EGYPT PART 2

 At 3.30 am one morning an alarm call pulled Jaqueline and I out of deep sleep. Not much lazing around on this vacation. Various ‘wrinklies’ piled out of the boat to enter coaches with their engines running by 4.30 am.

. The boat was now at Aswan as far south on the Nile as it could successfully moor. The coaches headed into the desert in convoy, more than twenty of them. This convoy was not a protection against attack, or so we were told, but as security in the event of vehicle breakdown. For between Aswan and the intended destination on the Sudanese border there was nothing but desert and the snaking road.

 For four hours the convoy wound its way through the unchanging scene. The pristine desert sand and rocks the only unrelieved scenery. Past a military checkpoint, necessary perhaps because of the proximity of a foreign country that was experiencing internal problems, the convoy swept into a car park. The latter was no different from the surrounding desert except the sand had been compacted. The party was at Abu Simbal temple complex dedicated to Pharoah Ramses 11.

 A fantastic engineering feat had moved the whole complex from its original location to higher ground. As the rising water of Lake Nasser created by the Aswan dam crept higher Russian and German engineers battled against the clock to move the temples and enormous figures in time. The cyclopean statues and temples dedicated to Ramses 11 and his favourite wife Nefertara plus others are awesome. They must be seen to be properly experienced. Photographs and film do not convey the wonder of them. For the first time on the trip I resonated with the temple complex.

The temple was built during the middle kingdom when the psychic powers of the priesthood were at their peak. This was unlike the Ptolemaic period, much later, when the old ways were in decline. I felt that I had worked here in another lifetime. The place was so familiar to me. I felt relaxed despite the enormous numbers of tourists. The visit terminated with joining a queue to enter Nefertara’s temple. A Spanish man made the mistake of attempting to ‘jump’ the queue in front of Jaqueline. He received ‘both barrels’ of her verbal ferocity for his pains, in Spanish of course, and retreated.

Since the trip had originally been mooted Jaqueline had been keen to ride a camel as part of the adventure. I was less than keen with this idea. However I went along with it for marital solidarity. The day dawned with my being less than excited about the project. The plan was for those in the party that wished to do this to start in the desert and then complete the ride at a Nubian village in order to experience a little of the culture of this arid region. The adventurous souls disembarked from a motor launch, climbed the desert sands and reached a small plateau on which many camels were sitting.

 Tourists eyed the camels, camels eyed the tourists. It was pretty clear that the local beasts looked the most confident. Fortunately each camel was to be led by a Nubian. The ability to stay in the saddle as the camel rose from a seated position is the first challenge for the untutored ‘wrinklies’. Back legs came up first followed by front legs a few seconds later, camels legs that is! I lurched forward and back during this manoeuvre. I was supposed to be enjoying this. I did, however, manage to stay on board. The party set off one at a time. My camel was about twentieth in the line. One of the issues when riding these beasts is the position of the riders’ legs. For camels are much wider than horses.

Another challenge was the up and down motion of the animal as it plodded along; not great for those with bad backs. The experienced locals rode their camels with their legs crossed behind the camel’s neck and in front of the wooden saddle pommel. I thought about changing position from my uncomfortable one with legs dangling down by the animal’s side. The fear of falling off was so intense I decided against it and continued to bounce up and down uncomfortably. A security man rode up and down the line of camels as we plodded forward; An AK47 nestled in the crook of his arm. I wondered how safe we were here.

I quickly christened my camel ‘Speedy Gonzales’ as it set off at a rate of knots. So much so that within five minutes of the journey it had moved up to seventh in the line. I concentrated on staying on and moving my body such that my spine would still be in alignment by the end of the jarring experience.

 My camel continued its race forward until it caught up with ‘Mr Grumpy’. I felt sorry for the tourist on the back of this animal. ‘Mr Grumpy’ regularly turned its head towards the discomforted rider bearing its teeth and making growling noises in its throat. Its stained uneven teeth completed the unpleasant picture. At least it didn’t spit at its rider which I believe that camels do if upset.

‘Speedy Gonzales’ immediately slowed as it caught up with ‘Mr Grumpy’ and didn’t attempt to overtake the angry one. ‘Speedy’ clearly decided that discretion was the better part of valour and steered clear. Clearly ‘Mr Grumpy’ had clout in the camel world. Jaqueline rode ‘Mr Grumpy 2’. It started to ‘play up’ to the Mexican with noises of its own. Jaqueline’s response was to speak pleasantly to it. Nice Mr camel, treat me well, she whispered.

 The animal duly obliged perhaps demonstrating that there are gentlemanly beasts in the camel world. As the party neared the Nubian village I became more confident. Instead of merely gripping the wooden pommel of the saddle for dear life I began to push it forward and back to persuade the animal to speed up. The effect was the reverse. ‘Speedy’ slowed turned its head and gave me what he could only describe as the ‘evil eye’. The message was clear. Don’t get excited amigo (or the Egyptian equivalent). Let us be clear who is in charge. I responded to the message and returned to clinging to the pommel. The pecking order had returned to normal.

 The party of camels and uncomfortable riders entered the central square of the Nubian village. I slid stiffly and gratefully from my ride. I gave my mount a last look back as I headed off. Speedy Gonzales stared disdainfully back. The journey had been survived in one piece.

 We spent a little time in the village relaxing and drinking sodas. It was interesting how different the Nubian villagers were from the Egyptians we had met. The women were tall and graceful, slim and darker than the town dwellers. There were few men around apart from the camel guardians. We were told that the majority of men were working in the city.

Friday, the day off from travel and outside adventure, arrived. ‘time team’ members Audrey, Faye and me gathered for a meditation in Audrey and Faye’s cabin. I started the meditation by invoking the names of four beings Sekhmet, Horus, Isis and Hathor. The latter three also being deities or powerful energetic signatures. Each of the beings was asked to place themselves in one corner of a psychically created square. The ‘time team’ placed themselves at the centre of the square. Next the sides of the square were drawn up creating a pyramid. The energies of the four beings were invoked to merge with and accelerate the energy bodies of each member of the time team.

 During the meditation Faye was visited by an enormously large Sekhmet who asked Who calls me? Faye asked for inspirational thoughts and was told that all three humans should stand between her (Sekhmet’s) paws, the man in the middle. The three were bowing in obeisance in her presence. Sekhmet gave the three the gift of power. A warning was added that much remained to be done albeit great difficulties would be experienced in this work. The final advice was that with great power comes great responsibility. Three Hathor beings came to Faye with their legs crossed and twitching ears. Faye also saw the three members of the ‘time team’ working at different levels of their being. A more benign aspect of Sekhmet came to me giving the ‘time team’ the gift of becoming part of her energy.

Horus, the offspring of Isis and Osiris, is the energy of the midday sun, active and energetic as well as the protector of the three members of the ‘time team’. It is the aspect of that which is to be revealed. Amun (or Amun-Ra, Amun-Re) is the hidden and unknown aspect of the sun, different from the Horus aspect, representing the hidden element of that which is to be revealed or made manifest.