Ji Ai Cho

educator, humanist, world traveller

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

Good fun at Mama Mia. Surprisingly, I could sing along to most of the songs😆

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

My first Reptile Expo. So many amazing creatures 💕

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

The zany work of UBC engineers found in Squamish 😆

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

The highlight at the GEM was Tutankhamun’s artifacts, including the famous golden mask. The 13th pharo of Egypt, he suffered from clubfoot, bone disease and others due to excessive inbreeding in the family. He died at age 19 due to malaria and bone disease.

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

Coptic church in Cairo. Also known as the hanging church because it was built on the southern gate of the Roman fortress. During the Roman rule, the Christians were persecuted. The Holy Family is believed to have lived here for a short time during their escape from Herod.

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

Back in Cairo visiting the Muhammad Ali Mosque built in Ottoman and European styles in 1800s.

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

Dandara Temple area occupied since 2250 BC has amazing preservation of Pharos, gods, zodiac. It was later occupied by the Romans and the Christians who defaced many of the reliefs.

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

The construction of Luxor Temple began around 1400 BC by Tutankhamen’s father Amenhotep III and later by Ramses II. It was used to rejuvenate Amun and the Pharos. From late 1800s, the temple was excavated revealing an Egyptian temple converted into a Roman church and a mosque.

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

The Nubian Museum in Aswan is dedicated to Nubian heritage in the area. The Nubians lived between present day Egypt and Sudan. The Nubian Pharos ruled Egypt between 744 to 656 BC.

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

Elephantine Is. Museum and Temple on the Nile. Occupied by the ancient Egyptian, Jewish, Nubian, Greek & Roman and Coptic Christians.

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

Felucca ride up the Nile. A birder’s paradise 💕

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

The impressive Great Temple at Abu Simbel was built by Rameses the Great in 1200s BC. The grandeur of its size was to impress the Nubians of Egypt’s power. During the Aswan Dam construction, it was cut into over 1000 blocks and moved in order to save it from being submerged.

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

Shoppers’ paradise for Egyptian cotton, essential oils, glass and spices.

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

Aswan High Dam constructed in the 60s allowed controlled flooding of the Nile, resulting in multiple harvests and electric power. The enormity of the project can be seen by the size of the man-made Nasser Lake which is 500 km long and reaches into Sudan.

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

Temple of Philae, flooded in early 1900s with the construction of Aswan Low Dam. Luckily before the construction of the Upper Dam, it was moved to a higher ground. The temple was dedicated to Isis, the goddess of magic & wisdom. Cleopatra VII frequented the temple.

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

Temple of Kom Ombo. Built during 180-47 BC (Greek period), people worshipped two Gods - good Horace (sky & protection) and bad Sobek (fertility). Mummified crocodiles show that people worshipped them 🐊

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

Life on the Nile…

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

Hatshepsut Temple. After death of her husband/half brother, she ruled Egypt foften dressing as a man to exert her power. She established trade routes in modern day Somalia Her nephew/step son/son in law Amenhotep III tried to erase her in history by destroying records.

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

Valley of the Kings on the West Bank of Luxor. Because the pyramids were being raided for treasures, from about 1500 BC to 1075 BC, the pharos, wives and noblemen were buried in secret locations in the valley. The famous one being the tomb of King Tutankhamun 😻

[Ji Ai Cho @jiaicho]

Luxor Museum full of beautiful antiquities