Sheila Brings It Home

Sheila Brings It Home

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On Saturday, June 10 we returned to the US. We had a wonderful trip!

Here is Sheila's reflection on our KMT adventure.

Nya's Farewell

Nya's Farewell

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Hotep! We're leaving!

Hotep from Prof. Manu

Hotep from Prof. Manu

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Here's Prof. Manu's Departure Message from KMT.

Last Day in Aswan

Last Day in Aswan

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This is a free day. Some folks rested. Others visited the museum and the local archeological sites. Patricia went on a private felucca ride on the Nile.

And yes, shopping was on the agenda for others.

Our day ended with a Nubian Dance Performance. 

Meet Patricia

Meet Patricia

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I believe Patricia heard about this trip from Dawn, another one of our participants. Both Patricia and Dawn are friends/colleagues to Karen, whose videolog you may have already seen.

Meet Karen

Meet Karen

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Karen is on this trip with her sister, Sheila, and two other colleagues/friends. What a wonderful experience to share with those closest to you!

The Magnitude of African Greatness: Abu Simbel

The Magnitude of African Greatness: Abu Simbel

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How comforting to learn that it was only 113 degrees celcius yesterday morning at 11:00 am in Abu Simbel.

All I can say is that the trip was well worth the early morning hustle to get to the airport.

Yebu: The Nubian Remix

Yebu: The Nubian Remix

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The first part of the day was spent exploring the Nobles Tombs in Aswan.
Then we spent some time in the Nubian Villages on Elephantine (Yebu) Island.

The capstone for many people on the trip was our audience with Elder Hamdi. (Ms. Bonnie mentioned him in her videolog.)

High Dam Day

High Dam Day

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It's our first full day in Nubia (Aswan). Today's agenda: View Hatshepsut's Unfinished Obelisk, the Aswan High Dam, and the relocated Philae Temple.

A Scholar and a Gentleman

A Scholar and a Gentleman

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You've met the tree, now meet the seed. All of the men of character that we've meet on this trip have received the same accolade from Elder Burnell: "You are a scholar and a gentleman...And there aren't many of us good one's left." Well Elder Burnell is personally trying to even up the score by populating the planet with three fine sons (and three wonderfully strong daughters) of his own.

Burnell K. is his eldest masterpiece. 

Learn More about Kalina

Learn More about Kalina

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You met Kalina on the "Hot-Cheap-Suit" video. Now she's in the spotlight sharing her personal reflections on this KMT trip.

Now Meet Ms. Bonnie (Ms. Dorothy's Neice)

Now Meet Ms. Bonnie (Ms. Dorothy's Neice)

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They seem to have a wonderful relationship/friendship. They are more like sisters, than aunt and niece.

 ...And boy oh boy, you should see Ms. Bonnie when she's taking pictures. She has the cutest poses. I usually just stand there trying to hide all the bags I'm carrying, along with my camera and notebook.

Meet Ms. Dorothy

Meet Ms. Dorothy

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I am thoroughly enjoying working on this blog while traveling throughout Egypt. Yes, the archeological sites are fantastic, but they dim in comparison to the insights and reflections of my colleagues on this trip.

Meet another of the multi-dimensional spirits on this adventure - Ms. Dorothy.

Meet Yeeng

Meet Yeeng

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Learn about this experience from Yeeng and Miss Dorothy's point of view. First up: Yeeng...

Prof. Manu at Lake Nasser

Prof. Manu at Lake Nasser

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Did you know that 17 temples were relocated due to the installation of the High Dam in Aswan? One of the 17 is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (the Temple of Dendar). This video may help to put this move, as well as the loss of countless Nubian artifacts, into perspective.

Demos of Kemetic Handicrafts

Demos of Kemetic Handicrafts

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We've seen demonstrations of carpet-making, papyrus production, and the blowing of glass bottles for perfume.

Edfu, Kom Ombo and the Journey Further Up South

Edfu, Kom Ombo and the Journey Further Up South

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Meet Daddy Burnell

Meet Daddy Burnell

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Mr. Burnell E. Irby was the first of the trip participants to agree to do a one-on-one interview with me. We chose the lobby of our Luxor Hotel. Unfortunately my little camera picked up a lot of ambient (background) noise.

Daddy Burnell is one of our trip elders. My fondest moment of this video (as well as mealtimes) is his childhood recollection and song about watermelon.

Tatyana at Egyptian Museum

I received a nice email from one of my former African American Studies students, Tatyana Ananyeva. She visited Egypt two months ago, but she stayed in Sharm el Sheikh (a coastal resort town).

Here is a picture of her in front of the Egyptian Museum.

Abydos & Dendara

Today we joined an armed/escorted caravan of vehicles to Abydos and Dendara.

Abydos was a sacred pilgrimage site for ancient Egyptian in a way that Mecca is a pilgrimage site for Muslims. If someone could not make it to Abydos during their lifetime, their family sent a statue of the deceased along with tributary offerings.

Abydos is reportedly the site where Aset (Isis) buried the head of Asar (Osiris). Okay here is the quick version of the Asar/Aset/Set story: Set was jealous of his brother Asar and set up a plot to entrap him into a coffin/sarcophagus that he had sealed with nails and lead. Then Set sent the trapped Asar afloat down the Nile...Eventually Aset found the body of Asar. Set, not wanting to be outdone, took the body of Asar, cut him up into 14 pieces which he then scattered...Aset found all but the 14th piece, Asar's phallus...Anyway, it is said that the head of Asar was buried in Abydos. On the walls of the temple in Abydos we found the first depiction of resurrection after died (Asar) and immaculate conception (Aset) - all thousands of years before the story of Jesus Christ.

We had 50 minutes to run through the Temple of Dendera...We had to either stick with our caravan or wait 2 hours to join the next caravan. We chose the former. The Temple of Dendera, a sacred site of Hathor, the cow-headed goddess of fertility, also has a version of the Asar/Aset story on one of its chapel walls. But this site is most known for the circular calendar and astrological signs depicted on several ceilings.

After dinner tonight we will have our usual evening lecture. Then we pack up for the journey to Edfu, Kom Ombo, and Aswan.

Hotep!
Prof. Nya Naikyemi Seshet

Oh, I've taken lots of photos of the neter/deity Seshet, or Seshat. She is the female deity of art/writing; it is said that she is the first librarian - making a record of the names of kings on the leaves of the papyrus.

P.S. - Please note that the spelling of Asar and Aset are more consistent with the glyphs in the Medu Netcher.

Hat-Cheap-Suit

Hat-Cheap-Suit

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That's a joke that most of the Egyptian guides use to teach tourist how to pronounce the name of Queen Hatshepsut (hot-cheap-suit). We've just returned from visiting her temple on the West Bank of Luxor.

Luxor-ious

Since arriving on June 1st, we’ve seen the temples of Karnak and Luxor, the Colossi of Memnon, the Valley of the Kings, including the tombs of Tutankhamon, Rameses III, and Queen Tawosret, the Ramesseum, Desher Desheru, and Deir el Medina, the camp/village of the workmen who built the temples and funerary vaults on the West Bank of Luxor.

Our days begin at 4:00 am for early breakfast and departure to sites before the heat of the day overwhelms us. We’re usually back at the hotel by 1:00 pm.

This evening we are going to visit the Luxor Museum.

More adventures to come!

Prof. Nya Naikyemi

Prof. Manu on and in Daishur Pyramid

Prof. Manu on and in Daishur Pyramid

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Pyramid Raiders VII

Pyramid Raiders VII

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Prof. Manu has conferred us all with advanced degrees in Pyramidology (it's a joke) after completing summits/descends into the interior of three pyramids.

Cerebral and Meditative - Tues. May 30, 2006

We spent the day visiting two Coptic churches, a synagogue, a mosque and the Cairo Museum (http://www.egyptianmuseum.gov.eg/). In most of the sites we could not take pictures.

We were allowed to take pictures in the Alabaster Mosque, also known as the Mosque of Mohammed Ali and the Mosque at the Military Fortress of Saladin. As you can see from the pictures, this is the same mosque that El Hajj Malik Shabazz (Malcolm X) visited while he traveled abroad for his hajj to Mecca.

Recap of Activities on Monday, May 29, 2006

Recap of Activities on Monday, May 29, 2006

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Here is a taste of the sumptuous learning experience of 5/29/06 in Memphis, Sakkara, and Giza.

Intro to Kemet VII Group

Intro to Kemet VII Group

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Meet the team that has joined Prof. Manu Ampim for his Seventh Educational Tour of Kemet.

Very Full

We've just returned from a lengthy trip to Memphis, Sakkara, and
Giza. Imagine seeing the Step Pyramids, the Great Pyramids, and the Sphinx all in one day! I've taken a lot of great pictures. After this evening's lecture, I plan to import each photo into a PowerPoint presentation, along with the notes I took about each photo.

I think tonight's movie will be a portion of Prof. Manu's evening lecture.

Speaking of the uploaded movies, please be patient when uploading for viewing, I'm using a wireless broadband connection from my hotel room and it still took me 8 minutes to load and view one of these videos.

Be Well!
Iyatala

Manu's KMT Greeting

Manu's KMT Greeting

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This video was originally shared on blip.tv by Iyatala with a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license.

Nya's KMT Greetings 05/28/06

Nya's KMT Greetings 05/28/06

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This video was originally shared on blip.tv by Iyatala with a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

Sandao Uoso! Greetings Everyone!

I'm writing you from my hotel in Cairo. My room has a view of the Great Pyramids of Giza. I'm still trying to get my videos uploaded. Soon come...soon come.

Sandao! (Peace to you and your road in life!)

Some of you know me in the world as Nya Naikyemi, Prof. Nya or Iyatala. Whether you know me as your daughter, sister, teacher, supervisor, student, guide, friend, or acquaintance, I greet you and welcome you to my blog.

There are several events that prompted this venture into blogging:

• I just finished a professional development workshop series at LaGuardia Community College on Digital Storytelling. What a good way to practice my skills by creating and posting daily video/digital story entries.
  
  
• I am embarking on a two-week research tour to Egypt with Prof. Manu Ampim (http://www.manuampim.com). All of the participants in the tour group are encouraged to explore ways to document their primary research from this trip. This blog will serve as one of the avenues that I will share my experiences.
  
  
• At least 15 people have offered to accompany me by climbing into my luggage. Clearly that's not going to work, so I need a better way to let people experience Egypt vicariously through me.

So instead of getting some sleep before my flight departs, I decided to learn how to and create this video blog. All I ask of you as you explore this site is that you please be kind in your remarks.

Hotep! Peace!
Nya Naikyemi/Prof. Nya/Iyatala