizarre where we bought Makayla an Aladdin's lamp and a shabti figure for Jim's co-worker. For me shopping in Egypt was a very unpleasant experience because the merchants were so in your face pushy. They would approach me saying "no hassle, no hassle" " no touch, no touch" as they were touching me and in my face. Sometimes they would follow as you walked away insisting that you needed to buy from them. Then everything was negotiable because prices were not marked and they would sell it to you for whatever they thought you would pay. Often the conversation would begin by them asking where you were from, probably giving them an idea of your supposed wealth. I was obviously a tourist and the starting price for me was always higher. Since we were traveling with Dr. Joyce, Seth and Kristal's principal from Mexico, I would ask her son to go negotiate for me because if something started at 1,200 pounds for me it might only start at 700 pounds for him. Most of the time I tried to look straight ahead and not make eye contact or respond to them. I felt bad ignoring them but I also felt I had no choice. I felt bad contributing to the idea that Americans were stuck up but they forced me to because if you acknowledged their presence you couldn't walk. Ironically I probably would have bought more if I had been given the opportunity to shop at my leisure.
In the shopping areas Jim seemed to be the target of women carrying small children asking for money to feed their children. I did observe some people giving money to the Egyptians but I also saw that if you gave them something they would ask for more than what they had just been given. One woman I saw had brought stickers for the children and the children told her that they didn't want stickers, they wanted money.
No comments:
Post a Comment