Most people travel to Egypt to find the Ancient Egyptians, only to return to their home countries somewhat disappointed. From my experience here, I have come to terms with the blatant and saddening reality that they are in fact, irretrievably dead. The four thousand year old crumbling stone monuments that remain are only an echo of them, and a decidedly weak echo at that. Perhaps the best example of this is the Great Pyramid complex, which is partially ruined by the pushy vendors selling cheap trinkets within the pyramid confines, and the never-ending urban sprawl that sits around it. This includes the nearby Kentucky Fried Chicken/Pizza Hut, the police sirens, pollution, and urban decay that disturbs what should be an atmosphere of reveree.
This place does not hold them, this culture does not resemble them, the people alive here are not them. My mother wisely observed that the Ancient Egyptians seem to live more in our imagination of them, and in the artifacts that conquering nations stole from this fertile land over many centuries than in the geographical region that is modern Egypt. Although I still recommend seeing the pyramids, it is not necessary to see them to connect with this mysterious and beautiful ancient civilization. Ancient Egypt is in all of us, is everywhere, and belongs to everyone. It just took a journey 6,000 miles, three months, and two trips to the Pyramids for me to figure that out.
Yep.. There are some things that are good to see. Like I think getting a handle on the climate and the landscape alteration between desert and lush watered green is important. The ruins are nice to take in, but they are a distant echo. After that it really is all in the imagination. I would say the same thing about medieval Cairo, which is also shamefully distorted. This is why I don't sweat going back all the time.. I get there in books and imagination. But that's what I love about it too..
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