From Monastery to Desert

Wadi Natrun: The area is one of the three early Christian monastic centers, known to Christianity as the wilderness of Scetes, located in the desert of the northwestern Nile Delta. It's on the way to Alexandria. St. Pishoy: I visited the Monastery of Saint Pishoy (founded in the 4th century BC by Saint Pishoy and named after him). It is the most famous Coptic Orthodox monastery. Pishoy was famous for his love, wisdom, simplicity and kindness, as well as for his extremely ascetic life. He was also known to love seclusion and quietness. Pishoy's asceticism was so harsh that he tied his hair and hands with a rope to the ceiling of his cell in order to avoid falling asleep during his night prayers. I'm standing by the memorial that contains the relics of St. Pishoy and his best friend, St. Paul.

Seeing Jesus: Copts believe that Pishoy saw Jesus a number of times. Once, an old monk asked him to help him climb a mountain, so Pishoy carried him on his shoulders and climbed, only to discover that the old monk was Jesus himself. The latter told him that, due to the enormity of his love, his body would be incorruptible. Copts also believe that Pishoy washed the feet of Jesus, who visited him as a poor stranger. Saint Pishoy moreover saw Jesus, when one day one of the monks in his monastery heard that Jesus was coming, so they all went to go see him. But, there was only an old man, who asked the monks to help him on his way. The monks ignored him. However, when Saint Pishoy saw the old man he helped him back to his room. He washed the old man's feet (proper custom in those days). The old man then appeared to him as Jesus. Monks used to wash the feet of visitors to the monastery prior to the onset of tourism.

Late Pope's Burial Place: The monastery is the burial place (see picture) of the late Pope Shenouda III, who died in March 2012. The Coptic Church is in the process of choosing a new one. Pope Shenouda had arguments with former President Anwar Sadat over the Camp David Accords and in his view the president's inadequate response to growing Islamism. After a series of protests that led president Sadat to depose Pope Shenouda, he was exiled to the Nitrian desert. Shenouda spent his exile at St. Pishoy's Monastery. He returned three years after Sadat's assassination, following an amnesty by Sadat's successor Hosni Mubarak.

Siwa Oasis: The Siwa oasis is located in a deep depression that extends below sea level. Isolated Area: It is one of Egypt's most isolated settlements and became part of the country only when annexed by Muhammad Ali in 1810; but his rule was weak and saw several uprisings. Siwa was inaccessible by car, until an asphalt road (the "black carpet") was built in the early 1980s connecting it to Marsa Matruh. The 180-mi. road winds through desert oblivion and suddenly gives way to a noticeable domain of green. It is a landscape where the desert converges with fresh water springs salt lakes, and plentiful vegetation. All that's true. Yet, at this time of the year, the daytimes are still hot; and accommodations are mainly budget hotels or one exotic ecolodge outside of town, which hasn't lowered its prices.

Ancient Fortress and Village: The town has only recently come into the modern age. Donkey carts are a popular mode of transportation. Houses have existed solely within the last fifty to sixty years. Otherwise, one of the places where most residents lived for protection was within Shali Ghadi ("Shali" being the name of the town, and "Ghadi" meaning remote), a fort on a large promontory overlooking the present town. This ancient fortress was built on natural rock and made of salt, mud-brick, and palm logs. Although now mostly abandoned and worn away, it remains a prominent feature, towering five stories above the modern town. Founded in the thirteenth century, the citadel of Shali protected the inhabitants from attack for many years. Still, its walls built of kershef—salt bricks covered with clay and plaster—were no competition for the violent rains of 1926. Three days of downpour left nothing but a mass of ruins. Siwans moved away to new quarters primarily built of concrete, clustered around its old town.

Famous Oracle: The oasis of Siwa was internationally famous long before Alexander the Great visited it in 331 BC, for it was the site of one of the biggest temples of Amun, the most powerful Egyptian god of the time. Its oracle was so renowned that the illustrious Macedonian conqueror crossed the Egyptian desert to consult it. According to legend, the priests confirmed his divine nature—a verdict that was convenient, as he had just been crowned pharaoh. The abandoned citadel of Aghurmi, which sits on a limestone plateau overlooking a sea of palm groves, predates Shali as the center of Siwa. In ancient times, the famous Temple of the Oracle of Amun lay within Aghurmi, which is the Berber word for village. Oracles were very revered in the ancient world. For their ability to see into the future, they were consulted regularly prior to important decisions.

Gasoline Problems: It takes 10 hours to drive from Siwa to Cairo and vice versa. We stopped a couple of times looking for fuel on the return. Finally, we found a station where a tanker truck had just arrived to make a delivery; and we had to wait for it to be transferred to the underground reservoir. Picture shows vehicles, which included tractors, transport trucks, and automobiles waiting in line for their turn, when the supply would finally become available. At one rest stop, I saw a group of Middle Eastern travelers get off their touring bus. All of the women were covered, wearing the abaya and hijab; but about half of them had their outfits in unadulterated white instead of the usual unyielding black. Quite a contrast. Women in Siwa: I don't have any pictures of Siwan women, because the oasis is a very conservative society. Women don't go out without accompaniment; and they usually prefer that their husbands even do the shopping. They are covered head to toe in black, without openings even for the eyes. Children as well as women don't want their picture taken. Circumstances can be especially hard for divorced or widowed women, as no man except one particularly set on marrying her may see her face. Before marriage, local people have seen a young woman's face, since she may become engaged as young as 5 years old. Siwan Culture: Descendents of the Berbers, or Imazighen, North Africa’s original inhabitants, Siwans share more with cultures to its west than with Egypt. Siwan is the easternmost reach of Berber culture, and the oasis features rites, traditions, dress, tools, and a language distinct from the other oases of Egypt’s Western Desert. WWI/II Buffs: Siwa was the site of some fighting during World War I and World War II. The British Army's Long Range Desert Group was based here; but Rommel's Afrika Korps also took possession three times.

What a Coptic monk looks like. Coptic monks wear a distinctive black hat with white Coptic crosses and with a prominent seam that divides the cap in two.

One of the areas in the 4th century church. In a Coptic Church, readings or the liturgy cannot be recited from the same lectern during a single day. Coptic worship is in the Coptic language.

An icon painted on the 4th century church's wall showing St. Pishoy carrying Christ.

The defensive tower of the monastery (built in the style of Roman forts) was constructed to defend against Berber attacks. One enters it at the second floor level by a wooden drawbridge (seen here with railing) that rests on the roof of the gatehouse.

On the first floor of the defensive tower (keep) can be seen this ancient oven–probably especially important for baking communion bread.

The second floor comprised the living quarters of the monks during periods of siege. There is also a long corridor and east of this are rooms which have cupolas supported by brick arches. These have now been transformed into a church dedicated to the Holy Virgin. It has a transverse nave and a triple sanctuary.

Fresco of the three patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) enthroned in paradise in the Church of the Holy Virgin.

Modern chapel at St. Pishoy's Monastery. Have vials of olive oil for anointing from olive trees grown on monastery's farm.

Looking down on Siwa Oasis. Quite a relief after long desert drive. Desert gets sandier as you approach oasis, which is nice change from gravelly and stony types earlier. Only very few areas have any type of vegetation.

Gabal al-Mawta (Mountain of the Dead). As its name suggests, this limestone hill is home to over 700 Roman and four 26th Dynasty tombs (some open to the public) carved into the rock face.

Only a few paved roads in Siwa. Donkey and cart a common means of transportation. When stepping out of hotel in morning could often hear donkey braying.

Siwan women wore colorful embroidered garments and decorative jewelry during wedding festivities. With the arrival of the outside world, tradition has been changing, even to the wearing of a white dress on the bride's wedding day. Photo taken at Siwa Museum.

Built in 13th century AD atop a limestone hill overlooking today's oasis, the old city walls of Shali housed a thriving village with streets and a well large enough to sustain its 700 inhabitants.

The abandoned citadel of Aghurmi, sitting on a limestone plateau overlooking a sea of palm groves, predates Shali as the center of Siwa. It was home to the famous Temple of the Oracle of Amun. During Roman period the temple fell into decline and many inhabitants moved behind its walls for security. They lived there until 13th century, when most of Aghurmi’s inhabitants relocated behind the walls of Old Shali. Photo of me outside the chamber of the Oracle.

Simple mosque inside ruins of Aghurmi citadel. In 708 AD, the Siwans resisted an Islamic army and probably did not convert until the 12th century.

From citadel housing Temple of Oracle of Amun.

Cleopatra's Bath, also known as Spring of Juba. Really an antique natural spring, one of many in the area. Mentioned by Herodotus.

In Siwa Oasis, there are two temples dedicated to Amun. The most famous of these is the Temple of the Oracle, while the second is now known as Umm Ubayda. The 2nd temple was at one time joined to the Temple of the Oracle by a causeway and formed an integral part of the rituals related to the Oracle and the god. Today, only one wall of the temple remains.

View from Fatnas Island in salt-water Birket Siwa (Lake Siwa), accessible across a narrow causeway. Picture doesn't do justice to peace and serenity felt away from dusty roads and desert heat.

Poor picture of water bird. However, aside from water in Nile River, first lake and migratory water birds (or many birds at all) I've seen in almost two months.

Sunset at Fatnas Island.

Another Trip to the Desert

Siwa: Tomorrow I'm headed for the Siwa Oasis in northwestern Egypt, 30 miles east of the Libya border. Siwa Oasis is one of Egypt's most isolated settlements, with 27,000 people, mostly Berber speakers, who speak a distinct language of the Berber family known as Siwi. So, I'm anxious for an opportunity to be outside Cairo and see an entirely different side of Egyptian life. Advertising by Felucca: In the U.S., a blimp flying overhead with a logo may get our attention.

Here, companies can rent feluccas (traditional sail boats) and have them hoist sails advertising their products. I saw about 8 light blue ones on the Nile from my window today. Couldn't make out the product or enterprise. Perfectionist Cleaning: I've tried to be laid back and be accepting of Egyptian lifestyles. However, today I went on a bit of a cleaning frenzy in my apartment. Not that it's flawless. But sometimes I need to feel I have some order or control over parts of my life. Retreating to a local higher-end hotel for coffee time is another way to achieve this.

Victories Claimed: President Muhammad Morsi gave a speech at Cairo’s International Stadium on Saturday October 6, to commemorate the 39th anniversary of Egypt’s military victory against Israel during the 1973 war. He claimed three victories for Egypt: 1) The 1973 war–as a historic victory that restored the dignity of all Egyptians. 2) The January 25 Revolution–when the people and the army united. 3) The subsequent parliamentary elections followed by the presidential elections–the latter being a rightful expression of the will of the people (no doubt because they elected Morsi himself). The lower house of parliament has since been suspended. The designated president has concentrated power into his own hands and translated that power into constitutional articles, making the president the source of all legislative and executive authority. After Morsi's 100 days in power, hopefully Egypt is not headed for another dictatorship.

Normal Cairo

Armed Forces Day: In Egypt, Armed Forces Day is celebrated on 6 October, the date on which the October War of 1973 began with the Egyptian Army's successful crossing of the Suez Canal that culminated in the capture of the Bar Lev Line, a chain of fortifications built by Israel along the eastern side of the Suez Canal. This is a source of national pride and an important day in the country. However, unless you were listening to President Morsi's speech at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where he laid a wreath on October 4, an event organized by the widow of the late leader of the crossing, Jehan Sadat, or had business at an office that might normally be open on Saturday (although it's part of the weekend), Cairo was a large metropolitan city going about its business–or less business since it's the weekend and a holiday. Church: I attended church at St. Andrew's and met a person who had once worked for the Egyptian Fulbright office, Nazli Rizk, who lives very close to me. Communion served (offered every 1st and 3rd Sunday). Found a clothes pressing shop, which also does tailoring. Can now get a pair of pants shortened.

StARS: Picture at left is of areas where St. Andrew's Refugee Services (StARS) carries out its programs. StARS was founded over 30 years ago and sustains today a children's and adult educational program for about 1,200 refugees each week. Other programs include legal assistance to refugees seeking resettlement and a project, which offers counseling and referrals for the psychosocial needs of refugees. The church has a lot of Romanian Bibles left from the time when refugees from that country fled to Egypt over 20 years ago.

الواحات البحرية Bahariya Oasis

Bahariya: Sunday, September 30, I left on the 8:00 AM bus from Turgoman station for Bawati (216 miles southwest of Cairo), which is the largest of the towns in the Bahariyya Oasis area. Other major ones are Al-Qasr and Al-Haiz. Numerous springs feed the oasis; and this has allowed it to be inhabited more or less continuously from prehistoric times. The road to Bawati was not paved until 1978, and before that time few tourists visited the oasis. It has been slow to move into the modern world, an aspect that is changing. However, even now Bahariya offers the visitor a step back in time. I stayed at the International Hot Spring Hotel, run by Peter, a German who speaks English and Japanese in addition to his native German, and his Japanese wife. The hotel advertises its hot spring pool, which is known for the medicinal properties of its iron content. An analysis of the water's mineral composition is on a nearby wall (in German). Glass bottles of iron residue collected from the water sit on the reception desk, along with multi-formed rocks representing various geological configurations. In addition to agriculture and tourism, iron ore mining is a major economic sector. The bus ride took longer than the 4 hours claimed; so I was more than happy to arrive at the hotel before setting out to see some of the cultural features of the area. Many Japanese young people were on the bus with me and would spend the night in the desert.

Golden Mummies, Tombs, and Alexander the Great: First visit was the mummy museum. This picture is not mine, since no pictures were allowed in the museum. In 1996, a vast necropolis of mummies of the Graeco-Roman era, some wearing spectacular golden facemasks was discovered. Only six of the mummies have been taken from their tombs and displayed in the museum. Dr. Zahi Hawass, Minister of Antiquities at the time, believed that the rest should remain in their chosen burial place. I visited two 26th Dynasty tombs. The Twenty-sixth Dynasty (685-525 BC) of Egypt was the last native dynasty to rule Egypt before the Persian conquest in 525 BC. Its capital was Sais. The first tomb I entered was that of Zed Amun Ef Ankh, which has the unique feature of painted papyrus columns, an element normally found only in temples. Next, I went to the grander Tomb of Bannantiu, his son.

In the days when Bahariya's wine was well known throughout Egypt, particularly during and around the 26th Dynasty prior to the Persian occupation, many businessmen in the oasis became wealthy. Bannantiu was probably either a trader or wealthy land owner, considering his elaborate and large tomb. To enter the set of three adjoining tombs, I climbed down a shaft into a cave-like cluster of rooms with rounded walls. I had to crawl through a small rock-hewn space to enter the final crypt.

Eventually, I saw the temple said to be built by Alexander the Great. Not much remains today. The temple was built during Alexander's lifetime in 332 BC and dedicated to Amun and Horus. Alexander visited the Oracle of Amun in Siwa in 331 BC, when he was seeking confirmation that he was the son of Zeus. It is thought that he came to Bahariya either on the way to or from visiting the oracle at Siwa. The distance between Biwati and Siwa was part of an important caravan route. Libyan and Egyptian culture intersect in Bahariya.

Black and White Deserts:The Bahariya Depression is an oval shaped depression trending from the northeast to southwest and has a lot of basalt seen on high surrounding escarpments, the result of magma from ancient volcanos, hence the name Black Desert (Sahara as-Soda). It was during the Cretaceous Era (145 till 65 million years ago) that volcanic upsurges formed the basalt columns that dominate the landscape. Although Bahariya has been inhabited for at least 10,000 years, strangely no human traces have been found dating from earlier than ancient Egypt's Middle Kingdom (2055-1770 BC).

The White Desert (Sahara al-Beida) lies in the Farafra Depression. Parts of it are covered with chalk and limestone also from the Cretaceous Period. Since all of the earth was once covered by a vast sea, fossils of now extinct marine life can be found in some rock fragments. Wind and sand acting as saw and razor have created massive chalk rock formations. The landscape visible today was formed by a plateau breaking down, leaving harder rock shapes standing while the softer parts are eroded away by wind and sand.

Agriculture and Qanats:The water table varies throughout the oasis. At the hotel, a 60 meter-deep hole with a very tall palm tree growing from the bottom near the restaurant shows where the Romans had constructed a qanat. A qanat is a water management system used to provide a dependable supply of water for human settlements and irrigation in hot, arid and semi-arid climates. Iranians developed qanat technology sometime in the early 1st millennium BC; and it spread slowly from there. Qanats are constructed as a series of well-like vertical shafts, connected by gently sloping tunnels. They tap into subterranean water in a manner that resourcefully delivers large quantities of water to the surface without the need for pumping. The water drains relying on gravity, with the destination lower than the source, which is typically an upland aquifer. The hotel which is today in the area of the formerly active Roman qanat has had to drill several hundred meters down to find water.

However, at lunch time, I did get see a farmer creating a present-day qanat, with funding from a Norwegian woman. Ellen was there with her daughter and plans to build a house on the property. Currently, Abduh, her guide and friend whenever she comes, is building a small hostel and growing crops on it to feed his large extended family. Eating a freshly-picked unripe pomegranate stained my shirt. Oh well! Abduh is outgoing and friendly, always quick to offer tea with fresh mint, cooked over propane gas. The picture at the top (right) of the blog is of me sitting on the source of the qanat. Ellen and Abduh were so delighted they didn't have to buy a pump but could rely on this traditional irrigation method and save money. The surrounding land is watered through small canals or by flooding. Cruising by the Pyramids: The bus for the return was more dilapidated. Tepid air conditioning only began half way through the trip. A family of seven (4 adults, 3 children) shared four seats and the same water bottles. However, I saw the three great pyramids in the distance as the bus approached Cairo, announcing my return to Al-Qahira (the City Victorious). Note: I don't think my cell phone service operates outside the Cairo area. In Biwati, I kept getting calls asking me to choose a carrier; but all attempts to select one failed. New long brass (looking) rails on the apartment building entry steps today. They still have the plastic packaging wrapped around them. Maybe the proprietors are gussying up the building, because they know Mike is coming.

Vivid Tomb paintings. Not my photo.

A 38-inch tall mummy that belonged to a woman or girl who died in the Greco-Roman period about 2,300 years ago. Not my photo.

From the White Desert.

Me in the White Desert.

Chicken and mushroom–in shade.

Abduh tending his small farm.

Cow on farm. I did see a lone cow staked here and there throughout the oasis. But people there don't drink much milk or eat much meat.

Aquifer (large pond) for qanat system in background. The water drains relying on gravity, with the destination lower than the source, which is generally an upland aquifer.

Watering by flooding. Picture above showed watering by canal.

Away from the main street. Not many vehicles on town streets. Horses often pulled carts; donkeys carried produce in large side baskets. A few large trucks sped by on the only paved road carrying supplies destined for Cairo.