4.1 MET: The Beautiful Nile

Almost all civilizations started by rivers: the great Tigris and Euphrates, the mighty Yellow River, the mythical Indus River, and of course, the most magnificent Nile.

My hotel room in Luxor was just at the riverfront and I woke up to one of the most beautiful scenes in the morning. The Nile in brilliant dark Periwinkle blue was sprinkled with dawn sunlight; fleets of feluccas parked along the riverbank with proudly erect masts coated in gold; so were the dwellings reflecting the shining golden sunlight. A few hot-air balloons were flying some thrilled early birds over the Theban Necropolis and the Nile.






When the sun was high, more colors came out and vied for my attention. Bright white felucca sails stretched fully in confidence. The rich jungle green outlined the waterfront with a backdrop of sand hill in creamy café au lait.












At dusk, the sun graced the river again with its magnificent golden color, and the sky precipitated from pale blue to a real beautiful dark sapphire. The palm trees turned rusty green and their trunks subdued orange red.







I took a sunset felucca ride in Aswan. The winter tropical breeze was mild and pleasant, propelling the boat at a leisurely speed. Cruising the Nile was simply astonishing, even not in a basket or along with the logs carrying rocks for the pyramids. I think it’s something everyone should do once in his or her lifetime.

4.1 MET: En Train to Luxor, Part Two

On the train to Luxor, there was a German family sitting behind me, parents with two boys who just loved the Rock-paper-scissors game. The funny thing is that when one boy played with his brother, he used German: Schere, Stein, Papier, while using French, pierre, papier, ciseaux, when he played with the dad. The dad, from Köln, said that French speaking boy lived in Belgium for a while, which accounted for his familiarity with the language.

Later, I commented on the grand Kölner Dom, but the dad was somehow bitter about it. He complained about the Allied bombing during the war which practically razed the city saving the cathedral. He considered the city was at its best in the 80's when artists flourished, but now most of them had moved on to Berlin. Even my Muslim seatmate picked up a sense of bitterness. Luckily the train was approaching the destination, and the conversation was saved by the horn.

4.1 MET: En Train to Luxor, Part One

I took an overnight train to Luxor. I boarded the train in late evening at the Ramses station in central Cairo, and the train stopped briefly at Giza Station 30 minutes later. An attractive young Muslim lady got in and seated herself next to me. The First Class cabin I was in had seating like the business class on a plane. I was pretty beat after a long day, so fell asleep quickly after Giza.

The train ride was smooth and pleasant. I didn’t wake up until we were about an hour away from Luxor. My seatmate also woke up, and we began socializing.

Originally from Haram, or Giza, she was an endocrinologist working in Sinai. Still a medical degree candidate, she was traveling to Luxor for a medical conference after stopping by Cairo to see her folks. Her father was a diplomat but had already passed away, and her mom was a physician herself. Since her childhood, she had already traveled to most of the Arab world.

Intrigued by her background, I asked her about her experience as a Muslim studying western medicine. She said that the US and European communities had advanced researches in medicine. Although she disagreed with western family values and foreign policies, one of the Egyptian ways was to adopt good things. Western medicine was a good thing. She had no problem studying it and had been to the US for medical conferences. That reminded me that the American fast food chain stores were ubiquitous in Cairo. The Egyptians may oppose America’s junk policy, but certainly enjoy its junk food.

Feeling emboldened by her frankness and friendliness, I ventured an aggressive question: “Would you go if you were invited to an important conference on endocrinology in Tel Aviv?” Daughter to a diplomat, she said she would go to Belgium where the endocrinological research was most advanced. “Seriously”, she continued, “ I have to think about it if it’s in Israel”. In her opinion, the appearance of reconciliation between Egypt and Israel remained at a diplomatic and business level, and as for the public, there was still palpable tensions. Regular Egyptians still had problems with the state of Israel.

I noticed my seatmate covered her hair as many Muslim women I saw in Egypt, so asked her about this Islamic practice. She informed me that according to the Qu’ran, a woman needed to cover her hair, neck, and arms. If someone dressed up like a beekeeper, it was more a local and sect tradition, but was certainly not required by the Scriptures.

Asking about my itinerary, she commented that although most people visiting Egypt wanted to see the ruins from ancient time, to her, an Egyptian, those legendary structures meant little as they were merely an evidence of pharaohs’ self grandeurs, and they had little to do with an average Egyptian, then or now. She appreciated more about the Islamic teaching about caring the people around you. Preaching or now, she sounded sincere.

Obnoxiously persistent, I asked her about another Islamic practice: praying. When I was visiting the pyramids, I sat on a hill overlooking them and the modern city of Cairo waiting for sunset. Then the call for the sunset praying went on from probably thousands of high volume speakers all across Cairo. To me, it would be inconceivable for doctors to simply stop surgeries or soldiers to drop their weapons. She responded that she just prayed in her seat. She supposed that praying was not just a physical activity. If one could stop and pray, that’d be nice, but if one couldn’t, she thought, it was also fine as long as pray took place in one’s heart. The act of praying was independent from the actual behavior.

Then she smile and said, she just prayed that I would have a safe trip in Egypt.

4.1 MET: Religious Reformers

When Pharaoh Amenhotep IV and his feminist Great Royal Wife Nefertiti systematically destroyed the centuries-old worship of Amun and other deities in ancient Egypt, they might have done so to consolidate power in the New Kingdom, or to legally rob the priesthood of its immense wealth, or simply to proclaim their preference for an obscure god called Aten. Whatever their motivations, they seemed to do so for their personal benefits. With resistance from almost everyone plus a devastating pandemic, their reformation and royal reign was short-lived.

Amenhotep IV, aka Akhenaten, might find his plaque in the Hall of Fame, but the Michael Jordon of religious reformers has to be Martin Luther. The lowly monk’s detest of papal sanctioned indulgences and renascent emphasis on a personal relationship with the divinity might have won some minds and hearts, but his IPO was far from spectacular. He was declared an outlaw of the state and excommunicated from the church. Protestant Inc. was de-listed. Yet, the ruling Germanic princes saw the real economical implication: less participation in the church meant more disposable and taxable income to the principalities. The financial gain was so great that the princes went to war for it, and for 30 years. Thus the ultimate rivalry of Coke and Pepsi was created.

Since almost all religion founders are, in a sense, reformers, and vice versa, the success of a religion or a religious reformation hinges on its alignment with the interest of the ruling class, not necessarily of the actual ruler. King Henry VIII promoted the English reformation so that he could marry the woman he shacked up with, yet his successor disagreed so strongly that we named a cocktail after her commemorating her brutality. Although Constantine adopted Christianity after a few rapid eye moments, JC’s peaceful and Buddhistic preaching, a drastic departure from the violent and vengeful Judaic fables, actually worked well in helping stabilize the vast and heterogeneous empire of Rome. It should come with no surprise that it went on and became the most successful enterprise in the history of mankind.

4.1 MET: Egyptian Antiquities Museum

The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities in Cairo seems at first lacking its uniqueness among other major museums in the world, many of which house an abundance of Egyptian sculptures, sarcophagi, mummies, and large murals. When I first stepped into the Egyptian Arts Department in the MET in New York years ago, I was met with two colossal seated pharaoh statues flanked by equally tall limestone walls, which temporarily made me feel spatially displaced as if I'd been all of sudden dropped in Egypt. The Louvre and the British Museum are also well stocked with Egyptians artifacts. So the first impression of the Cairo museum is somewhat of a déjà vu.



However, as I walked around the spacious galleries, the shear number of artifacts was simply overwhelming. Besides quantity, there were still many unique objets d’art that weren’t on permanent loans to Western museums.



Colossal statues of Amenhotep III and his Royal Great Wife, Tiye, parents to the famous religion reformer Akhenaten, grantparents to yet more famous Tutankhamun. Statuettes of their three daughters stand by their feet, a tradition in ancient pharaohic monuments.



A pyramidion or pyramid capstone from Dahshur. Some believe that a capstone contains the information to allow the pyramid it caps to make contact with other universal systems in the chain of cosmology it arises from and reflects into the Infinite.



Egyptian hieroglyphs on the capstone.



The ancient Egyptians mummified almost everything. Some of the animals, like this mummified Crocodile, used to flourish in both Lower and Upper Egypt, but today they move south to the warmer heartland of Africa.



Cats are sacred animals in ancient Egypt. The most famous cat goddesses are Bastet and the lion headed Sekhmet. On display are some mummified cats whose vertebrates and limbs were broken to fit the shrouds.



A mummified baby baboon.



Of course, the highlight for most visitors is Tut’s treasures, of which the most famed artifact is the Boy King’s gold mask.



Tutankhamun’s funerary bed in the form of ancient god, Mehet-Weret.



Akhenaten, or originally Amenhotep IV, changed his name to pursue a monotheistic worship of Aten. He and his world-famous chief wife Nefertiti even moved the capital away from Thebes (Luxor). The stunt was only reversed by his successor Tutankhaten or Tutankhamun, as he renamed himself later to resume his loyalty to Amun.



The great Ramesses II, no longer 20 meters tall by Lake Nasser, lies quietly, humbly, and humanly in this air conditioned, humidity controlled, and shock absorbed glass case.

4.1 MET: Inside the Pyramids

The pyramids have been looted many times over in history, and there is nothing to see inside. However, just physically being inside these mysterious structures is a lifetime experience.

Among others, you can go inside the Red Pyramid in Dahshur or the Great Pyramid of Cheops or the Khufu Pyramid, in Giza. I chose the less touristy and quieter Red Pyramid. It’s about 343 feet tall, and the entrance is 94 feet above the ground level. Stone and wooden steps were installed for easy access.



The tunnel into the interior is narrow, low, and long, and slopes 27 degrees downward. I practically crawled down the path with my backpack rubbing the rocks above. I arrived at Dahshur very early that day, so I was the first and the only one in the tunnel. I would imagine in the middle of a hot summer day, crawling down this passageway with dozens of other visitors would not be most comfortable.



The 206 foot length seems to extend for ever. Looking back at the opening, I seemed to understand why the pyramids were designed for the renaissance of the souls which could go though the long dark tunnel heading for the bright light at the end.



Finally I got to the bottom where the tunnel leads to a rectangular chamber with a pointed roof. The corbeled high ceiling tapers faster than the pyramid itself, leaving me wonder what lies between the large limestone walls of the chamber and the outer surface rocks. There aren’t any ornaments or objects in this bare chamber. On the other side, there is another opening.





The passageway on the other side connects to another chamber which resembles the first one. This chamber seems to be the only one lying directly beneath the apex of the pyramid. Yet another passage opens up on the other side leading to the final chamber believed to be the actual burial place. It also has a high stepped ceiling. The floor of the burial chamber has been excavated but no other passageway has been found so far.



I didn’t know what was first found inside the pyramid, nor could I imagine the excitement of the treasure hunters who first made it into the chambers. Mais, du centre de ces pyramides, quarante siècles m'encerclent. From the center of the chamber right under the apex, I took a deep breath, taking in, along the musty air, the forty centuries of solemnity and spirituality of a long lost civilization.

4.1 MET: Who Built The Pyramids?

Did aliens build the pyramids? After a few hours touring those majestic constructions, the answer becomes quite obvious.

The oldest standing pyramid was the Step Pyramid, built around 2,600 BCE (III Dynasty of the Archaic Period). It was the first attempt to break away from an earthbound tradition and create a “straight up” structure, or per-em-us in ancient Egyptian.



Version 2.0 was designed to smoothen the steps. The Bent Pyramid, built in the IV Dynasty of the Old Kingdom Period, managed to get rid of the steps. However, the project started with an ambitiously steep 54.3 degree slope and tapered abruptly at a gentler angle (43.5 degrees) towards the top. The change of slope stabilized the structure, and nicely commemorates a stunning learning curve in an engineering feat.



The first true pyramid was the Red Pyramid, built for the same pharaoh Snofru after the Bent Pyramid. It had the same lower angle of 43.5 degrees.



The master pieces were completed by the later pharaohs of the IV Dynasty. The so-called Great Pyramids of Giza have wondered their admirers for millennia. However, looking at the history of pyramids, one could easily recognize that the sole standing wonder of the ancient world was not conceived, created, nor perfected over night.



If all the pyramids had been built by aliens, who must have journeyed millions of light years by either bending the space-time or traveling faster than light, or by other means too sophisticated for the feeble human brains, why would they have had so much trouble with steps and angles in putting a few rocks together?

Since it’s not likely for intergalactic visitors to have to learn and experiment with simple earthly geometry, it’s not likely they were the pyramid builders. QED.

4.1 MET: 上海美女在埃及

居然在金字塔上肆情放纵, 春光外泄, 真是大逆有道, 十恶可赦.













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4.1 MET: Mişr! Mişr! Mişr!

My first night in Cairo was also when the final match of 2008 African Cup of Nations took place between Egypt and Cameroon. After the only but decisive goal scored by the Egyptian soccer team, the city started to boil. People were congregating on the streets around the once fashionable Midan Talaat Harb, where I lived, and the famous Midan Tahrir nearby, or Liberation Square.



Car horns mingled steadily with excited singing, chanting, and cheering. Black-and-red national flags filled the night sky accompanied by colorful confetti. Midan Tahrir was soon crowed with overjoyed Cairenes.



Fireworks and fire shows rekindled Cairo’s warm and pleasant winter night. Cars and buses passed by slowly, many of which came from a distance to join the celebration in Central Cairo. Passengers with their upper bodies outside the vehicle windows, echoed their countrymen on the street with their own roar of ecstasy and national pride.



The thrill was contagious. I couldn’t get by without being noticed. A few young Cairenes asked me where I was from, to which I responded “China”. They suddenly showed great interest and admiration and pulled me in to the big dancing circle. I grabbed a big Egyptian flag and joined the cheering crowd. I waved the flag and yelled “Mişr! Mişr! Mişr!”, Arabic for Egypt, which was only reverberated by the multitude. Soon, someone started to shout “China! China! China!”, and everyone followed. It was really a surreal experience for me, a Chinese tourist waving an Egyptian flag, dancing in the middle of Liberation Square with the locals who were shouting along “China”!



With such a wild welcome, I started my four-week vacation in the Middle East.

4.1 MET: Amsterdam & Its Museums

I had a 9-hour layover in Amsterdam. The beautiful buildings of Venice of the North is somehow unremarkable and indistinguishable from other northern European cities. The calm and hugging canals, with an air of Germanic seriousness, are not as intimate as those in Venice. It was still a very pleasant walk along Damrak to explore the historical city center.

















However, the highlights of the day are surely the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum.





Under construction until 2010, the Rijksmuseum, nevertheless, still has its best on display: masterpieces from the Golden Age painters Pieter de Hooch, Jan Vermeer, and of course, Rembrandt. Looking at paintings in the textbook and seeing the real frames are two different things. Unlike the overwhelmingly colossal size done by Jacque-Louis David, the Dutch canvases call for close examinations.

The serene scenes of leisurely and well-to-do Bourgeois families presented by de Hooch, as in The Linen Closet, show an orderly urban life style and also set an equally orderly moral tone, a philosophy possibly picked up by the Pre-Raphaelites 200 years later. The carefully arranged signature key-hole perspective invites your imagination to travel beyond the canvas. The exquisite and smooth brush strokes remind me of the clean licked-surface style of the great Ingré.



Another fine example is Mother's Duty.



Vermeer’s maids are seemingly ordinary, themes mundane, and composition simple. But historians argue there are full of religious connotations (possibly the Calvinistic emphasis on daily labor). There are often windows in his paintings, indicating the source of light, with which the painter masterfully rendered the imagery with splendid delicacy and elegance. The Milkmaid on display is truly a tour de force.



I am not familiar with Rembrandt, synonymous to (probably) the greatest painter. With so much hype, I finally got to look at the originals. He is truly a master of drama. The employment of light and stark contrast reminds me of the dramatic compositions by Caravaggio. The limelight is not on (possibly) Prophetess Anna, rather on her book upon which the audience’s center of attention is immediately drawn. Her face, usually the focal point of any portrait, turns sideways, hides in the shade, and remains sketchy at best.



Also seen in Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, the prophet sits inside a cave near the burning city, but the mysterious light from outside the canvas drenches him in golden illumination.



Rembrandt also invented a technique: using the other end of a paintbrush, the tapered wooden end, to scratch the paint. On some of his famous self portraits, I saw this technique in use on the hair area.



On the northwest corner of the beautiful Museumplein, a short 5 minute walk from Rijksmuseum, is Van Gogh Museum, a glassy modern building dedicated to the post impressionist whose significance still confuses me. What is not confusing is that this guy was really a quick learner and good at the fundamentals. On his first ambitious attempt at serious painting, The Potato Eaters, the figures are distorted, light and color depressed, rigid and wood-cut like strokes confined in color blocks. I wasn’t sure whether the artistic disfiguration was conscious. The answer lies in the museum. Van Gogh started learning painting at the age of 27, ten years before he died. He painted The Potato Eaters after 5 years of earnest learning. I saw one of his early portrait studies in the collections. His mastery of form, shape, and proportion is superb. On one of his letters to his brother Theo, he explained his idea of using layers of thick and daring colors on a rice field to express different feelings. So I got my answer.



However, if I had 10 million dollars, I would still prefer Renoir's Theater Box to his Sunflowers.