By FREDDY GIGMAI
IT THERE is a single sight that changed my perception of the world, it would have to be the gigantic structures of the ancient Egyptian world - the pyramids.
Recorded in history books as one of the seven great wonders of the world, the pyramids symbolize the power and strength of the ancient Egyptian world but more so the pyramids represent one of the most intriguing architectural knowledge, skills and designs ever displayed even up to this day and age.
Last December I was part of a small delegation led by National Planning and District Development Minister Paul Tiensten on a three-day visit to Egypt.
The trip was to visit the Egyptian liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant operated by British Gas in Alexandria, Egypt’s second largest city.
While there we were given a lifetime experience in what was once the home of the some of the most powerful kings and pharaohs who had ever lived.
Alexandria is about two hours drive from the main capital city of Cairo, but when the traffic is busy, it can take up to four hours to reach either city depending on which direction you’re heading.
In our case, it was four hours to reach Alexandria and eventually the LNG plant from Cairo where we were staying. The city of Alexandria is located along the coastline of the beautiful Mediterranean. In the evenings, its beauty comes to life particularly when you’re out in the Mediterranean on a boat or ship. The city sparkles.
Egypt’s capital Cairo is located right in the heart of the famous river Nile where the great bible character Moses was once kept hidden and put afloat in a basket.
Most of us Christians learnt about the Nile River through the Moses story in the bible and later came to know its importance as the world’s longest river system.
Cairo and Alexandria are now modern day metropolises bustling with towering skyscrapers, five star hotels and cruising restaurants on the Nile River.
On the cruising restaurants patrons are entertained and mesmerised by spectacular Egyptian belly dancing beauties gracefully dancing to the tune of the Arab-Egyptian music.
On our second day there, our guide Dina and driver Mamdool took us out to visit two huge gigantic man-made structures that stood for approximately over three thousand years - the pyramids.
The pyramids that we visited, according to guide Dina, once belonged to the youngest king in ancient Egyptian history, king Tutankhamun or commonly known as king Tut (1341 BC-1323 BC) who became a pharaoh at the age of nine and reigned for approximately ten years, making him nineteen years old at death.
According to history King Tut was a pharaoh of the eighteen dynasty and ruled from 1333 BC 1322 BC in the conventional chronology during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom.
We only saw and read about these huge structures in school history books and picture magazines here in PNG but for the first time we were like a tiny group of ants standing right at the feet of these towering structures and looking straight up to their four dimensional triangular walls.
Dina explained that one pyramid took about fifty years or more to build. The pyramids were built purely out of mud mixed with desert stones. In Egypt, there are more than one hundred pyramids (about 112) built during ancient times by different kings and pharaohs over many different dynasties and periods of rule.
Tourists from all over the world flock to Egypt every year to visit these awesome ancient structures.
We were given the opportunity to enter one of the two pyramids of King Tut. Cameras were strictly not allowed inside. What we saw inside will remain etched in our memories for life.
Once we entered, we immediately bent our backs and crawled downwards in a narrow boxed-sized hallway. One could not walk upright, above and around us were stonewalls. We crawled downwards until we reached the center point of the pyramid where we could stand up straight. To get to the actual area where they buried the mummified body of king Tut, we crawled upwards heading towards the opposite end of the pyramid in the same fashion that we entered.
We reached the burial place of the pharaoh on the other end of the pyramid, which was open and spacious, more or less like a mini hall.
Inside the pyramid there were small rooms apart from the burial place and Dina explained that these were the rooms, which king Tut used to store his wealth. Although electricity is connected to give light to the narrow pathways, there seemed hardly enough air inside to breath.
I imagined what it was like in ancient days when the Egyptians moved in and out, along these narrow pathways with no electricity, storing the wealth and mummified bodies of their dead kings and pharaohs. It’s just unbelievable.
According to ancient Egyptian belief the pyramids are tombs fit for kings. They were designed as gigantic stairways by which the soul of the deceased pharaoh could easily ascend to the heavens and continue to rule after death with all his wealth and slaves.
The pyramids, no doubt, represents the ultimate beauty and wonder that Egyptians since ancient times have been able to capture as a fundamental symbol of their society and culture. Today they still stand.
The pyramids tell the world many stories of the secrets of the ancient Egyptian world and represent one of the most potent and enduring symbols of ancient Egyptian civilization.

 

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