The ancients called this place kmt, black earth, because it was the color that remained once the water of the Nile, which had flooded the fields, retreated and deposited silt as an excellent fertilizer for an amazingly fertile land. It was not until Napoleon arrived in Egypt in 1798, accompanied by 170 wise men, that the country was a place lost in the memory of Europeans and there were not too many travelers who dared to sail the Nile in search of its secrets. Once the Suez Canal was built in 1869, a new road was opened that passed through Cairo, and with the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, a fever was unleashed to learn about the history and culture of ancient Egypt.
That desire to know and learn about a civilization with more than 4,000 years of history is still just as alive today, there are many who embark on a fascinating journey to the lands of the East to discover the land of the pharaohs. But if you also get a guide as special as Antonio Cabanas, one of the writers in the Spanish language who has published the most books on ancient Egypt, in total ten novels that have been best sellers, the experience becomes unique.
The DM Dima agency has organized Eternal Egypt for next March 7, a magical trip to the land of a thousand gods, only for 16 people, for 11 days, at a price of 15,711 euros per person. Yes, it is a lot of money, but they tell us that soon, in April-May, a more affordable trip will be made with Antonio Cabanes as a companion. “A trip to remember for a lifetime.”
We asked Antonio Cabanes what is special about this trip. “I am going to accompany the group to tell my experiences of that Egypt that I know, which is like my second country, since I have been going for more than 30 years. My job is to explain that Egypt that is not usually explained in normal trips that are already magical. Fascinating stories that are not usually known. The traveler will become a friend and I will be available to talk about everything they want to know, whether over coffee or dinner, whenever. It will be a different trip and I will be accompanied by a Coptic guide, a well-known person in the country who has made it possible to visit places that normally cannot be seen", thus a private dinner will take place at the Luxor temple, and the tombs of Seti I, Tut Ankh Amon and the tomb of Nefertiti that are closed to the public, among other VIP activities.
“Traveling is not the same as tourism, we are going to see things in depth, because normally there is no time. In addition, the hotels are spectacular, Four Season Nile Plaza, Old Cataract, a temple of luxury where great people like Agatha Christie, Mitterrand, Angelina Jolie stayed... A dream place, which maintains that flavor that makes it different. The ship to be used is the ship of the former King Faruq, decorated in art deco.”
Where does this passion for Egypt come from?
It comes out of childhood, in high school, in a history book I saw the funeral mask of Tutankhamun and it was something amazing that had a striking effect. It seemed full of mystery, something magical, it was the beginning of the passion that I developed later, because I dedicated myself to something else. Airplanes were undoubtedly my passion and my job, but my interest in Egypt became an excessive passion. And in fact I didn't go to Egypt until I was a pilot with Iberia, in the eighties. I had read a lot, my father was a great fan of literature and he encouraged us to read, and I began to visit the country, my position allowed me to travel and generalize the visits. Sometimes I would go two or three days off, and come back. I made a lot of friends, in the end you meet a lot of people. They are very hospitable people, very friends of Spain.
What do you think will be the next discovery?
Don't know. Things are discovered every day.
But for example Zahi Hawass continues searching….
He is in search of Nefertiti's tomb, the Valley of the Kings is a branch, there is an eastern and western area, the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Monkeys, there are several tombs, and that is where he is excavating, but everything is a mystery . The discovery of this tomb would be the most incredible.
Who was the most powerful woman in Egypt?
In my opinion it was Hatshepsut, because she ruled for 22 years as a pharaoh without being one, she took power, I tell it in my book The Tears of Isis, a fascinating woman, and it was a rich country, without wars during her reign. She built a lot, she was the pharaoh who built the most obelisks in the history of Egypt, with a lot of power, also Nefertiti who was a pharaoh with another name, Tausert, and let's not forget Cleopatra, a stateswoman of our time in the Roman world. But they were all powerful because the women of the royal family were the ones who gave divinity, and to be god, the pharaohs needed the divine blood of women, which is why they married brothers.
And the most emblematic pharaoh?
The most famous is Ramses II, but he has not been the most powerful, he made many things his own that belonged to others. When he came to the throne he put his name in places of others. There were warrior pharaohs like Thutmose III, much more powerful, with him the borders of Egypt reached the Euphrates. And the most emblematic has been the most insignificant, the one that no one knew about and who, due to the discovery of his tomb, has become the most famous, Tutankhamun.
Is it a good time to travel to Egypt?
Security in Egypt is total, the police control everything. Their industry is tourism, and they have already eliminated Islamist cells. Once I left my phone in a taxi, and the taxi driver looked for me until he found me to return it to me for fear of having problems. It is a safe place. And the war in Gaza is not close, they have closed borders precisely to not give shelter to those who should not.
You can't miss…
The pyramids. You see how insignificant you are when you are there in front of you with some stone blocks that are your height, and there are two and a half million blocks there, how is that possible? And the interior architecture, with passageways of complex calculations. They are all worth seeing. Then there is the step pyramid of Saqqara full of passages, very interesting too. And the new Egyptian Museum, when it's open. Islamic Cairo, the citadel of Salamino and the Mohamed Ali mosque, this is history, it is spectacular, and also the Grand Bazaar and Coptic Cairo.
What could a more modern traveler like?
The Zamalek neighborhood, the most elegant neighborhood, with modern buildings, a polo club, and it is where the Opera is.
If I want to stay somewhere outside of Giza, where
The Tahrir Square area where the old museum is and where the Nile Ritz-Carlton is now located, and not far away is the Sofitel Cairo Nile El Gezirah, in a round tower, which is also on the Nile. There is a subway and it is a nice place. I never stay in Giza because it is outside Cairo.
A place that is never visited
The Fishawi café, the café of mirrors, was where Naguib Mahfuz, Nobel Prize winner in Literature, political conscience of his time, hung out. It is an alley where you sit in a kind of seating area with cushions, like in the 15th century, a lot of people pass by and there is a lot of life. People come out to talk. If they don't take you, you have to say that they take you to enjoy tea and time immersed in a different world. A place that I highly recommend.
Where can I eat?
In hotels you eat fantastically well, because you have to be careful with your belly. A very typical restaurant is Felfela, a traditional restaurant, or Nagib Mafouz, which I also recommend. They eat with many spectacular spices and sauces, and they have delicious bread. In the Heliopolis area, where more European people live, there are more modern places. There is also a Hard Rock Café.
Is there anything that has surprised you lately?
In my latest book (Tutankhamun's Dream, Editions B) some protagonists appear who are cobras. My protagonist has a gift that is to attract cobras, so I went to live with a cobra whisperer for a week, and I was very surprised how it was possible that I could have communication with such dangerous animals. The cobras are deaf but he talked to them, and they went to his house to clean it of rodents, and he put bowls of milk on the door for them.
