Egypt: Day Four, Part Two

First we go to Dahshur to see the Bent Pyramid.  This seems to be the first pyramid which went from the step design to the straight-sided design that was to follow.  But for some reason, part way through its construction a decision was made that the angle wasn’t the right one.  So about a third of the way up, the slope suddenly changes from 53° to 43°, giving it a strange shape.  Had it continued at 53°, it would have been much higher and the weight on the tomb below would have been too much of a load for the passageways and chambers to bear.
     Another different feature is the casing - the polished limestone on the outside.  Dahshur has more of the original casing left than any of the pyramids, including the Great Pyramid of Giza.  That gives us more of an idea of how gleaming they must have been under the Egyptian sun, compared to the dullness of the less beautiful limestone used below.
       As we walk around it, discovering again a smaller pyramid to one side, we spot a worker mixing up sand, clay and water to protect the wall that is being rebuilt around parts of the pyramid's base.  I'm sure not much has changed since the Bent Pyramid was built in 2600 BCE... and that is the point. 

After the pyramid comes the Memphis Museum.  Its main attraction is a huge alabaster statue of a pharaoh, stretched out with an elevated walkway all around it so you can see it from all angles.  Scattered outside the museum are various statues and monuments from the area.
       And then comes a visit to the New Egypt Carpet School, where boys are taught to make both woven and tied carpets.  They work six hours a day and are paid, which is a far cry from what their destiny would be otherwise, set loose on the streets all day.  At first, the boys work off of a pattern taped up on the wall, but soon they learn the pattern and don’t need it any more.  Looms are set up all around the huge room and we’re given a demonstration of how carpets are made from both knot-tying and weaving, Then we’re taken upstairs for mint tea or coffee... and a review of all the carpets they make.  Some of us order large ones to be sent back to the States; others buy small versions of the patterns.  I go back downstairs where Ahmed’s warning they will ask how old you are comes in handy.  Evidently that’s one of the phrases students are taught, along with “what’s your name” and “where are you from”.  I just tell them I’m very old, so the number of my years on Earth doesn’t cause them to mess up a knot and spoil their carpet.


Lunch finds us in another restaurant where they bake their own bread.  Two women are busy in the forecourt and enjoin us to try some and take photos (of course then expecting the classic “$1".  We pick our meats out from a selection freshly grilled over the charcoal fire, along with bell pepper and onion.  Very much shish-kebab-y, without the kebab.

 
After lunch, we can hear music coming from a third courtyard behind these two.  Some of us go exploring and find young people listening to modern music, and two girls dancing atop the hood of an old car from the 40's.  They’re just like young girls everywhere, and the miles between our two cultures melt away as we start to dance with them.  Lord only knows what they thought, but they were nice enough to smile... and giggle, but just a little bit.