Cheeky Qantas

I saw this cheeky video a few days ago and wanted to share it with you!

So to fill you in, Qantas has dumped British Airways for Emirates and moves its main hub from Singapore to Dubai. Qantas and Emirates have joined together to produce this beautifully captured ad that hit YouTube on the 2^nd of April 2013. The magical footage and hyperlapse photography is unmistakably beckoning my presence, and I am sure, many of you too!

An article in Mubrella noted that the film was shot in locations including Istanbul, Bath, Texas, London, Singapore and New York. Oh, cheeky, cheeky Qantas! You can’t have accidently selected Singapore as one of the locations of footage promoting your new transit airport without being a bit of a pot stirrer.

History of Karnak

So I realised I never actually finished telling you about my Egypt adventure – let alone Denmark and Ireland! I was going through old photos this morning and thought I would start blogging about a few of my stories.


 Starting with one of my favourite photos from the trip: Introducing Karnak Temple. Comprised of three main temples and numerous smaller prayer rooms, Karnak is it is the largest temple complex built by man. It is located about 15 minutes away from Luxor (previously known as the city of Thebes) on the east bank on the Nile. According to Wilkinson (2000), Karnak Temples ancient name was ‘Ipet-isut’ meaning ‘The Most Sacred of Places’.  

So imagine we are in the Eleventh Dynasty around 2000 BC (a period also known as Middle Kingdom) in the ancient city of Thebes.  The Old Kingdom has collapsed and Thebes is under the reign of Sesostris I. He began the initial construction of Karnak with small shrines dedicated to the Earth goddess Mut and Montu (the early deities of Thebes). Stories suggest the shrines were destroyed by invaders and the ancient city was deserted until the New Kingdom.

In the Eighteenth Dynasty, the city of Thebes was named as the capital city of Egypt. Construction commenced again resurrecting the great Karnak temple.  Many pharaohs such as Thutmose I, Seti I and Ramesses II contributed to the complex, dedicated to the god Amum-Re.

According to our tour guide at Karnak temple, Amum-Re kicked started Theocracy and led the Egyptians to follow one of the earliest forms of Monotheism.  In the new Kingdom Amun-Re was regarded so highly the other gods became a symbol of this power; so essentially he the Egyptian equivalent to Zeus! Amun-Re was identified as the one and only supreme deity.

The Changing Wind

Hello all,

So don’t ask me why I decided to write a blog post today; nor why I have left you idle for so long. But on the weekend I fell in love with the idea of constantly being obsessed with adventure and travel again! So here I am. I am not too sure the direction this blog will take, but if you can put up with reading my ramblings, I am positive we will both enjoy it.

So my plan has always been to backpack around South America. And for my family, that normally means they have the pleasure of listening to my every nonsensical thought about my grandest of grand trip. My first plan was to travel there at the end of 2012 but ended up going to England, Egypt, Denmark and Ireland – as most of you already read my stories! The then plan was to go at the end of this year but I realised backpacking around South America may need some more experience and certainly a lot more money. Sad face. So a few mornings ago I decided to opt for a spectacular Asia adventure! Introducing the ‘trip to celebrate my graduation’ (draft one). Bring on

Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

 

So before you judge me, I am just disclosing that I may or may not plan to climb the Mount Everest Base Camp. Phew, well now we have that out of the way, let’s discuss the plan. So essentially I want to travel for a few months and thought there is no better way to start than in Kathmandu, Nepal. I know my smelly, old granny (that will be reading this – I love you!) has done a few ventures to Nepal. So I need to hit you up for some advice! Then I am departing to Thailand. Dad said the best place to learn how to backpack is in Thailand; so, why not? Then I want to make my way across to Cambodia and then to Vietnam. If anyone has any recommendations, advice or thought, feel free to comment. Thank you the whole six of you who are reading this! There may be more… but I will never know.

Lots of love,

Sam x

Honey I shrunk the kids

Honey, we lost the roof!

True story.

Now I don’t think many of the Modern Egyptians would have seen the 1989 classic ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids’. But if they did, I bet they would have said the same thing about the missing roof trend that developed in Egypt over the last 20 years. And not just in Cairo, houses in Luxor, Aswan and even little brick shelters in rural Egypt have a peculiar similarity: a missing roof. It seems as if all newlywed couples had the same thought pattern.

Wife: This looks like a perfect place to build our new home!

Husband: Sounds great. Let’s get to work.

(6 months later)

Wife: Doesn’t our house look beautiful? All that is left is to put a roof up.

Husband: But honey, I like it just as it is. One and a half stories high. No external walls or ceiling on the second floor. Gives off the open space vibe, don’t you think?

Well actually the Modern Egyptians are a lot smarter than we think. Turns out, one smart cookie figured out that a house does not have to pay tax when it is still externally under construction. Therefore no roof equals no tax on your house. Our tour guide said that once this trend caught on, many perfectly stable houses had fake extensions added to them to weasel out of the system. Ten, twenty and thirty years later these houses are still ‘under construction’ and completely roof free. Many locals use this extra space as a place to keep their chickens, goats and donkeys. Brilliant idea. I don’t know how well that would go down in Australia, but I give you my full encouragement!

Walk like an Egyptian

Hello my friends,

Well if you have checked my facebook you would have probably figured out that I am back home in the country safe and sound. Honestly I will never, ever, EVER complain about food, beds or the state of a toilet again. There are just some things that will never be written about…

As university is my main time-eater, I have committed to posting at least once a week to tell my tales overseas. Therefore I will never really end my adventure; will I?

Let us begin: The pyramids. Sandstone upon sandstone. They floated from Luxor, up The Nile to Cairo, dragged from the river and strategically placed one on top of another. Ultimately forming one of the only standing wonders of the ancient world. According to history, it took Pharaoh Khufu ten years to build the Great Pyramid of Giza. But honestly looking up at these giant sculptures, how did a single society create this? Each pyramid block was dragged from the Nile to Giza (it was longer than a 15 min bus ride I assure you). With the bottom blocks beginning 1.5m high and rather difficult to climb up when taking photos, I have no clue how they built it 150 meters tall! No ladders? No cranes? One theory was the Egyptians lined massive amounts of dirt/sand at right angles to the pyramid (forming a flat walkway or ramp) and pulled the blocks up. As the pyramid got taller, they reduced the sharpness of the right angle and added more dirt to create larger triangles. Then looking on the inside of the pyramid, how are all the walls cut to perfection? Chamber after chamber. It just blows my mind. The pyramids are absolutely beautiful.

The three pyramids are so straight. So magnificent. So overwhelming. It is not just the pyramids but everything in Egypt. Luxor Temple. The Valley of the Kings. Abu Simbel.

Regardless of heat of the day and the scorching sun, Egypt gives me the shivers. The good kind of shivers. Something no photo can capture. But when you see the pyramids, it is like all the air has been sucked out of the room. It seems impossible in the Sahara Desert. Doesn’t it?

 

Lost in the Sahara

Camels, pyramids and the occasional political conflict. We made it in and out of Egypt! Imagine cruising along the Nile in the warm afternoon sun. Hair in the wind. Sailboat cutting through the water with ease. Locals in white cotton dresses at the ropes. They sail these waters with their eyes closed. Children in their own little boats race over to grab the sides of ours. They sing for money. The two boys smile. They continue to bucket out the small puddles of water seeping into their wooden boat as they sing. A few Egyptian pounds are passed their way. Then they are off to the next sail boat filled with tourists.

We land ashore to the clearest part of the Nile. Our boat hits the sand of the Sahara Desert. The locals dressed in white lead let us marvel at the sunset before sailing away. Our toes hit the warm sand. We wave goodbye to the boat as it sails back down stream. One of the locals in white wave back to us. He is only young. Fifteen or so. His hands are coarse but his arms are muscular.

Jumping into the clear Nile, the rips are strong. We stay close to the shore. Our bodies submerged. It is cool but the hot wind of the Sahara sweeps over us. Looking out to the endless desert. Is anyone out there?

 

Snapshot of Egypt

Well I made it. A few blog posts behind I know, but I think this is the perfect time to revisit the saying: a picture is a thousand words. So without further adew, a handful of pictures for your enjoyment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.s I did go hot air ballooning over Luxor!