E G Y P T

Fascination with Egypt can start young and can last a lifetime, as there’s no other place in the world that holds more mystery and allure.

If visiting Egypt has been a lifelong dream of yours, then travel with us to Kemet (the ancient name for Egypt, meaning ‘Land of Magic’) on a MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR.

Land of Magic and Mystery Story and photos by Mary Sequoia Hamilton

EGYPT

Recently, my 11 year-old son has been studying about Ancient Egypt in the classroom—and at home. We’ve mummified his Power Rangers in tightlywrapped toilet tissue (embedded with costume jewelry to simulate amulets and drenched in perfume-scented oils), ceremoniously placed them in shoebox coffins, and buried them in the backyard.

We’ve TiVo’d dozens of History Channel® programs pondering intriguing mysteries: Did Cleopatra commit suicide, or was she murdered? How is a pyramid built? Did the ancient Egyptians really know the cure for baldness and migraines?

We’ve written our names in Egyptian hieroglyphs and explored myths surrounding the symbols in a person’s name. (If your name has an M, represented by an owl, legend has it that you possess innate wisdom; R is the symbol of a mouth and refers to those who appreciate good conversations and food; and L, well, you may be perceived as bossy, stubborn and sometimes grouchy, just like a lion.) We even constructed a model pyramid out of marshmallows and hot glue—

and had a modern mess when we forgot to unplug the hot glue gun.

Fascination with Egypt can start young and can last a lifetime, as there’s no other place in the world that holds more mystery and allure.

When media magnate William Randolph Hearst was about my son’s age his mother took him on

a world tour of Europe and Egypt where he gathered ideas and inspiration from

the grandeur and scale of castles, temples, art and history. In fact, Hearst was so enthralled with Egypt that he returned again, at the age of 29, on what a colleague described as a “photographic orgy” returning to

the U.S. with 3,200 images of the Nile, pyramids and natural surroundings as

well as art, antiquities and a collection of mummies.Travel writer, Amelia Edwards, who penned

A Thousand Miles up the Nile in the late 1800s, described the ancient land of mysteries as a place “of which no writing and no art can convey more than a dwarfed and pallid impression.”

Bottom line: You have to visit Egypt for yourself.(continues on next page)

Apparently, about 11 million people did just that, swelling Egypt’s tourism up 22% from last year and up 300% from a mere 3.8 million visitors per year a decade ago. Egypt’s Tourism Office forecasts thatby 2011, they’ll need to construct 2,500 new 100-bed hotels just to accommodate the global guests.

Makes sense since Egypt is crowning ‘Top Destinations’ lists all over the world and ranks with the ‘best of best’ in books like 100 Places to See Before You Die. (Ironically, the coauthor of that best-seller died this past year at 47 years young, having visited only half of the destinations on his list.)

In 1963 when Hollywood siren Elizabeth Taylor slithered across the silver screen as Cleopatra (Cleopatra VII to be exact, since all the female Egyptian Pharaohs of Greek-lineage were named Cleopatra), tourism to Egypt spiked to an all-time high.

Then, some 30 years later the sultry Ralph Fiennes in the 1997 Oscar winning best-picture The English Patient spiked yet another boom in tourism.

Historical epics set in exotic locales appear to inspire legions of travelers on pilgrimages. Hollywood is in bed with the travel industry, so it seems.

My fascination with Egypt heightened during

my teen years in the ‘70’s with the craze over the traveling exhibit of the Egyptian ‘Boy King’ and his tomb artifacts.

Egypt stayed in the forefront of the media, and in my mind, with The Bangles belting out “Walk like an Egyptian,” Indiana Jones whipping his way through Cairo in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and comedian Steve Martin strutting his stuff to tune of “King Tut.”

As an adult, the dream of visiting the Great Pyramid had reached the apex of my “Bucket List”—i.e. things to do before one kicks the bucket.

Yes, Egypt was calling.And I was prepared.For over 25 years I had been leading travel trips

around the world —Sings Sings in Papua New Guinea, Art tours in Florence, Treks in Nepal ... I had even been a Park Ranger in Yosemite leading people through the backcountry and bear habitat. Now Egypt, which had been a dream of mine since I was my son’s age, was next on my list.

So, with my husband’s assurance that he would hold down the home fort and keep our son focused on his Egyptian studies and crafts, I made plans to travel to Cairo in preparation for leading magical tours to Egypt.

Though I’d be a SWF (solo white female) visiting the Middle East, I wanted to travel on my own terms and move beyond the tourist circuit and the megatours on megabuses.

Also, I had been cautioned: the splendor of Egypt is so vast and so intoxicating for first-timers,the sensory overload can leave one in a state of “tomb fatigue.” After all, there are only so many statues, hieroglyphs and Egyptian tombs a person can take in before they all meld into one big blur.

Embedded like jewels along the Nile River, I wanted to savor my time in these glorious temples and spectacular pyramids. I wanted something different ... something intimate ... something memorable.

Serendipitously, through a mutual friend and via Skype, I was introduced to a native Swiss living in Hong Kong, who came highly recommended for her soulful world tours and also because she would be in Egypt the same month I planned to be there.

Having cofounded Boston Proper—a multi-million dollar upscale women’s clothing company—most recently she had given herself

Are these orbs floatingaround the statue of

King Ramesses the Great? Photo taken at night at Luxor Temple.

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“a permanent promotion” from textile empress to travel goddess.

As a fellow tour organizer, this woman appeared to be the ideal mentor for my upcoming custom tours to the cradle of civilization: we shared similar visions of leading excursions tailored for both fun and transformation in equal measure, and of people on our tours unwinding in the presence of profound stillness (as is found in powerful ancient spaces.)

In fact, I was planning an itinerary for others that included exactly what I needed for myself: fun, transformation, and to symbolically unravel my overly scheduled, mummified self on a RESTcation (avacation of deep rest and relaxation ... far away from the cares of my daily life and responsibilities as a mom-preneur.)

So, ever the prepared Girl Scout and always up for a spontaneous adventure, I bought a ticket on a Saturday and flew out from LAX on a Wednesday. Ihad a short checklist in hand: 1) Make sure Egypt is safe for kids (as I would most definitely bring my son andhis fortune friends to see the pyramids); 2) Meet with

a local tour company to create an unusual, custom, and affordable itinerary that I could offer every Spring and every Fall; 3) Have fun.

I arrived in Cairo via Amsterdam and met up with an eclectic, international bunch from Belgium, Costa Rica, China, Switzerland and the United States. To make

the mix even more interesting, a German transplant living in Morocco who was a master teacher

in the ancient Asian art of Nei Gong—considered the grandfather to ‘life-

force’ or ‘energy’ practices such as Tai chi chuan and Qigong—joined along.

A local Egyptian tour company brought to life the grand itinerary with all kinds of special visits, pay

offs and treats that only locals could arrange.

We dined in tucked-away family restaurants and savored new concoctions

like squeezed lime juice with fresh mint leaves (add sugar and it’s like drinking a slice of key lime pie.) We drifted down the Nile on a Felucca and sailed the skies in a hot air balloon. We climbed up camels and down steep cavernous tombs. We meditated in silence and

partied together at the pool’s swim-up bar. We spent time in solitude and banded together at bazaars.

The highlight for all of us, was the private visit between the paws of the Sphinx (normally tourists can only view the Sphinx from a platform above it and from a distance) and our hike into the heart of the Great Pyramid (to the sacred King’s Chamber–a room so perfectly aligned with the Orion constellation it was believed to be a portal to send and receive messages from “the other side.”)

There were many splendors on the trip. One of my favorite places of antiquity was Karnak,

the largest open air religious complex in the world nestled in the heart of Luxor.

Known as Ipet-isut, “the most sacred of places,” the temple once sprawled over ten miles and boasted an avenue flanked with ram-headed sphinxes with “mini-me” Ramesses II statues (protectively between their paws) connecting the temples of Karnak and Luxor, some two miles south.

Beginning in the 16th century BC and spanning more than 2,000 years, historians estimate that more than 30 pharaohs contributed to the temple complex, enabling it to reach a size, complexity, and diversity unrivaled in ancient or modern times.

Our arrival to Karnak was at dawn, with the intent

The two most visited sites in Egypt: The Giza Necropolis

outside of Cairo, and Karnak Temple in Luxor.

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to beat the hoards of tourists that would swarm the grounds by 8am.

Our Egyptologist instructed us to move quickly through the complex to commence our journey ‘backwards’, starting at the back of the property and ending at the entrance. Our eyes darted and our necks twisted as we dashed by one breath-taking cluster of marvels after the next, akin to racing through the Louvre past the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo or Winged Victory of Samothrace to merely exit the building.

We darted past towering obelisks once painted in shimmering golds and silvers, past massive columns with relief hieroglyphs (134 in all), past colossal statues of pharaohs and goddesses, past ornate shrines designed with star-alignment precision to “anchor the deities to earth” to our desired destination: a dusty dirt patch at the far back of the property.

That’s when our guide instructed us to simply turn around. One breath-taking glance and we understood his logic.

We had arrived at the edge of the temple’s Sacred Lake which was just waking up to morning kisses from dew steaming up from the Nile and

mirroring the cloud-filled sky. It wasmagic. One look and we were all smitten, in love.

Then, as if out of nowhere, a Beatles’ tune flooded my mind: “The

magical mystery tour is waiting to take you away. Waiting to take you away...”

It was a proverbial light bulb moment—a deep knowing that I would be coming back to Egypt year after year after year, bringing tours of like-minded travelers to behold its wonders, bathe in its beauty, and be embraced by its exquisite energy.

Inspired, I quickly and affectionately nicknamed my future trips: MAGICAL MYSTERY TOURS.

Magic is what unfolded in that moment by the mirrored lake at Karnak Temple, magic is what happened as I was praying between the paws of the Sphinx, magic is what happened when I laid in the sarcophagus in the heart of the Great Pyramid (yes, I got to do that and you can too!), and subsequently, magic is what will happen when I return to Egypt with my family, friends and many, many tour groups.

The original name for Egypt, found in ancient records, is Kemet and its interpretation means: The Land of Magic.

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The first colossal royalsculpture in Egypt, the Great

Sphinx has become the country’s national symbol.

Yes, Egypt had cast its magic spell on me! Mesmerized, I mailed a postcard home that

simply read:

Dear Ben & Sky,

Can’t wait to be here together as a family! Can’t wait to bring others too! I’m arranging magical mystery tours...

xoxoMom

P.S. Don’t forget to unplug the hot glue gun!

Author Mary Sequoia Hamilton is the publisher of AWAKEN JOURNAL (www.AwakenJournal.com), owner of AWAKEN SACRED TRAVELS (www.AwakenSacredTravels.com) and a screenwriter. Hamilton satiates her wanderlust by traveling and writing about her adventures. Her latest film script,Blue Lotus, is set in the exotic land of Egypt. Hamilton lives with her family and pets in Ojai, California.

Images on both pages: Collosal sculptures, columns

and obelisks found at the temples of Karnak, Luxor and

Ramesses the Great.

SACRED TRAVELS

Join our Egypt group forming from Southern California. We welcome individuals from all over the world to join us too!

Hosted by Mary Sequoia Hamilton, owner of AWAKEN SACRED TRAVELS (along with her artisan husband Ben Powell in April) and co-host Patricia Richards of HEALING THE HEART (both April and October), a renown intuitive with expertise in dreamwork who has studied with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in the East and Brugh Joy in the West.

Mary Sequoia Hamilton (with husband Ben

Powell, above)and Patricia

Richards (below)

April 1-11, 2010(with Optional 2+ Days in Cairo)

andOctober 27 - November 7, 2010

MAGICAL MYSTERY TOURS include spiritual lectures, energy-work,

daily meditations, visits to the ancient pyramids and temples, a

multi-day Nile cruise, an all-inclusive retreat at the Red Sea, first

class accommodations in Cairo and Luxor, & 17+ meals.

SACRED TRAVELS

Rates:

$3,333 (arrange your own airfare; double occupancy)

$4,333 (includes international airfare from New York)

$700 (single supplement)

A TRIP OF A LIFETIME!Intended to be the perfect itinerary: a combination of adventure,

cultural immersion, soulful inquiry and time on the side for one’s own musings.

The trip will be an opportunity for participants to “drink in Egypt’s exquisite energy,” and symbolically

unravel their overly scheduled, mummified selves in the presence of profound stillness found

emanating from the mammoth pyramids and ancient temples. The apex of the trip will include

a private visit between the paws of the Sphinx (normally tourists can only access viewing of the

Sphinx from a platform above and at a distance) and a hike into the heart of the Great Pyramid

(into the sacred King’s Chamber–a room so perfectly aligned with the Orion constellation it was

believed to be a portal to send and receive messages from “the other side.”) To learn more, visit

www.AwakenSacredTravels.com