While in Egypt, do as the Egyptians do and… go look at tombs?! Sounds like a crazy idea but the catacombs of kom es-Shouqfa are a great part of Egyptian history so we saw it only fitting to go view them. The boys woke up this morning rocking and ready to go, they read about it being one of the thirty things not to miss in Egypt so they were so excited, I on the other hand woke up already nervous about going into a tomb, and would prefer to see one of the other twenty-nine things. But I was a good sport and agreed to go. We ate a quick breakfast of fuul and t’aamiyya at our hotel and got on our way. The t’aamiyya had a lot of tomatoes in it and considering I hate tomatoes I didn’t eat it so I just filled up on fuul and water.
* The t'aamiyya the boys ate for breakfast
We took at taxi to the location for 86 Egyption pounds, on the way there the taxi driver told us all about how wonderful and historical the tombs were. It is clear that the catacombs mean a lot to the people that live in Alexrandia. We met up with our tour guide and paid him the 230 Egyptian Pounds it cost for the tour. He started out with a little history on the catacombs. Created around 200 A.D. they catacombs were originally created for a wealthy family practicing ancient religion. Funded fully by the gamily they are exquisitely beautiful with an impeccable attention to detail. All of the drawings and carvings truly reflect the motifs of ancient Egypt. While the entrance to the tomb is beautiful I am trying to imagine being a young girl in ancient Egypt knowing my family was currently building the place in which we would all be buried… I cant imagine that I would be very comfortable with that.
Once inside we descended down a spiral staircase straight into the ground. Which is the actual burial chamber. Down here there were different tombs, whose they are is unknown. Currently individual three sarcophagi have been found, yet researchers have found other parts of human and animal remains. While it was a single family that built the tombs, it is believed that other people have been buried there as well.
* The Catacombs of Kom es-Shoquafa
The catacombs were extended into the Hall of Carcalla, which is technically not a part of the catacombs of Kom el-Shuqafa yet it is connected to it. The Carcalla also has many tombs and Egyptian drawings much like the rest of the area we looked at throughout the Catacombs.
*The Carcalla
*Drawings inside the Carcalla
Once we were done with the tour, we were starving! We ate dinner at a special buffet dinner our hotel was having that night for 345 Egyptian Pounds. My favorite thing on the buffet was easily the dessert.
* My dessert plate
After dinner we were all so tired from walking around the Catacombs of Kom es-Shoufqa we all went up to our rooms and got ready for bed so we could be well rested for the rest of our trip.
Total Pounds Spent: 661
Total Pounds Spent: 661
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