Grieving in Egypt: A Tribute to a Great Man

As someone who embraces all that Life has to offer, there’s an unspoken oath I seem to have taken with Death.

I hadn’t planned to take a personal quest during my last trip to Egypt but when I found out that someone I admired greatly had been sick and unable to return to Egypt, I wanted to do what I could across the miles to lift his spirits. On the day I was out capturing one of the places he wanted to visit to send him images and video, I felt his spirit strongly. Three days later while sailing on the Nile I received a call from a friend that he had passed away.

Dr. Ramadan Hussein was someone I had only met online through my friend Curtis’ interview series during the Covid lockdowns and when I attended the interview, I hadn’t heard of him before. It seems silly to me now looking back because in the small world of Egyptology and history, he’s a really big deal! It would be like going to a dinner party and meeting someone like Cher or Elton John and not knowing who they were….just chatting with them nonchalantly over dessert like “Oh, this is a nice and interesting person” and asking, “So what do you do?”

During his interview I was really struck by his kind spirit and outlook on things. I was touched by the way he talked about Egypt, his home, and his passion for the ancient Egyptians. He shared about his work in Sakkara where he and his team discovered the mummification workshop about which National Geographic did a short series called Kingdom of the Mummies (see….a Big Deal!!!) He also talked about ancient texts and how the Pyramid Text of Unas was “sort of my specialty”, which as you can imagine, intrigued me to no end. When it came time for audience questions I had many but chose to ask how I could arrange for him to join one of my tours to talk to my group. I wanted everyone to meet him and learn from him.

After the interview,I did reach out to him a few times to ask questions about various aspects of texts and ancient practices to which he always responded with “It’s always good to hear from you and to answer your questions.” During the course of Covid restrictions he wasn’t able to get back to his excavations in Sakkara and I would message him every now and then to ask when he thought he might be there so we could meet. He always said he would keep me posted. The last time I reached out to ask just before my spring trip, he shared with me that he had been sick since the summer and was going through another round of chemotherapy for the next six weeks. I didn’t ask any details, I just tried to support him and encourage him that he was strong, to which he replied, “I hope so”. That’s when I asked about where he would like to visit that he hadn’t before and he said, “Kalabsha. Wadi es Sebua”. When I asked if he’d like me to send him pictures from Egypt while I was there with my group to cheer him up he answered, “Sure!” I was excited and told him that I would be his personal tour guide. He thanked me for checking in with him, told me to have a great trip and that he was going to get some rest.

I knew of Kalabsha and had been there in 2018 and really loved it. It’s one of the many temples relocated in the Lake Nassar area to save it from being submerged under the Nile when the High Dam was built in Aswan during the 1960’s. I decided that I would go there for him and take lots of pictures and video to send to him. I arranged it all with our tour operator and told my group that I was going on a personal mission while they stayed with Normandi for a workshop on the boat. While I felt happy to be on this mission for him, I also felt a heaviness and sadness, worried about this amazing person I admired so much. As we approached the temple the light there was as incredible and surreal as I remembered. You couldn’t really tell where the sky ended and the water began and everything looked like a reflection on glass…..it’s just stunning.

When we arrived we were the only ones there besides the guards and I spent about 2 hours photographing and video recording as many aspects of the temple as I could for him. Many times I felt silly because I knew that he would be able to read everything on the temple walls while I was like a child in kindergarten picking out letters and words here and there. I tried to remember that he was always so encouraging and helpful and to just focus on doing the same for him….to be encouraging and helpful.

After the visit I sent him some of the pictures and videos and had planned to try and put together a bigger presentation for him to enjoy, but I didn’t get the chance to do that. I didn’t realize just how sick he was and only three days later I received a call from Curtis that he had passed away. My heart was broken and I wondered about this treaty I had with Death. There’s such a thin line between life here and the life after.

My group had seen that I was upset after I received the news and was very supportive even though I wasn’t sharing any details because I didn’t have the words. We did our afternoon temple visit and the following day during our workshop I shared with them what had happened and where I had been on my personal excursion and about the amazing work of Ramadan in Sakkara. We had a small ceremony for him and I was so grateful to be with such a sweet group of people. Loss is hard and it was comforting not to have to be alone.

A few nights later I was feeling sad and read through all of our past messages and looked through my phone at the pictures and video I had taken at Kalabsha. When I was getting ready to leave the island where the temple is, I took a selfie for my Self and even though I understand what the light is and where it’s coming from in the image, it still felt magical and special.

There’s a saying in Egypt that if someone is a kind and pure soul you say that they have a ‘white heart’. Well, Ramadan had a white heart for sure and I like to think that he knew I was there for him.

On my flight back to Cairo from Luxor I was blessed to see that we were flying over Sakkara. Again, even though I understand what the light is and where it’s coming from in the image, it still felt magical and special.

May the pure heart of Ramadan be filled with joy, may his ka be fed and strengthened by the remembering of his great name, and may he be granted life for millions of years.

Kalabsha Temple

You can enjoy his interview with Curtis here