Lands of Legend: Ancient Nubia and the Sudan
18 Days November 3 – 20, 2010
Led by Dr. Robert S. Bianchi, Egyptologist
Ancient Nubia and the Sudan introduces the successive cultural horizons of ancient Nubia and the Sudan, revealed by visits to such storied sites as Kerma, home to a powerful Bronze Age kingdom, whose merchants traded with the Minoans; the Kushite holy mountain at Gebel Barkal and the Nubian royal city of Meroe, abounding in pyramids more plentiful than those in Egypt. Our touring begins in Aswan with the Nubian Museum and cruise on Lake Nasser, visiting Nubian sites salvaged by UNESCO, culminating in a visit to Abu Simbel at night and at dawn. We will gain an appreciation of Nubian art by visits to several museums, including the National Museum in Khartoum. The Sudan is rugged, and hence unspoiled, so that our tented camp permits us to empathize with intrepid 18th-century explorers who appreciated the natural splendor of Nubia.
Wednesday,
Thursday, November 3 & 4: CAIRO: We depart
New York on in the evening on Egypt Air. Our arrival into
Cairo will be midday Thursday. We will transfer to the centrally
located Intercontinental Semiramis Hotel. This evening we
will meet with Dr. Bianchi for our opening dinner.
Meal:
Dinner
Friday,
November 5: CAIRO: This full day will be devoted
to an in-depth visit to the Egyptian Museum. We will start
with the objects that are directly related to Nubia and
the Middle Kingdom as well as the Ramesside and Late Period
material and then, after a break for lunch, we will complete
our visit in some of the rarely visited rooms focusing on
the minor arts of Egypt.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch
Saturday,
November 6: ASWAN: We fly to Aswan, the southern
border of ancient Egypt, and begin our touring at the Museum
of Nubian Civilization. We then board the deluxe M. S. Kasr
Ibrim, our floating hotel for the next four nights. Our
Nubian adventure begins at New Kalabsha, an archaeological
park featuring the Temple of Kalabsha, erected by Augustus
to honor the Nubian god Mandulis. Nearby is the Graeco-Roman
kiosk of Qertassi and the rock-cut Shrine of Beit el-Wali
with its remarkable scenes commemorating the campaigns of
Rameses II against both Nubians and Asiatics.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Sunday,
November 7: CRUISE/QASR IBRIM: We sail on to New
Wadi Sebua, where we moor for the night.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Monday,
November 8: CRUISE/ABU SIMBEL: We begin our touring
at the Temple of Sebua, known in antiquity as “The
House of Amun.” Ramesses II built the temple and was
also worshipped here. We next visit the Thoth Temple of
Dakka, the most ancient parts of which date to the Meroitic
ruler Ergamenes (Arqamani) and his contemporary ally, Ptolemy
IV Philopator. Here, in 23 BCE, the Roman prefect Petronius
was forced to capitulate to the Nubians, led by their Meroitic
queen, Candace, and established a garrison at Qasr Ibrim.
Two years later a treaty established the southern frontier
of the Roman Empire at nearby Maharraqa. We conclude the
morning’s visits at the Graeco-Roman Temple of Maharraqa
and sail on to New Amada, where Thutmose III and Amenhotep
II founded the Temple of Amada in honor of Amun-Re. Here
is also the small Ramesses II rock-cut Temple of Derr and
the much-damaged Tomb of Penne, deputy in charge of Lower
Nubia under Ramesses VI. This decorated rock-cut tomb was
moved here from the extensive New Kingdom Egyptian cemetery
at Aniba. We sail on to Qasr Ibrim and dock for the night.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Tuesday,
November 9: CRUISE/ABU SIMBEL: This morning we
stop at the remains of the Meroitic town and Roman fort
at Qasr Ibrim. We must view this fort from the deck of our
ship, as it is not possible to enter the site safely. We
sail on to Abu Simbel and dock in front of the temples.
The remainder of the day will be spent leisurely visiting
the spectacular rock-cut temples of Ramesses II and his
favorite queen, Nefertari. Our memorable cruise ends with
a candlelight dinner on the deck of our ship.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Wednesday,
November 10: CAIRO: The intrepid among us will
rise early to watch the sun light the temples as it rises
over Lake Nasser. After breakfast we disembark and fly back
to Cairo. The remainder of the day will be at leisure to
revisit the museum or explore the city. Intercontinental
Semiramis Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast
Thursday,
November 11: KHARTOUM: This afternoon we will fly
to Khartoum, arriving in the evening. We transfer to the
Grand Holiday Villa Hotel, which overlooks the Blue Nile.
Meals: Breakfast & dinner
Friday,
November 12: KHARTOUM: Today’s touring begins
at the National Museum of Sudan, which houses an exceptional
collection of Sudan’s ancient and medieval works of
art. Highlights of this collection include the royal statues
found at Jebel Barkal dating from around 690 BCE, King Anlamani’s
sarcophagus, amazing frescoes from Christian Nubia and three
18th Dynasty Egyptian temples rescued from Lake Nasser.
Touring continues with a walk through the Omdurman Souq,
ending at Mahdi’s Tomb, an important pilgrimage site
for all Sudanese. By sunset we will be at the tomb of the
19th-century Sufi leader Sheikh Hamed al-Nil. Every Friday
before sunset dervishes gather here to dance and chant in
ritual dhiker, a colorful and fascinating experience.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch
Saturday,
November 13: MEROE TENTED CAMP: The adventure continues
at Khartoum’s famous camel market and then we drive
north, stopping first to visit the Meroitic temples of Naqa,
one of the best-preserved Kushite sites in Sudan. Here we
shall visit the Temple of Apedemak, the lion-headed chief
god of Kush. The temple is approached through a short avenue
of rams and was built in the tradition of Egyptian temples.
The Lion Temple is decorated with colossal, beautifully
sculpted reliefs, giving us an introduction to Kushite art
and iconography. Dated to the 1st century CE, its decoration
exhibits classical influences, which are more pronounced
in the architectural design and decoration of the kiosk.
After visiting the site, we continue to the temple complex
of Musawwarat es Sufra, characterized by its Great Enclosure,
its extensive system of hafirs, or reservoirs, and the dominance
of elephant imagery. The site boasts another Lion Temple.
This enormous complex was begun during the Napatan period
(890-270 BCE) and continued in use into the Meroitic period.
This visually impressive site has been restored by German
archaeologists in the ’60s. We then travel on to Meroe,
where we will spend the next two nights in a very comfortable
permanent tented camp.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Sunday,
November 14: MEROE TENTED CAMP: We will spend the
full day exploring the Kushite royal city of Meroe, built
on the banks of the Nile around the 8th century BCE and
abandoned around 350 CE. The royal palace, baths and Amun
Temple stood in its center surrounded by residential areas,
which at its peak housed as many as 25,000 people. The Royal
Cemetery, with its clusters of pyramids, outnumbering all
of those in Egypt, is one of the most evocative sites in
the Sudan. We will have an opportunity to view it during
the day and again at sunset. Divided into the Northern and
Southern Cemeteries, the oldest dates to around the 8th
century BCE and built for the kings who moved from Nuri
to Meroe. The royal burials continued here until the fall
of Kushite rule in the 4th century CE.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Monday,
November 15: KARIMA: Today we follow the Nile north
to Atbara of the confluence at the Nile’s last tributary,
the Atbara River, which flows from the highlands of Ethiopia.
Here we will ferry across the Nile and enter the Bayuda
desert, bordered by the Nile as it forms a broad loop between
the 4th and 5th cataracts. As we follow this loop we might
pass groups of Bisharin nomads and their camel and donkey
caravans. We will reach the dusty town of Karima in the
late afternoon and settle into the Nubian Rest House, a
small comfortable hotel built in Nubian style. This will
be our base for the next three nights as we explore the
ancient remains of the Napatan kingdom of Kush.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Tuesday,
November 16: KARIMA: Our excursion today takes
us to the Jebel Barkal (holy mountain), one element of which
resembles a serpent. The ancient Egyptians and Kushites
believed that Jebel Barkal was the home of the god Amun,
the “Throne of Two Lands,” Egypt and Nubia.
The first Temple of Amun was built by Thutmose III in the
15th century BCE. It was later expanded and turned into
an important cult center and a way station for goods being
transported from the south en route to Karnak Temple in
Egypt. Although the temple is now in ruin, we will be able
to see its plan as it stretches toward the Nile. Nearby
is the Temple of Mut, with two large columns topped by Hathor
capitals. Bes columns hold up the entrance to the sanctuary
carved into the mountain itself. On the western side of
the mountain is a small royal cemetery used by Napatan kings
before the administration of the kingdom was moved to Meroe.
The 20 or so pyramids here are in very good condition. Our
day ends with a visit to the royal cemetery at El Kurru.
Here we will have the opportunity to enter two tombs with
well-preserved wall paintings.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Wednesday,
November 17: KARIMA: We cross the Nile again to
visit Nuri, the site of numerous royal tombs, the oldest
of which date to the early 7th century BCE. The largest
pyramid is that of Pharaoh Taharqa, one of the most powerful
rulers in Sudanese history. This 25th Dynasty Pharaoh extended
his rule from the confluence of the Niles to the ports of
Phoenicia in modern Lebanon. He is commemorated in the Old
Testament as a defender of Israel against the aggression
of the Assyrians. We then travel to the edge of Wadi Abu
Dom to visit the ruins of the Monastery of Ghazali. Close
to an old trade route across the Bayuda Desert, the Monastery
of Ghazali may have resembled a smaller version of the Monastery
of St. Anthony in Egypt. Its walls, built as protection,
are one meter thick and are still well preserved.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Thursday,
November 18: KARIMA: We visit Old Dongola, capital
of the Christian kingdom of Makuria, which prospered from
the 6th to the 14th centuries. We will visit the remains
of this once great city, including the Throne Hall, the
Church of the Granite Columns and, if possible, the ongoing
excavations of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Friday,
November 19: KHARTOUM: We will drive through the
Western desert to Khartoum, taking tea breaks in simple
“chai houses” along the way. This evening we
will gather for our farewell dinner. Grand Holiday Villa
Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Saturday,
November 20: Transfer to the airport for our flight
to New York via Cairo.
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