National Geographic Egypt Quest for Eternity

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00:00:05 One hundred and fifty years ago
00:00:07 the king of France had
00:00:09 from Egypt to grace
00:00:13 Three thousand years earlier
00:00:15 it had been dedicated to the
00:00:19 with these words
00:00:21 "so long as heaven exists
00:00:25 and your name shall endure
00:00:32 Through the 30 centuries
00:00:36 the people of the Nile created
00:00:39 the world has even seen
00:00:41 among them
00:00:42 the largest place of worship
00:00:52 These miracles in stone were
00:01:04 They believed that man, like the sun
00:01:07 could die and be reborn
00:01:11 They constructed elaborate tombs
00:01:14 and house the soul
00:01:26 They created guides to
00:01:29 Books of the Dead
00:01:35 And on their monuments
00:01:36 they left the testimony
00:01:39 These inscriptions are keys with
00:01:41 which we unlock the secrets
00:01:45 Ladies and gentlemen
00:01:46 now we are at the temple of
00:01:49 And, as they have since
00:01:52 Antony and cleopatra
00:01:53 thousands journey here
00:01:57 going down to the Green Valley
00:01:59 for the holy visit of Amun-Re
00:02:01 to the goddess Hathor once
00:02:04 But today, having endured
00:02:08 these seemingly imperishable
00:02:12 Their fate may be determined
00:02:16 so, people of science, soul
00:02:19 travel here from all over the globe
00:02:22 to save
00:02:24 to decipher the meaning
00:02:27 before they disappear forever
00:02:33 This is the story of
00:02:36 and the quest for eternity
00:03:29 The Nile
00:03:31 Flowing through the endless miles
00:03:35 its precious waters gave birth
00:03:38 to one of the
00:03:40 that has ever taken hold on our planet
00:03:44 "Hail to you, Oh Nile!"
00:03:49 "sprung from earth
00:03:52 Food provider, bounty maker
00:03:55 who creates all that is good."
00:04:00 The river's annual flooding left
00:04:04 utilizing it, farmers developed
00:04:11 sustained by its abundant waters
00:04:13 the land and crops prospered
00:04:35 Even mud from the Nile's banks
00:04:38 with material for everything
00:04:42 with which they built their homes
00:05:00 The Nile itself was Egypt's highway...
00:05:03 boats sailed northward
00:05:05 and south with the prevailing winds
00:05:13 To predict the time when the
00:05:15 the ancients developed a calendar
00:05:20 Along the extended oasis of
00:05:24 a way of life emerged
00:05:28 virtually unchanged from the furthest
00:05:58 And in the time of the Nile's
00:06:01 when the farmers could not till
00:06:04 they built the pyramids-tombs
00:06:14 All that remains of the seven Wonders
00:06:18 they were stairways to heaven
00:06:20 For to all Egyptians
00:06:27 The largest monument ever constructed
00:06:31 the Great Pyramid contains more than
00:06:33 two million immense limestone blocks
00:06:36 each weighing over two tons
00:06:39 One hundred thousand men toiled
00:06:42 without wheel, horse
00:06:46 that their pharaoh might
00:06:49 and live in eternity
00:06:55 This dedication to gods and
00:06:58 of the pharaohs for 3,000 years
00:07:14 From the beginning, the Nile was
00:07:20 The lotus growing on the river
00:07:23 the people of Upper Egypt
00:07:25 the papyrus, shimmering in the
00:07:29 was the symbol of Lower Egypt
00:07:32 lmmortalized on this table of slate
00:07:35 a king known as Narmer wears the
00:07:39 of Upper Egypt on one side
00:07:41 the low-curled crown of Lower Egypt
00:07:46 It commemorates his unification
00:07:50 to create the nation of Egypt
00:07:56 From that time, Egyptian kings
00:08:00 as rulers of the two kingdoms of
00:08:06 The two lands have remained linked
00:08:08 from Narmer's time to the present
00:08:10 Isolated from its neighbors
00:08:12 protected by mountains, desert,
00:08:15 the Nile Valley was an ideal crucible
00:08:18 in which a civilization could begin
00:08:22 Traces of those beginnings can be
00:08:30 The site, still populated today
00:08:33 holds evidence of habitation
00:08:48 since 1967
00:08:50 Dr. Walter Fairservis of Vassar college
00:08:53 and the American museum of
00:08:55 has been excavating here
00:08:57 in his continuing search for
00:09:02 It was here, just 90 years ago
00:09:05 that the Narmer tablet was discovered
00:09:09 It was here, 50 centuries before
00:09:13 that king Narmer established
00:09:15 of the newly unified nation
00:09:19 Here we have the walls of a princely complex
00:09:21 that belonged to a king who lived
00:09:26 the very beginning of Egypt's
00:09:29 He was a great king, a powerful monarch
00:09:31 And we know from the size of
00:09:34 and the way things are located
00:09:37 a very wealthy person
00:09:38 We know he had storerooms full of grain
00:09:41 We know that he had perhaps
00:09:44 and many other things of that order
00:09:46 And yet, oddly enough,
00:09:50 he left the place
00:09:52 He abandoned it
00:09:54 And that's part of the reason
00:09:55 we're exploring this area to
00:09:58 Why, at the very beginnings of
00:10:01 do we have a place as important
00:10:05 Perhaps the secret still lies buried
00:10:13 sifting through the debris
00:10:15 the Fairservis team continues
00:10:18 the history of the site
00:10:41 Many threads bind Egyptian
00:10:45 But none is stronger than the
00:10:49 But this one is interesting because...
00:10:50 Equipped with objects necessary
00:10:53 these bodies were buried before
00:10:56 the first pharaoh built
00:10:59 Right here, if I can just
00:11:01 hair pins
00:11:07 Made of some quill-like or ivory,
00:11:10 Perhaps ivory
00:11:11 Perhaps ivory, yes.
00:11:18 In this capital, religion, tradition
00:11:21 and political power fused
00:11:23 foundations were laid on which
00:11:26 all ancient civilizations would rise
00:11:41 Two thousand years later
00:11:42 Egypt's religious capital
00:11:45 one of the richest
00:11:53 At its heart was the temple of
00:11:57 the largest place of worship
00:12:01 As dynasty followed dynasty
00:12:04 the great complex was enlarged
00:12:06 by a succession of pharaohs
00:12:09 Tutankhamun
00:12:10 whose fabulous tomb treasures
00:12:13 a female pharaoh, Hatshepsut
00:12:16 called "the first great woman
00:12:19 the heretic Akhenaten,
00:12:23 And Ramses II, the greatest builder
00:12:34 called Ramses the Great
00:12:36 pharaoh while Egypt's power and
00:12:40 this warrior-king was to rule
00:12:44 bring peace to the empire,
00:12:49 and leave his mark on fully half
00:12:53 Ramses was only about 20
00:12:55 when his father seti I died
00:12:59 Seti had ordered his funerary
00:13:03 One of Ramses' first acts as pharaoh
00:13:05 was to travel there to complete it
00:13:10 To all Egyptians, this was the
00:13:17 Here, drawn by some mystical
00:13:20 with Abydos and the long-dead pharaoh
00:13:23 an extraordinary woman
00:13:26 was to come 3,000
00:13:31 With a group of fellow Egyptologists
00:13:33 she celebrates her 77th birthday
00:13:45 Well, thank you very much
00:13:49 You certainly made it
00:13:51 Make a speech
00:13:53 Make a speech? Oh, how lovely,
00:13:58 I'm afraid its a mass-produced one,
00:14:02 Never mind, no matter
00:14:06 My heart, my mother
00:14:07 My heart, my mother
00:14:09 My heart whereby I came into being
00:14:11 Do not stand up and witness against
00:14:15 I think that is the text.
00:14:17 Yes, you've got it
00:14:19 Oh, thank you very much
00:14:21 To Omm seti at her 77th,
00:14:27 Thank you. Let us drink to our dear
00:14:35 Born Dorothy Eady in England
00:14:37 she says something called her here
00:14:39 from the time she was a child
00:14:41 she came here 50 years ago,
00:14:45 and had a son whom she named seti
00:14:47 From then on, she was known as
00:14:50 which means "mother of seti."
00:14:53 She has devoted the last 30 years
00:14:55 to the study of seti I's temple
00:14:57 and become an expert on him and
00:15:02 Ramses tells that he came to Abydos
00:15:06 in the first year of his reign
00:15:10 and he found that the decoration of
00:15:16 In the inscription he says that
00:15:19 "I ordered the work of my father
00:15:24 and all the works which my father
00:15:29 and were still incomplete
00:15:31 I had them finished."
00:15:33 And then he goes on as
00:15:35 if he's speaking to the soul
00:15:39 you see, and telling him
00:15:41 that all that seti had wanted to do
00:15:45 and died before completing
00:15:47 and all his plans and ambitions
00:15:50 Ramses would complete it
00:15:53 And he said, "so long as
00:15:57 it will be as though you are
00:16:01 He was a nice fellow,
00:16:07 When Omm seti came here for the
00:16:11 the temple was in ruins.
00:16:13 Its reconstruction became
00:16:19 They confronted me with a pile of
00:16:24 There were over 2,000
00:16:26 some were very small, some were
00:16:29 My job was to copy the inscriptions
00:16:32 catalogue them, and, where possible,
00:16:44 The temple is vibrant with carvings
00:16:46 that look as fresh today
00:16:48 as when they were painted 3,000
00:16:51 lts walls tell the first known
00:16:57 Osiris, a mythical ruler
00:16:59 was killed and dismembered
00:17:02 His wife, the goddess Isis, found
00:17:07 bound them together, and Osiris
00:17:11 Their son, the falcon-headed god Horus
00:17:15 was to grow to manhood and avenge
00:17:19 Anubis, jackal-headed god of embalming
00:17:22 was sent by the sun god to help
00:17:33 The Egyptians believed
00:17:34 that because Osiris died
00:17:38 they too could achieve immortality
00:17:41 Worshipping Osiris, seti assures
00:17:49 Offering incense
00:17:51 the pharaoh worships before the
00:18:12 Just as seti offers bread, ducks,
00:18:15 and a pomegranate to Isis
00:18:17 Omm seti follows the ancient belief
00:18:20 Oh yes, every year at the Great Feast
00:18:25 and again on the birthday of the
00:18:30 I come here with offerings of wine
00:18:35 bread, and incense
00:18:38 Oh, I love coming here
00:18:40 It's the place I really do feel
00:18:49 Three days after this filming
00:18:52 Omm seti died
00:18:54 she was buried in Abydos
00:18:56 Egyptian city of resurrection
00:19:08 In the time of Ramses
00:19:10 the most powerful deity of the living
00:19:12 was the sun god Amun-Re
00:19:15 He was patron of the city of Thebes
00:19:17 located on the Nile between
00:19:21 and Abydos
00:19:26 On the east bank, where the sun rises
00:19:29 were temples dedicated to the sun god
00:19:32 karnak... and Luxor
00:19:36 On the west bank, where the sun
00:19:40 was a complex of tombs where
00:19:43 the Valley of the kings
00:19:45 and the Valley of the Queens
00:19:51 The Greek poet Homer was to
00:19:55 "the city of a hundred gates
00:19:58 where 400 heroes with their horse
00:20:00 and chariots pass through each
00:20:10 While Ramses reigned
00:20:12 Thebes was splendid
00:20:14 He ordered beautiful additions
00:20:16 made to Luxor temple
00:20:20 and courts dedicated to the
00:20:33 But having endured 3,000 years
00:20:36 these monuments face destruction
00:20:39 from the effects of
00:20:41 industrialization,
00:20:44 due in part to the Aswan High Dam
00:20:47 and even the tourists themselves
00:21:04 In 1924, in response to the
00:21:07 the Oriental Institute of
00:21:10 established a permanent
00:21:15 called chicago House
00:21:17 it was founded by
00:21:20 father of American Egyptology
00:21:22 who envisioned making a record of
00:21:24 all the endangered monuments of
00:21:30 Today chicago House is under
00:21:37 The scholars of chicago House
00:21:39 a monumental labor called
00:21:48 Over the past 50 years
00:21:50 has published an epic series
00:21:53 containing the results of the survey
00:21:57 Utilizing an ingenious combination
00:21:59 of photography and draftsmanship
00:22:01 the chicago House Egyptologists
00:22:04 drawings of the monuments' carved
00:22:08 the only record that will remain
00:22:10 when the hieroglyphs
00:22:12 have disappeared forever
00:22:25 As pharaoh succeeded pharaoh
00:22:28 it was common for them
00:22:31 taking credit for the work
00:22:34 By interpreting successive decorations
00:22:37 the chicago House team is decoding
00:22:51 As the glory of pharaonic Egypt faded
00:22:53 people built houses inside the temple
00:22:56 Their debris buried much of it
00:23:00 When excavation started a hundred
00:23:03 the stone walls were suddenly
00:23:07 since then, salts, leaching
00:23:11 combine with moisture in the air
00:23:13 creating crystals that slough off
00:23:16 taking the images with them.
00:23:18 The salt on the walls makes
00:23:22 The reliefs are being dissolved
00:23:24 so that within a period of 200 years
00:23:27 the temple will still stand
00:23:29 but all of the decorated surface
00:23:32 When they are gone
00:23:34 we want there to be a record
00:23:36 as accurate as humanly possible
00:23:38 of the decoration
00:23:39 so that scholars will be able to
00:23:43 and be sure that the reliability is such
00:23:45 that any questions they have
00:23:47 will be answered in our volumes
00:23:58 When the gods were worshipped
00:24:00 great portions of the temples
00:24:03 Large blocks were broken into
00:24:06 for reuse as building material
00:24:11 Thousands of them have been
00:24:15 chicago House is conducting a
00:24:19 to reconstruct a section called
00:24:35 Finding a fragment that may fit
00:24:37 artist Ray Johnson makes notations
00:24:40 and the block is carefully photographed
00:25:06 An artist pencils, then inks in the
00:25:11 making corrections and replacing
00:25:13 what time may have removed
00:25:20 Then the artist fits the photograph
00:25:22 into his rendering of the wall
00:25:24 Only the areas within the inked lines
00:25:26 have actually been found
00:25:28 But from the salvaged fragments
00:25:30 it is sometimes possible to
00:25:34 created by the original artists
00:25:44 You support me going up
00:25:49 On those exciting and rare occasions
00:25:52 when a fragment that fits onto a
00:25:56 it is replaced
00:26:01 Toward me?
00:26:03 So, piece by piece, the ancient
00:26:14 The investigations of chicago House
00:26:17 that the colonnade of Luxor temple
00:26:18 is the major standing monument
00:26:22 To completely evaluate its
00:26:25 the inscriptions at the top of
00:26:27 must be photographed
00:26:30 Ladders reaching five stories high
00:26:40 This is the first time in 50 years
00:26:42 that anyone has attempted the ascent
00:27:11 On the 70-foot-high columns
00:27:13 Dr. Bell studies the techniques used
00:27:15 by the artisans of antiquity
00:27:18 Here they inserted wooden blocks to
00:27:22 as they fitted it together
00:27:28 A roof once covered the colonnade
00:27:31 but it fell or was removed sometime
00:27:36 Fragments of it found on
00:27:39 have been identified
00:27:50 In assessing the temple's past
00:27:52 Dr. Bell's thought inevitably
00:27:57 Paradoxically, the vibrations caused
00:27:59 by the endless footsteps of the
00:28:03 even the carbon dioxide they exhale
00:28:06 are eroding the irreplaceable
00:28:23 chicago House studies have reveale
00:28:25 that a hundred years after Tutankhamun
00:28:29 Ramses II systematically erased
00:28:33 and replace it with his own
00:28:35 naively assuming he could deceive
00:28:39 and take credit for the colonnade's
00:28:54 But Ramses also added to the
00:28:58 He built a massive entrance-
00:29:02 from which the sun god goes forth."
00:29:05 From reliefs we can reconstruct a
00:29:09 The Feast of Opet
00:29:21 With the Nile in full flood
00:29:22 the golden statue of the god Amun Re
00:29:24 has been brought to Luxor from
00:29:32 Within the temple's innermost
00:29:34 Ramses offers incense, flowers
00:29:37 and food to the linen-shrouded god
00:29:43 The sacrifices and ceremonies concluded
00:29:46 priests lead the procession out
00:29:49 purifying the way before them
00:29:59 Thousands of citizens crowd the
00:30:03 Nubian dancers, soldiers
00:30:05 and priestesses accompany the
00:30:22 The shrine of the god is placed
00:30:25 and in great ceremony priests, god
00:30:28 and pharaoh are towed back to
00:30:36 Ramses' favorite queen, Nefertari
00:30:39 and the royal princesses greet the
00:30:46 concluding nearly a month of worship
00:30:49 the royal couple enters the great
00:31:00 Within the sacred precincts
00:31:02 the shrine carrying the golden statue
00:31:05 is hidden from public view
00:31:20 symbolically renewed and reborn
00:31:23 the divine king Ramses advances
00:31:26 reaches of the temple
00:31:27 where no common mortals are allowed
00:31:32 Begun by his father, seti I
00:31:34 this awesome hall was completed
00:31:38 A soaring forest of stone,
00:31:44 some of them 80 feet high
00:31:51 ceilings and columns are ornamented
00:31:53 with Ramses' cartouches-magical ropes
00:31:56 that surround the king's name to
00:32:01 In the hieroglyphs of his name
00:32:04 "it is Re, the sun god, who bore him."
00:32:11 From the sun god
00:32:12 the pharaohs drew their right to
00:32:15 their legitimacy, and crowns
00:32:18 so they constructed this mighty city
00:32:22 A hundred pharaohs enlarged
00:32:24 and embellished it over a period of
00:32:28 a creation that did not cease
00:32:31 that has resumed as modern
00:32:33 restore this timeless testimony
00:32:49 Across the Nile stretches the Land
00:32:53 Here, in mystical imitation of
00:32:56 the bodies of the deceased were
00:32:59 that they might rise again
00:33:01 as the sun did each day
00:33:08 cut into the heart of the mountain,
00:33:10 the Theban necropolis is a vast
00:33:21 Here, Ramses' architects built
00:33:23 his splendid mortuary temple,
00:33:26 In its forecourt lie huge fragments
00:33:29 of his colossal statue 1,000 tons
00:33:32 that once rose 57 feet in height...
00:33:35 that inspired shelley's sonnet
00:33:38 "in which he called the pharaoh
00:33:48 When Ramses died in 1224 B.c.,
00:33:54 Here, the magic of his name and
00:34:00 This was but a stopping point for
00:34:02 and his funeral procession
00:34:04 the sacred place where offerings
00:34:07 from this day throughout all time
00:34:21 Though mourners wept, they knew that
00:34:23 if properly provided for,
00:34:27 so they carried with them everything
00:34:30 for the voyage through eternity
00:34:37 For a king there would be boats in
00:34:38 which he could sail endlessly
00:34:59 And a throne from which
00:35:09 Even magical figures would be provided
00:35:18 In their tomb paintings the people
00:35:22 as a pleasant extension of their
00:35:25 a place where they could amuse
00:35:30 where rich crops would sustain them
00:35:38 The deceased carried with them
00:35:41 They instructed the departed on how
00:35:44 and demons that would attempt to
00:35:48 Her body painted with stars
00:35:50 a goddess of the sky stretches over
00:35:54 who represents the earth
00:35:56 Between them, a winged form of
00:35:59 through the netherworld
00:36:10 The divine, ibis-headed scribe, Thoth
00:36:13 makes notes as the deeds of the deceased
00:36:22 In an address to the gods
00:36:23 the departed will assert his innocence
00:36:26 "I am pure of mouth and hands
00:36:29 without sin, without guilt,
00:36:33 Those who were judged to be without
00:36:37 to dwell in the "happy land of
00:36:43 But most important
00:36:45 there must be a body to which the
00:36:48 Anubis, god of embalming
00:36:50 prepares the body for the life to come
00:36:55 so Ramses' mummy would have gone
00:36:58 after a priest pronounced over it:
00:37:15 The tomb of Ramses II
00:37:21 In a state of dangerous disrepair
00:37:23 its access is forbidden
00:37:26 But a team headed by Dr. Kent Weeks
00:37:28 of the University of california
00:37:31 has recently mapped it
00:37:36 In the dynasty following Ramses'
00:37:38 the royal tombs were systematically
00:37:41 As a last resort, priests collected
00:37:45 and hid them
00:37:47 In 1871, a grave robber
00:37:51 where he had lain undisturbed
00:37:56 Reclaimed by the Egyptian Government
00:37:58 the mummy of Ramses now reposes
00:38:02 far from the Valley of the kings
00:38:16 This is the West Valley
00:38:17 It's part of the ancient necropolis
00:38:20 about nine square miles of some of
00:38:22 archaeological monuments anywhere
00:38:25 The Valley of the Queens, Valley
00:38:28 Tutankhamun's tomb, they're all here
00:38:30 But in spite of several centuries of
00:38:33 there still does not exist a detailed
00:38:36 what it contains
00:38:38 That's the purpose of the Berkeley
00:38:40 to make as detailed
00:38:42 as modern technology will permit
00:38:45 It's an important project
00:38:47 It's going to make it possible
00:38:48 for us to study the history of
00:38:50 But even more important
00:38:51 it's going to help us to preserve
00:38:56 surveying techniques are used to
00:38:59 ...1.303
00:39:02 Thank you.
00:39:15 At headquarters in a village below
00:39:18 the team reviews its findings
00:39:24 It's okay
00:39:26 can you see "Q2" there above the
00:39:30 Aerial photographs are utilized
00:39:32 for the next day in the Valley
00:39:36 Right above the temple...
00:39:37 Yeah, right there...
00:39:40 Okay, that's the point we'll occupy
00:39:47 When surface measurements are combined
00:39:50 they will create new and revolutionary
00:39:55 These will make it easier to find
00:39:57 between the geography and the location
00:40:01 and perhaps enable scientists to
00:40:06 Let's drop everything here, Dave
00:40:07 and then we can send it on down
00:40:11 Why don't you and Jenny go on down
00:40:13 We'll start passing stuff to you
00:40:14 Dave, why don't you choose what we
00:40:16 and we'll leave the rest up here
00:40:17 I get the lantern, not you
00:40:26 Let's finish that rear chamber today
00:40:29 I think we can. It looks like a
00:40:35 Yeah. Watch your step
00:40:38 I got it
00:40:51 Standard surveying techniques are used to
00:40:53 obtain the dimensions of each chamber
00:40:57 Every archaeological detail will
00:41:12 I think that's about it, cathy
00:41:13 Did you get those problems in
00:41:14 It was customary to place the tombs
00:41:17 in the Valley of the Queens
00:41:20 This is the tomb of a young prince
00:41:22 son of Ramses III.
00:41:24 Here, the pharaoh himself offers
00:41:27 on the boy's behalf
00:41:40 In these touching scenes
00:41:42 the pharaoh leads his nine-year-old son
00:41:44 into the presence of the divinities
00:41:47 carrying the feather of truth,
00:41:49 the boy obediently follows his father.
00:42:05 It is believed the ancient sculptors
00:42:07 and painters lit the interiors of
00:42:10 with polished metal reflectors
00:42:14 And these scenes were filmed under
00:42:29 This is the tomb of Nefertari
00:42:32 Though Ramses had at least
00:42:35 she remained his favorite
00:42:37 Due to humidity caused by increased
00:42:42 the exquisite murals of her tomb
00:42:51 Unless scientists can halt
00:42:54 these may be the last moments of
00:42:56 as the endless ages in which Nefertari
00:42:59 would live on these walls
00:43:03 This was the woman with
00:43:04 who Ramses believed he would go
00:43:08 to whom these words were written
00:43:12 "The princess, rich in grace
00:43:14 Lady of affection, sweet with love
00:43:18 mistress of the Two Lands
00:43:20 songstress of the beautiful countenance
00:43:23 Greatest in the harem of the lord
00:43:27 All that you say, will be done
00:43:30 Everything beautiful according
00:43:34 All your words bring contentment
00:43:38 Wherefore men love to hear your voice."
00:43:42 These tributes speak to us of love
00:43:45 a people and a civilization
00:43:49 and then was eclipsed
00:44:11 Here at the temple of Isis,
00:44:14 the religion of ancient Egypt had
00:45:08 After 332 B.c., the Greek Ptolemies
00:45:12 as the last dynasty of pharaohs
00:45:19 Embracing the Egyptian religion
00:45:21 they built this temple dedicated
00:45:24 divine symbol of motherhood
00:45:27 her husband Osiris,
00:45:35 There stories are told and retold
00:45:40 But the story of another holy family
00:45:42 was to sweep over Egypt
00:45:46 The carvings, now considered pagan
00:45:49 were chiseled away
00:45:54 christianity became
00:45:57 and in the sixth century
00:45:58 this temple became a christian church
00:46:09 The meaning of the hieroglyphs
00:46:13 the ancient rites forbidden
00:46:17 For 12 centuries
00:46:18 the story of Egypt's
00:46:21 would be lost
00:46:30 In 640, Islam and the teachings
00:46:33 swept over the country
00:46:37 A succession of foreigners was
00:46:41 when revolution restored
00:46:42 full independence to Egypt
00:46:54 cairo is the African continent's
00:46:58 Vexed by 20th-century problems
00:47:01 pollution, economic and political
00:47:04 cairo, like Egypt itself
00:47:07 survives through the resilience
00:47:09 humor and vigor of its people
00:47:26 Facing an expanding population
00:47:28 and an emerging nation's need
00:47:31 the Aswan High Dam was built
00:47:35 With 17 times the material contained
00:47:39 the dam is a monument to
00:47:42 and what some would call the
00:47:51 Behind the dam, Nubia was flooded
00:47:54 much of this ancient land disappeared
00:47:56 beneath the rising waters
00:48:02 And at Abu simbel
00:48:03 a magnificent temple hewn
00:48:06 the newly-forming lake licked
00:48:08 at the feet of these colossal
00:48:12 A concerned world realized
00:48:14 that the temple would soon
00:48:20 How could it
00:48:21 and the temple of Nefertari
00:48:29 At the 11th hour with funding
00:48:32 the United states, and UNEscO
00:48:35 an international team swung
00:48:38 racing the rising Nile
00:48:40 slab by slab
00:48:42 in cuts no more than a quarter
00:48:44 the temple was dismantled
00:48:49 The work continued night and day
00:48:51 as workmen cut 190 feet down
00:49:12 coded for storage
00:49:14 the sections made a giant
00:49:57 Moved up 200 feet beyond the
00:50:00 the temple was reassembled
00:50:03 The precision of watchmakers was
00:50:06 reconstructed to an accuracy of
00:50:42 Ramses' temple was designed by
00:50:45 so that
00:50:47 within to bless a figure of the
00:50:50 that celebrated 30 years of
00:50:53 In our time, engineers have
00:50:57 so that the sun still streams
00:51:00 on each anniversary of that day
00:51:12 Gilding the statue of the king
00:51:15 the sun god Re bathes the figures
00:51:41 Why have people come here since the
00:51:47 These works are expressions
00:51:49 for the meaning of life itself
00:51:51 a longing for connection with
00:51:54 a need for beauty,
00:51:59 They are worth knowing
00:52:01 because the record of the
00:52:03 something of ourselves
00:52:05 and hints of our future
00:52:07 Here, Egyptians and travelers
00:52:09 alike raise their eyes to Ramses
00:52:12 speak of him, remember him
00:52:15 who signed the world's first
00:52:18 It reads
00:52:20 "Beginning with this day
00:52:22 in order to bring about good peace
00:52:24 and good brotherhood between us
00:52:27 he is in peace with me
00:52:29 and I am in brotherhood with him
00:52:32 and I am in peace with him, forever."
00:52:38 In the religion of the
00:52:41 to speak of the dead is to make
00:52:45 For Ramses, the quest for eternity