Historian Jabari Osaze will be posting daily descriptions of this year's African Genesis Institute trip to Egypt. He's has been leading tours of historic sites in Egypt for the African Genesis Institute for over a decade. Follow along to retrace the ancient footsteps of our African ancestor who gave civilization to the world.
It’s approximately 11 AM and
we’ve just arrived in Cairo, Egypt. We
are all anxious to begin our odyssey searching for the wondrous achievements of
out Kemetic (Ancient Egyptian) ancestors.
This year, 16 people are partaking in “The Mysteries of Ancient Egypt
Revealed” tour sponsored by the African Genesis Institute and the Center for
the Restoration of Ma’at. Today’s simple
activities include checking in at the Le Meridian Hotel which overlooks the
magnificent pyramids on the Giza Plateau and a dinner cruise on the Nile
River.
It’s fair to say that our 10 hour
flight has left us in need of a good night sleep. However, each and every person on our trip has
also expressed excitement over tomorrow’s visit to see the Great Pyramid
(pyramids called mr or mrkhut by the Ancient Egyptians). Viewing the monument from the hotel with
their own eyes has only left them with more questions. Even our travelers with mobility issues are
considering descending the narrow long passage into the burial chamber of the
third mrkhut on the plateau.
This is my tenth year of leading
tours to Egypt. I am quite concerned
about reports of the looting of sites all throughout Egypt. The revolutionary actions in Egypt over the
course of the last year and a half have also allowed opportunist to both
desecrate and steal ancient items. Archaeological
sites all over Egypt have reported looting and even artifacts like the bodies of
King Tutankhamen’s grand-parents have been desecrated. I wonder whether I’ll be able to receive more
information on how extensive this problem is.
As groups of people of African descent like ours are continuing to visit
important sites on the African continent to look for our ancient footsteps, I
can only hope that these sites will remain intact until we’ve become powerful
enough to assert the importance of our homeland. These issues have left my head spinning. That’s enough for now. Tomorrow I’ll recount our tour of the
magnificent mrkhuti (pyramids) on the Giza plateau. 