I could write a book, if not for the space constraints, on the incredible invaluable experience and knowledge I obtained from this nostalgic short 8-day 5+1 nights’ trip to Cairo and Alexandria in Egypt spearheaded by MMS President, Prof Dr Nik Mohd Nasri Ismail, put together by Pearl of the Orient Travel and Tours Services Sdn Bhd. in Malaysia with their Egyptian business counterpart MISR Asia Travel in Cairo.

Ms Prema d/o Harikrishnan - our cheerful local tour leader, Mr AMR Farag - the gentlemanly, polite and most accommodating Public Relations Officer on duty during our entire stay in Egypt, Mr Ahmad - our able and alert coach driver, as well as the charming truly knowledgeable ex-airhostess turned tour guide, Ms Lamiaa Fouad Gafaar, left no stone unturned in making our brief stay and travel in Egypt a dream come true for all of us. The lovely Ms Lamiaa who gave running commentaries in English left us spell-bound with the knowledge of the history and culture of Egypt as she continued incessantly on facts and figures and minute details of the origins and history of every tomb and building and mosque or church we visited.

The packed itinerary and the well-chosen personnel and choice of food primarily Mediterranean and hotels (but for the one in Alexandria) together made up for the only inevitable shortcoming most of us felt on the first two days of our trip, i.e. the long transit hours and uncertainties of flights (already cautioned by regular flyers on Gulf Air) - we unfortunately flew Gulf Air! However, luckily for most of us, we knew how to beguile our “waiting” time by socializing and getting to know one another better.

To say I enjoyed myself is an understatement! As a matter of fact, I will forever treasure some moments of this trip. You see, as I type this article, I can visually figure most of the 12 MMS members, and relatives and friends of MMS literally bending down perpendicular groping their way through the narrow poorly-ventilated stifling passageway , and in Indian file, in the darkness of the Second Pyramid in Giza. “It will make you ten years younger! “Echoed our President convincingly and reassuringly to those who were vacillating and wavering whether to take up the challenge. Yes, you were very right - all of us do look a decade younger, Mr President, having attempted exploring the second pyramid!

That experience, in addition, to standing close to the one and only Wonder which does not require a description by early historians and poets, the one and only Wonder that does not need speculations concerning its appearance, size and shape, the oldest, the only surviving of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, the Great Pyramid of Giza (a suburb of rapidly-growing Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the fifth largest in the world), leaves you totally spellbound and mesmerized.

I got more than I had bargained for ; hence, this short trip was more than enjoyable – it was a whole new cultural and learning experience being with the mummies and the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs ( pharaoh originally meant “great house” but later came to mean “king” ) and what they did for their after-life. As you stand breathless looking at the stone meeting sky before your very eyes, your wonder instantly alters into reverence – reverence because you begin to wonder how 2,300,000 blocks of stone, some weighing as much as 9 tons, were used to build just one eternal tomb for a divine king. Built of limestone and granite, Khafre’s Pyramid originally 471 ft (143.5 m) tall is now 446 (136m) tall and its base is 704 ft (214.5m) on each side covering a total area of 11 acres!

Names such as Khufu (also known as Cheops – pronounced with a ‘k’), his son Khafre (Chephren), and grandson Menkaure (Mycerinus) were not in my vocabulary prior to this trip. These three rulers built the three Great Pyramids (aptly named after them) which are today the ultimate manifestation of political stability and power of the Ruler during the Third and Fourth Dynasties. Khafre was responsible for the second largest pyramid complex at Giza, which includes his statue, the Sphinx, a Mortuary Temple and a Valley Temple. The most distinctive feature of Khafre’s Pyramid is the topmost layer of smooth stones that are the only remaining casing stones on a Giza Pyramid. How true is the Arab maxim Man fears Time, yet Time fears the Pyramids.

We had it all – visits to most of the famed mosques and churches, camel rides, belly-dancing before our very eyes right in front of us, a Nile cruise, dinner while cruising on the Nile, a visit to the world famous perfume centre as well as the crystal show-house, a night at the local bazaar, Mediterranean salads, to name a few of our experiences.

The visit to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo on the third day gave us insights into the history and culture of the Early Civilization and a journey through time – a journey through the history of an immortal civilization. The Egyptian museum in Cairo was established by the Egyptian government in 1835. The present museum building was built in 1900, in the neo-classical style by the reputed French architect Marcel Dourgnon . The museum exhibits collections exceeding 120000 objects.

With USD 13 as entrance fee, we had the opportunity of gaining entry into the Mummies Hall where we stood face to face with mummies and observed how their hair, nails, teeth and other organs as well as their appearance were all preserved and incredibly maintained despite their being thousands of years old. As we moved from mummy to mummy we stared at each other and shook our heads in disbelief! Seeing is believing! It was a sight to behold – truly amazing! Who would have ever thought of preserving their dead bodies this way? These were the makings of a mastermind at play!

At the Al Amir Perfumes Palace in Cairo, the 45 of us were briefed on the origins of perfumes, guised and sold under various branded names. As we smelt and tested the perfumed oils before us, wishing secretly we could make a fraction of the entire collection ours, we were soon left confused as our hands smelt with some of the 46 types of essences of flower perfumes unknown to us before. As we sat comfortably listening to the informative talk by the owner of the famed perfume industry, most of us who had little or no intention of amassing the perfumes initially, were seen trapped by Jasmin,Lily of the Valley, Queen Cleopatra , Key of Life, Secret of Desert, Arabian Night, Fuive Secrets, and the men Royal Amber and Musk. It was a difficult choice each one of us had to make for every perfume we smelt seemed to be the one we desired. These unique fragrances and perfumes were free of alcohol content and highly concentrated; hence certainly were long-lasting. With a satisfied look on our faces, and having added handsomely to the economy of Egypt and the owner of the industry, we headed for the next shopping adventure: into the realm of papyrus and its origins and later, the leather industry.

The 3-hour coach ride to Alexandria gave us good insights to the changing landscape from Cairo to this Mediterranean coastal city where we feasted our eyes with the lush greenery of the famed Montazah Gardens and later King Farouk’s Palace, mosques such as Abu Abbas and Abu Darda. Kom es-Shouqafa, often called the Catacombs of Alexandria, the unique graves of a single family, show us how the architects and artists assigned to do the mammoth task of building the graves were actually schooled in the Greco-Roman style. We learnt how by trying to create pure ancient Egyptian funerary motifs they instead invented an amazing and unique integrated art. The organs and viscera – believed to be essential for the dead person’s afterlife - are carefully stored and preserved in the Canopic Jars.

As I conclude this article on my priceless visit to Egypt, I visualize the damaged face of the Sphinx with its inscrutable smile and the heavily eroded structure , all carved out of the living rock, at the same time trying to imagine how the Great Pyramid of Giza was built in under 30 years . It is said it took 10 years just to build the ramp that leads from the Nile Valley floor to the Pyramid, and 20 years to construct the pyramid itself. I shudder to think how all those thousands of workers were fed, clothed and sheltered! How the ancient Egyptians moved the over 2 million massive blocks of stone used to build Khufu’s pyramid is something that still perplexes me.