 One destination that has left an indelible mark on my mind has been Egypt. It was during the years 2000 and 2001 that I was invited by the Egyptian Government to perform at the Cairo International Song Festival. My dance company travelled with me, so did our sound and lights engineers and set designer, as the entire set-up was to be designed and executed at the venue. All of us looked upon this as a great opportunity to visit a country with an amazing history, architectural monuments and culture. We flew by Horus Air, a part of the Egyptian Airways. Horus is the ancient Egyptian deity, who has many names, but is best known as a falcon or a falcon-headed God. It was even emblazoned on the tail of the aircraft.
VANTAGE POINT
On landing in Cairo, we set out for our hotel, the Mena House Oberoi. It was an hour’s drive as we moved from the metropolitan city into the vastness of the desert. If you are visiting Cairo to experience the magnificent view of the pyramids at Giza at any given point during the day or night, the Mena House is your best bet. It’s a luxurious oasis in the desert at Giza, and stands virtually in the shadows of the pyramids. I could even see the pyramids from my bathroom!
It was extremely surreal even going for a swim, as you could see the pyramids looming above the pool area. You could walk to the pyramid site from the hotel and depending upon the time of day, you needed to carry a hat or cap, your sunglasses and of course, a camera.
There is a mystical energy around the pyramids and entering them is another experience altogether. At Giza, there stand three pyramids. Of these, the two built by kings Khufu and Khafre are massive, and the third built by Menkaure is much smaller. There is an entire Necropolis, with funerary temples, tombs of kings and queens, flat roofed tombs called mastabas, and of course, the magnificent Sphinx.
ARTISTE'S MUSE
 It is very rare that you get permission from the Egyptian Government to film these monuments. We were lucky to get one. So, my dancers and I suited up and shot several dance segments in the shadow of the great Sphinx, and with the desert and the great pyramids of Giza in the backdrop. Again, I like to call it my surreal experience because not only were we looking at one of the wonders of the world, we were actually able to turn this into a performance experience. It was an extremely wonderful moment.
 The evening before our performance at the Cairo Film Festival, we were invited on board a barge called The Nile Pharaoh. The boat offers a dinner cruise on the Nile, and part of the entertainment is a belly dancer and a whirling dervish. The latter was most fascinating as he kept turning for more than 45 minutes. Every few minutes he would produce a new prop, such as a sword or a dafli from his skirt and he would also switch the patterns on the skirt by turning the fabrics around without letting us know how he did it. Our performance the next night was received extremely well and we were invited to stay on for a few more days to experience Egypt.
HERITAGE WALK
A not-to-be missed stop in Cairo is the museum. If you want to look at a real-life mummy, this is the place to be. On display is the treasure from Tutankhamen’s tomb, his lapis lazuli and gold mask, bed and the urns found in his tomb. For those who want to visit this tomb, be warned that there is nothing to see except for the hieroglyphics on the walls. The contents of the tomb are now in Cairo museum. We also made a few day trips to the temple complex of Karnak. And that is a humbling experience. The monoliths towering above you make you feel really small. The palace of queen Hatshepsut at Deir El Bahri is worth a visit, along with the Valley of the Kings. For one who can enjoy the desert and towering statues, palaces and pyramids, Egypt is the ideal vacation. The atmosphere inside the heart of a pyramid, the shadow of a monolithic statue of Rameses and the air inside a tomb are indescribable.
Outside the great pyramid of Giza, you might meet the men who write your name in coloured sand inside a little bottle. That’s one way to take the spirit of Egypt home with you. We got some back with us.
Walking through the tiny streets inside Khan El Khalili, the traditional market, you will find jewellers, spice traders, hookah bars, bistros and stores selling papyrus and scarabs.
The most popular souvenier tourists take back from this country is a cartouche — this is a small tablet worn as a pendant, with your name inscribed vertically in Egyptian hieroglyphics, the pictorial alphabet of the ancient Egyptians. While some of them are made out in silver, there are others in gold. But if you are buying from the market, ensure that the smith is not cheating you on the metal.
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Cairo
Egypt
