Alexandria
07.30 En route Alexandria
After a super heavy buffet-breakfast, we reached the Hotel Reception only to be welcomed by a new guy. Again! Third guy before the start of the second day. He introduced himself as John, the Egyptologist. Egyptology, as the name implies, is the field of study of art, architecture, language and history of Ancient Egyptians. To people who are not aware, there is in fact a field of study called Indology. Sir William Jones (18th Century) who could be called as one of the earliest Indologists, founded the Asiatic Society in Calcutta. When the rest of the British were ruling India, Jones along with Charles Wilkins were key in stimulating the world towards learning Indian History. In fact, the Asiatic Society was instrumental in the excavations of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.
We were glad that we had a Egyptologist around. En route Alexandria, John gave a brief description of Egypt. Right from Prehistoric Egypt to Pharaohs (also called as Dynastic period) to Greco-Romans to Islam conquest to Ottoman (Turks) rule to French rule to British rule to Nasser and finally, Hosini Mubarak. He talked about the major occupations; customs and traditions; what we’ll see in Alexandria and stuff. Moments later, Niranjana and I were wondering whether we’d be able to give a similar account about India? We slept a few moments later. Probably, to escape the guilt feeling.
10.30 Alexandria City
It was raining when we reached Alexandria. The city had a ‘rainy Saidapet Jones road’ (an area in Chennai) look. As with any developing economy, Alexandria wasn’t instantly captivating. Nonetheless, it had life. For me, that’s what is important in a place. It must be vibrating with energy. I know people who discredit Calcutta for its dirty looks. But I have never seen any lively city like Calcutta. EVER! Not even, Madras. Alexandria wouldn’t fall into ‘that’ level. But, sure it had something or the other happening. In-construction structures, tram lines, huge flyovers, a grayish-brown tint, a consistent smell of something (not identifiable), wet climate. It may not look good on paper. But, trust me. You have to be there.
11.00 Catacombs of Alexandria
We weren’t allowed to bring our cameras inside. Better. No need to worry about the camera angles. Can just relax and absorb the place. Here is when we first heard about the whole mummies concept. First and foremost, the entire Egyptian civilization can be summarized in one sentence. Belief in after-life. All that they ever did in their entire life time has got to do with this belief. The monuments, temples, tomb stones, grave yards – all of them. Even in temples (like Luxor and Karnak) you would see references of the ‘sacred boat’. The boat which would take you to after-life. Guess, they were so much obsessed with their next lives that they didn’t enjoy their present lives. I asked this as a question to Omar (another Egyptologist whom you’ll meet later in the blog). Why is that we have temples and grave yards, but not palaces of kings in ancient Egypt? Visibly amused, he said that the kings lived in ordinary mud-brick houses. Just like the commoners of Egypt. It didn’t stand the test of time, but the temples and tombs they built, did. Catacombs of Alexandria was one such grave yard. Only that, it used to hold the dead bodies of commoners of Egypt. While the Kings built Pyramids and complicated structures (like Valley of Kings in West Bank), the Catacombs were built to hold several mummies. There is also an economic reason behind this. When the mummies were buried, the tomb would also be filled with precious jewels and stones, presumably to be used in after-life. Obviously, the Kings’ tombs are an extremely attractive entity for robbers. Pyramids and complicated structures were built to make this robbery difficult.
This particular Catacomb had somewhere around 200 slots. When this Catacomb was accidentally discovered in the early 20th century (after a Donkey fell into the structure), it still held mummies. All the contents were excavated. The Catacomb is cylindrical-shaped in the top and has a huge base under-ground. The cylindrical shape helped in having a spiral staircase which helped people to bring the dead bodies from the top through guided mechanism (using long rods). The base below has several slots to bury the tombs and many halls. One such hall, we were told, is where people would meet every year on their family member’s death anniversary and have fun. It also housed a hall where animals were slaughtered. What made the whole thing interesting were the engravings on the walls. We met Anubis, the Jackal God for the first time. Little did we realize that we would meet him everywhere we went. Jackal was worshipped as a God by Egyptians because the animal used to eat off the dead bodies, it seems. To appease the animal, they started worshipping him (or her?). I haven’t read ‘Immortals of Meluha’. But since a long time, I believe that the Gods, we Hindus worship now, walked on this earth as normal human beings. I had a college friend (a Christian) who used to discredit Hinduism by saying that everything we do is superstitious. How much ever I countered him, the argument was never won. The whole Jackal-God business has given a new dimension. I am waiting to meet him.
The engravings also explained the entire mummification process. The important organs like Liver and lungs were kept in separate Canopic jars. Heart was left in the body as they believed that the person would need it in his next life (more on this later). Brain would be smashed and the content would be brought out using a straw.
Enough of violence, I guess.
11. 45 Pompey’s Pillar and Roman Theatre
Pompey’s Pillar was such a boring site that we regretted entering it. It had a huge pillar built by a Roman king Pompey and a Sphinx (more on this later). The Roman theatre was equally boring. Designed like a miniature of a Colosseum, John said that it used to host dance, theatre and other activities. These monuments must have been exciting for a photographer’s eye but they lacked the history that we were actually looking for.
15.30 Alexandria Library, Maritime Museum and Montaza Palace
It started raining heavily and the time was well past 3. We decided to look at the Alexandria library from outside, as the entrance fee cost some 100 Egyptian pounds. Also, John said that there would be nothing substantial inside. Even if he had said otherwise, I don’t think we’d have gone inside. We started getting this “Enough for the day” feeling. All that changed, when we hit the Mediterranean coast where the Maritime museum is present. The place where the museum is present, earlier housed the famous ‘Lighthouse of Alexandria’. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Lighthouse got destroyed due to various natural calamities. We spent a solid one hour on the coast, just looking at stuff. Group of young kids were playing foot ball. Seeing a camera in my hand, one of them wanted himself photographed. Niranjana bought two beautiful miniatures whom we’d know as King Tut and Nefertiti, the next day (at the Egyptian museum in Cairo). There was a family of six lazing away right next to the sea. An old man with a hat, who was sitting on the rocks with his back towards us, was having an appointment with himself. He was also fishing, feeding the cats nearby. A breezy afternoon on a rainy day at the Mediterranean sea coast.
After helping ourselves with a late lunch (for which Niranjana is still angry at me), we reached the Montaza Palace late in the evening. The Palace was built in 19th century and has been since used by many Kings. Even used by Hosini Mubarak. The Palace served as a leisure court for the Kings and also hosted several Heads of states and Kings. The Kings of other countries would drop off from their Ships to land right at the Palace, it seems. It would have made an interesting visual.
19.30 Back to Hotel – En Route Cairo
I started pondering over what John told us that morning. I had asked him why would a Great Greek King patronize Egyptian customs? Why did he allow those temples to be built? Stuff which might sound silly for people from other countries/beliefs. To answer this, we need to take a step back and observe. Before this whole Islam and Christ business, people worshipped nature and forms of it. Be it the Hindus or Greeks or Egyptians. Hindus have their Gods of Creation, Prosperity and Destruction. We worshipped Sun, Rain, Fire, Water, Earth, Space and had a whole science built in it. We found a relationship with the Planets surrounding us and found a pattern in it. More than anything else, we worshipped women. Hindu Mythological characters just espoused these concepts at the end of the day. That’s why, when I go to Egypt and look at a temple of Sun God – I am not surprised. I am able to relate to their beliefs. But after Christ, the idea of worshipping a person began. Not just with Christianity and Islam, even within sects of Hinduism. That is when, the religious bigotry started. The whole power struggle began. When Mughal rulers came to India and demolished our temples, there is this Alexander who did the opposite. Why did that happen? For people living in that pre-Christ era, this would not have been surprising at all. It was because they found similarities in cultures. Alexander, the Great respected the Egyptian customs and traditions. Though Alexander conquered Egypt by force, he wanted to conquer people’s hearts. Only that should explain Alexander dressing himself as a Pharaoh and etching his own engravings in the temples of Egypt. Alexandria was found in 331 B.C and Alexander died in 323 B.C. In such a short period, he had carved such an unique place in people’s hearts. By any standards, Alexander the Great must have been a truly secular person. My respect for him has grown incredibly high.
My Life - INTERCUT - Cinema 