Thursday, June 5, 2025

Art Expenditure

Hello! This post is a bit of a random rant, but I love art and school and children, and in the last number of years I've gained a new appreciation for open communication between boards and teachers. Have I been a shining example? Absolutely not, but that's what this is about. I want you to do better than I have done.

If you teach school or have ever taught school, you know as well as I do all the little things you buy: sticker charts, incentive prizes, coloring books, bulletin board borders, and more. Maybe you faithfully save your receipts and turn everything in. Maybe you don’t turn anything in. Practices vary. But I do think it’s important for there to be some clear communication on this issue. The particular item we want to look at today concerns the amount of money teachers spend on art supplies and how much of that cost is reimbursed.

I believe one of the first mistakes we, as teachers, make in communicating with our boards is simply in not asking for clear guidelines. Depending on how organized your school is, how large it is, or how long it has been in existence, the question of exactly what expenses are covered may or may not be a well-known fact. Take the time to ask your schoolboard for clear directives on this subject. They may need to discuss it in order to give you an answer, but communicating from the start can save both sides from building up resentment.

Maybe you’ve handed in receipts only to be met with a groan or a begrudging tone. I’m sorry. It doesn’t make it easy to communicate about expenditures. Maybe your receipts get lost and you can’t remember all the numbers. Or worse, you eventually decide that you won’t go through the pain of feeling like an unreasonable burden on the school, and you decide to pay for everything out of pocket. This is what I did. I’m not proud of it. Looking back, I can see that it was a disservice to the teachers who came after me and perhaps tried to hand in bills to the treasurer. There is enough wild variation among schools and teachers that we need to keep a little consistency where we can. I believe one place we could do a better job is in communicating about art expenditures.

To my fellow teachers: Imagine you are on the school board's side of the issue. If the previous teacher hasn't handed in receipts, the board has no way of knowing what has been spent on projects. Suddenly, a new teacher comes along and hands in expenses each month. The board may begin to feel they are being taken advantage of. Maybe they will talk to the new teacher and tell her she needs to hand in less, because "Miss Schmidt didn't spend this much. Make do with what's in the supply room!" They may also find the budget is not coming out as neatly as they had planned, due to the extra increase.

In 2023, I conducted a limited and informal survey of teachers across the conference using the poll option on WhatsApp. This project was started after a conversation with my school board chairman, wherein we decided it was possible that the men involved with our school systems didn’t fully appreciate the cost of our art periods. Not only do many men not spend a lot of time shopping at Hobby Lobby, they are a little out of the loop in regards to what kinds of crafts are being done across the conference. On the other hand, they probably have a better understanding of inflation than many of us teachers do. Following are the results of those surveys.

The first poll simply asked how much teachers estimated they spent per child per art period. Sometimes, I’m sure, participants spend more and sometimes less. One thing to consider is that while a large classroom can look like they spend a lot due to the volume of children, a small class can spend a lot as well because many supplies come in packs of ten, for example, while the teacher really only needs three or four. Also, teachers with smaller classes tend to spend more “because they can,” doing projects that are more expensive because they only have to buy supplies for a few students rather than a large group.

Fifty-eight teachers responded to the first poll. Slightly over half of the respondents (55%) estimated they spend $6 to $8 per week per student on art. The second greatest number of respondents (28%) believed they fell into the $3 to $5 per student per week range. Let's take a mid-range number, $5, and figure 30 art periods in the school year. The teacher is easily spending $150 per student per year. Supposing she has a class of 10 students, she is essentially giving a $1,500 gift to the school each year. Remember, this number is on the conservative side. Check out the graph below to see the rest of the data from this poll.




But we've all heard the jokes about teachers' wages. Surely all teachers, scrimping to get by, hand in their receipts, right? These results made me curious. With all the money teachers were spending on art, how much were they actually getting reimbursed? To satisfy my curiosity, I posted a second poll, again, not as professional as what you might hope, but probably as accurate a reading as you are likely to get for our parochial schools.

In this poll, the question was “How much art expense do you turn in to your school board?” The number of responses to this question was slightly lower than the first poll, at only 51. The answers were, in most cases, more evenly spread. Only one-fourth (25%) of teachers turn in every expense. On the opposite end of the spectrum, 20% of teachers don’t turn in any expenses. The remaining 55% turn in some of their expenses and pay for some themselves. The graph below provides a better look at the data.




So what is the take-away? Some teachers are doing a great job of communicating. I’m proud of you. Others, like myself, still need to learn a few skills.

To the schoolboard: Please make sure you have clear guidelines in place. Be specific about what you are willing to spend. Try your best not to grumble and groan at the expenditures that come your way. In a school of 30 children, it is quite possible each child is consuming $5 worth (a conservative number) of supplies each week, and possibly more—coming out to around $4,500 of art supplies per year. Your teachers might be handing in half of that cost. Please talk to them and find out. It's better for everyone to be on the same page and not have hidden expenses in the operation of your school. 

To the teachers: Hand in your receipts. It is not your job to pay for supplies. If you do something extravagantly expensive once in a while and choose to pay for that yourself, that is a different story. Do find out the guidelines of your school and try to respect the budget that is in place. Not only is it not necessary to spend large sums of money on projects, but it also sets a standard the following teachers may not care to or be able to replicate.

The final word here is simply that I’m trying to bridge the gap of understanding. There are things teachers know and things schoolboards know, and that knowledge is best utilized when combined. Working together takes a lot of communication, even about the little things like how much we spend on art.


 

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Egypt, Part II

 Day 4: Temple of Horus, Felucca

Another beautiful day in Egypt and another ancient temple to explore. This time it was the Temple of Horus, the Falcon god, in Edfu. This is the second largest surviving temple in Egypt. One thing our guide showed us here was the ancient Egyptian symbols for numbers, shown below. Start from the right for the smallest denomination, and end at the left with the largest. Think down the line of Roman Numerals. Another neat thing was the stairways leading to the roof. The ascending set spiraled up like a falcon rising on updrafts, and the descending set went straight down like a falcon when it dives. The incredible attention to detail is almost mind-boggling.


I found it very fascinating how the temple structures were similar to the Tabernacle of Moses in some respects. Both had an outer court and an inner court. The tabernacle had an altar, while the temples had either an altar or an offering room of some type, and then both, in a carefully protected spot, a Holy of Holies.  I am curious if God gave instructions to Moses on the building of the tabernacle using words and designs he was already familiar with?

We made the two-hour drive back to Luxor, stopped briefly by the hotel, then headed down to the waterfront for a felucca ride on the Nile. The felucca is a type of sailboat that remains virtually unchanged from the time of ancient Egypt. The ride started around 3, and it was interesting to watch all proceedings. On board with our group was the captain at the tiller, two boys, one maybe 10-12 and another several years older, and our chef and his helper. We were connected with another felucca and towed out behind a motorized boat to get us started on the way.

I love being on the water—there’s something so soothing about it—and I thoroughly enjoyed this experience as well. At some point we were asked when we wanted supper, and I believe Heath told them it was Ramadan, so we would wait. Perhaps this got us a longer ride than we would have otherwise, I’m not sure, but they took it seriously and though we were served hot tea, the food stayed safely out of reach until the sun sank out of sight.

After a lovely meal of rice and chicken with pita bread and hummus, we headed back toward the dock. We hooked up with the motorized boat again and got a tow in toward the dock. The idea was that at a certain spot the felucca would unhook and use the forward motion combined with precision guidance to slip back into its place. Something went wrong with the procedure this time, though. We came gliding in a bit rapidly and glanced off another boat, causing some fast Arabic chatter all around. I’m pretty sure the youngest sailor with us was partly to blame. Perhaps he’d figured out the American tourists were getting a kick out of him and was too busy putting on a show for them. Anyway, there was sudden dropping of sails and I found myself trying to untangle ropes from around my neck at one point. Although the crew didn’t seem particularly impressed, the docking caused a lot of laughter and got a five-star review from all of us.


We walked back to the hotel, which would have been fine except for the dreaded hawkers. As we came up the steps and onto street level, we were accosted almost immediately. There was one guy offering a carriage ride, another guy claiming he worked at our hotel and offering to show us the market place (there was a note in our room at the hotel warning us of just this issue), and a third guy offering… I’m not sure what. All three were standing around yammering about as fast as they could, trying to persuade us they had just what we needed. We eventually managed to start walking. We wanted to go and look at the temple ruins lit up at night, but I for one got little enjoyment out of the sight because there were always more people insisting they had the answer for all the problems we didn’t have for a small tip. It was with a sigh of relief I entered the calm and peaceful Nefertiti.

Most of us spent the rest of the evening on the rooftop again. I did have one startling moment when I got a message from Jane. Apparently, I had managed to lock her in the bedroom because I thought she had already gone out when she was actually just outside on our balcony. Fortunately, the problem was soon rectified, but although I have locked people out before, it was the first time I had ever locked someone in.
 Day 5: Karnak Temple, Dendera Temple, Luxor Temple, Flight to Sharm
 
Maybe you’re beginning to catch on to my earlier comment about mixing up what we saw in which temple. It is a very real possibility, but I’ll do my best here. One thing that made me smile at a few of the temples we visited was the list of rules that included one saying it was prohibited to perform rituals in the temple.
 
We begin our day with a trip to the Karnak Temple, the largest ancient temple in Egypt. Its size comes from the fact that many ancient rulers felt it important to keep adding on to the complex. There were a lot of rooms to wander through. I’m pretty sure we didn’t see everything, but we did see a few things of note. One of these was Hatshepsut’s obelisk. Originally, there were two of them, but only one remains standing today. At 100 feet, it towers above much of the surrounding ruins. It survived only because it contained the names of the gods, and while the pharaohs who came after Hatshepsut tried to wipe out all mention of her, they couldn’t destroy references to the gods, so they came up with another solution. A giant wall was built around the obelisk, hiding it from view. While this was effective, it also had the unintended consequence of preserving this monument for posterity.  
 

Obelisks are so very fascinating to me, partly because of all the theories surrounding how they were quarried, transported, and stood on end. At 323 tons, this beast is no easy thing to move, though many obelisks have been taken away from Egypt or given as gifts to other countries—such as one known as Cleopatra’s Needle, located in New York City’s Central Park.
 
We were also treated to a chance to make a wish. According to legend, walking around a gigantic stature of the dung beetle, or scarab beetle, the god of the morning sun and transformational power, would make a wish come true. Although, according to our guide, this was only possible if you walked “anticlockwise” and made an odd number of circles around the thing.
 
When we were let loose to do some exploring on our own we decided this would be a great place to play laser tag, with different rooms and alleyways and gigantic pillars to hide behind. We measured a medium-sized pillar, and discovered it would take 5 people to reach all the way around it. I think the ones in the picture below are the larger pillars.


 I think this was the only temple where there were massive carvings of horsemen in carriages on the outside wall. Definitely one of my favorite depictions.
 
Up next was a visit to Dendera Temple. This is one of only a few temples in Egypt to bear a likeness of Cleopatra. The artwork here definitely had a more Greco/Roman flare. Like many of the other temples we visited, it was massive. A fun thing at this temple is the crypts. There were three that you could pay to enter, so of course we did. Some of them required simply climbing down a set of stairs and crawling through a small entrance into a narrow chamber full of more intricate reliefs. The idea is that these secret rooms were used for storing sacred items or a stash of wealth, perhaps.
 

The most entertaining crypt to enter was one at a tall set of metal steps. There was a small entrance there—to quote, “If it was much tighter, we would’ve needed to bring out the butter”—that it was a little challenging to get through as there wasn’t really much of a landing. Directly through the hole, there were a couple of steps down. The big question for us girls was head first or feet first? I think there was some experimentation both ways. Inside one of the crypts was the famous image some people claim is evidence of light bulbs and electricity in ancient times. I saw it with my own eyes and can’t figured out who started these wild theories. The “wire” in the light bulb is very obviously a snake, a normal feature in Egyptian sacred art.
 

One thing that is decidedly not normal Egyptian is the zodiac found in a little room on an upper level of the temple. The original, of course, has long since been taken to some other country and displayed in a foreign museum, but there is a copy of it installed here.
 
We managed to squeeze in one more temple before departing from Luxor. That, of course, was the Luxor Temple itself—the very one visible from our hotel roof. There is an avenue of sphinxes that stretches a little over a mile and a half that connects this temple to the Karnak Temple. It really is quite impressive to see, containing 600 sphinxes on each side.


Luxor Temple was interesting and had a few things that stood out—such as the “birth room” which depicts the supposedly divine birth of King Amenhotep III. There are also a few statues of one pharaoh or another who is depicted wearing a smile, quite a different look than most. There is also a statue of King Tut here. Another neat touch is the remnants of some Roman-era paintings that adorn the arched entrance to the temple.
 
In the evening, we took a flight from Luxor to Cairo, then to Sharm El-Sheikh. The last time I looked at the clock it was around 2:00 in the morning and the head had just broken off the shower of our Air B&B type dwelling—before I got a shower.
 
Day 6: The Red Sea, Glass Bottomed Boat, Incredible Seafood
 
As I mentioned earlier, I love the water—pretty much anything to do with water—so having the Red Sea right outside, just a short walk to a cliff from our back patio, then a steep descent down to the tiny beach was amazing.
 
We slept in due to our late night. This was down on our itinerary as a “rest day,” so rest we did. It was around 9:30 or 10:00 before I roused myself. Some of our group had been out scouting food, and after a brief time spent together feeding body and soul, we split up and went our separate ways. Most of us girls went swimming, because how could you not? There was one set of snorkeling gear provided with our accommodations, and we made the most of it. It was my first time to ever actually go snorkeling, and although I had some difficulty figuring out how to keep from inhaling salt water, I loved it. I honestly could have spent pretty much all day in the water and been happy. The only sketchy moment was a face-to-face conversation with a pale purple jellyfish.
 

There was a beautiful coral reef just a little way out full of exotic fish, then a tremendous drop off where everything disappeared into a lovely deep blue. But eventually all good things must come to an end, and we had to get out to prepare for our next activity, a glass bottomed boat ride. We climbed back up the path, having snippets of conversation about interesting things, such as what we are tempted to base our self-worth on.
 
The glass-bottomed boat ride did not disappoint, except I thought it was too short. One quick Google search indicates that the Red Sea is in the top 10 snorkeling sites in the world, and its not hard to believe when there are hundreds of beautiful fish and multiple other types of exotic life sliding past under the boat.
 

Upon returning to our residence, the guys went swimming and we girls headed to the nearby market. This was a local/native market for a change, with not a hawker in sight. What blessed relief! Prices were fixed (and low), so we stocked up on a few fruits and snacks. We were not, however, spared from having an interesting encounter. We met, of all things, an American.
 
This American was from New York and he was a rabbi, “at home,” he informed us. I wasn’t aware rabbis could not be rabbis, but whatever. He recognized us as Mennonites and started questioning us down on how we were different than other Mennonite groups. He kept talking about wanting to interview us, but he’d left his phone at wherever he was staying. He had been trying to stop the war, he said, but had been unsuccessful in gaining enough notice with those in high positions. He also informed us he was single and one of the good guys. After several desperate attempts to get us to look up his YouTube channel, he finally departed, shocked that we didn’t know all the Biblical terms and Hebrew words he was referring to—apparently his channel was initials which stand for some term that refers to the wisdom of Solomon or something. Not to be snide, but he did seem rather full of his own wisdom.
 
Supper took place at a restaurant called Ebn Hamido Seafood. This was the impressive meal of the trip. Even I, the ultimate non-foodie, was impressed. Perhaps it was Heath’s comment that they ought to prepare us a feast, but I am here to tell you the meal exceeded every expectation. They brought out food, lots of it, and then brought out more.
 

The array was truly overwhelming. And then, just when you though the table was full, something else would appear. Thanks to Andrew for carefully recording the stunning variety:
 
2 kinds of grilled fish
2 kinds of fried fish
Boiled shrimp in sauce
Mussels
Fried calamari
Stuffed calamari on rice
Shrimp pasta
Broth
Coleslaw
French fries
Tomato and cucumber salad
Beet and apple salad
Marinated tomato wedges
Pickled carrots
Roasted peppers and eggplant
Cheese bread
Pita bread
Peanut dip
Potato dip
Unknown kind of dip
Dates
Water
Two kinds of juice
 
If you are looking this menu over enviously, then you probably are getting an understanding of the impressiveness of the whole spread. If you want to try some of the dishes yourself, I’m happy to inform you this is a chain with a restaurant located in NYC. However, I feel it is only fair to warn you that the price may be higher in the U.S. than in Egypt. Our cost per person averaged out to about $12—not bad for fresh seafood, yes?
 
Day 7: St. Catherines Monastery, Mt. Sinai, Bedouin Restaurant, Flight to Cairo
 
Our 3-hour drive to Mt. Sinai begin rather too early for my liking the next morning. I thought perhaps I could doze on the way, but it quickly became apparent that plan was an impossibility. We were accompanied by our driver, a member of the Tourism Police because we were apparently heading into a dangerous zone, and a faithful guide. And let me impress upon you the extent of his faithfulness. He pointed out every interesting and non-interesting sight along the way. He was gifted with the volume of a foghorn and a relentless monotone.
 
From him, we learned many things. For example, if you mispronounce the word culvert badly enough, you can convince some Americans you are speaking about corvettes. He pointed out numerous buildings that had been built by the government for the Bedouin people, but which they refused to use. One of our favorites was listening to his rambling account of Moses and the burning bush and discovering when Moses threw his rod down before Pharaoh, it turned into a snack.
 
We toured St. Catherine’s Monastery and saw the supposed burning bush of Moses. They claim various clippings have been taken to start new bushes, but none of them will grow. However, it is very interesting how many fossils of the burning bush are for sale around the compound as well. Apparently, the bush is still considered a fire hazard. How else can you explain the fire extinguisher displayed beside it?
 

 At last, the climb up Mt. Sinai commenced. I knew before I ever went that there was a chance I wouldn’t be able to make the climb, and it soon became obvious I had reason to doubt. I staggered a little ways up the trail with eager camel ride offers behind us. There came a point where I was already slowing down enough, I knew I needed to either quit and go back down to wait at the Monastery or hire a camel. There was a small problem with the camel business, though, and that was that they can’t take you all the way to the top of the mountain. I knew my bad knee had bothered me some going in and out of tombs and pyramids, and I had serious doubts if it would hold up going up the final 750 steps to the peek. Not to mention my life-long difficulty with altitude climbs.
 

 So at last I made the decision to turn back. Of course, it would have been neat to say I’d climbed all the way, but I had three hours by myself at the monastery to make peace with the fact that I didn’t. Those three hours, by the way, were spent meditating and half-dozing. There were only two people who came in trying to sell me things. One was very sly and actually accepted no quickly. The other was not quite as subtle, and some higher up person came and chased him out and apologized to me profusely. All was well until they closed the toilets. But thankfully the rest of the party returned (looking quite finished, mostly) and a second toilet option was found.
 
We drove only a short distance to a Bedouin restaurant where everyone flopped gratefully down on the cushions around a low table. We were served a lot of food again, but I didn’t feel like eating. Appetites definitely varied, though, and some pretty nearly cleaned their plates out. I couldn’t find any picture that exactly described out experience, but here is a poor substitute.
 

 The main course, by the way, was a pile of rice with eight of these kababs.
 

We drove straight back to Sharm and straight to the airport where the helpful touring company met us with our bags. Our flight left at 10:35, and we got back to the hotel (Eileen Hotel again, for anyone interested) after midnight.
 
Day 8: Alexandria, Catacombs of Kom el Shoquafa, Serapeum, Qaitbay Citadel, Tram Ride
 
We had another drive from Cairo to Alexandria to tour some things there. The first one we visited was the Catacombs of Kom el Shoquafa. There were a few grand carvings and things, but they believe that many engravings were erased by the damp air. I found the system very interesting that was used to lower caskets into the tomb. There was a chute that led straight down through which the body was lowered, then a low tunnel through which the sarcophagus would have been slid. Next, of course, they would have situated it in one of the niches along the walls. There did seem to be some speculation that perhaps the lower slot was used for the body and the one above it was used for items intended to serve in the after-life. Our guide took us into a back room and turned off the lights. I am such a creature of the light, but I do also love a good dark moment, whether that be humor or otherwise.
 

 One word about the guide—the one we had for the last two days was my favorite by far. He was informative and to the point, not nearly so long-winded as the dear Mt. Sinai fellow, nor so loud. He had a lot of friends that would say hi to him, and he had a fantastic sense of humor. If you’ve ever been around other languages, you know that humor can be hard to translate sometimes into the nuance of a non-native tongue, but this guide did very well.
 
Our next stop was at the Serapeum of Alexandria. I’m going to be open about this one—I’m stealing information off the internet as I type. This site was a Greek temple built by Ptolemy III. There are a number of old ruins there, but it’s difficult to figure out what anything really was as there is no signage or information readily available. One thing that did stand out was Pompey’s Pillar.
 

 
This pillar stands at a little over 88 feet. I don’t know much about it, so apologies all around. One thing that was discovered was a hole in the base that was large enough for a human to enter. The rest of us stood afar off and observed as one little girl peered into said hole and got a bit of a shock to see a living, breathing being staring back at her.
 
Our next destination was the Qaitbay Citadel. This is a beautiful building, completed around 1479 AD—rather new if you compare it to the pyramids. It is built where the Alexandria Lighthouse used to stand. I thought the building rather beautiful with its elegant, cool stone walls. The citadel is three stories high, and we ventured up to the rooftop from which we caught glimpses of the Mediterranean. It was indeed lovely, with the breeze wafting the sea-salt air towards us.
 

After stopping for a quick lunch, we hopped aboard the most darling vintage tram to ride just a little ways down the street. Our actual itinerary called for a stop at the modern Alexandria Library, but enthusiasm wasn’t so high for that, so our guide swiftly made tram arrangements instead.
 

After the tram excursion we piled back into the lovely Magic Carpet van once again and headed back to Cairo. We walked out to find supper again. Pizza this time, by some lovely Google Translate names. How would you like to eat Alexandria, Mixed Jane, and The Leader Is the Problem? They were all good.
 
We stopped on our way back to the hotel to buy some scarves to wear inside the mosque the next day. Our guide had said we could just take down our hair, but that didn’t seem to be a good option, so covering our heads was the next best thing. It is very interesting trying to do business when there is such little English.
 
Back on the balcony, Jane and I had to satisfy our paper airplane curiosity. We tossed them from 6 floors up, but were disappointed with the results. Mostly they just went straight down. I was thankful later that they hadn’t hit anyone. We watched a guy swallowing and breathing fire down on the street below for tips by one of the restaurants that had tables set up in the streets. Another guy came by later and was doing magic tricks, but we couldn’t see well enough to get the full effect of that one.
 
Day 9: Cairo Citadel, Mosque of Sultan Hassan, Al-Rifa’I Mosque, Synagogue Ben Ezra, Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church, the Last Hurrah
 
So here we are at the last day of our adventures. This was a full day, just like the others. To be honest, my head was so full of all the things we had seen by now I don’t know if I can do any type of explanation justice. To enter the mosques, we got to wear our headscarves and take off our shoes. In one of the mosques, a priest sang a special chant just for us that was impressive. Our guide showed us the correct positions of prayer and told us many more things that I listened to, knowing I’d never remember later. I found out a few details—that Muslims are allowed to have up to four wives, but they must get permission to marry more than one and they must have a good reason. There were many chambers in the mosques to hold the sarcophagus of famous religious figures, but it all seemed so dark and sad in spite of the beautiful and impressive buildings, such as the Cairo Citadel, pictured below.
 

After the Mosques, we went to a tourist market for a bit. I was happy to haggle prices there, until I got to one of the last people I needed to bargain with. If I’d had more time I would have abandoned him and sought out a different vendor, but the guide was waiting outside the booth and I knew I needed to hurry, so I stuck it out. Jane, thankfully, was right outside the door waiting for me. I wanted some of the shawls the women wear, and this vendor took it upon himself to place one on my head while asking if I was single and if I wanted an Egyptian husband and such things. I didn’t get as good a price as I wanted there, but I was ready to just get out. I’m not sure if he thought flirting would help him get the better end of the deal or what. I’d never been hassled that bad by any vendor in any foreign market before.
 

After departing the markets, we went to some churches and synagogues or some such things. One was holding a service, even as we walked in and out touring it. There was a priest dressed somewhat like a pope burning incense and other priests going up to read out of a big book. They were speaking the Coptic language, which is very closely related to what would have been spoken during the ancient Roman occupation of Egypt. It was neat hearing something so near to the voices of the past, but the feeling was suffocating, allergic, and not witnessing to my spirit.
 
Another religious building supposedly sat atop the cave where the Holy Family lived during their escape to Egypt. It also had a beautiful wooden ceiling.
I’m about out of information. If you have questions about anything, you’re welcome to send me a message. That doesn’t mean I’ll know the answer, but I will always be enthused to talk about Egypt.
 
After being dropped off at the hotel, all of us except Heath’s struck out towards the Nile, planning to sit down there and enjoy the scenery. After some interesting escapades that included crossing some super busy streets and something that might be termed breaking and entering, we made do with leaning on the bridge railing and enjoying the sight of the water slipping away downstream.
 
Back at the hotel, we started the process of packing and showering. We gathered for one last dessert time together, took a ceremonious bite of a sandwich, and found a quiet place to have one more devotional moment. Then started the terrible ordeal of saying goodbye.
 
Quite a number of us left on a flight at 1:45 in the morning, to Dallas via Frankfurt. Our good old Magic Carpet picked us up at 10:00 or 10:30, and we headed to the airport.
 
Along the way we kept losing members of our party until it was at last just Jane and I on the six hour drive home after our last flight. That drive was rugged. It was dark and we were tired, but we made it home a little after midnight.
 
And that’s it. The end of one of my favorite adventures of all time. People keep asking me what my favorite thing was. That is absolutely impossible. I might be able to give you a favorite in a certain category—like favorite food, or favorite temple, but there is no way to give one over-arching favorite thing about the whole trip.
 
Unless, of course, you count the people. People are always what make anything. And yes, I still say that, even being the introvert that I am. The Egyptian people and culture were fascinating to watch, and the people I traveled with were each incredible in their own right. It was a lot of fun to watch everyone slide into their little slot in the group and fill a place for the few days we were together.
 
And so this is the end. Egypt is past and gone, but I’ll always cherish it in my heart.
 
And maybe someday, I’ll take another trip, another adventure—maybe you’ll come, too.
 
Because one can always dream.
 
I’ll see you there, in Italy or Ireland or Poland or Germany or Mongolia or Australia. Take your pick, or choose something else. Just let me know the date!

Saturday, March 15, 2025

Egypt, Part I

Egypt—where the Nile snakes its way placidly along the verdant banks bringing life to an otherwise barren land; where smog and dust hang hazily over the grand buildings of Cairo; where you can reach out a hand and touch history and explore the places you’ve only read about before—it’s over, and I’m trying to accept that.

Oh, it’s not completely disappointing to be home. I’m an American, and a rather spoiled one at that, but the adventure and intrigue of an ancient culture is a little hard to let go. Not to mention saying goodbye to the most intelligent, funny, and inspiring group of people I may have ever had the privilege of spending ten days with.

As promised, I shall try to give you bits and pieces about the trip, though I make no promise on whether it shall become an unwanted inundation. So, as our guide would say, Yalla Beena! Let’s go!

Day 1:Pyramids, Sphinx, and the Egyptian Museum

The very first thing we did was visit the most iconic Egyptian site ever: the pyramids on the Giza Plateau. I had prepared myself to be underwhelmed. I half expected them to not be so impressive alongside modern skyscrapers, but I was delighted to be awed by the majestic structures. Something that is important to understand is that no one seems to know anything for sure about the ancient findings in Egypt. There are many things that are generally accepted to be fact, but an incredible amount of information is just guesswork. I found this alternately intriguing and annoying. One thing I feel we can confidently confirm is that the pyramids were not constructed by aliens.

The long line to enter the Great Pyramid moved at a decent speed, and we soon stepped inside a rustic tunnel that led us further into the heart of the pyramid. As we moved forward, we begin meeting people coming out who looked a bit hot and bedraggled. What could be ahead of us to leave one in this state? Our questions were soon answered. 

The comfortable tunnel we had been enjoying narrowed down to a passage where you had to bend at the waist and climb up a ramp akin to what you would put on a chicken house. The space wasn’t too confining for one person, but there was a steady stream of people coming back down the ramp, and it was far from comfortable for two to pass.

5 Facts to go inside Great Pyramid in Private tour


Finally, we emerged into the Grand Gallery of the pyramid. Here, the roof soars away many feet above your head. Short of Google, I have no way to tell you how high, but it is impressive. However, you are now faced with another ramp to climb, though at least you can stand up straight for this one. At the top of that ramp, there is a short tunnel that you have the choice of duck-walking through or crawling, and at the far end you find yourself at last in the King’s Chamber.

I hope you don’t find this disappointing, but there’s really not much to see in the King’s Chamber other than a large stone box that is said to be the sarcophagus of Pharaoh Khufu. For me, though, it wasn’t so much what to see as it was the fact that I was inside a pyramid. It was a crazy “Wow” moment that I felt like I wasn’t appreciating as much as I should at the time as I was still puffing around like a demented hippo from the climb up. That quickly became normal—the frantic feeling I should be soaking up more than I had the capacity to hold in the moment (maybe also the puffing). I wished for more eyes and a better memory more than once.

The trip back down the ramps was much better than going up. Although the guards stationed along the route kept yelling at people to move and go. I couldn’t quite understand the logic, because it was impossible to move any faster than the person ahead of you. Another tourist muttered to me something about this being “just like a man.” Eventually we were back at the section where you had to climb bent over. We knew from observation on the way up that going backward seemed to work better, so that’s what we did. It was great. I backed down as quickly as I could with little regard to who I was running into. Because my back was to them, there was no guilt or awkward eye contact. I plowed ahead unceremoniously, and eventually exited the confines of the stone walls and stood in the open once more under the big blue sky.

We walked over to the second tallest pyramid on the plateau and our guide gave us a small speech about it, then we headed toward the Sphinx. Before seeing the Sphinx, we were given another speech about a mortuary temple that is also on the premises. For me, the Sphinx was neat to see because it’s something you see in pictures and I can now say I’ve seen it, but it was smaller than I thought it would be and I’m completely unsatisfied with information about it.

I will apologize now to all my friends who are foodies. You would have loved trying the different kinds of foods we encountered, but I have no eloquent words for food. We did eat, but I’m afraid you will find few details on that part of the trip here. Any food-related trivia that appears you can probably thank some other observant Egypt traveler for.

In the afternoon we visited the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Our guide escorted us inside and we followed her about to all the main attractions—the Narmer palette which depicts the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt and is one of the earliest examples of Hieroglyphics, the screaming mummy of a young prince who, along with his mother, helped plot the murder of his father, and treasures from the tomb of Yuya and Tuya, a noble couple. Of course, we were whisked along much too quickly for my liking.

Screaming Mummy' displayed in Egypt museum | Arab News

One of the high points of the visit to the museum was the room containing treasures from the tomb of Tut. I don’t think I’m usually too given to fits of annoyance and anger, but I have to admit I was tested a few times while in Egypt, and this was one of those times. I have been of the understanding my whole life that museums are places to be taken slowly, where you soak up information and ask questions and read every placard. Not here. The room where Tut’s things were located was jammed with people and some random guide kept yelling at everyone to “Hurry! Hurry! Move! Move! Go!” It made me honestly feel quite stubborn, like I wanted to dig my heels in and not give an inch. You should be pleased to know I eventually exited without making a scene.

But it was shortly after this that our guide gave us 30 minutes to explore on our own and then meet again by the exit. This was a moment of pure panic. I had no idea where to start. The rooms stretched out on every side, I was completely turned around and had no idea where the exit was, and there was absolutely no way to see everything I wanted to see. We girls all stuck together and Jane did a great job at navigating. There were a lot of crates sitting about waiting to be shipped to the Grand Egyptian Museum, but there were still a lot of things to see. I loved the miniature carvings of everyday life, the toys, the tools used for building and surveying, mummified bread, the scribe’s room, and a few ancient wigs.

Back at the Eileen Hotel we relaxed a bit (this was day one, where I still thought I might be able to keep up with journaling), then headed out to look for food. I know some of you saw my status where I said the Egyptian driving was terrible. I would like to revise that statement. Egyptian driving is extremely skilled, just a different breed than what we have in the States. There are lines on the road, but they don’t really mean anything as a four-lane road can easily become six lanes. The constant honking is not in annoyance, just a mode of communication letting others know you are there. Add to that the jumble of cars, taxis, horse drawn carts, motorcycles, and busses all moving at different speeds, and it’s like an obstacle course. To cross the road, you simply strike out toward the middle, dodging vehicles and waiting in between lanes for a car to pass before moving on. I am not brave of heart, and these crossings always terrified me, so I did my level best to always cross with some other more confident person. 

Cairo's lines, lanes, and U-turns - Features - Al-Ahram Weekly - Ahram  Online

As it happened, our first day in Egypt was also the first day of the month-long Muslim celebration of Ramadan. During Ramadan, the sincere believers fast from dawn to sunset. After the age of fifteen, you are not allowed to eat, drink, smoke, or chew gum during the fast. You are also expected to do more praying and giving. It was very interesting to observe this, as about 90% of Egypt is Muslim. There were many lights and foil streamers decorating the city as well.

We spent a fair amount of time on the balcony of our hotel just watching the hustle and bustle below. From there, you could see rows of tables set up in the street and loaded with people and food, and the instant the sunset prayer call was finished there was an instantaneous digging in. A couple of guides were sure to inform us that Ramadan now was good, but when it came in the summer it was more difficult. That was certainly not hard to believe!

Day 2: Saqqara Necropolis, Serapeum, Dahshur

I haven’t mentioned it yet, but the weather was absolutely beautiful the entire trip. In the mornings you might desire a jacket, but it soon warmed up to pretty much perfect.

Our first stop on Day 2 was at the Saqqara Necropolis. This area is filled with burial places: pyramids, tombs, and mastabas. There are also temples and other structures that served some religious purpose. This is where you will find what is considered the first pyramid in ancient Egypt, although it isn’t a true pyramid, but rather a step pyramid belonging to an innovative king named Djoser. 

Step Pyramid Interior Reopens to the Public – EgyptTravelBlog.com

Here, too, we went down into a tomb that was highly decorated. Please note whenever I mention entering a tomb, you can be assured that the earlier mentioned “chicken ramps” play a part, as well as generally a few sets of stairs somewhere. Part of the interior of this tomb was made of alabaster, and when a light was shone on it, you could see the figure of a king. In another part of the complex, I was delighted by the art. Everything I had read about ancient Egyptian art praised its intricate designs, but I always felt a bit dubious because the pictures only looked moderate to me. To my delight, I discovered that in real life the carvings were, indeed, detailed and talented! In this area there were a lot of depictions of fish and butchering cows. At least, those were the pieces that caught my attention.

After leaving the necropolis, we ventured to the Serapeum. The Serapeum of Saqqara was, to quote Google, “a burial place for Apis bulls, sacred animals of the god Ptah.” Basically, the Serapeum is a huge underground catacomb full of tombs for large beasts. I have to say this was one of my favorite structures. I’m not sure what it was that I loved—perhaps the elegant arches (though I’m not sure how many were original to the construction?) and spaciousness. It was easy to imagine flickering candles in the niches along the walls. One sarcophagus had been partly finished, then left in the middle of a passageway for some unknown reason. Why did the workmen abandon it? What was the story of its half-finished presence? These questions with no certain answers are, for me, part of the charm of ancient Egypt. 

Lighting Up Saqqara: An Electrifying Theory for the Serapeum Sarcophagi |  Ancient Origins

 Next we traveled only a small distance to Dahshur. This is the place of a few more pyramids. Here we ventured into the Red Pyramid. This was a better experience than the Great Pyramid because it was much less crowded. There were maybe ten or so other visitors while we were inside. The one negative was the stench, which some believe to be a result of bat droppings. The Red Pyramid is considered the first true pyramid “in the Whoooole World,” to quote our guide, although you don’t quite get the effect without the appropriate hand motions. We then headed over to the Bent Pyramid where a few of us opted out of climbing inside and just waited in the beautiful weather for the others to emerge. 

Red Pyramid of Sneferu Facts - Inside Red Pyramid of Dahsur | Egypt Tours  Portal (AU)

 We picked up lunch and ate in the tour van on the way back to Cairo. The tour company, by the way, was called The Magic Carpet. We did have many interesting moments wafting about in the Carpet vans. That being said, if you ever get the chance to visit Egypt, I’d highly recommend them. They did a great job of getting us in and out of places and making sure we stayed with the schedule.

Upon our arrival back in Cairo, we visited the Museum of Egyptian Civilization. As before (and as at later dates) our guide gave us the highlights, then turned us loose for a time. This museum had one of my favorite displays—the hall of mummies. I’ve been fascinated with mummies for years, and now here I was in the midst of 22 of the most famous mummies in the world! They were presented in a very elegant and respectful manner. The color schemes were navy and gold, and the halls were quiet and lit with a very ambient glow. Pretty much every chamber housed both the mummy and the royal coffin in which it had been found. Here we found the mummy of the murdered king I mentioned earlier, along with a mummy that had suffered from polio, as well as the mummy of the Pharaoh who may have been in power at the time of the Exodus. A couple intriguing things was catching a glimpse of the toe-prints that were still visible and the different hair styles that had survived amazingly well.

The other part of the museum was not terribly large, but there was still a lot to see in the limited amount of time we had (30 minutes again, by the way). One such artifact was a tent made of leather and used for body purification rituals about 3,000 years ago. It was in stunning shape with brilliant colors. Another thing I really enjoyed was a small model of what looked like stairs going up one side and down the other of a rooftop. The placard said this was an ancient clock and you could tell time by which steps were in shadow and which were in sunlight. Also available for viewing was the statue of Akhenaton, the heretic king of ancient times. He is one of my favorite historical figures of Egypt, just because he completely bucked the system and did his own thing.

Back at Eileen Hotel there was nothing to do but wait for the van to pick us up again later and take us to the train station, so we struck out en masse across the city looking for food stuff, which was fun in its own right—not just because people watching is always fun, but also because I got a kick out of watching people in our group delight in new foods.

The van arrived to pick us up and head for the train station at about 7:00 if I recollect correctly. Unfortunately, the train station is fairly new and the roads are not well-marked to reach it, so our driver bumbled about unsuccessfully for a time, trying this route and that. He stopped three times to ask for directions, and at one point performed a U-turn on a moderately busy road. The last guy he asked was on a motorcycle and led him to the correct turn. The time was tight enough that alternatives for “if we miss it” were being discussed, but the touring company representative raced us through security and we marched down the platform at the double, all the way to the very last car of the train, #13, if you happen to be superstitious.

An Overnight Sleeper Train in Egypt Is an Unforgettable Adventure -  Business Insider

 We made it with about 4 minutes to spare till departure time. We flung bags and baggage into our sleeping compartments, then congregated in the hallway to watch the world go by. The train ride was something I looked forward to quite a bit, and it did not disappoint. I delighted in the strange experiences and tried briefly to figure out how Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express could have happened in a similar setting. No worries, I wasn’t planning a murder myself.

 The room Kari and I shared was 11/12 and was about in the middle of the car. It wasn’t long until the porter came to helpfully prepare our room for supper. I didn’t much like eating in the room because I couldn’t see the scenery slipping by outside although it was already dark. Jeanie came by after a while and informed us we did have a connecting door to the next room which neither of us had noticed, so we ended up opening that and conversing with the next-door neighbors for a bit, which was also a little funny because you couldn’t necessarily always see who you were talking to. After supper most of us went six cars forward to the lounge car, called a Club Car in this case. We sat about and chatted and looked out the windows, then at the urging of the porter headed back to our rooms. He seemed concerned that we were still up as he planned to serve us breakfast at 4:30. So to bed we went, sponge baths in the sink and all. Let me just make a note here that I had no trouble going to sleep the whole trip, but sleeping on the train was amazing because of the lulling qualities.

Day 3: Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut’s Temple, Deir el-Medina, Temple d’Amon

 Breakfast came as promised about 4:30. I struggled with eating, especially since the meal included three different types of bread and a bag of chips. We disembarked at 6:00 at Luxor. A van met us and ferried us to the Nefertiti Hotel. All of our luggage was left in the lobby there. Some of us went up on the rooftop to survey the lay of the land, and I was so glad we did! It was a beautiful sight, with the Nile meandering by, hot air balloons aloft, the gentle light of morning, and an ancient temple just to the left of us a bit. I’m not sure if I caught on at the moment, but the hill we saw on the west bank is where Hatshepsut’s Temple is located. Just behind the hill is the Valley of the Kings.

Nefertiti Hotel Luxor , Egypt

At 7:00 we loaded back up and headed out to the Valley of the Kings. This was yet another highlight for me, as I’ve been a fan of The Golden Goblet ever since 5th grade or so. There were no khefts in the Valley, though, just lots of tourists.

 We were privileged to enter 5 tombs. The tomb of Tutankhamun and the tomb of Seti I (both of which cost extra) are the only names I can give you without consulting maps and more intelligent people. Tut’s tomb is small, but super crowded. It came back to me with a vengeance how much I hate having to push and shove my way forward to view. Interestingly, Tut’s mummy is the only one left in the Valley. All the others have been moved. One feature that surprised me was a brilliantly painted wall featuring a number of baboons.

 The tomb of Seti I is considered one of the most beautiful tombs, as well as one of the largest. This is because tombs were worked on as long as the owner was alive, so the longer they lived, the larger the tomb. This tomb was my favorite by far. There was one section where no carving was done, but you could see the drawings they had made, intending to add decoration. Below I have included a little map to show you what the route down into the tomb looks like, as well as a picture of the beautiful blue color used on the tomb ceiling.

The burial chamber of Tomb of Seti I - Egypt Museum

  

2025 Day Tour to Tomb of Seti I Valley of the Kings Tomb of King Tut and  Hatshepsut Temple (Luxor) - with Reviews

 Lurking about in these tombs are guys that try to be oh-so-helpful. They are eager to point out special features, take pictures, or give you directions—all for a tip, of course. I saw one of these men following a woman as she fled from a tomb, flapping her arms wildly in his direction and barraging him with heated words, something down the line that she refused to pay. He pattered along after her, calmly insistent that she must. I felt sorry for her because terms and conditions of these types of arrangements were a little difficult to catch on to.

 We also ran into a little French lady that was trying to ask us about our coverings. Of course, she had never heard of Mennonites, but as we struggled to explain, another woman overheard us. “Mennonites?” she said, “I’m one, too!” Now there was nothing evident in her appearance to label her as a Mennonite, and I’m afraid the poor little French woman was left even more confused by the explanation that we don’t all look alike.

 After leaving the Valley of the Kings, we headed to Hatshepsut’s Temple. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with Hatshepsut, but she was a Queen who illegitimately took over the throne and ruled as Pharaoh. I think I caused Jeanie a bit of a shock when I said I admired her tenacity to get what she wanted. But do let me be clear here: I believe also that she was very self-serving and definitely not a good role model. Her temple was one I was looking forward to seeing, and I must admit I was disappointed just a little. I think it is one of the more beautiful and elegant temples—almost modern in its simplicity—but close up it is just a little… dull? There’s not much to see that makes it stand out. From afar I still think it is stunning, particularly lit up at night.

Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut - Explore Luxor

 After the temple we headed to Deir el-Medina. This was a village of the finest artisans who worked on the tombs in the valley of the kings. We were told several times that no one knew where the kings’ tombs were except these workers, but I had some trouble believing that. For some reason it seemed unrealistic. I mean, everyone would have known of the existence of this village. Were they not allowed visitors? Did no one follow them to see where they went?

Explore the Village of Deir el Medina — Google Arts & Culture

 At the same site were a couple of tombs of the artisans that we were allowed to enter. They are considered to have some of the finest art of ancient Egypt inside. They were definitely smaller than the tombs of the kings, but they were very beautifully done. A couple of scenes that caught our eye was that of the god Anubis doing chest compressions and another of the god Ra depicted as a murderous rabbit. OK, so I know that’s not really what it shows, but where’s the fun in taking everything as it is meant to be?

Anubis before embalmed Amennakht - Egypt Museum

Ra killing Apep, Egypt,1275 BC [1240x1161] : r/ArtefactPorn

 There was also a smallish temple to be toured at this site, but there was little to make it stand out, so I shall skip directly to a more interesting temple—the Temple d’Amon (Medinet Habou).

 Now, I’m not promising I haven’t gotten some of these temples mixed up, but here’s what I think I remember. Number one, I’d like you to take a look at that massive doorway. There was once a huge door that blocked that entrance. Inside, you can still see where the door would have been set. Something that made this location interesting is the fact that the wonderfully talented designers made some serious mistakes here. The first was in the case of the door. The hinges landed in the middle of the carving of a god, so you can see where they had to plaster it over and re-carve it. The carvings are super deep, too, perhaps in an effort to keep them from being defaced like so many of Hatshepsut’s carvings.

 A second mistake occurs inside the temple. There is a window platform that was meant for the royal couple to stand at and observe ceremonies in the courtyard. However, there was apparently some poor planning, and the pillars along that side of the court had to be redesigned and spaced differently in order to not block the view from the window. I really like this because it’s a break from the Egyptians’ love of symmetry and it makes them more human, somehow. 

Medinet Habu Temple (Madinat) In Luxor, Egypt

 This temple was also used as a refuge by Coptic Christians, and there are gouges in the floor that they made to tie up livestock or prisoners, I’m not sure which because I thought this guide said prisoners but a later guide showed us similar gouges and said they were for livestock, so who knows.

 There were the ever-present lurkers here as well. I just wanted to wander about and enjoy things in a decidedly introverted way, but it gets a little difficult when there’s always someone at your elbow hoping you’ll give them a tip. I was sorely tempted to start tipping them just to leave me alone, but I wasn’t convinced that would even work so I cut my self-guided tour short and went to wait by the exit with a few of the others.

 I think the only other place we stopped before heading back to the hotel was at these two random statues sitting stoically in the middle of nowhere. I’m sure some other person could give you better information about them, but I have none. Please enjoy them just as they are.

Colossi Of Memnon - Giant Statues In Luxor, Egypt

 Back at the hotel I tried to take a nap which proved a mite difficult with the cheerful guy calling, “Room service!” at the door and popping in with a bottle of water, or the maintenance man poking his head in to fix our hot water heater. Which, make no mistake, I was glad he did, but it did make napping a bit of a challenge.

 We had heard that at 5:00 the Luxor Museum would be open, so with hearts full of hope, we girls set out to walk there. I was the only one with the capability of maps on my phone, so I was in the lead. The walk would have been fine except for the ever-present taxi drivers of the horse carriages who kept insisting that we take a ride. This was a lot different from what I remember in Zimbabwe. There, if you declined, they soon left you alone, but not these guys! They would follow you and keep trying to talk to you and sometimes there would be two or three of them all at once. This isn’t to count the random other people who kept trying to talk to us and be of help and ask where we were from.

 By the time we made it down to the museum, I was completely finished. And wouldn’t you know it? The museum was closed. Deciding to make lemonade from the lemons, we wandered down to the edge of the Nile. It was a bit quieter there, and we discovered more of our party had also ended up there. I was very glad to see them at that point. While the others chatted and enjoyed the sunset, I took a moment to sit by myself and decompress, getting over being so upset about the harassment from the taxis.

Tourist Caleche Stock Photos - Free & Royalty-Free Stock Photos from  Dreamstime

It also disturbed me that it made me so upset. I was thankful Jeanie explained it later—we feel vulnerable and helpless, and there’s nothing we can say or do to make them go away, so our anger is rooted in fear. That made perfect sense to me, not sure why I hadn’t figured it out sooner.

 At any rate, we eventually walked back towards the hotel, detouring to meet Heath’s for supper. After supper we walked back to the hotel, taking a shortcut through the souk, or market, that is right beside the Nefertiti. We girls all ended up on the rooftop enjoying the view. No picture can do it true justice, but maybe you can imagine it.

Nefertiti Hotel Luxor, Luxor - Reserving

 And so ends Day 3. I’m going to stop here for now. I think this is the longest part of my report finished. I’m hoping I’m halfway through, at least. But I need a break, and I reckon you do, too, if you’ve survived reading this long. I'm not sure why some of my format is doing weird things; I've tried to fix it and can't manage to make it do what I want, so there's that. Stay tuned for Part II.

Until next time, take care.

Art Expenditure

Hello! This post is a bit of a random rant, but I love art and school and children, and in the last number of years I've gained a new ap...