Nubian Pyramids Meroë

Carpe Diem #799 Nubian pyramids Meroë

I found reading the history of the Nubians quite interesting.  They seem to have had high esteem for their female queens and gave then status equal to their kings.   Have  any of you heard of the great warrior queen of Nubia, Amanishakheto? She led her people with a strong arm, and built pyramids in Meroë.  Unfortunately in 1832 her pyramid/tomb was leveled to the ground by an Italian treasure hunter, Giuseppe Ferlini.

ancient Kushite rulers
constructing tombs for kings and queens
in Egyptian style

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Nubian rulers
decked out in Egyptian style
hidden beneath the sand

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behind granite lions
hidden amongst the shadows
secrets of the past
as stones unearthed gradual
answers to Nubian puzzles

Longer documentary on Nubia

Lake Nasser

Carpe Diem #797 Lake Nasser

Credit  

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Because of the Aswan High Dam which formed Lake Nasser, the ancient sites of the tombs and temples at Philae and Abu Simbel were under the threat of flooding.  Both of these sites were moved to safer places.

tombs of the pharaohs
paintings damaged by flooding
from the captured Nile
ancient monuments dismantled
reassembled on higher grounds

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dry burial sites
wet with tears of the nile
who will be cursed

 

Sudan

Carpe Diem #798 Sudan

Credit

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on our Meroe tour
hibiscus flowers do not mask
the camel smell

Camels

Although the camel is not used much in Egypt as technology replaces its use, who can imagine a trip to the pyramids without a camel.   That being said camels are being used fort tourists and also for racing.  I do not mind the tourists use but I abhor camel racing and their use of child jockeys.   Camels were shipped to Australia to help with transportation  and as technology replaced them they were let go in the wild, causing a feral  population  explosion.  Since they will eat 80 percent of the vegetation this has caused damage to the native plants.

arid landscape
only the camel
can still spit

(I know camels don’t really spit saliva, but whatever was ruminating in their stomach)

feral camels
running free
across the outback

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camels rocking gait
lending a romantic air
to the pyramids

Hymn to Aten

Carpe Diem #794 Hymn to Aten (CD Distillation)

This haiku is one based on the longer poem, “Hymn to Aten”  by Pharaoh Amenhotep IV

dawn breaks
nourishing the earth
awakening life

Karnak

Carpe Diem #791 Karnak

the sun still beats down
on the Karnak temple ruins
keeping her secrets

Amarna

Carpe Diem #793 Amarna (City of Aten)

city of the sun
between Cairo and Aswan
rises

Akhenaten

Carpe Diem #792 Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV)

east of Amarna
the sun spills through the cliffs
spelling Akhenaten’s name

Rosetta Stone

Carpe Diem #788 Rosetta Stone  This prompt inspired me to write an new haiku and then to use Chèvrefeuille new poetry from the Troiku.  You can read more about it on his Carpe Diem site.

Ralph Albert Blackelock

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moonlit night
unfolding the mysteries
between us

moonlit night
chorus of tree frogs
blanketing the dark

unfolded mystery
drifting in twilight
passion blossoming

between us
a growing secret
draped in mystery