There I was, walking around at the pyramids in Giza in ancient Egypt. A few thousand years ago. With my latest Canon. It was hot and hazy, but the heat didn’t bother me. I felt happy and light on my foot, smiled at everyone I met. They were mostly traders returning to Cairo with caravans of fully loaded camels. I was over the moon because I had managed to snap a picture of a Sacred Ibis.

That bird was Thoth’s favorite. And Thoth represented many things important to me: knowledge, writing and justice. Even a little bit of magic. I had never seen him in person, of course, but he was pictured everywhere with a head of an Ibis.

The Sacred Ibis was also the first letter in the hieroglyphic alphabet. An important symbol of writing and preserving the stories for the afterlife.

After getting my all important shot, I went to see the scribes and artists in the nearby village. Some of them had simple workshops, but many were writing, drawing and painting on their papyrus rolls right in the open.

Their art was nothing short of amazing. I tried to buy a few art works but somehow my paper money didn’t do the trick. So a few of them took pity on an art-hungry stranger and gave me samples of their work for free. I was grateful for their kind gesture.

After receiving the rolls, I said my goodbyes and walked back to the pyramids. I asked one of the guards to take a picture of me.  For my blog, I told him. To my surprise he didn’t even ask me how to use the camera, just snapped the picture and smiled. He was more interested in my camera bag of soft leather, and asked who’d made it. I said I didn’t know, but that it was probably made in China. He thought it was funny and burst out laughing. He couldn’t fathom that there was no art work on it.

Soon after my picture was taken the wind started blowing. A sand storm was approaching. Still remembering the previous storm, I didn’t want to get another sand corn in my eye. So I  decided to return to Mena House, my accommodations for the night.

Suddenly I woke up. The sun was shining in my face. I wanted to go for breakfast in my favorite spot, out in the gardens facing one of the pyramids. But found myself back in my bed in Florida. My hubby was already up, Bumble was still snoring lightly next to me. It took me a while to wake up to my current realities of a new week in the 21st century. And I couldn’t help but wonder where this pleasant dream had come from. My hubby of course has a theory.

I hope your week has started well.