I now know what it means to be Nubian

Nubia means the place of gold. And Nubians are an Egyptians race who have kept their bloodline pure by not marrying outsiders. They also have their own secret language that is not written and anyone that is an outsider is not allowed to be taught it.

Before the trip to Egypt, I had no idea of a Christian religion called Copt. Of course following the bombing of the Coptic Church in Alexandria a few days ago, I now know that such a religion exists and so much of its history and its origins are in Egypt.

Egypt and Egyptians touch a lot of the world’s history. Jesus, Mary and Joseph spent three years in Egypt, I saw a few days ago the place where they hid ( a church of St Sergius and St Bacchus in Cairo) when Herod(?) was killing all the first borns.

These are just miniscule pieces of information that one gathers traveling around Egypt. It is rich and I do not have the mental capacity to absorb (never mind relate) all the stories I’ve been told about this rich place. All I can do is connect the pieces of information to movies and books I’ve read. I try to connect some of Cairo to the African settings of the English Patient. And so on and so on.


I wish I could post some the pictures of my trip so far but the camera doesn’t have the connection. I and a cute couple from Pretoria did a trip to Abu Simbel. (80% of the tour party is from Durban and a little on the elderly side, but this is a story for another time). As an ignorant person of Egyptology, I felt a little that this trip was wasted on me. Abu Simbel is a temple that Ramses II built to show his might. It is one of the must sees next to the Pyramids. The temple’s entrance is flanked by four huge statues of Ramses II himself at various ages. To put it into scale, a hand of the statue is about as tall as an average sized person. A smile is about a meter long. These are huge statues and inside the temple itself are more statues and Egyptian ancient writing that a more enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist would go nuts for. I felt a little like someone who acquires a precious thing but has no idea how to begin to appreciate it.

On a more personal note, very little can be spoilt by a visit to Egypt, the place is awe inspiring, BUT being a woman travelling alone comes close. It is a Muslim country (80% Muslim, 10% Coptic) and women are covered up. I am not Muslim and I am travelling alone. This for some reason gives an impression to Egyptian men can try their luck. Ordering room service was an experience that I can laugh about now but was ready to put my kata-box skills to work a few days ago. And as open as I am to new experiences, invading my personal space and telling me I have a good body will not make me readily take my clothes off and want to get it on, I don’t care how good looking you are. And the men in Cairo are above average good looking. But Ninja please!