There was an early start in the morning, and a drive to Saqqara, and then Giza - and then the return to Cairo, and the Cairo Museum - and a strange meeting by the shrine of Anubis - and a message - and then....what to do about the message ? Oh, and also an 'upgraded' Teddy !
Please note that this chapter is intended for adults (over 18 years), and contains text adult text and images. Please do not view this chapter if you find such features objectionable....
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| Breakfast Corner - Gezireh Palace - Cairo |
Mornings were nice, it seemed, in Cairo, at least if you were staying at the Gezireh Palace - even early morning like this, their second morning in Egypt.
Everyone was seated, and eagerly awaiting their breakfast.
And already they were familiar with the pleasant morning greeting, "صباح الخير." - 'Sabah al khayr' - "Good morning" - from their smart, friendly waiter.
It was then that Faunus arrived with a teddy-bear.
"Who's that ?", Ethan asked, puzzled.
"Why, Teddy, of course.", Faunus replied, sitting down and placing the bear on the table.
"But what have you done to him ?", Ethan stammered.
"Upgraded me...", Teddy replied in his familiar voice..
"But you look so... so... different !", Ethan said, obviously shocked.
"Well Faunus says I look even more handsome... and younger.", Teddy said.
"Wow !", Glen said, startled.
"I like it... my heat regulator's been fixed... I can access stuff a lot more easily and quickly, and I'm slimmer, and younger looking - so what's to complain about ?", Teddy said.
"Well nothing, I suppose." Ethan said hesitantly.
"Maybe Faunus could do the same for you...", Teddy said to Ethan.
"Not really...." Jim said.
"I think Ethan's quite slim enough, and young enough looking as it is, but I think it suits you, Teddy, and anyway, we'll soon get used to it." Jim added.
"I think his fur needs a bit of attention...", Glen said.
"Yes... he needs a good brushing... but I'll soon fix that...", Ethan replied.
"Please - gentlemen - don't talk about me as if I wasn't here...", Teddy, who was particularly sensitive about the condition of his fur, said, sounding a little hurt.
"Sorry Teddy, and we do realize that Faunus really doesn't know how to get you to look your best.", Ethan quickly said, trying to avoid Teddy sulking.
"Anyway, Teddy looks very good, and is well adapted now to the heat, so the rest of you be warned.", Jim said.
"Even although it is very early, it will still be very hot where we're going, so light, casual clothes, and bring plenty of bottled water !", Jim continued, as he hurried them, intent on getting to Saqqara and Giza before the sun rose to high.
Everyone was seated, and eagerly awaiting their breakfast.
And already they were familiar with the pleasant morning greeting, "صباح الخير." - 'Sabah al khayr' - "Good morning" - from their smart, friendly waiter.
It was then that Faunus arrived with a teddy-bear.
"Who's that ?", Ethan asked, puzzled.
"Why, Teddy, of course.", Faunus replied, sitting down and placing the bear on the table.
"But what have you done to him ?", Ethan stammered.
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| Upgraded Teddy |
"But you look so... so... different !", Ethan said, obviously shocked.
"Well Faunus says I look even more handsome... and younger.", Teddy said.
"Wow !", Glen said, startled.
"I like it... my heat regulator's been fixed... I can access stuff a lot more easily and quickly, and I'm slimmer, and younger looking - so what's to complain about ?", Teddy said.
"Well nothing, I suppose." Ethan said hesitantly.
"Maybe Faunus could do the same for you...", Teddy said to Ethan.
"Not really...." Jim said.
"I think Ethan's quite slim enough, and young enough looking as it is, but I think it suits you, Teddy, and anyway, we'll soon get used to it." Jim added.
"I think his fur needs a bit of attention...", Glen said.
"Yes... he needs a good brushing... but I'll soon fix that...", Ethan replied.
"Please - gentlemen - don't talk about me as if I wasn't here...", Teddy, who was particularly sensitive about the condition of his fur, said, sounding a little hurt.
"Sorry Teddy, and we do realize that Faunus really doesn't know how to get you to look your best.", Ethan quickly said, trying to avoid Teddy sulking.
"Anyway, Teddy looks very good, and is well adapted now to the heat, so the rest of you be warned.", Jim said.
"Even although it is very early, it will still be very hot where we're going, so light, casual clothes, and bring plenty of bottled water !", Jim continued, as he hurried them, intent on getting to Saqqara and Giza before the sun rose to high.
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| Morning at Saqqara |
And so, looking like a group of 'Indiana Jones' impersonators - or should that be 'Zahi Hawass' impersonators, but slimmer and younger and definitely more handsome - they struggle with their backpacks, water bottles, cameras and suchlike, as they climbed into the three huge Mercedes Maybach Pullmans.
زاهي حواس; (Zahi Hawass - (born May 28, 1947) is an Egyptian 'archaeologist', 'Egyptologist', and former 'Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs'. He has also worked at archaeological sites in the Nile Delta, the Western Desert, and the Upper Nile Valley. (information courtesy of Teddy's data-base)
Zahi Hawass
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| Cairo Traffic |
That was a job for the newly updated Teddy - and everyone was hoping that his update was working properly, and that he would not - as their guide, 'misguide' them.
Teddy, however, despite the subtle change in his appearance, seemed to be still his old 'annoying' self - which was comforting - in an odd way.
The limos then left the peace and quiet of the Gezireh Palace Hotel, and plunged into the chaos of early morning Cairo traffic.
Unlike the previous day, when they had spent their time in the 'old center' of Cairo, their new journey was to take them to what in an American or European city would be termed the suburbs.
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| Cairo Suburb on the Way to Saqqara |
"Saqqara, Ethan, is about 17 miles (27 kilometers) south of downtown Cairo.", Teddy replied,
"That sounds reasonable - so I presume that your data-bases are working OK.", Ethan said.
"Yes, perfectly... and stop worrying about me... Faunus knows what he's doing.", Teddy replied, sounding rather peeved.
"You want some more information ?", Teddy asked, secretly eager to show off his huge store of weird facts and figures.
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| Fertile Areas and Desert - Saqqara -Satellite Image |
"Well... Saqqara is named after the Memphite god of the dead, 'Sokar', and is Egypt’s largest archaeological site.
Saqqara is situated in the Giza Governate - which is really just a large suburb west of Cairo.", Teddy explained.
Now one of the strangest things about travelling in Egypt is the fact that the demarcation between the fertile areas and the desert is so distinct.
This trip began in Gezireh which, you should remember, is a large island in the middle of the river Nile - so plenty of water there.
Then there was a drive through western Cairo, in the Governate of Giza, and because of a complex system of irrigation, that area is also green and fertile.
But them suddenly, almost like a line drawn in the sand, the vegetation comes to an abrupt end, and by and large the landscape is almost entirely barren.
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| Imhotep Museum - Saqqara - Cairo - Egypt |
Hopefully that will help to get us acclimatized to the heat - and we can look at some of the finds that have been recently made in the 'necropolis'.
However, I should warn you that much of Saqqara is only really of interest to people who are 'Egyptologists', or those who are very interested in history - so be prepared to be bored.", Jim said.
"So I suppose you are now going to tell us all about this Imho-thingy Museum.", Ethan said, with a note of resignation.
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| Official Tourist Guide Licence |
"I don't fuckin' believe it !", Ethan said.
"Don't worry... it's real... sort of.", Teddy said, as he then took out a pair of King Farouk style sunglasses that made him look even more questionable and suspicious - if not downright threatening.
"Now get everyone out of the limos, and waiting by the entrance, while I give them a little talk.", Teddy said to Jim.
"I think this 'upgrade's gone to his head, Jim, and is that 'SEBF' still operating, otherwise we're in trouble - all standing around listening to a teddy-bear with a fake Arabic accent, let alone a fake 'Tour Guide's Licence', wearing sunglasses he doesn't even need.", Ethan said, sounding panicky.
Faunus, of course, had everything under complete control...
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| Muhammad El Sayed Mubarak |
It seemed that 'Dr. James Smith' had brought a group of his American students for a quick visit to the Museum and Saqqara.
"How does he do it ?", Ethan said - which was surprising, as he had seen Faunus carry off such amazing stunts so many times before.
So Teddy explained about the museum.
"The museum, which was named for the ancient Egyptian architect Imhotep, was opened by Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak and Mrs. Bernadette Chirac.
Imhotep is credited with being the first Egyptian to build a monumental structure out of stone which was Pharaoh Djoser's step pyramid, located near the museum.
The air-conditioned Imhotep Museum provides - hopefully - more secure storage space than the traditional storehouses located at archaeological sites.
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| Pyramid Texts - in Gold |
It was not an exactly glowing account of the museum's purpose and facilities, but the Egyptian museum staff didn't seem to notice - which was probably down Faunus' presence
"Now we are not going to spend a lot of time here, so we'll have a quick look round the museum, a look at the Step Pyramid complex and then we'll examine the famous 'Pyramid Texts' in the Pyramid of Unas.", Faunus said, taking over, and sounding every inch the eminent 'Egyptologist'.
Not entirely enlightened, Zac, the 'boys', Jim, Ethan, Teddy and Faunus returned to the limos to be driven to the somewhat desolate car-park that served the Step Pyramid complex.
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| The Car-park at Saqqara - Cairo |
As soon as our group arrived at the car-park, and left the limousines, they were surreptitiously approached by three 'guides' who had been hiding among the palm trees.
On hearing the American accents they presumably thought they could make a guarded appearance.
One, however, headed straight for Jim.
"Good morning, Sir...
You need me for your visit.", the young Egyptian said in a polite but strangely forceful manner.
"Well thank you, but no... I'm with an Egyptologist, and I don't think I need a guide.", Jim said, trying to quickly end the conversation.
"But you have never visited Egypt before - and the man you say is an Egyptologist is not, although he knows more about ancient Egypt than any Egyptologist does.", the young man said.
"I see... and who might you be... Jim asked.
"I call myself Ismail Am'r.", the young man replied.
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| Meeting in the Car Park at Saqqara |
"Of course - It's very much like the one you were looking at earlier - the one belonging to the children's toy, you know.", the young man responded.
Jim was seriously worried.
He wanted to speak to Faunus, but realized that might just complicate matters.
"So if I let you be our guide, how much will you charge ?", Jim asked, thinking that he could possibly buy his way out of the conundrum.
"It's my gift... as long as I can accompany you and your friends to the Giza plateau.
You see there isn't much here for you... apart from the 'Pyramid Texts' - which you have already seen, but you really need to visit Giza.", the young man said - mysteriously.
"But you must take something - if I let you guide us !", Jim said.
"That is generous of you - but to partake of a meal, and some conversation will be enough..."
Jim was unsure what to do.
Was it some kind of a trick ?
Maybe the boy had accomplices - and they were planning a kidnapping, or a robbery - or even planning to take the limos..
He though back to what had happened to the 'Boss' - so recently.
"Let me talk to my friends for a moment..." Jim said.
He was horribly undecided.
The boy looked harmless - well dressed, polite and speaking very good English.
And he had a very winning smile - but was that just a ploy - part of a 'trap'.
"OK... I'll wait, and smoke a Marlboro - but that will be your 'time limit'.
If you can't give me an answer by the time I finish the cigarette, then I'll disappear.", the Egyptian boy said.
The word 'disappear' worried Jim.
Most people would just say -'then I'll be off' - or 'I'll go'.
'Disappear' was what Faunus did...
Of course by now you must be thinking what Jim was thinking.
Was this anything to do with the 'message' - 'Come to us' ?
But this meeting was so 'everyday' - so 'normal'.
Just a young man trying to hassle some business.
But then this young Egyptian had said that he knew that Jim had not been to Egypt before - but that was easy - anybody who dealt with tourists a lot could probably work that out.
But why did he think that Faunus was not an 'Egyptologist' - after all, the people at the Museum were taken in by Faunus, (as everybody was), and they had obviously had contact with many 'Egyptologists' ?
And then the business about the Government Permit - and identifying Teddy and a child's toy - after all the 'SEBF' should have prevented him from even noticing Teddy.
So Jim hurried over to where the group were waiting.
"What's going on, Jim ?", Josh asked.
"Why are you spending so much time with that young guy - he's just 'touting' to be a guide, and we don't want one - we've got Teddy.", Glen said.
"Tell you in a moment... first I must have a word with Faunus.", Jim said.
Jim got Faunus on his own...
"Look, we've got a problem...", Jim said.
Faunus smiled...
"It's no problem, Jim...
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| Marlboro Red |
It's what we're waiting for... but we must go easy.
Let this young man go at his own pace.
He needs to get to know us first - make a sort of 'connection', so let him take us to the Step Pyramid and the Pyramid of Unas, and then, if he wants, he can take is to Giza, and even the Cairo Museum - and if we listen carefully, I think he will provide us with the information that we need - but probably bit by bit, one clue at a time.", Faunus explained.
"OK Faunus, if you're sure.", Jim said.
"And I'll have a word with Teddy, after all, he can read and speak ancient Egyptian - and Arabic."
And with that Faunus went over to Ethan and Teddy, and Jim returned to Ismail, who was quietly smoking his Marlboro.
"I know - I was just joking...", Ismail said - and that reply also puzzled Jim.
So everyone got in the limos, and Ismail was put in the front seat, alongside the driver - and Faunus put Teddy on Ismail's lap.
"Now you two need to work something out - otherwise we are probably wasting out time...", Faunus said - quite seriously - and what did Faunus mean by that ?
"صباح الخير, Teddy !", Ismail said.
"صباح الخير, Ismail ! - I'm very pleased to meet you", Teddy said.
Surprisingly - or maybe not - the driver took no notice - but then it was 'someone else's business'.
"I think it would be better if we could speak in English - if you don't mind, Ismail, or otherwise Ethan might get jealous - not knowing what we are talking about...", Teddy said.
"Now tell me about your studies to be a guide...", Teddy asked.
"Well, to be honest, I've not studied at all.", Ismail admitted.
"Well that's no problem... neither have I", Teddy said.
And in Teddy's case it was true - all his information had been downloaded into his copious, and recently enlarged database.
So the first stop - as in their original plan - was the Pyramid of Unas.
The only worrying aspect about this 'expedition' was the accompanying Egyptian Police Land-rover - containing four gun toting 'Tourist Police', but then the officials back at the museum considered it essential that someone as 'distinguished' as Dr. James Smith needed special protection.
Protection from what, or from whom was difficult to ascertain, considering the whole area was devoid of any life, animal, human or even insect.
Saqqara, in fact, was more like the surface of the Moon, or Mars, and was suspiciously like 'Death Valley', back in California - even to the uncomfortably high temperature.
Teddy, of course, insisted on being carried by Ethan, and that meant that Ethan ended up escorting Ismail.
"So Mr. Ethan... you look after Mr Teddy ?", Ismail asked.
"Yes... and cut out the 'Mr'... it sound a bit 'creepy'...", Ethan replied.
At that point Ethan wasn't sure if he was much taken with Egyptians.
Jim then got everyone gathered round at the end of the stone 'causeway' leading to the pyramid, intending for either Teddy, or Ismail, to give some information about the pyramid.
"No, Jim... it's too hot.
We'll leave the talking until we are inside the Pyramid... the temperature in there is always quite comfortable.", Teddy said.
"You mean we're going inside that ruin...", Max said, sounding very unhappy.
"Well I think it looks very dangerous...nasty and 'crumbly' - like Chaco Canyon.", Ethan said, recalling days spent in the hot desert of New Mexico, trudging through ruins looking for Kivas.
"Well I'm claustrophobic...", Max said.
"And you were an elevator boy ?", Ethan said, obviously surprised.
"Yes, and do you think those Egyptian police will understand you hanging around outside, Max ?
No, they'll think you're up to no good, so just get a grip of yourself, after all, it's a tourist attraction, and supposedly quite safe.
Crossing the road in Cairo is much more dangerous.", Zac said, with a grin.
So... they all entered the pyramid, and Teddy began his talk.
Now Ethan, Glen and Jim already knew something about this pyramid, as gold duplicates of the hieroglyphic decoration were on the interior walls of Upuaut's 'Pyramid Ship'.
So... Teddy took off his 'King Farouk' style sunglasses, cleared his throat (as was his custom), and began:
"The Pyramid of Unas (in ancient Egyptian 'Nefer asut Unas' - meaning 'Beautiful are the places of Unas') is a smooth-sided pyramid, ( "But not now" - Ethan muttered), built in the 24th century BC for the Egyptian Pharaoh Unas, the ninth and final king of the Fifth Dynasty.
It is the smallest Old Kingdom pyramid, but important due to the discovery of the 'Pyramid Texts', carved on the walls of its chambers.
These texts, carved for the first time in Unas's pyramid, began the tradition of funerary texts which carried on in the pyramids of later Pharaohs, through to the end of the Old Kingdom, and into the Middle Kingdom through the 'Coffin Texts' that form the basis of the 'Book of the Dead'.
There was, as is the case with most pyramids, a covered stone causeway from the banks of the Nile (which was much closer when the pyramid was built), and there was a Mortuary Temple at the end of the causeway.
At that point Teddy got Ethan to 'magic up' a laminated plan of the Mortuary Temple from Teddy's plastic Walmart bag.
The structure was made of pink granite, with an alabaster floor and ceiling.", Teddy explained
At that point Ismail interrupted.
"If you look at number '12' on Teddy's plan... you will see an image of a small pyramid.
It is known to 'present day' archaeologists as a 'cult pyramid', and it's like a little model of the real thing.
The purpose of the 'cult pyramid' is unclear to such archaeologists.
It had a burial chamber, but was not used for burials, and instead was a purely ritual structure, being a place for the the pharaoh's ka, and was used for sacred performances centring around the burial and resurrection of the 'ka spirit'.
The 'cult pyramid' in Unas's complex has identifiable remains, but otherwise most of it has been destroyed.
The preserved elements suggest that it had a base length of 11.5 m (38 ft; 22 cu), a fifth of that of the main pyramid.
The pyramid's covering slabs were inclined at 69°.
This is typical of 'cult pyramids', which have a 2:1 ratio-ed slope, and thus a height equal to the length of the base, i.e. 11.5 m (38 ft; 22 cu).
The 'cult pyramid' has its own secondary enclosure that runs along the north face of the pyramid and half of its west face.
This secondary wall was about 1.04 m (3 ft; 2 cu) thick, and had a double-door 0.8 m (2.6 ft) thick built close to its start.
The 'cult pyramid' lies at the centre of the mystery of the 'Pyramid of Unas', and also the 'Pyramid Texts'...", Ismail announced, mysteriously.
Everyone then waited for a further explanation - but none seemed to be forthcoming.
"So, OK, I don't know much about all this... so can you tell me more about these Pyramid Texts ?", Max asked.
Teddy looked to Ismail... Ismail looked to Teddy, so it was up to Teddy, apparently, to do the explaining.
"Yes Max, the 'Pyramid Texts' are a collection religious writings from the time of the Old Kingdom.
The 'Pyramid Texts' are possibly the oldest known religious texts in the world.
Written in 'Old Egyptian' hieroglyphics, the texts were carved on the walls and the sarcophagi of the pyramids at Saqqara during the 5th and 6th Dynasties of the Old Kingdom.
The oldest of the texts have been dated to between ca. 2400-2300 BC.
Unlike the 'Coffin Texts' - written on the insides of coffins, and 'Book of the Dead' written on papyrus, the pyramid texts were reserved only for the pharaoh, and were not illustrated.
The texts are divided up into 'utterances', which are mainly concerned with protecting the pharaoh, reanimating his body after death, and helping him 'fly' to the stars.
There are some 227 utterances in the Pyramid of Unas...", Teddy said, almost proudly, raising his paw to indicate the hieroglyphics covering the walls and the ceiling of the burial chamber in which, at that moment, they were standing.
Glen, Jim and Ethan, of course said nothing about Teddy having read some of the 'Pyramid Texts' - inscribed on what appeared to be gold walls, in the 'Pyramid Ship' that landed in Chaco Canyon.
"And Teddy - Ismail mentioned a 'Ka-thingy'... What's that ?", Ethan asked, trying to change the subject from the 'Pyramid Texts' to something else.
"Well this is where it gets complicated.
Understanding exactly what ancient Egyptian words mean is a problem - mainly because there aren't any ancient Egyptians around to ask what many of these words actually mean.
Now just as we often have more than one word for a particular thing, so it's probable that the same was true for the ancient Egyptians.
So, the ancient Egyptians had a number of words for what people now would call the 'soul', or the 'spirit'.
These words include the 'ka', the 'ba', and the cute little 'akh' - and there were other - but three is enough for now.
Now there was a Egyptologist called Wallis Budge who did a lot of work on translating the Egyptian 'Book of the Dead'.
Budge was also very involved in 'Spiritualism' and the 'paranormal', and these interests undoubtedly influenced his interpretation of Ancient Egyptian religion - and he was undoubtedly responsible for the rather complicated interpretation of the numerous terms for the 'soul' or 'spirit' found in hieroglyphic inscriptions.
It is probably enough to say that the 'Ka' was the ordinary 'spirit' of a person, 'the life force that at death was separated from the body'.
The 'Akh' was the exalted spirit - 'the transfigured spirit that survived death and mingled with the gods'.", Teddy explained.
"Weird....", Ethan responded, his comment echoing eerily in the burial chamber.
Everyone was quite pleased to leave the burial chamber of the pyramid of Unas.
Unless you could read hieroglyphics (like Teddy) the endless columns of symbols, while being beautifully carved, were not really very interesting.
Equally, the roof of the chamber was decorated with carved stars on a blue background, representing the night sky, but again, the repetitive nature of the decoration was uninteresting.
The sarcophagus itself was a simple rectangular prism. and the whole of the interior had an unnerving, and seemingly soulless mechanical, or maybe even technological quality.
It was, in fact, difficult to believe that the building dated from over 4,000 in the past.
So it was once more a return to the blazing heat, and then thankfully to the cool of the air-conditioned limos.
There was, in fact, much more to see at Saqqara, but not being archaeologists or 'Egyptologists', most of the sites were either repetitions of the pyramid complex they had already seen or would have no bearing on their 'search'.
The Step Pyramid, however, was something that they really needed to see.
It was only a few minutes drive in the limo, but much more comfortable than trudging through the sand.
"Wowy !... It's really big !", Ethan exclaimed, as he got out of the limo, carrying Teddy, and Teddy's plastic Walmart bag.
"Yes, Ethan...about sixty-two meters actually.", Teddy responded in a much more measured manner.
"Now it's a long way to the entrance, so let's get going...", Teddy said to the rest of the group.
They all made their way swiftly to a columned, covered court - in order to get out of the intense, brilliant sunlight, and it was there that Teddy felt able to give some information about the complex.
"OK, well, the Step Pyramid is a 6-tier, 4-sided structure, and is the earliest large stone building in Egypt
It was probably built in the 27th century BC during the Third Dynasty for the burial of Pharaoh who we believe was known as Djoser.
The pyramid was designed by an individual known as Imhotep, and is the central feature of a large mortuary complex in an enormous courtyard surrounded by ceremonial structures and decoration.
The pyramid originally stood 62.5 meters (205 ft) tall, with a base of 109 m × 121 m (358 ft × 397 ft) and was clad in polished white limestone.
Under the step pyramid are many tunneled chambers and galleries that total nearly 6 km in length and connect to a central shaft 7 m square and 28 m deep.
These spaces provide room for the king's burial, the burial of family members, and the storage of goods and offerings.
The sides of the underground passages are limestone inlaid with blue faience tile to replicate reed matting.
These 'palace façade' walls mimic the palace and would serve as the living place of the royal ka.
The burial chamber is a vault constructed of four courses of well-dressed granite.
It had one opening, which was sealed with a 3.5 ton block after the burial.
No body was recovered from the tomb.
It is possible that a burial chamber of alabaster existed before the one of granite. and there is also evidence of limestone blocks with five pointed stars in low relief that were likely on the ceiling, indicating that the king sought to associate himself with the eternal North Stars that never set, so as to ensure his rebirth and eternity.
"One interesting feature is the 'Serdab', which we can view later.
The 'Serdab' is a stone 'box', tilted at an exact angle.
It contains a seated statue of the King's 'Ka', and because of the angle, the King's statue is positioned to gaze directly at the circumpolar stars (the stars that never set) through two eye hole cut into the stone 'box'.", Teddy explained.
So they all wandered round the vast Step Pyramid complex, asking Teddy an occasional question, (and then regretting it.... as Teddy's answer usually involved more questions, which they did not dare to ask.)
Teddy, not surprisingly, was getting a bit fractious at that point, as his fur was by then full of tiny grains of hot sand - which did not make him any more amenable to questioning.
What Teddy had not explained - and he may well have not been understood by some of the group (and most visiting tourists) - was the very odd nature of the Step Pyramid complex.
Firstly, the Step Pyramid Complex seemed to appear out of nowhere.
It had, apparently, no 'predecessors', and there is no real evidence of a prolonged (or any) period of development relating to the design features, or the building and the planning techniques that preceded its construction.
This is important - and is undoubtedly part of the 'message' that Jim and the others were looking for.
The same comment, of course, could also be applied to the mysterious 'Serdab', (which has always puzzled supposedly 'professional' Egyptologists), and about which Teddy said very little, (and Ismail said nothing).
Secondly, most of the architectural features of the 'buildings' surrounding the pyramid itself make very little sense - although they continue, in many ways, to influence architectural design right up until the present day.
The stone buildings are apparently designed to imitate reed matting, palm logs and other natural materials.
The question is why ? - as it is quite obvious that the buildings are made of stone.
That, however is not the only example of such pretense.
There are also many buildings in the complex that are 'full-size models', rather than functional buildings, and it is not possible to enter these buildings, though some of them have doors carved in stone.
Buildings, when properly examined, are revealed to be simply facades, rather like in a present day cheap 'film set' - and nothing is what it appears to be.
The buildings that are more than just facades are, in many cases, still 'dummy buildings', in that the interiors have been filled with rubble.
Many of these 'dummy buildings' are located in the so called Heb Sed 'Jubilee Court', located to the southeast of the Step Pyramid.
It has been conjectured that these buildings may be intended to replicate the shape of canonical shrines of Upper Egypt, and opposite to them are buildings which may replicate the shrines of Lower Egypt.
While most 'professional' Egyptologists would suggest that these features represent 'magical' thinking of a 'religious' nature, it could equally be suggested that such an expenditure of effort and wealth on seemingly useless structures indicates severely pathological delusional thinking.
However, such structures may also call into question our own understanding of the nature of 'reality' - and so, once again, the effect of observing these structures may be a further part of a 'message' that is being offered in a highly 'fractured' form - and such were Teddy's thoughts, despite his problems with his fur.
"This, gentlemen, is the Serapeum...", Teddy grandly announced, as they gathered at the entrance to what promised to be 'spooky' tunnels.
Bugs Bunny is an anthropomorphic grey and white rabbit, created in the late 1930s by 'Warner Bros. Cartoons', and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality. He is also characterized by a Brooklyn accent, his portrayal as a trickster, and his catch phrase 'Eh.. What's up, doc ?'. Apart from Thumper, Bugs is one of Ethan's favourite characters
"Yes, Jim... you've missed some really great stuff - lots of gold !..." Max said, as he and the others joined Ethan and Teddy.
Let this young man go at his own pace.
He needs to get to know us first - make a sort of 'connection', so let him take us to the Step Pyramid and the Pyramid of Unas, and then, if he wants, he can take is to Giza, and even the Cairo Museum - and if we listen carefully, I think he will provide us with the information that we need - but probably bit by bit, one clue at a time.", Faunus explained.
"OK Faunus, if you're sure.", Jim said.
"And I'll have a word with Teddy, after all, he can read and speak ancient Egyptian - and Arabic."
And with that Faunus went over to Ethan and Teddy, and Jim returned to Ismail, who was quietly smoking his Marlboro.
Marlboro is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA within the United States, and by Philip Morris International outside the United States. Marlboro is the global best-selling cigarette brand, and at the time of our story Marlboro had 40% market share in the United States, more than the next 7 competing brands combined."OK, Ismail - you can be our guide - but we already have an animatronic guide - what you called a 'child's toy'.", Jim said.
Marlboro cigarettes, (known as 'Marlboro Red'), are very popular, particularly among young men in Egypt, but are considered very expensive. Very few women smoke in Egypt.
"I know - I was just joking...", Ismail said - and that reply also puzzled Jim.
So everyone got in the limos, and Ismail was put in the front seat, alongside the driver - and Faunus put Teddy on Ismail's lap.
"Now you two need to work something out - otherwise we are probably wasting out time...", Faunus said - quite seriously - and what did Faunus mean by that ?
"صباح الخير, Teddy !", Ismail said.
"صباح الخير, Ismail ! - I'm very pleased to meet you", Teddy said.
Surprisingly - or maybe not - the driver took no notice - but then it was 'someone else's business'.
"I think it would be better if we could speak in English - if you don't mind, Ismail, or otherwise Ethan might get jealous - not knowing what we are talking about...", Teddy said.
"Now tell me about your studies to be a guide...", Teddy asked.
"Well, to be honest, I've not studied at all.", Ismail admitted.
"Well that's no problem... neither have I", Teddy said.
And in Teddy's case it was true - all his information had been downloaded into his copious, and recently enlarged database.
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| Pyramid of Unas - Saqqara - Egypt |
The only worrying aspect about this 'expedition' was the accompanying Egyptian Police Land-rover - containing four gun toting 'Tourist Police', but then the officials back at the museum considered it essential that someone as 'distinguished' as Dr. James Smith needed special protection.
Protection from what, or from whom was difficult to ascertain, considering the whole area was devoid of any life, animal, human or even insect.
Saqqara, in fact, was more like the surface of the Moon, or Mars, and was suspiciously like 'Death Valley', back in California - even to the uncomfortably high temperature.
Teddy, of course, insisted on being carried by Ethan, and that meant that Ethan ended up escorting Ismail.
"So Mr. Ethan... you look after Mr Teddy ?", Ismail asked.
"Yes... and cut out the 'Mr'... it sound a bit 'creepy'...", Ethan replied.
At that point Ethan wasn't sure if he was much taken with Egyptians.
Jim then got everyone gathered round at the end of the stone 'causeway' leading to the pyramid, intending for either Teddy, or Ismail, to give some information about the pyramid.
"No, Jim... it's too hot.
 |
| 'Crumbly' - like Chaco Canyon |
"You mean we're going inside that ruin...", Max said, sounding very unhappy.
"Well I think it looks very dangerous...nasty and 'crumbly' - like Chaco Canyon.", Ethan said, recalling days spent in the hot desert of New Mexico, trudging through ruins looking for Kivas.
"Well I'm claustrophobic...", Max said.
"And you were an elevator boy ?", Ethan said, obviously surprised.
"Yes, and do you think those Egyptian police will understand you hanging around outside, Max ?
No, they'll think you're up to no good, so just get a grip of yourself, after all, it's a tourist attraction, and supposedly quite safe.
Crossing the road in Cairo is much more dangerous.", Zac said, with a grin.
So... they all entered the pyramid, and Teddy began his talk.
 |
| Pyramid of Unas Complex - Saqqara |
So... Teddy took off his 'King Farouk' style sunglasses, cleared his throat (as was his custom), and began:
 |
| Pyramid of Unas - Smooth Limestone Casing |
It is the smallest Old Kingdom pyramid, but important due to the discovery of the 'Pyramid Texts', carved on the walls of its chambers.
 |
| Reconstructed 'Causeway' - Unas Comlplex |
 |
| Causeway to the Pyramid of Unas |
 |
| Mortuary Temple of Unas - Plan |
"Now we only have the ruined foundations left of this Mortuary Temple, but as you can probably imagine it was quite something when it was originally built.A depiction of the layout of Unas' mortuary temple. In order: (1) Pink granite doorway constructed by Teti I; (2) Long entrance hall with (5a and b) storage rooms to the north and south of the hall; (3) Courtyard with (4) eighteen granite palmiform columns; (6) Transverse corridor set on a north-south axis; (7) The chapel with five statue niches; (8a, b and c) storage rooms surrounding the inner temple; (9) The anti-chamber with central column; (10) The offering hall with (11) a granite false door bearing protective inscription; (12) The cult pyramid; and (13) the courtyard that surrounds the pyramid.
Pink Granite Column - Mortuary Temple
The structure was made of pink granite, with an alabaster floor and ceiling.", Teddy explained
"If you look at number '12' on Teddy's plan... you will see an image of a small pyramid.
It is known to 'present day' archaeologists as a 'cult pyramid', and it's like a little model of the real thing.
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| Pyramid of Unas Complex - Reconstruction |
It had a burial chamber, but was not used for burials, and instead was a purely ritual structure, being a place for the the pharaoh's ka, and was used for sacred performances centring around the burial and resurrection of the 'ka spirit'.
The 'cult pyramid' in Unas's complex has identifiable remains, but otherwise most of it has been destroyed.
The preserved elements suggest that it had a base length of 11.5 m (38 ft; 22 cu), a fifth of that of the main pyramid.
The pyramid's covering slabs were inclined at 69°.
This is typical of 'cult pyramids', which have a 2:1 ratio-ed slope, and thus a height equal to the length of the base, i.e. 11.5 m (38 ft; 22 cu).
The 'cult pyramid' has its own secondary enclosure that runs along the north face of the pyramid and half of its west face.
This secondary wall was about 1.04 m (3 ft; 2 cu) thick, and had a double-door 0.8 m (2.6 ft) thick built close to its start.
The 'cult pyramid' lies at the centre of the mystery of the 'Pyramid of Unas', and also the 'Pyramid Texts'...", Ismail announced, mysteriously.
Everyone then waited for a further explanation - but none seemed to be forthcoming.
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| Valley Temple - Pyramid of Unas - Reconstruction |
Teddy looked to Ismail... Ismail looked to Teddy, so it was up to Teddy, apparently, to do the explaining.
"Yes Max, the 'Pyramid Texts' are a collection religious writings from the time of the Old Kingdom.
The 'Pyramid Texts' are possibly the oldest known religious texts in the world.
Written in 'Old Egyptian' hieroglyphics, the texts were carved on the walls and the sarcophagi of the pyramids at Saqqara during the 5th and 6th Dynasties of the Old Kingdom.
The oldest of the texts have been dated to between ca. 2400-2300 BC.
Unlike the 'Coffin Texts' - written on the insides of coffins, and 'Book of the Dead' written on papyrus, the pyramid texts were reserved only for the pharaoh, and were not illustrated.
The texts are divided up into 'utterances', which are mainly concerned with protecting the pharaoh, reanimating his body after death, and helping him 'fly' to the stars.
There are some 227 utterances in the Pyramid of Unas...", Teddy said, almost proudly, raising his paw to indicate the hieroglyphics covering the walls and the ceiling of the burial chamber in which, at that moment, they were standing.
Glen, Jim and Ethan, of course said nothing about Teddy having read some of the 'Pyramid Texts' - inscribed on what appeared to be gold walls, in the 'Pyramid Ship' that landed in Chaco Canyon.
"And Teddy - Ismail mentioned a 'Ka-thingy'... What's that ?", Ethan asked, trying to change the subject from the 'Pyramid Texts' to something else.
"Well this is where it gets complicated.
 |
| Wallis Budge - (1857 – 1934) |
Now just as we often have more than one word for a particular thing, so it's probable that the same was true for the ancient Egyptians.
So, the ancient Egyptians had a number of words for what people now would call the 'soul', or the 'spirit'.
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| Hieroglyphic of the 'Akh |
Now there was a Egyptologist called Wallis Budge who did a lot of work on translating the Egyptian 'Book of the Dead'.
Budge was also very involved in 'Spiritualism' and the 'paranormal', and these interests undoubtedly influenced his interpretation of Ancient Egyptian religion - and he was undoubtedly responsible for the rather complicated interpretation of the numerous terms for the 'soul' or 'spirit' found in hieroglyphic inscriptions.
It is probably enough to say that the 'Ka' was the ordinary 'spirit' of a person, 'the life force that at death was separated from the body'.
The 'Akh' was the exalted spirit - 'the transfigured spirit that survived death and mingled with the gods'.", Teddy explained.
"Weird....", Ethan responded, his comment echoing eerily in the burial chamber.
Unless you could read hieroglyphics (like Teddy) the endless columns of symbols, while being beautifully carved, were not really very interesting.
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| Stars and Pyramid Text |
The sarcophagus itself was a simple rectangular prism. and the whole of the interior had an unnerving, and seemingly soulless mechanical, or maybe even technological quality.
It was, in fact, difficult to believe that the building dated from over 4,000 in the past.
So it was once more a return to the blazing heat, and then thankfully to the cool of the air-conditioned limos.
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| The Step Pyramid Complex - Saqqara |
The Step Pyramid, however, was something that they really needed to see.
It was only a few minutes drive in the limo, but much more comfortable than trudging through the sand.
"Wowy !... It's really big !", Ethan exclaimed, as he got out of the limo, carrying Teddy, and Teddy's plastic Walmart bag.
"Yes, Ethan...about sixty-two meters actually.", Teddy responded in a much more measured manner.
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| The Step Pyramid Complex Entrance - Saqqara |
They all made their way swiftly to a columned, covered court - in order to get out of the intense, brilliant sunlight, and it was there that Teddy felt able to give some information about the complex.
"OK, well, the Step Pyramid is a 6-tier, 4-sided structure, and is the earliest large stone building in Egypt
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| A Place out of the Sun - Hypostyle Hall |
The pyramid was designed by an individual known as Imhotep, and is the central feature of a large mortuary complex in an enormous courtyard surrounded by ceremonial structures and decoration.
The pyramid originally stood 62.5 meters (205 ft) tall, with a base of 109 m × 121 m (358 ft × 397 ft) and was clad in polished white limestone.
Under the step pyramid are many tunneled chambers and galleries that total nearly 6 km in length and connect to a central shaft 7 m square and 28 m deep.
These spaces provide room for the king's burial, the burial of family members, and the storage of goods and offerings.
The sides of the underground passages are limestone inlaid with blue faience tile to replicate reed matting.
These 'palace façade' walls mimic the palace and would serve as the living place of the royal ka.
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| Serdab - Step Pyramid - Saqqara |
It had one opening, which was sealed with a 3.5 ton block after the burial.
No body was recovered from the tomb.
It is possible that a burial chamber of alabaster existed before the one of granite. and there is also evidence of limestone blocks with five pointed stars in low relief that were likely on the ceiling, indicating that the king sought to associate himself with the eternal North Stars that never set, so as to ensure his rebirth and eternity.
"One interesting feature is the 'Serdab', which we can view later.
The 'Serdab' is a stone 'box', tilted at an exact angle.
It contains a seated statue of the King's 'Ka', and because of the angle, the King's statue is positioned to gaze directly at the circumpolar stars (the stars that never set) through two eye hole cut into the stone 'box'.", Teddy explained.
So they all wandered round the vast Step Pyramid complex, asking Teddy an occasional question, (and then regretting it.... as Teddy's answer usually involved more questions, which they did not dare to ask.)
Teddy, not surprisingly, was getting a bit fractious at that point, as his fur was by then full of tiny grains of hot sand - which did not make him any more amenable to questioning.
What Teddy had not explained - and he may well have not been understood by some of the group (and most visiting tourists) - was the very odd nature of the Step Pyramid complex.
Firstly, the Step Pyramid Complex seemed to appear out of nowhere.
It had, apparently, no 'predecessors', and there is no real evidence of a prolonged (or any) period of development relating to the design features, or the building and the planning techniques that preceded its construction.
This is important - and is undoubtedly part of the 'message' that Jim and the others were looking for.
The same comment, of course, could also be applied to the mysterious 'Serdab', (which has always puzzled supposedly 'professional' Egyptologists), and about which Teddy said very little, (and Ismail said nothing).
Secondly, most of the architectural features of the 'buildings' surrounding the pyramid itself make very little sense - although they continue, in many ways, to influence architectural design right up until the present day.
The stone buildings are apparently designed to imitate reed matting, palm logs and other natural materials.
The question is why ? - as it is quite obvious that the buildings are made of stone.
That, however is not the only example of such pretense.
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| 'Dummy Building' - Step Pyramid Complex - Saqqara |
Buildings, when properly examined, are revealed to be simply facades, rather like in a present day cheap 'film set' - and nothing is what it appears to be.
The buildings that are more than just facades are, in many cases, still 'dummy buildings', in that the interiors have been filled with rubble.
Many of these 'dummy buildings' are located in the so called Heb Sed 'Jubilee Court', located to the southeast of the Step Pyramid.
It has been conjectured that these buildings may be intended to replicate the shape of canonical shrines of Upper Egypt, and opposite to them are buildings which may replicate the shrines of Lower Egypt.
While most 'professional' Egyptologists would suggest that these features represent 'magical' thinking of a 'religious' nature, it could equally be suggested that such an expenditure of effort and wealth on seemingly useless structures indicates severely pathological delusional thinking.
However, such structures may also call into question our own understanding of the nature of 'reality' - and so, once again, the effect of observing these structures may be a further part of a 'message' that is being offered in a highly 'fractured' form - and such were Teddy's thoughts, despite his problems with his fur.
To recap, on this sightseeing expedition were Jim, Faunus, Ethan and Teddy, Josh, Zac, Glen and Max.
Now Jim, Faunus, Ethan and Teddy and Josh had been close to the various strange encounters from the beginning.
Glen had actually been the 'result', if that was the correct description, of one of those encounters, and had been a 'link' to such encounters.
Zac had been less involved, but he was the individual who was almost always entrusted with the safety of the group.
Max was not directly involved but was an 'honorary' member of the group, who was quite prepared to do a lot of the carrying and organizing on an everyday basis.
The first four mentioned, plus Glen, were really the inner circle, although for a lot of the time Glen didn't really understand what was going on.
They had now either 'picked up', or maybe been 'picked up' by Ismail, who seemed to understand much more that would be expected of what was going on.
At the point where they left the 'Step Pyramid' it seemed that they had experienced some things that could be construed as relevant, but no one was really sure just what those things actually meant.
Teddy, at that point wanted them to have a quick look at the 'Serapeum', which was close to the Step Pyramid', as he was confident that site held some interesting puzzles, and so they took a quick ride in the trio of Mercedes, and came to the entrance of the Serapeum.
Fortunately the Serapeum was entirely underground, so at least they could get out of the heat.
 |
| Entrance to the Serapeum - Saqqara |
"And that is ?", Ethan asked.
"Glad you asked...", Teddy replied.
And Teddy continued....
"It was a burial place of the 'Apis Bulls'.
These were sacred bulls.
The name 'Serapeum' comes from 'Serapis', a composite god 'Sokar-Osiris-Apis', created on purpose by the late Hellenistic Pharaoh Ptolemy I 'Soter' (the Saviour) in 305-282 BC, after the 31st dynasty).
The Pharaoh had a major problem to solve: he had to reconcile and unify two different cultures mingling in Egypt, the Egyptian and Greek.
Thus the new cult of 'Serapis' was created, combining the ancient Egyptian cult of the 'Apis Bull' with the ancient Greek cults of 'Zeus', 'Hades', 'Asclepius' and 'Dionysus', trying to bring them all together into this composite god, who represented fertility and the powers of the underworld.
The cult of Apis, however, was certainly in existence a very long time before.
According to Manetho, it went back to the second dynasty, but it may be much older still, because many objects from the earliest times show the importance of the bull in connection with the heavens have been found, for example the palette from the predynastic period of Naqada (4000-3000 BC).
It was believed that the bulls became immortal after death and were then known as 'Osiris Apis'.
Much of the site dates from the Hellenistic Ptolemaic dynasty, and the first non-Egyptian to identify the underground chambers was Greek geographer Strabo, who traveled to Egypt around 24 AD.
The Serapeum of Saqqara has been a continuous source of speculation and mystery since its later re-discovery in 1850.
Even now, no theory has been able to explain exactly how or why the 24 giant sarcophagi were moved to the site, and precisely installed in their niches.
The mainstream theory, which I have already stated, suggests the site was used for the burial of Apis bulls, though there are many elements which do not add up with this belief.
For example, the size of the sarcophagi significantly exceeds the size of the bulls, being 4m long, 2.30m wide and 3. 30m tall - quite a bit bigger that the largest imaginable bull.
Why did they make the Serapeum sarcophagi out of hard granite, which consists of quartz crystals, which was mined about 800 kilometres from Saqqara - and not with limestone, a material much easier to work with and available locally ?
Some of the sarcophagi are even made of diorite - which is even harder that granite !
Also if Serapeum was the burial site for the Apis bulls, where are the bull mummies ?
The granite boxes are made with ridiculously high precision, and have a tolerance within 1 micron ! - so closing the lid essentially makes them hermetically sealed.
In addition the sarcophagi weigh over one hundred tons (including the lids that weigh on average eighty tons).
It has also been noticed by those who have visited the Serapeum since it was opened in 1850 that no soot is present on the ceiling or on the walls, and one cannot help but wonder how all the work was completed underground in complete darkness.
Tests have been performed using large metal mirrors, but these do not provide adequate lighting.
And now we come to a very interesting point....
The word 'bull in Ancient Egyptian is pronounced 'ka', exactly like another 'ka', the one that according to the ancient Egyptians held their creative energy.
Each living being had its own 'ka', and the Egyptians said in their texts, “
'To die is to pass into your ka'.
It is no coincidence, everything is a deliberate game in ancient Egyptian writing.
The ka was represented in hieroglyphics by two arms raised to the sky, a symbol seen also in the hieroglyph of the bull.
So in the symbolic role given to this animal the Egyptian priests revealed a favored pathway to the divine, and a means to reach eternity.", Teddy concluded, and Ismail looked pleased.
"So it it back to the limos, and on to Giza, Teddy ?", Jim asked.
"Yes..I think so, but just a quick look at the Sphinx, and then maybe you, myself, Ethan and Josh have a little look inside the main Pyramid, and then back to the hotel for some nice lunch - for you humans that is.", Teddy said.
Teddy's answer was a little dismissive, and Ismail wisely decided not to ask any more questions.
Meanwhile, Ethan found Teddy's brush in the plastic Walmart bag, and began brushing Teddy.
Brushing always calmed down Teddy, but on this occasion it was scattering 'Saqqara sand' all over the thick pile of the carpet on the floor of the passenger compartment.
"Sorry about the mess, Jim, but
Teddy needs to get rid of all this sand, and I'm sure we can have the people at the hotel clean out the limos, after all we've all left a bit of a sandy mess....", Ethan said, apologetically.
"Of course, Ethan...it's no problem, ", Jim replied.
Now everyone in the limos had a vague, romantic image of what their first sight of the pyramids would be like, except perhaps for Ismail - who probably lived in Cairo (in fact he had a tiny flat in Cairo).
When the pyramids did finally come into view, it was a bit of a shock.
As the centuries had passed, the city that we now call Cairo, had slowly expanded towards the Giza Plateau, and at the time of this visit to suburbs of Cairo had practically engulfed the ancient structures.
"Glad you asked...", Teddy replied.
And Teddy continued....
"It was a burial place of the 'Apis Bulls'.
These were sacred bulls.
 |
| 'Serapis' |
The Pharaoh had a major problem to solve: he had to reconcile and unify two different cultures mingling in Egypt, the Egyptian and Greek.
Thus the new cult of 'Serapis' was created, combining the ancient Egyptian cult of the 'Apis Bull' with the ancient Greek cults of 'Zeus', 'Hades', 'Asclepius' and 'Dionysus', trying to bring them all together into this composite god, who represented fertility and the powers of the underworld.
The cult of Apis, however, was certainly in existence a very long time before.
According to Manetho, it went back to the second dynasty, but it may be much older still, because many objects from the earliest times show the importance of the bull in connection with the heavens have been found, for example the palette from the predynastic period of Naqada (4000-3000 BC).
It was believed that the bulls became immortal after death and were then known as 'Osiris Apis'.
Much of the site dates from the Hellenistic Ptolemaic dynasty, and the first non-Egyptian to identify the underground chambers was Greek geographer Strabo, who traveled to Egypt around 24 AD.
The Serapeum of Saqqara has been a continuous source of speculation and mystery since its later re-discovery in 1850.
Even now, no theory has been able to explain exactly how or why the 24 giant sarcophagi were moved to the site, and precisely installed in their niches.
The mainstream theory, which I have already stated, suggests the site was used for the burial of Apis bulls, though there are many elements which do not add up with this belief.
 |
| 1000 Ton Sarcophagi - to a Tolerance of 1 Micron (and where did Ismail get that setsquare from ?) |
Why did they make the Serapeum sarcophagi out of hard granite, which consists of quartz crystals, which was mined about 800 kilometres from Saqqara - and not with limestone, a material much easier to work with and available locally ?
Some of the sarcophagi are even made of diorite - which is even harder that granite !
Also if Serapeum was the burial site for the Apis bulls, where are the bull mummies ?
The granite boxes are made with ridiculously high precision, and have a tolerance within 1 micron ! - so closing the lid essentially makes them hermetically sealed.
In addition the sarcophagi weigh over one hundred tons (including the lids that weigh on average eighty tons).
It has also been noticed by those who have visited the Serapeum since it was opened in 1850 that no soot is present on the ceiling or on the walls, and one cannot help but wonder how all the work was completed underground in complete darkness.
Tests have been performed using large metal mirrors, but these do not provide adequate lighting.
And now we come to a very interesting point....
 |
| The Apis Bull |
Each living being had its own 'ka', and the Egyptians said in their texts, “
'To die is to pass into your ka'.
It is no coincidence, everything is a deliberate game in ancient Egyptian writing.
The ka was represented in hieroglyphics by two arms raised to the sky, a symbol seen also in the hieroglyph of the bull.
So in the symbolic role given to this animal the Egyptian priests revealed a favored pathway to the divine, and a means to reach eternity.", Teddy concluded, and Ismail looked pleased.
"So it it back to the limos, and on to Giza, Teddy ?", Jim asked.
"Yes..I think so, but just a quick look at the Sphinx, and then maybe you, myself, Ethan and Josh have a little look inside the main Pyramid, and then back to the hotel for some nice lunch - for you humans that is.", Teddy said.
It was convenient, because Giza was on the way back to Cairo and the 'Gezireh Palace Hotel'.
It was some time after midday, so Teddy seemed to have planned everything well, and despite his sandy fur, he was feeling quite pleased with himself.
"Could you tell me please, Mr Teddy, how you remember all the information that you have been giving to the group.", Ismail asked.
What, of course, was strange about Ismail was that he not only noticed Teddy, (the SEBF should have prevented that), but he was also keen to interact with the little bear.
"Well, I'm a bit like a computer - so I don't forget things, so it's easy.", Teddy replied, being careful not to go into too much detail about himself.
"And you must get out of this habit of calling everybody 'Mister', although it might be a good idea to call Jim 'sir'.", Teddy added.
"And you know a lot about the Great Pyramid, here in Giza ?", Ismail asked.
"As much as anyone here does, apart from Faunus.", Teddy replied.
"Ah yes... Faunus....
He's not one of us, I believe.", Ismail said.
"Well I wouldn't know about that...", Teddy answered, dissembling.Teddy's answer was a little dismissive, and Ismail wisely decided not to ask any more questions.
Meanwhile, Ethan found Teddy's brush in the plastic Walmart bag, and began brushing Teddy.
Brushing always calmed down Teddy, but on this occasion it was scattering 'Saqqara sand' all over the thick pile of the carpet on the floor of the passenger compartment.
"Sorry about the mess, Jim, but
Teddy needs to get rid of all this sand, and I'm sure we can have the people at the hotel clean out the limos, after all we've all left a bit of a sandy mess....", Ethan said, apologetically.
"Of course, Ethan...it's no problem, ", Jim replied.
 |
| Pyramids Seen Through Mid-day Air-pollution |
When the pyramids did finally come into view, it was a bit of a shock.
As the centuries had passed, the city that we now call Cairo, had slowly expanded towards the Giza Plateau, and at the time of this visit to suburbs of Cairo had practically engulfed the ancient structures.
Also, at Saqqara the sky had been blue, because it was early morning, but by the middle of the day the air pollution had built up, and the pyramids looked pale through the thick fog of fumes.
And so they finally arrived at Giza - which was busy with tourists, touts and sellers, as it was the middle of the day.
Fortunately the huge Mercedes Maybach Pullman limos immediately caught the attention of the Tourist Police, and that, along with the expensive suites of Jim, Zac and Josh, acting as 'security', meant that the rest of the group was not in any way 'hassled', which is more than could be said for many of the other tourists.
Of course the detail is essential, and Faunus had provided himself and Zac with Islamic natural wood prayer beads - often referred to as 'sebah' - which are regularly carried by Egyptian Government officials.
The result of the 'prayer-beads' was that Faunus, and Zac, were often met with salutes from the police - with Zac being taken as someone from the Delta - probably Alexandria, where some Egyptians are fair-haired (probably descendants of Circassian slaves imported by the Turks - see the Tourist policeman on the left of the trio above).
No one, of course, paid any attention to Ethan, who was carrying Teddy, or Jim.
Equally odd was the fact that no one asked for an entrance fee, or wanted to see a ticket, as the police simply escorted them to where they wished to go, with Faunus explaining in perfect Arabic the intentions of their visit.
So this was the part to which Teddy was looking forward... a chance to talk about the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid !
"Now guys, if any boys come to you with postcards, offers to show you round, or offers of a camel ride, horse ride or sex... just say 'لا شكرا' - 'la shukran' - which means 'no thank you'..." Faunus said, as they made their way through the crowd.
"And if they won't go away - then tell Zac - he'll soon scare them off.", Jim added.
And so, still trailing a police escort, the moved towards the Sphinx.
"Not as big as I thought it would be...", Glen said, sounding a little disappointed.
"I think that's because of the way it's usually photographed..." Josh suggested.
"Probably...".,Glen agreed.
"I wonder why the Egyptian Authorities allow all these untidy traders, with all their rubbish, to spoil the view of the Sphinx and the Pyramids ?", Jim said to Faunus as they walked through an untidy avenue of souvenir stalls.
"I'm not sure... either they're not bothered, or they don't have the power to do anything about it.
You must remember that all these police, who are really just scruffy unemployed 'dregs', with their old fashioned arms, and dirty boots, are just a sign of the government's lack of authority and power.
Many of the police here have families who own these tables of souvenir rubbish, and would be unlikely to move them on.
But just imagine if this were the scene in front of the Lincoln or Jefferson memorials in Washington...", and Faunus just left Jim to think.
Eventually they reached the Sphinx, surprisingly unmolested by the postcard and souvenir sellers as the 'someone else's business field' seem to be working very effectively at very long range.
Teddy then replaced his sunglasses and began his talk.
"Now, after having got through all that...", Teddy said, gesturing to the traders, sellers and 'hustlers', "we find ourselves in front to the Sphinx".
"Yes, Teddy, we can see that... so why don't you tell us about it..."Ethan said.
"OK... the Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the body of possibly a lion, and - now the head of a man
Facing directly from West to East, it stands - obviously - on the Giza Plateau on the West Bank of the Nile.
The face of the Sphinx is often said to represent the head of the pharaoh Khafre - although many dispute this.
Cut from the bedrock, the original shape of the Sphinx has been restored with layers of blocks.
It measures 73 m (240 ft) long from paw to tail, 20 m (66 ft) high from the base to the top of the head and 19 m (62 ft) wide at its rear haunches.
It is the oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt, and may have been built by ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom during the reign of the pharaoh Khafre (c. 2558–2532 BC).
"Yes... well there's a lot of 'could be', and 'some', and 'maybe' - so why all the doubts ?", Josh asked.
"Well...difficult to say... the Sphinx is one of the world's largest and oldest statues, but basic facts about it are still subject to debate, such as when it was built, by whom and for what purpose - and there are no inscriptions anywhere describing its construction, or its original purpose.", Teddy said.
"But didn't Novius have something to say about the Sphinx, Teddy ?", Jim asked.
"Yes, and I kept a record of his comments...", Teddy replied.
"Novius said that the Sphinx’s body is strange because his back is straight, and his chest is not large like a lion, and he has no mane, as a lion would.
Novius suggested that the Sphinx has the body of a dog, a wolf or a jackal, and may have originally been an image of the god Anubis or Upuaut, who was, among other things, the guardian of the 'Sacred Necropolis' also known as 'Rostau' - which is what the Giza Plateau is...", Teddy explained.
"And the head ?", Max asked.
"Yes the head is obviously far too small for the body, and it has been suggested that the original, larger head could have possibly been the head of a dog or a jackal, which was later cut down to the size of a human head,
Of course the Arabs and Europeans who first saw the statue didn't realize the problem with the proportions, as they would have only seen the head because for most of the figure's history the body was buried by sand.", Teddy said, as he turned to Ethan, and asked him some papers form the white plastic Walmart bag.
"Now I just happen to have a plan of this area that we are looking at - so - if you just gather round I can explain", Teddy said.
"You have probably noticed already that there are two sets of large ruins in front of the Sphinx.
Now you haven't seen any Egyptian temples so far, but let me assure you that these temples are really weird.
They are very old, and are not really connected.
The one on the left is a 'valley temple', where ceremonies took place during the funeral of the Pharaoh, and connected to the 'valley temple' is a causeway, like you have already seen at the 'Pyramid of Unas'.
The other temple is called the 'Sphinx Temple'.
OK - We'll start with the Sphinx Temple as we are standing in front of it...
The Sphinx Temple was built with limestone blocks from the Giza Plateau, in the local quarries.
Its walls are covered with blocks of pink granite from quarries far away in Aswan, in southern Egypt, and the interior walls were made of limestone from Tura, an underground quarry east of Cairo that provides a white stone with very fine granularity.
Tura limestone has also been used for the outer casings of the three main pyramids of Giza.
The floor was covered with white alabaster.
"Mm...very fancy...", Ethan added."
Teddy continued, looking a little peeved by the interruption.
"The temple plan is simple, and is symmetrical along the East-West axis.
The temple has two equally spaced entrances on its North face.
Each entrance serves the same type of corridors and room.
First, the visitor goes through a north-south corridor that opens onto two granite paved rooms, one in the west, the other in the north.
The end of the west corridor leads to a corridor lined with columns that adjoins the central part of the temple, the large courtyard.
This corridor is 21m long and 5 wide, the columns are granite.
This courtyard is very large, is 46m long by 23 wide and is paved with very hard basalt stone.
It has 14 passages, 2 on the North and South sides, and 5 on the East and West sides. Along the walls we can see cavities at regular intervals to hold statues that have now disappeared.
The courtyard narrows twice, forming a kind of porch supported by six columns in its wide part, and two in the narrow part.
At the bottom there is a square niche, it probably for a statue.
On the other side of the courtyard, on the south side, a corridor leads to two perpendicular rooms paved with alabaster.
Now here's the strange part.
Almost all Egyptian temples are covered, inside and out, with colored reliefs and wall-paintings of the neteru, and hieroglyphics.
The walls of this temple are bare.
In fact this temple was never completed, and no references to any priests or priestesses servicing the temple have been recovered, and while it may have been used to worship the Sphinx, the Sphinx is not an Egyptian neter (god) - but Anubis or Upuaut were.
The final mystery is that it is possible that the uncompleted temple was never used." Teddy concluded with a flourish.
"Weird...", Max said.
By then they were at the entrance to the Pyramid of Khufu.
"Now some of the passages in this pyramid are very small - not for me, of course, but for you - being big human creatures - so if you don't like small spaces I suggest you don't come in.
Don't worry though, we won't be long - there's not much to see", Teddy warned,
Once inside - and only Ethan, Josh, Jim, Zac followed Teddy - which was odd....
"The Pyramid of Khufu is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza pyramid complex.
It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (eight if you include Faunus).
Most 'professional' Egyptologist maintain that the pyramid was built as a tomb for the Pharaoh Khufu, but there are no sculptures, reliefs or wall-paintings anywhere in the building, and the only reference to Khufu are so-called builder's marks, which are certainly a fake.
The tomb was apparently intact when entered by the Arabs, and there is no evidence of tomb robbers, and no mummy, no bodily remains, no funeral goods, or any evidence that it was ever used as a tomb - or anything else, for that matter....", Teddy said, mysteriously
"Anything except maybe as a 'space-ship'...", Ethan muttered, giggling - and presumably referring to their experience at Chaco Canyon.
"Can I continue ?", Teddy asked, seemingly feigning annoyance.
"Oh yes... sorry...", Ethan said, excusing himself.
"The pyramid remained the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years, unsurpassed until the 160 meter (520 ft) spire of Lincoln Cathedral was completed c. 1300.
The accuracy of the pyramid's workmanship is such that the four sides of the base have an average error of only 58 millimetres in length.
The base is horizontal and flat to within ±15 mm, and the sides of the square base are closely aligned to the four cardinal compass points to within four minutes of arc based on true north, and the finished base was squared to a mean corner error of only 12 seconds of arc.
The largest granite stones in the pyramid, found in the so called 'King's Chamber', weigh 25 to 80 tonnes, and were transported from Aswan, more than 800 km (500 mi) away.
Regardless of many weird theories no one actually knows how the Pyramid was constructed.
From the original entrance to the Pyramid, there is a descending passage only 3.1 ft high, and 3.4 ft wide - and I did warn you... which goes down at an angle of 26° through the masonry of the pyramid, and then into the bedrock beneath it.
The passage later becomes level, and continues to the lower chamber, which appears not to have been finished.
Some Egyptologists suggest that this lower chamber was intended to be the original burial chamber (?) but this is almost certainly not the case.
There is then an ascending passage which must be used to reach the Grand Gallery.
At the start of the 'Grand Gallery', on the right-hand side, there is a hole cut in the wall, and this is the start of a vertical shaft which follows an irregular path through the masonry of the pyramid to join the descending passage.
Also at the start of the 'Grand Gallery' there is a horizontal passage leading to the so called 'Queen's Chamber' - which has nothing to do with Khufu's queen - and is very mysterious.
In the north and south walls of the Queen's Chamber there are shafts, which, unlike those in the 'King's Chamber' that immediately slope upwards are horizontal for around 6 ft before sloping upwards.
The horizontal distance was cut in 1872 by a British engineer, Waynman Dixon, who believed a shaft similar to those in the King's Chamber must also exist.
He was proved right but, because the shafts are not connected to the outer faces of the pyramid or the 'Queen's Chamber', and their purpose is unknown.
At the end of one of his shafts, Dixon discovered a ball of diorite and a bronze implement of unknown purpose.
Both objects are currently in the British Museum in London, England.
The 'Grand Gallery' amazingly is 28 ft high and 153 ft long.
At the base it is 6.8 ft wide, but after 7.5 ft the blocks of stone in the walls are corbelled inwards by 3.0 in on each side.
There are seven of these steps so, at the top, the 'Grand Gallery' is only 3.4 ft wide.
It is roofed by slabs of stone laid at a slightly steeper angle than the floor of the gallery, so that each stone fits into a slot cut in the top of the gallery like the teeth of a ratchet.
The purpose was to have each block supported by the wall of the Gallery, rather than resting on the block beneath it, in order to prevent cumulative pressure.
The floor of the 'Grand Gallery' consists of a shelf or step on either side, 20 in wide, leaving a lower ramp 3.4 ft wide between them.
In the shelves there are 54 slots, 27 on each side matched by vertical and horizontal slots in the walls of the Gallery.
These form a cross shape that rises out of the slot in the shelf.
The purpose of these slots is completely unknown (?).
At the top of the 'Grand Gallery', there is a step giving onto a horizontal passage some meters long and only 3.3 ft in height (!) and width, in which can be detected four slots, three of which were probably intended to hold granite portcullises.
After scrambling up the 'Grand Gallery', they came to the final stop on their tour.
"So this is the 'King's Chamber'....", Teddy announced.
"Very big, and very bare, and made of granite.
It's 34.4 ft from east to west and 17.17 ft north to south.
It has a flat roof 19 feet 2 inches above the floor.
Now 3.0 ft above the floor there are two narrow shafts in the north and south walls.
The purpose of these shafts is mysterious, but they are aligned towards stars or areas of the northern and southern skies.
It is probable that the shafts served a ritualistic purpose associated with the ascension of the 'akh' to the heavens.
The only object in the 'King's Chamber' is a rectangular granite 'box', one corner of which is broken.
The 'box' is slightly larger than the ascending passage, which indicates that it must have been placed in the Chamber before the roof was put in place.
Strangely, unlike the fine masonry of the walls of the Chamber, the sarcophagus is roughly finished, with saw-marks visible in several places, and this contrasts with the finely finished and decorated sarcophagi found in other pyramids of the same period.
As with almost everything about this pyramid, it makes very little sense...", Teddy concluded.
"That was horrible...
Why the fuck did you bring us in here ?", Ethan said to Teddy, as they left the pyramid.
"It was all part of the 'tour'...", Teddy replied, like a professional guide, tactfully avoiding commenting on Ethan's bad language.
And so they emerged from the pyramid...
"Hi !... So... what was it like ?". Glen, who had been waiting with the others at the entrance to the Pyramid, asked.
"Don't even ask !...", Ethan replied, as he plonked Teddy down on one of the many limestone blocks that littered the area around the main entrance.
Teddy squeaked.
"Be careful, Ethan !... it's not my fault you don't like small spaces.", Teddy said, as he tried to brush some of the limestone dust off his fur.
"I did warn you..."
Jim picked Teddy up, and gave him a quick brush, and handed him to Ethan.
"OK... so let's get back to the limos, and go and find a McDonalds, and then go to the Cairo Museum.
There's some stuff there that Ismail wants to show us...", Jim said.
"Well I just want to get back to the hotel and have a shower.", Josh said.
Finding a McDonald's was not difficult as there were a number in Cairo.
Soon the luxurious Mercedes Maybach limos were parked outside the fast food outlet, and were attracting the attention of passers by, and the local police - who were nice enough to stand guard and fend of a number of young boys who tried to 'hang around' hoping, maybe, to hassle the owners.
The familiar décor and food soon had Ethan calmed down after his little 'spat' with Teddy, and the rest of the group were thankful for the air-conditioning, cold drinks and some food, as they had nothing since breakfast.
Jim had asked Ismail to sit beside him as he wanted to speak to him...
"Now look, Ismail - you haven't really been much of a guide - you've left it all to Teddy - and now, when we're all very tired, you want us to go to the Egyptian Museum, so why is that so important ?", Jim said, rather forcefully.
"I'm sorry, Sir... but you look for answers, so in the Cairo Museum there might be some answers... so please trust me , Sir.", Ismail replied, enigmatically.
So it was back in the limos, and on the the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, (usually known as the Cairo Museum), which fortunately was not far away.
As they got out of the limos, Faunus gathered everyone around him, and handed each member of the group a ticket.
"This will save time, as they are very slow at the ticket desk.", Faunus said.
"And when did you buy these ?", Teddy asked suspiciously.
"Oh, let's say I acquired them - but don't worry, they're genuine - probably more genuine than the ones you would get at the ticket desk.", Faunus said.
"I wish he wouldn't say weird things like that...", Ethan said, holding the ticket up to the light and scrutinizing it carefully.
In some ways it was fortunate that it was near the end of the day, as the museum was relatively quiet.
Ismail led the way, with Jim following close behind.
Very soon they came to the galleries that were dedicated to the various articles that had been recovered from the tomb of the young Pharaoh Tutankhamen.
"This looks strange...", Jim said to Ismail.
"Why is that , Sir ?", Ismail asked.
"Well, this item is very valuable, and being made of wood, is very delicate - so why is it in such an old case - like so many of theses items.
These objects should be displayed in modern double-glazed, stainless steel cabinets, with full climate-control.", Jim said, forgetting himself for a moment.
"I think the government is not prepared to spend the money on such modern displays...", Ismail said, quietly.
"OK....well show us what you think is important for us to see... as time's getting on.", Jim said.
"Well your friends should look at the funeral mask and coffins of Tutankhamun - as they are all gold - but there is something in special that you need to look at.", Ismail said.
So while the others went to look at Tutankhamun's gold funerary mask and coffin, Ismail led Jim into a small 'side-gallery'.
Teddy, of course, couldn't resist the opportunity to give one of his little talks - in this case about the gold mask...
Also, they saw the inner gold coffin of the young Pharaoh.
And so Teddy was able to give his final little talk of the day:
 |
| Egyptian Tourist Police - (Summer Uniform) |
 |
| Islamic Prayer Beads |
Of course the detail is essential, and Faunus had provided himself and Zac with Islamic natural wood prayer beads - often referred to as 'sebah' - which are regularly carried by Egyptian Government officials.
The result of the 'prayer-beads' was that Faunus, and Zac, were often met with salutes from the police - with Zac being taken as someone from the Delta - probably Alexandria, where some Egyptians are fair-haired (probably descendants of Circassian slaves imported by the Turks - see the Tourist policeman on the left of the trio above).
No one, of course, paid any attention to Ethan, who was carrying Teddy, or Jim.
Equally odd was the fact that no one asked for an entrance fee, or wanted to see a ticket, as the police simply escorted them to where they wished to go, with Faunus explaining in perfect Arabic the intentions of their visit.So this was the part to which Teddy was looking forward... a chance to talk about the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid !
"Now guys, if any boys come to you with postcards, offers to show you round, or offers of a camel ride, horse ride or sex... just say 'لا شكرا' - 'la shukran' - which means 'no thank you'..." Faunus said, as they made their way through the crowd.
"And if they won't go away - then tell Zac - he'll soon scare them off.", Jim added.
And so, still trailing a police escort, the moved towards the Sphinx.
"I think that's because of the way it's usually photographed..." Josh suggested.
"Probably...".,Glen agreed.
"I wonder why the Egyptian Authorities allow all these untidy traders, with all their rubbish, to spoil the view of the Sphinx and the Pyramids ?", Jim said to Faunus as they walked through an untidy avenue of souvenir stalls.
"I'm not sure... either they're not bothered, or they don't have the power to do anything about it.
You must remember that all these police, who are really just scruffy unemployed 'dregs', with their old fashioned arms, and dirty boots, are just a sign of the government's lack of authority and power.
Many of the police here have families who own these tables of souvenir rubbish, and would be unlikely to move them on.
But just imagine if this were the scene in front of the Lincoln or Jefferson memorials in Washington...", and Faunus just left Jim to think.
Eventually they reached the Sphinx, surprisingly unmolested by the postcard and souvenir sellers as the 'someone else's business field' seem to be working very effectively at very long range.
Teddy then replaced his sunglasses and began his talk.
"Now, after having got through all that...", Teddy said, gesturing to the traders, sellers and 'hustlers', "we find ourselves in front to the Sphinx".
"Yes, Teddy, we can see that... so why don't you tell us about it..."Ethan said.
 |
| The Giza Sphinx |
Facing directly from West to East, it stands - obviously - on the Giza Plateau on the West Bank of the Nile.
The face of the Sphinx is often said to represent the head of the pharaoh Khafre - although many dispute this.
Cut from the bedrock, the original shape of the Sphinx has been restored with layers of blocks.
It measures 73 m (240 ft) long from paw to tail, 20 m (66 ft) high from the base to the top of the head and 19 m (62 ft) wide at its rear haunches.
It is the oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt, and may have been built by ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom during the reign of the pharaoh Khafre (c. 2558–2532 BC).
"Yes... well there's a lot of 'could be', and 'some', and 'maybe' - so why all the doubts ?", Josh asked.
"Well...difficult to say... the Sphinx is one of the world's largest and oldest statues, but basic facts about it are still subject to debate, such as when it was built, by whom and for what purpose - and there are no inscriptions anywhere describing its construction, or its original purpose.", Teddy said.
"But didn't Novius have something to say about the Sphinx, Teddy ?", Jim asked.
 |
| 'Rostau' - Giza open in a new tab to enlarge |
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| Novius and the Sphinx |
Novius suggested that the Sphinx has the body of a dog, a wolf or a jackal, and may have originally been an image of the god Anubis or Upuaut, who was, among other things, the guardian of the 'Sacred Necropolis' also known as 'Rostau' - which is what the Giza Plateau is...", Teddy explained.
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| The Original Sphinx ? |
"Yes the head is obviously far too small for the body, and it has been suggested that the original, larger head could have possibly been the head of a dog or a jackal, which was later cut down to the size of a human head,
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| Buried Sphinx - Jean-Léon Gérôme (cropped) Early 1800s |
"Now I just happen to have a plan of this area that we are looking at - so - if you just gather round I can explain", Teddy said.
"You have probably noticed already that there are two sets of large ruins in front of the Sphinx.
 |
| Plan of the Sphinx, Valley Temple and Sphinx Temple |
They are very old, and are not really connected.
The one on the left is a 'valley temple', where ceremonies took place during the funeral of the Pharaoh, and connected to the 'valley temple' is a causeway, like you have already seen at the 'Pyramid of Unas'.
The other temple is called the 'Sphinx Temple'.
OK - We'll start with the Sphinx Temple as we are standing in front of it...
The Sphinx Temple was built with limestone blocks from the Giza Plateau, in the local quarries.
Its walls are covered with blocks of pink granite from quarries far away in Aswan, in southern Egypt, and the interior walls were made of limestone from Tura, an underground quarry east of Cairo that provides a white stone with very fine granularity.
Tura limestone has also been used for the outer casings of the three main pyramids of Giza.
The floor was covered with white alabaster.
 |
| The Valley (left) and Sphinx Temples (right) - Giza |
Teddy continued, looking a little peeved by the interruption.
"The temple plan is simple, and is symmetrical along the East-West axis.
The temple has two equally spaced entrances on its North face.
Each entrance serves the same type of corridors and room.
First, the visitor goes through a north-south corridor that opens onto two granite paved rooms, one in the west, the other in the north.
The end of the west corridor leads to a corridor lined with columns that adjoins the central part of the temple, the large courtyard.
This corridor is 21m long and 5 wide, the columns are granite.
This courtyard is very large, is 46m long by 23 wide and is paved with very hard basalt stone.
It has 14 passages, 2 on the North and South sides, and 5 on the East and West sides. Along the walls we can see cavities at regular intervals to hold statues that have now disappeared.
The courtyard narrows twice, forming a kind of porch supported by six columns in its wide part, and two in the narrow part.
At the bottom there is a square niche, it probably for a statue.
On the other side of the courtyard, on the south side, a corridor leads to two perpendicular rooms paved with alabaster.
Now here's the strange part.
Almost all Egyptian temples are covered, inside and out, with colored reliefs and wall-paintings of the neteru, and hieroglyphics.
The walls of this temple are bare.
In fact this temple was never completed, and no references to any priests or priestesses servicing the temple have been recovered, and while it may have been used to worship the Sphinx, the Sphinx is not an Egyptian neter (god) - but Anubis or Upuaut were.
The final mystery is that it is possible that the uncompleted temple was never used." Teddy concluded with a flourish.
"Weird...", Max said.
 |
| Crowds at Giza - Cairo - Egypt |
Don't worry though, we won't be long - there's not much to see", Teddy warned,
Once inside - and only Ethan, Josh, Jim, Zac followed Teddy - which was odd....
"The Pyramid of Khufu is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza pyramid complex.
It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (eight if you include Faunus).
Most 'professional' Egyptologist maintain that the pyramid was built as a tomb for the Pharaoh Khufu, but there are no sculptures, reliefs or wall-paintings anywhere in the building, and the only reference to Khufu are so-called builder's marks, which are certainly a fake.
 |
| Arrival of Upuaut at Chaco Canyon - New Mexico |
"Anything except maybe as a 'space-ship'...", Ethan muttered, giggling - and presumably referring to their experience at Chaco Canyon.
"Can I continue ?", Teddy asked, seemingly feigning annoyance.
"Oh yes... sorry...", Ethan said, excusing himself.
"The pyramid remained the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years, unsurpassed until the 160 meter (520 ft) spire of Lincoln Cathedral was completed c. 1300.
The accuracy of the pyramid's workmanship is such that the four sides of the base have an average error of only 58 millimetres in length.
The base is horizontal and flat to within ±15 mm, and the sides of the square base are closely aligned to the four cardinal compass points to within four minutes of arc based on true north, and the finished base was squared to a mean corner error of only 12 seconds of arc.
 |
| Section through the 'Great Pyramid' - Giza - Egypt |
Regardless of many weird theories no one actually knows how the Pyramid was constructed.
From the original entrance to the Pyramid, there is a descending passage only 3.1 ft high, and 3.4 ft wide - and I did warn you... which goes down at an angle of 26° through the masonry of the pyramid, and then into the bedrock beneath it.
The passage later becomes level, and continues to the lower chamber, which appears not to have been finished.
Some Egyptologists suggest that this lower chamber was intended to be the original burial chamber (?) but this is almost certainly not the case.
There is then an ascending passage which must be used to reach the Grand Gallery.
At the start of the 'Grand Gallery', on the right-hand side, there is a hole cut in the wall, and this is the start of a vertical shaft which follows an irregular path through the masonry of the pyramid to join the descending passage.
 |
| Inside Khufu's Pyramid - Giza - Egypt |
In the north and south walls of the Queen's Chamber there are shafts, which, unlike those in the 'King's Chamber' that immediately slope upwards are horizontal for around 6 ft before sloping upwards.
The horizontal distance was cut in 1872 by a British engineer, Waynman Dixon, who believed a shaft similar to those in the King's Chamber must also exist.
 |
| Queen's Chamber - Great Pyramid - Giza |
At the end of one of his shafts, Dixon discovered a ball of diorite and a bronze implement of unknown purpose.
Both objects are currently in the British Museum in London, England.
The 'Grand Gallery' amazingly is 28 ft high and 153 ft long.
At the base it is 6.8 ft wide, but after 7.5 ft the blocks of stone in the walls are corbelled inwards by 3.0 in on each side.
There are seven of these steps so, at the top, the 'Grand Gallery' is only 3.4 ft wide.
It is roofed by slabs of stone laid at a slightly steeper angle than the floor of the gallery, so that each stone fits into a slot cut in the top of the gallery like the teeth of a ratchet.
The purpose was to have each block supported by the wall of the Gallery, rather than resting on the block beneath it, in order to prevent cumulative pressure.
The floor of the 'Grand Gallery' consists of a shelf or step on either side, 20 in wide, leaving a lower ramp 3.4 ft wide between them.
In the shelves there are 54 slots, 27 on each side matched by vertical and horizontal slots in the walls of the Gallery.
These form a cross shape that rises out of the slot in the shelf.
The purpose of these slots is completely unknown (?).
 |
| Grand Gallery - Great Pyramid - Giza |
After scrambling up the 'Grand Gallery', they came to the final stop on their tour.
"So this is the 'King's Chamber'....", Teddy announced.
"Very big, and very bare, and made of granite.
It's 34.4 ft from east to west and 17.17 ft north to south.
It has a flat roof 19 feet 2 inches above the floor.
Now 3.0 ft above the floor there are two narrow shafts in the north and south walls.
The purpose of these shafts is mysterious, but they are aligned towards stars or areas of the northern and southern skies.
It is probable that the shafts served a ritualistic purpose associated with the ascension of the 'akh' to the heavens.
 |
| 'Sarcophagus' - 'Kings Chamber' - Great Pyramid - Giza |
The 'box' is slightly larger than the ascending passage, which indicates that it must have been placed in the Chamber before the roof was put in place.
Strangely, unlike the fine masonry of the walls of the Chamber, the sarcophagus is roughly finished, with saw-marks visible in several places, and this contrasts with the finely finished and decorated sarcophagi found in other pyramids of the same period.
As with almost everything about this pyramid, it makes very little sense...", Teddy concluded.
"That was horrible...
Why the fuck did you bring us in here ?", Ethan said to Teddy, as they left the pyramid.
"It was all part of the 'tour'...", Teddy replied, like a professional guide, tactfully avoiding commenting on Ethan's bad language.
And so they emerged from the pyramid...
"Hi !... So... what was it like ?". Glen, who had been waiting with the others at the entrance to the Pyramid, asked.
"Don't even ask !...", Ethan replied, as he plonked Teddy down on one of the many limestone blocks that littered the area around the main entrance.
Teddy squeaked.
"Be careful, Ethan !... it's not my fault you don't like small spaces.", Teddy said, as he tried to brush some of the limestone dust off his fur.
"I did warn you..."
Jim picked Teddy up, and gave him a quick brush, and handed him to Ethan.
"OK... so let's get back to the limos, and go and find a McDonalds, and then go to the Cairo Museum.
There's some stuff there that Ismail wants to show us...", Jim said.
"Well I just want to get back to the hotel and have a shower.", Josh said.
 |
| Cairo McDonald's - Egypt |
The familiar décor and food soon had Ethan calmed down after his little 'spat' with Teddy, and the rest of the group were thankful for the air-conditioning, cold drinks and some food, as they had nothing since breakfast.
Jim had asked Ismail to sit beside him as he wanted to speak to him...
"Now look, Ismail - you haven't really been much of a guide - you've left it all to Teddy - and now, when we're all very tired, you want us to go to the Egyptian Museum, so why is that so important ?", Jim said, rather forcefully.
"I'm sorry, Sir... but you look for answers, so in the Cairo Museum there might be some answers... so please trust me , Sir.", Ismail replied, enigmatically.
 |
| Museum of Egyptian Antiquities - Cairo - Egypt |
As they got out of the limos, Faunus gathered everyone around him, and handed each member of the group a ticket.
"This will save time, as they are very slow at the ticket desk.", Faunus said.
"And when did you buy these ?", Teddy asked suspiciously.
 |
| Egyptian Museum Ticket |
"I wish he wouldn't say weird things like that...", Ethan said, holding the ticket up to the light and scrutinizing it carefully.
In some ways it was fortunate that it was near the end of the day, as the museum was relatively quiet.
Ismail led the way, with Jim following close behind.
 |
| Bed from the Tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen |
"This looks strange...", Jim said to Ismail.
"Why is that , Sir ?", Ismail asked.
"Well, this item is very valuable, and being made of wood, is very delicate - so why is it in such an old case - like so many of theses items.
These objects should be displayed in modern double-glazed, stainless steel cabinets, with full climate-control.", Jim said, forgetting himself for a moment.
"I think the government is not prepared to spend the money on such modern displays...", Ismail said, quietly.
"OK....well show us what you think is important for us to see... as time's getting on.", Jim said.
"Well your friends should look at the funeral mask and coffins of Tutankhamun - as they are all gold - but there is something in special that you need to look at.", Ismail said.
 |
| Pharaoh Tutankhamun's Funerary Mask - Cairo - Egypt |
Teddy, of course, couldn't resist the opportunity to give one of his little talks - in this case about the gold mask...
"This is the Funerary Mask of Tutankhamun.", Teddy began, "It is made in the likeness of Osiris, and is 54 centimetres tall, and is decorated with semi-precious stones. An ancient spell from the Book of the Dead is inscribed in hieroglyphs on the mask's shoulders. It is fashioned from two layers of high-karat gold, varying from 0.059 - 0.118 inches in thickness, and weighing 22.6 lb. X-ray crystallography has revealed that the mask contains two alloys of gold: a lighter 18.4 karat shade for the face and neck, and 22.5 karat gold for the rest of the mask. It was recently badly repaired by museum workers using 'superglue' ! - workers who have since been put on trial for unprofessional conduct, (including a director of the museum, and a former director of restoration). This is not unusual in Egyptian museums and archaeological sites, and many are of the opinion that most middle-eastern governments cannot be trusted with the stewardship of such irreplaceable sites and objects. - fortunately many such items continue to be kept in Europe and America.", Teddy explained.Teddy, as you will realize from his comments, is keen conservationist - which is unusual for a teddy-bear.
 |
| Pharaoh Tutankhamun's Inner Gold Coffin - Cairo - Egypt |
And so Teddy was able to give his final little talk of the day:
"The innermost coffin is amazing, being similar, but obviously smaller than the two outer coffins. The coffin is in the form of a human image, much like the first two, however, but this one was made from solid gold. The gold coffin measures 6.17 ft. in length, and the metal used to form the shape was hammered from heavy gold sheet in thicknesses varying between 00.1 - 1.18 inches. The coffin weighs 243.39 lbs., thus its 'scrap value' alone id many millions of US Dollars. As in the first two coffins, the image of the king lays with his arms crossed holding the crook and flail, however, the inlaid materials are much richer on this coffin. The eyes are inlays of calcite and obsidian, the eyebrows and cosmetic lines are lapis-lazuli coloured glass."
At that point everyone was suffering from a surfeit of Egyptological information, and they were wondering where Jim and Ismail were.
As it happens they had made their way to another gallery, leading off from the main Tutankhamun display.
Jim was surprised when he entered into the small gallery.
Unlike the other galleries in the museum, the walls of this gallery were lined with costly red velvet curtains.
Also, strangely, there was only one exhibit in the gallery - placed in the center of the room, and without a glass case.
Jim had seen pictures of this particular exhibit before, as it was world famous.
"You recognize it, Sir ?". Ismail asked.
"Yes... it's from the tomb of Tutankhamen...", Jim replied.
"Yes...", Ismail replied, as he contemplated the figure of the crouching dog - or was it a jackal ?
"The 'Anubis Shrine' was part of the grave goods of the young Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
The tomb was discovered almost intact on 4 November 1922 in the Valley of the Kings in west Thebes by Howard Carter.
Today the Anubis Shrine, with the 'find number 261', is here, in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo - as you can see.
The Anubis Shrine was found behind the area in the tomb which leads from the grave chamber into the 'Store Room'.
The shrine, with a figure of Anubis on top, was facing, appropriately, towards the West - the region of the dead.
The statue of the Anubis, is depicted completely in animal form, as a recumbent jackal, and is attached to the roof of the shrine.
The statue is made from wood, covered with black pigment.
The insides of the ears, the eyebrows, and the rims of the eyes, and the collar and the band knotted around the neck, are worked in gold leaf.
The whites of the eyes are made from calcite, and the pupils from obsidian.
The claws are in silver.
In the tomb, the Anubis statue was wrapped in a linen shawl, which was dated from the seventh regnal year of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, according to ink hieroglyphs on the material.
A scarf was wound around the neck of the figure, with lotus and cornflowers woven into it, tied in a loop behind the head.
The statue of Anubis was separated from the roof of the shrine on 25 October 1926 so that it could be transported through the grave chamber unscathed, out of the tomb and to the laboratory the next day, together with the shrine on the palanquin...".
Jim looked intently at Ismail.
"So you can be a 'well-informed' guide when you want to be.", Jim said, smiling.
Ismail blushed slightly, but continued with his seemingly well-rehearsed description of the 'Anubis Shrine'.
"In his records, Howard Carter called the shrine a 'pylon', after the gates found in front of many of the great temples in Egypt, which it resembles in shape.
Like the jackal, the shrine is also made of wood, with a layer of plaster covered with gold leaf.
The upper decoration shows the so-called 'djed pillar', a symbol of endurance, which is linked closely with the 'neter' Osiris.
The decoration also includes the 'tyet' symbol, which can stand for life, like the ankh, and is a symbol of the goddess Isis.
Inscriptions run horizontally along the upper edge, and vertically along the sides on all faces of the shrine.
There are no inscriptions on the base.
Inside the shrine are four small trays, and a large compartment.
They contain a range of jewelry, amulets and everyday objects, whose function is not entirely clear."
Ismail then stood respectfully to one side.
"So why is this exhibit here in its own gallery, and not with the other items from the tomb of Tutankhamen ?", Jim asked, puzzled.
"It is here for you...", Ismail said.
"I'm sorry... I don't think I heard you correctly...", Jim said, becoming nervous.
"It's for you... Jim.... the 'answer' you are looking for... the 'message'...", Ismail reiterated.
"And how do you know this ?", Jim asked, thinking that this boy Ismail was trying to make a fool of him.
"They told me...", Ismail replied.
"Who ?", Jim replied, becoming exasperated.
"The 'Neteru'..", Ismail answered quietly.
"Eh...What's up, doc ?," Ethan said, mimicking 'Bugs Bunny', as he entered the small gallery where Jim and Ismail were standing.
Jim was surprised when he entered into the small gallery.
Unlike the other galleries in the museum, the walls of this gallery were lined with costly red velvet curtains.
Also, strangely, there was only one exhibit in the gallery - placed in the center of the room, and without a glass case.
Jim had seen pictures of this particular exhibit before, as it was world famous.
"You recognize it, Sir ?". Ismail asked.
"Yes... it's from the tomb of Tutankhamen...", Jim replied.
"Yes...", Ismail replied, as he contemplated the figure of the crouching dog - or was it a jackal ?
"The 'Anubis Shrine' was part of the grave goods of the young Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
The tomb was discovered almost intact on 4 November 1922 in the Valley of the Kings in west Thebes by Howard Carter.
Today the Anubis Shrine, with the 'find number 261', is here, in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo - as you can see.
The Anubis Shrine was found behind the area in the tomb which leads from the grave chamber into the 'Store Room'.
The shrine, with a figure of Anubis on top, was facing, appropriately, towards the West - the region of the dead.
The statue of the Anubis, is depicted completely in animal form, as a recumbent jackal, and is attached to the roof of the shrine.
The statue is made from wood, covered with black pigment.
 |
| The Anubis Shrine in Tomb of Tutankhamen |
The whites of the eyes are made from calcite, and the pupils from obsidian.
The claws are in silver.
In the tomb, the Anubis statue was wrapped in a linen shawl, which was dated from the seventh regnal year of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, according to ink hieroglyphs on the material.
A scarf was wound around the neck of the figure, with lotus and cornflowers woven into it, tied in a loop behind the head.
The statue of Anubis was separated from the roof of the shrine on 25 October 1926 so that it could be transported through the grave chamber unscathed, out of the tomb and to the laboratory the next day, together with the shrine on the palanquin...".
Jim looked intently at Ismail.
"So you can be a 'well-informed' guide when you want to be.", Jim said, smiling.
Ismail blushed slightly, but continued with his seemingly well-rehearsed description of the 'Anubis Shrine'.
"In his records, Howard Carter called the shrine a 'pylon', after the gates found in front of many of the great temples in Egypt, which it resembles in shape.
Like the jackal, the shrine is also made of wood, with a layer of plaster covered with gold leaf.
The upper decoration shows the so-called 'djed pillar', a symbol of endurance, which is linked closely with the 'neter' Osiris.
The decoration also includes the 'tyet' symbol, which can stand for life, like the ankh, and is a symbol of the goddess Isis.
Inscriptions run horizontally along the upper edge, and vertically along the sides on all faces of the shrine.
There are no inscriptions on the base.
Inside the shrine are four small trays, and a large compartment.
 |
| The Anubis Shrine |
Ismail then stood respectfully to one side.
"So why is this exhibit here in its own gallery, and not with the other items from the tomb of Tutankhamen ?", Jim asked, puzzled.
"It is here for you...", Ismail said.
"I'm sorry... I don't think I heard you correctly...", Jim said, becoming nervous.
"It's for you... Jim.... the 'answer' you are looking for... the 'message'...", Ismail reiterated.
"And how do you know this ?", Jim asked, thinking that this boy Ismail was trying to make a fool of him.
"They told me...", Ismail replied.
"Who ?", Jim replied, becoming exasperated.
"The 'Neteru'..", Ismail answered quietly.
 |
| Bugs Bunny |
"Yes, Jim... you've missed some really great stuff - lots of gold !..." Max said, as he and the others joined Ethan and Teddy.
"So what are you doing standing in this empty gallery ?...", Ethan asked.
Jim looked at Ismail... confused.
"Empty ?", Jim said.
And it seemed that the others couldn't see the shrine....
"Well I know there's something going on here...", Teddy said, as he looked around and then got Ethan to put him down.
Teddy walked over the Jim, and tugged at his trouser leg.
"I have a funny feeling, young man, that you have finally got your 'message'...", Teddy said.
Jim looked down at Teddy, even more confused.
"Yes, Jim, the little bear is right, ... the shrine comes from الأقصر - al'Uxor - or in English, 'The Palaces'.
The meeting is to be on the West Bank of what the ancient Egyptians called 'Waset', the ancient Greeks called 'Thebes', and the modern Egyptians call 'al'Uxor'
That is the message.", Ismail said, as if it were obvious.
"Wowey... that was complicated...", Ethan said...
Jim looked at Ismail... confused.
"Empty ?", Jim said.
And it seemed that the others couldn't see the shrine....
"Well I know there's something going on here...", Teddy said, as he looked around and then got Ethan to put him down.
Teddy walked over the Jim, and tugged at his trouser leg.
"I have a funny feeling, young man, that you have finally got your 'message'...", Teddy said.
Jim looked down at Teddy, even more confused.
"Yes, Jim, the little bear is right, ... the shrine comes from الأقصر - al'Uxor - or in English, 'The Palaces'.
The meeting is to be on the West Bank of what the ancient Egyptians called 'Waset', the ancient Greeks called 'Thebes', and the modern Egyptians call 'al'Uxor'
That is the message.", Ismail said, as if it were obvious.
"Wowey... that was complicated...", Ethan said...
Thebes (Ancient Greek: Θῆβαι, Thēbai), known to the ancient Egyptians as 'Waset', is located along the Nile about 800 kilometres (500 mi) south of the Mediterranean. Its ruins lie within the modern Egyptian city of Luxor. It has long been famous as the burial place of many Pharaohs, the site of the largest of all Egyptian Temples at Karnak, and the reputed site of the 'Primeval Mound', where the 'World' began - and Jim, Faunus and friends have been directed to this city for a very special meeting - but Ethan is wondering if Luxor has a McDonald's....
Please note that this chapter is intended for adults (over 18 years), and contains text adult text and images. Please do not view this chapter if you find such features objectionable....
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All text - © Copyright Peter Crawford 2021
All Images - © Copyright Vittorio Carvelli 2021
Graphic Design - © Copyright Zac Sawyer 202