Anthro-Graphics goes to Egypt

John Post at the Pyramids as Giza

John at the Great Bent Pyramid

The driving force to go to Egypt was to photograph the TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE (my 5th) on March 29th of 2006 near the Egypt/Libyan border town of Saloum, a rarely visited and desolate part of Egypt.

After renting a car in Cairo we drove to the town of Mersa Matrouh on the Meditteranean coast west of El-Alemein. Two days were then spent locating a tree (easier said than done) to be in my eclipse image; one was located. On eclipse day, as usual, an international camaraderie of "eclipse chasers" were also in the area and we were all treated to 4 minutes of beautiful, dark totality at midday, a sight unique in nature.

After 'eclipse day' our journey went south to the ancient desert oasis town of Siwa noted by Alexander the Great's visit to consult the Oracle of Amun near Siwa in 325BC. Six days later we returned the rental car in Cairo, took the night train south to Aswan on the Upper Nile River and spent the next three weeks working our way back to Cairo via Luxor, Dahshur, and Saqqara visiting the incredible temples in Luxor and the mind boggling and amazing pyramids.

"How'd they do that 4,000 years ago"?

My favorite pyramids were the great Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid, both only a kilometer apart at Dahshur (these were the first two pyramids ever built, each standing almost 400ft high). At one point I was by myself deep down inside the Red Pyramids tomb chamber, the temperature was at least 120 degrees, and for a brief instant while sweating profusely I was transported back in time and felt the immense weight and history of the ages contained in the precision and magnificence of these Wonders of the World.

Enjoy the images within my Egypt Collection.