Berenike & the Egyptian Revolution

Dear Captain, Another take off, I just got home from a long day of studying French-the bane of my current existence. However, as the wise ones always say- sometimes one needs to take a long circuitous route to what one loves most. And for me, to get to the core of archaeology, french needs to be a part of the journey. This is all thanks to Monsieur Napoleon Bonaparte who went with his entourage to Egypt in 1798. Well, when he did, he left a part of history in the form of Institut français d'archéologie orientale and their French publications for me to translate :(

So, the topic for today is Egypt, the gift of the Nile as Herodotus the historian so aptly described this beautiful land. I woke up quite disturbed today after reading the happenings at Midan el-Tahrir or Tahrir square, now a symbol for the January 25th, 2011 revolution. I hear that 16 people have been killed in the wake of the upcoming elections and the military using suppression mode to counter free and fair elections. It takes me back to the time I landed in Egypt this year, January 21st, 2011. On the 24th (one day before the famous revolution), I was in the notoriously famous building called Mogamma in Tahrir. This is the ugliest grey concrete structure I have ever seen. It represents in essence the disconnection of the then President Hosni Mubarak with Egypt. How could a president allow such a horrendous building stay in such a beautiful square-it therefore speaks volumes of what Mubarak was all about. So back on the 24th morning, I was in the building to get myself registered as a foreigner. This rule is more specifically for "Indians". Separate visa policies for South Asians, more like "make a brown cry till her tears dry" and yes Captain, that has happened to yours truly. To cover the details will be another letter dedicated to just what an experience going to the Mogamma is all about! So after getting myself registered, a fellow archaeologist from The Netherlands, Martin Hans suggested that we go for our excavations to Berenike- about 1200 kms south of Cairo, the next day. Intuitively I told him, we ought to go that very night. I am glad we did, coz if we had stayed that night in Cairo, we would have been in the thick of the revolution. While temperatures were rising at Tahrir, I was in a rickety bus to Berenike, far from the maddening crowd, actually far from civilization as we know it. Berenike is an ancient port dating to the Hellenic times in the centuries before Christ. Interestingly, this ancient port had active trade with India. Reaching there was a feeling I cant really put in words. Knowing that my ancestors visited this place with pepper(most valued commodity back then, gold did not figure!) and cloth from India.

The port is surrounded by the Red Sea mountains, amidst the eastern desert and next to the translucent blue of the Red Sea. Yes, its not the blue sea but red! Doesn't appear red at all! Perhaps it has something to do with the algae with the reddish tinge, I wonder? So, in this halcyon atmosphere I was busy with excavations and analyzing ancient pottery while Egypt was facing a revolution. Friends and family were very worried. Firstly coz they couldnt reach me all the time.

We just had one cellular tower owned by the military in the middle of nowhere. To get connected, one had to go on to the roof of the ramshackled dig house and point the phone towards the tower and pray that the wind was in our direction. I was told my university ordered an evacuation. All UCLA students in the north of Egypt were evacuated and taken to spain ( for a wonderful siesta before hopping into a plane to Los Angeles) while I was left behind to deal with the revolution!

So, i was planning my escape! If I even had to make one, for, which revolutionary would come out to the boonies to oust Mubarak? And if they did, I had an idea! I would construct a boat! Wood is scarce in this region but the landscape is dotted with wooden boards made for temporary shelters by the Ababda's-the nomads of the eastern desert. I would make a boat and plan my escape via the Red sea to the Indian ocean and perhaps relive the journey of my ancestors (but then what if I was held captive by Somalian pirates?) or I could perform a herculean endeavor and swim across the Red sea to Saudia Arabia, but here too women have to be escorted by men, be wearing an Abaya or they are denied entry! Ce'st la vie! Anyway, for now I was safe. The only problem we faced was water and food. Interestingly the one policeman we had for the project realized that with Mubarak ousted, he did not have a job. He offered his services as a pottery assistant. It was quite entertaining to say the least to have a tall, burly policeman with a gun on his holster washing pottery for me! He does have an alternate job now :)

In the entire time at Berenike, we were in our own world. There was no television, internet but occasional news that would filter in from a settlement 300 kms away. I realized that most of the problems in today's world are caused by news which spreads like fire(it is both a good thing and a bad one too).

However, In Egypt being away from the epicenter of the turmoil, in a rugged landscape made me feel that peace is so much more valuable. We do not constantly need telephones, internet or televisions. Introspection brings peace and in some parts of the world, the past still exists, all we have to do is reach out and embrace. But yes, I do feel the revolution is important to get to that peace- the news is important to make the world aware of oppression and then it is upto us what we do with our life and these gadgets, be enslaved by them or perhaps use them to write my letter to you captain till you take the next flight :) and you may have just landed.....