bit stealing game

Chapter 52 The End of Ancient Egypt
The cruise ship arrived in Aswan before sunset and anchored next to a small island near the first waterfall of the Nile.

This is not a regular port.But for capital players like Rhea, the rules don't make much sense.

Not far away is Philae, the southernmost territory of ancient Egypt.

According to legend, after Osiris was dismembered by his brother Seth, one of the corpses was thrown here.Later, Osiris' sister and wife Isis put his body together, and ancient Egypt was able to have a god of the underworld.So this land is also considered by some to be the burial place of Osiris.

279 people are divided into two groups here.

Teacher Bai and Xia Shangzhou took Lou Shiqi, He Rongchuan, Jiang Can and Chang Xiao to Hierakonpolis, the oldest religious site in Egypt.Western archaeologists call Hiraconpoli the "City of Falcons" because it is guarded by the Falcon God.And Horus, the god of the sky in later generations, can probably be traced back to this point.

The rest stayed on Philae Island.

Thousands of years ago, there was a temple built in late ancient Egypt for the sun god Amon on this island.During the rule of the Greeks and Romans, it was changed to the temple of the goddess Isis.

Now the Temple of Philae has been moved to the nearby island of Agilikia because it has been washed away by the Nile River for many years.

Although it is under the banner of an expedition team, 279 doesn't really want to go to any research institute.So while it was still dark, the guide took us to the island of Agilikia to visit the Temple of Philae that had been transported as a whole.

In fact, the temples of ancient Egypt are very similar.Majestic pharaoh statues, standing stone pillars and exquisite murals.

A special feature of the Philae Temple is a mural on the wall.Some Egyptologists interpret this as the execution scene after Seth killed his brother and competed with his nephew Horus for the throne.

Seth, the god of deserts and storms, was placed on a stone bed, surrounded by the gods, and his blood was drawn with an instrument.In ancient Egyptian mythology, blood was the key to the resurrection of gods.In other words, even if Seth was cut into pieces, as long as the blood returned to his body, the god would be resurrected.

However, the interpretation of the unknown is still a matter of opinion.

Meng Weiqing and Li Yuan left after dinner.The rest of us turned around again, and returned to the boat at night.

Today there is no Lao Zhang and Ah Tian around, and Yanuo, who has no good things, is busy with gatherings.Everyone was either in their own rooms, or they were set to do something I don't know.Instead, the two energy experts chatted with the Egyptians who were our guides in the lounge.There are still all the functions on this cruise ship, even singing and dancing performances.The three of them invited me to sit and sit together, but I really couldn't arouse any interest in going to the show.

I hid in my room and wanted to look through Uncle Sir Black’s notebook, but then I realized that it was borrowed by Meng Weiqing as soon as I arrived in Aswan, and said to return it to me as soon as possible.

In fact, I don't need to read the notes, I know that Li Yuan and the others must have gone to Philae Island tonight.

We have all seen the map Sir Black gave Meng Weiqing.

60 years ago, when the Temple of Philae had not been moved from Philae Island, Bruce Black had been here.Although the Temple of Philae was originally built thousands of years after the death of Thutmose III, there must be something unusual about this island at the end of the ancient Egyptian territory.

Tonight would be the third night of the borrowed full moon.I don't know if the borrowed moon will have any chemical reaction with the ruins on Philae Island.

But those are not things I need to worry about.Nothing to do left and right, I went to bed early after washing up.

This sleep was quite stable, and I was a little surprised when I opened my eyes and found that it was still late at night.The room was a bit stuffy, and I opened the window and looked outside and suddenly wanted to go for a walk on the deck.

Dots of lights are shining on Agilikia Island not far away.Philae Island is very quiet, and the boat can see the stars better by leaning against it.

The moonlight is bright enough that I am not the only one who can see the night scene at night.

"Why don't you go to sleep?" Li Yuan sat up from the reclining chair, speaking softly as if afraid of scaring me.

The Nile River was foggy, and the silver moonlight stepped on the mist, spreading it on him like a blanket.However, under the seemingly soft moonlight, there is a sharp fire.

"Wake up at night and take a stroll, and go back to sleep later." I looked into his tireless eyes. "And you, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"Come and bask in the moon." Li Yuan said, and lay back again.

"Look, Sirius has appeared again."

I looked up.

Sure enough, the particularly bright star had returned to the sky.It seems to be competing with the full moon that shouldn't appear.

As a decanary star, Sirius will indeed disappear in the night sky for dozens of days every year.

Speaking of decals, this is an interesting and ancient Egyptian concept.The ancient Egyptians selected 36 groups of stars near the celestial equator.Each group has one to several stars.When a group of stars rises just above the horizon at dawn, it is a tenday - the beginning of a ten day period, hence the name.

In fact, this is equivalent to dividing the starry sky while also constraining time.And determines the birth of day and night, the order of all things.Later, it evolved to predict the future and the will of the gods, and this technology was controlled by priests.

Some special pictures were found in the pyramids of the Valley of the Kings and some well-preserved noble tombs.It records the names of the stars in an orderly manner, and also marks the position and direction of certain planets in the night sky during the year.

Sirius is one of them.

The ancient Egyptians also believed that Sirius created the sun and the moon.Because Sirius "rises with the sun" and climbs in the night sky for the first time in July, it happens to be the season when the Nile River floods.The Nile River nourished the entire ancient Egyptian civilization.From now on, this seems to be a closed cognitive loop with prejudice, but for the people at that time, this was an irresistible providence.

This ancient Egyptian stargazing has some similarities with our country's Ziwei Doushu celestial stems and earthly branches. They are all based on observations of natural phenomena such as astronomy and geography combined with social calculations.Civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Maya, and ancient Greece all have similar records.

The ancient Egyptians who made great achievements in stargazing found that new stars would appear in the night sky on the horizon within ten days, and those that disappeared would reappear in the sky after seventy days.So the ancient Egyptians who believed in rebirth made mummies so that the dead could still find their bodies when they were brought back to life.And when the deceased passed away, they would see which ten-day star or stars disappeared in the night sky, and that was the star that represented the deceased.Then when the ten-day star appears again, the deceased will be sent to the mausoleum, as if entering reincarnation like the ten-day star, looking forward to walking in the world again.

But now is not the time for Sirius to disappear and reappear.

In the Valley of the Kings the night before, when this untimely full moon appeared for the first time, it was true that Sirius was not seen.And only two days later, the brightest star appeared again.

If Xunxing is still moving according to the law, it can only be said that everything is speeding up now.

How long it took the ancient Egyptians to gaze at the night sky is unknown.They are far closer to the stars than we are.But the bright moon is now hanging over our heads inescapably.

The moonlight is like the edge of a sword pointing at the fate of tiny human beings.

I'm not stupid enough to ask Li Yuan what happened on Philae Island tonight.At least not now.

The breeze blew, bringing the fishy smell of the Nile water.I fought a cold war.The night in Egypt is still cool.

I turned and went back to the cabin.

Li Yuan, on the other hand, had been listening to the surging river all night.

When I woke up again, it was already daylight.

Not long after breakfast, the boat docked again.

There were six Lexus with Cairo license plates parked on the shore, but the business Jinbei used for 279 did not appear.I, Lou Shilin and He Rongchuan followed Xia Shangzhou into the car driven by Master Xie.

It was not even noon when we arrived at the Abu Simbel Temple.

It seems that after I saw Li Yuan last night, the boat started again, otherwise it would not have reached the upper reaches of the Nile so quickly.Like the Temple of Philae, we walked around the glorious legacy of Ramses II like a tour group.

Both Ramses II and Thutmose III before him were pharaohs who had made considerable achievements in force.Only on his birthday (February 2) and the day he became pharaoh (October 21), the sun will shine into the depths of the temple through the main entrance and fall on his statue.

I have to say that the astronomical knowledge and architectural ability of the ancients were really powerful.It is a pity that such a spectacle will never be seen again.The temple was moved from its former location to its current location due to the construction of the Aswan Dam.And people can no longer accurately measure the foothold of the sun.

I don't quite understand whether 279 thinks it is necessary to see all the monuments or to deceive others.Later, when I read old Blake's notes, I realized that the 279 trip basically followed his footsteps 60 years ago.And 60 years ago, the temples of Philae and Abu Simbel were in their original places.

Apparently that's why we definitely need his notes and magnetic field guide.And when Sir Black gave us that pocket watch, he probably opened it on purpose before handing it over.The purpose is to see clearly what the pointer, which was born to find the magnetic field, would look like in Li Yuan's hands.

Sir Black got what he wanted too, so he brought us the notes the next day.

The location of the Abu Simbel Temple is already very close to Sudan, and it was considered the Nubian area in ancient Egypt.In today's terms, further south is Black Africa.

Although it is not the peak tourist season, and it is located in a remote place.But this is an important site of ancient Egyptian civilization after all, and many tourists come here admiringly.However, like many tourist attractions in Egypt, the infrastructure here has not improved with the popularity.

Rhea naturally refused to give in.The restaurant that had been arranged early turned out to be delicious, which was not a bad thing.

Then there is the long drive.

Further west from the Abu Simbel Temple, there are no more people.There are deserts all the way, but it has already entered the range of the Sahara.

On the way, Xia Shangzhou was afraid of Master Xie's hard driving, so he changed shifts with him.Master Xie couldn't refuse, so he sat in the co-pilot.The three of us were also eager to try, but we were amazed by her driving skills, and dared not do it again.

I thought I would have to sleep in the desert today, but I didn't expect to see a very good hotel in front of me.

Perhaps the word 'in place' is not enough to describe this place.

There are quite a few good cars in the parking lot alone.Walking inside, the layout of the overall building does not look like the random style that can be seen everywhere in Egypt.

In front of the eyes are rather exquisite townhouses, which can still maintain their own whiteness in the desert, as dazzling as a newly built pyramid.Townhouses pretty much enclose the confines of the property.The house in the middle is a head higher than the sides, overlooking the desert.

I never knew there were such desert hotels in Egypt, it was like moving over the holiday villas in Europe in the [-]th century.When I saw the signs of various Indo-European languages ​​inside, I realized that this was just another capitalist gold-selling cave.

It turns out that foreigners will come to the desert every now and then looking for fun, so all kinds of equipment and items are available.Walking all the way in, I also saw the kind of bubble house, bonfire and stage dedicated to watching the starry sky.Fortunately, there is no casino, otherwise it would really be a small Las Vegas.

There are not many Egyptians running to consume in the desert, so it is not so halal here.That is to say, I finally ate ribs again after a long absence.

If the temple of Thutmose III is really in such a place, I am afraid that people will dance on the grave of his temple every day.

All this is really the end of ancient Egypt.

　The desert resort is not for black capitalism.There are realistic references.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)