We have had a lot of discussion recently about the so-called "Bucket List". I knew I "had" one, but I never wrote it down, and I only had a vague idea what was on it. I was more concerned about the list I had about the top 10 things I wanted to ask God about when I died. (Like, who was Queen Victoria's real father, how old is the Sphinx really and who built it, and what the heck happened to the Ark of the Covenant. You know -- important stuff.)
Visiting Egypt was on my Bucket List. (Actually, I prefer to call it a Daisy List, so I'll go with that from here on.) I wanted to see all of the monuments and tombs that I have seen on the History Channel, The Discovery Channel, NatGeo, and all the rest.
Even though I had been planning this trip to Egypt for over a year, I still didn't really believe it was going to happen. Even when I first landed in Cairo, I don't think I believed it. The Egyptian Museum in Cairo was amazing, but I still don't think I quite realized how far away I was from home. This was no museum in New York, or Paris. These were the mummies and tombs I'd seen on TV. This was EGYPT, and I was 5,000 miles away from home, staring at nearly 5,000 years of history.
The longer we stayed in Egypt, the more crystal clear my Daisy List became. There were some things I dragged myself out of bed at 3:30 in the morning to see, despite a persistant case of Pharoah's Revenge. There were other things I saw from the bus window or the snack bar because I didn't have the energy to go, and it wasn't high enough up on the list to make me want to torture myself one step further. Still, there were things on my list that we did not see, and I wish we could have.
I did not see the Red Pyramid, and I only saw the Bent Pyramid from a great distance. I did not see the foundations of Jedefhre's lost pyramid (good luck with that, it's in the Egyptian military zone). I did not see the inside of King's Valley tomb 5, and I did not see the temple at Abydos. Hey, I admit it. I wanted to see if they'd found the Stargate yet. Besides, the locals swear it's the prettiest temple around. I also did not climb inside the Great Pyramid. These things are still on my Daisy List, and I will go back to Egypt some day to experience them.
In the meantime, the number of things I saw and experienced that were on my list is mind-boggling. On the whole, I feel as if I have stared into the absolute dawn of civilization, and I have come back in awe.
I have climbed through a pyramid (the "Second Pyramid") and seen the grafitti of 19th century archaeologists. I have stood in a stone sarcophogi, and I have come close to touching 3,000 year old coffins.
I walked through the tomb of Rameses VI, and I had tears in my eyes. The pictures were incredible, and the fact that I was there, finally, at long last was almost more than I could stand.
I have stood at the side of the mummy of Seti I and stared into his face.
I have seen, first hand, the coffin of the Pharoah Smenkare, and I have made my own judgment as to who was buried inside.
I have stood in the place where Howard Carter whispered that he found, "Wondrous things."
I have climbed into a mountain to see the tomb of a warrior pharoah.
I have stood at the foot of the seated collossi of Abu Simbel and felt dwarfed by time.
I stood alone, yes, alone, in the holy shrine of Abu Simbel, with the four figures of Ramses-as-Gods facing me.
I have placed my foot next to the standing statue of Ramses the Great inside his temple at Abu Simbel, and I found my foot is the size of his little toe.
I have walked the avenue of the sphinxes in Luxor.
I have stared at the Great Sphinx, looked it in the eye, and still have more questions than answers.
I have touched the sands of the Sahara and the waters of the River Nile.
I have touched history itself.
In one word, the trip was awesome, as in full of, or inspiring, awe. I was rendered speechless on so many occasions.
When it all comes down to the finish line, these experiences are what the Daisy List is all about: soul-moving, breath-catching, awe-inspiring memories. I don't know what can ever top this trip, and that is the honest truth.
