Highlights from Dr. Crawford's

 Nile Valley Tour to Egypt - 2002

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August 2002

July 28 to August 11, 2002

By  Clinton Crawford

This summer, Dr. Edison O. Jackson, president of Medgar Evers College, CUNY generously sponsored six students to travel with the rest of the group (pictured above) to the ancient land of Ta-Merry (ancient Egypt) and Ta-Nehisi (ancient Nubia) for fifteen glorious days. The lives of all the people who made this pilgrimage to the first holy land are forever transformed.  All Africans in the Diaspora must make this trip at least once in their lives.

Our first stop was Cairo, the modern capital of Egypt, where we visited the three magnificent pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure on the horizon of the Giza plateau. These colossal structures have indeed withstood the test of time with their limestone blocks, the smallest of which weighs in excess of one ton. Some members of the party fulfilled their fantasy by riding the ship of the desert, the camel, while others journeyed in search of the mud bricks that were used by “slaves” in the construction of the pyramids, but could not find one single mud brick. Instead, they found the elaborate burial site of those who worked on the decades long construction sites. In the blazing sun, with a calming breeze though, the group traveled by an air-conditioned omnibus to visit the colossal sculpture of the god Re Horakhty (Sphinx) on the central axis line of the great pyramid of pharaoh, Khafra.  His striking Africoid features and the temples surrounding this Wonder of the World amazed all. The commerce around these sites cannot be ignored. In fact the kids in one chorus with their Arabic accent: “Only one American dolla, jus one American dolla, please” testified to the urgency for the "green-backs."

The day’s educational field trip concluded with a stop to purchase a shenu (cartouche). Each person’s name was engraved in 18 karat gold using the medu netcher, the oldest writing known to mankind. Dinner and the night lecture followed as Dr. Crawford prepared for the second leg of the journey to Aswan and Abu Simbel.

Early the next day, the party boarded the one and a half hour flight for Aswan, which is to the south of Cairo. Our Nubian brothers and sisters greeted us with the greatest sincerity and respect. A familiar refrain was: “I am Nubian-Egyptian and I am happy to meet you.  Are you Nubian? … We are brothers and sisters.”  Aswan is the most beautiful part of Upper Egypt with its amalgamation of the ancient Egyptian culture and its modern African continuation. The people look exactly like the statues of five thousand years ago. The group stayed at the luxurious Isis Island hotel and was encouraged to come back since we were the first Africans to visit in three years. The sisters went shopping at a local open-air market at night, as nightlife is filled with families selling their merchandise.  Food is inexpensive and natural.

On the first full day in Aswan, the group was ferried to the famed Aegilka (Philea) Island, Eso Won, to visit the temple of Auset (Isis). Aegilka means, “forget me not,” and indeed those who visited this site will not forget the emotional and awe inspiring experience felt by all in attendance. Egypt and its temples are still alive. One has  to experience it for himself or herself. After a long day of visiting the New High Dam, a modern engineering feat, with several stops along the way back to our hotel, dinner and the evening lecture in preparation for our visit to Ramesses II and Nefertari temples followed.

A minor itinerary change lead the group to visit the Nubian village of West Soheil. Those in attendance had a wonderful time sharing the many gifts of books, pens, pencils, markers, toys, first-aid supplies and so forth with our Nubian brothers and sisters. The children were the highlight of our visit and maybe the adoption of this village is in view. There is time to visit other places before this decision is made. Our Nubian brothers and sisters need all the help we can afford.  

Over-determined that we must look upon the four 60 feet high colossi statues of Ramesses, the group took a bus to Abu Simbel and drove across the desert at 4:30 in the morning for six hours. Though tired, the group members from ages 22 to 79 were wide awake to witness one of the greatest engineering feats of all time.  Cut into the face of a rock, but now relocated to higher ground, the temples of Ramesses II and the gift of love to his beloved wife Nefertari, an equally magnificent temple, are a sight for human eyes to behold.  

Several members of the party echoed a constant refrain, “Can this trip get any better?” Well, once the group embarked the four-day luxury cruise liner for its journey up the Nile on the Nile Ruby, all were flabbergasted to find an entire cruise liner awaiting the 27-member party, exclusively with five chefs and all one could eat to order. The sumptuous repose was pleasantly punctuated with a visit to Kom Ombo, the double temple of god Sobek and god Haroeris and site of the first hospital with all of the instruments for surgery still presently used in modern medicine. The colossal stone columns with their open lotus capitals, roofless canopies, and low curtain of highly illustrated stone walls are a photographer’s and architecture student’s dream.

After the overnight voyage to Edfu, the next day’s itinerary had in store for the party a visit to the stunning falcon-headed god Temple of Horus the Elder. Shopping at the markets and meeting the people had then become routine along with the sumptuous “three squares” aboard the Nile Ruby.  Incidentally, the Nile Ruby had the best crew one could ever imagine. The breathtaking lush greenery as we sailed by, people waving to us, and sun bathing on the deck, comprised a masterpiece landscape only Amon-Re could compose. 

This was the time to prepare for the Valley of the Kings and Queens on the West Bank, Luxor. On the way to the Valley of the Kings and Queens, the bus stopped at the Colossi statues that were at the gateway to the now ruined temple of Amenhotep III. The pair of colossi was well in excess of 65 feet high. Photography and water reloading were also important at this stop on our way to the 110 degree zone of Queen Hatshepsut’s three-story temple, cut out of the side of a mountain of rock, the tombs of Ramesses II and III, King Tut, Queen Nefertari, and many others.

After our humanity was humbled by the awesome immortal structures of Hatshepsut, one of the most important female pharaohs of her time and any time, the Grand Lodges of Wa'rit (Karnak) and Wa’set (Luxor) still awaited us.  The following day, Dr. Crawford's group walked down the now interrupted avenue of the ram-headed and human-headed sphinxes. In a few words, Wa’rit is mind-boggling. This temple took 2,000 years to be completed, as every pharaoh after the shift of Egypt’s capital from Memphis to Wa’rit added his or her architectural input.  To get a generic sense of its magnitude, this temple can hold St. John the Divine, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Notre Dame, and West Minster Abbey Cathedrals, four to five football fields and yet there will be space left over. One hypostyle hall of Ramesses II temple has 134 colossal columns well over 75 feet high,  with each column measuring a circumference of six and half feet (see photo below).  These columns reduce a seven-foot man to a dwarf. The needle of Hatshepsut’s ben-ben (commonly called an obelisk) is no doubt the site from which the Washington Monument was copied.  Even after five and half hours of exploring, the party was not able to see all of this Wonder of the World. Amid the exhaustive heat, many members of the party opted for the air-conditioned bus, but the brave devotees visited the sister lodge, Wa’set, two miles from Wa’rit.

The next day, the tour intensified even more with our trip to Abydos, the first holy city known to mankind, the site of the Immaculate Conception and Resurrection, birth place of Ausaru (Osiris), and many of what later became the important ethical and moral principles of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. On the way back from Abydos, the group stopped at the temple of Dendera with the first configuration of the zodiac signs, the goddess Nut giving birth to the new day, Hathor's temple, colorful bas-reliefs of everyday life in ancient Egypt, Ramesses III palace---with its flush toilet, the numbering system, an assemblage of all the crowns worn in ancient Egypt, wrestlers, ballerinas, martial arts, and many other sporting activities (including the marathon) which most people believe were created by other cultures outside of Africa.

On our return to Cairo, the party visited Sakkara, the site of the first complete building made out of stone, the Step Pyramid of Zoser, under the watchful eye of the world’s first multi-genius, Imhotep. The complex surrounding this great structure has temples, the mastaba of Ptahhotep, the author of the world’s oldest surviving book, other mastabas, and smaller pyramids.

Memphis, the original capital of ancient Egypt after its reunification of 3,500 B.C. under pharaoh Aha, is just a few miles away from Cairo and Fayum.  Largely a museum now, the group was able to see the largest statue of Ramesses II, and many other important pieces in the courtyard with an alabaster sphinx of Hatshepsut which became the marquee photo opportunity for the MEC crew. On the rest day before returning  to New York, some members of the party visited the Old Coptic area in Cairo with its churches, mosques,  and its Bazaar, noted for great bargains. 

Kemet Nu  (ancient Egypt) is still alive and awaits the descendants of this great civilizing force to visit and renew themselves. Please join us next summer July 27 to August 10, 2003 for your experience of a lifetime. The students (pictured above) sponsored by Medgar Evers College and President Jackson, wish to thank the institution for providing them with an unmatchable experience.  They will make a presentation to the college community this Fall.

For more information about Summer in Egypt 2005 and Winter in South Africa & Zimbabwe, 2006, call (718)756-8904.

Click here to visit Photo Album 2002