It’s been a little while since I’ve posted a blog. Life has continued, things to do. And, excitingly, an overseas holiday to take. Specifically, a trip to Egypt and Turkey.

Egypt has been “on the bucket list”, it seems, forever. When Tom came to Australia as a “10-pound-Pom”, the Castel Felice migrant ship came through the Suez Canal. He recalls having been to Egypt at that time, but as a young lad, memories of Egypt beyond the Suez and Port Said are somewhat vague. So, the opportunity to visit Egypt and visit the pyramids up close was a priority. A tour was advertised which combined Egypt with Gallipoli – another of our “bucket-list” destinations. It seemed a great idea! With the inclusion of more of Turkey*, it seemed great – beyond Gallipoli, we had no expectations of Turkey at all.

To be honest, prior to this trip I probably couldn’t have accurately placed Turkey on a world map. As a youngster, I was too busy doing maths, language, and computer science at school and university (this was in the days when it wasn’t even “IT” yet – it was still computer science). I specialised without learning much geography and history at all. I now know Turkey is to the north of Egypt, not the east, as I had imagined.

Now, the more I travel and the older I get, the more I appreciate geography and history. Or is it just age – the more I know, the more I know I don’t know?? Anyway, I have a new-found appreciation of where things are in the world, and a growing appreciation of the history of people and place – so much history to learn from.

We were somewhat prepared for Gallipoli. We went with an expectation, with its relatively recent history. Although very memorable, it seemed not as emotional as visiting the Somme and Villiers-Bretonneux for the first dawn service in 2008. Maybe it was also as we were in an organised tour, mindful of the other group members and time restriction? There were many tourists around, all doing the same route along the key sights.

The Great Pyramids of Giza, although as seen on documentaries and in books and articles, were impressive and larger than life. The tombs in the Saqqara area are less well known and quite a highlight. Incredibly detailed in their decoration. Hieroglyphics and images of daily life, drawn millennia ago, but still vibrant in their colour, still striving to claim the importance of the deceased. One tomb where we braved the challenge of entering and managing the short yet very low walk down into the burial chamber – just how many times could King Teti’s name be repeated in the cartouches engraved on the walls? After all these years, it’s still clearly there to see. The Step Pyramid in Saqqara, from the days of the Old Kingdom – amazing construction from so long ago. 

Troy, Ephesus, and Hierapolis in Turkey weren’t really even on our radar. But, again, so much history. Our guide, “G”, provided meticulous information about these and so many other sites and geographical regions.

Just mentioning a few highlights doesn’t do any of them justice. I haven’t even mentioned Memphis, Valley of the Kings, Karnak Temple. Ancient Egypt, Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire. So much history in this short trip to Egypt and Turkey. It just reminds me there is so much to see, so much to learn, so much to appreciate.

*Turkey or Türkiye? The call to use the preferred name for Türkiye has only come since 2021, with the UN adopting it in 2022. Even in Türkiye, some of the English signage and documents still had “Turkey”. Our souvenir keyring from Troy has “Turkey” printed on it. Our tour documentation, even the official electronic visa, shows “Republic of Turkey”. Certainly, whilst we were in the country, “Türkiye” was heard and used. Things are gradually changing, and the use of the endonym Türkiye is bound to become more natural.