Just returned from 2+ weeks in Egypt, and the jet lag got to me at this end. In Egypt, we saw remarkable temples, tombs, pyramids, and obelisks dating back thousands of years. Seeing the quarries where they mined the limestone, sandstone, and marble to construct these grand structures was awe-inspiring. The testament to the human imagination and the desire to create beauty and leave one's mark. The need to be seen and remembered is universal. Pharaohs and royalty made sure they created the grandest of monuments to themselves (often seeking to erase those who preceded them and distorting the history of succession). Quarries were often hundreds of miles from these temples, and the colossal building blocks were transported on boats when the Nile flooded during the summer. In my mind’s eye, I can see the hundreds and thousands of highly skilled laborers and craftsmen chiseling away to create the beautiful carvings at these temples.
Beyond the archeologic points of interest, I was equally eager to learn about people’s lives in Egypt today, especially women, with whom we rarely interacted. All of our guides were men, as was the crew of 12 people on the dahabeeyah (sailboat), where the 15 passengers spent five days on the Nile, stopping along the way to visit archeological sites. I had the opportunity to speak numerous times with crew members and guides and was curious about the lives of their wives and daughters.
I will be sharing more about this trip in future blogs. For now, here is a Stairwell Episode about Nobuko, who was our guide last year for two weeks while we traveled in Japan.
AND I’m super psyched about my trip to Phoenix next month to perform my last 2023 show at ASU’s Kerr Cultural Center. If you know people in Phoenix, I’d love to connect with them and tell them about my show.
Tickets at this link.
You can watch the previous eleven episodes of my Stairwell Teatro in about a half-hour since individual stories are typically around two minutes. Click here for the playlist.