IKG Cultural Resource Center

Exploring Egypt on the Potomac
A Tour of Washington, D.C., Architecture Leads Straight Back to Africa, Says Local Author

By Robert E. Pierre
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 8, 2005; DZ10



"This is a field trip, not a tour. We can't afford to be tourists. This is a learning experience," says Anthony Browder, leading a group that will delve into Egyptian influence in the District.

The tour bus was full, and the 50 men, women and children were settling into their cushy, air-conditioned confines when Anthony T. Browder offered a gentle reminder: "This is a field trip, not a tour. We can't afford to be tourists. This is a learning experience."

Learning requires attentiveness, questions and a little note-taking -- all of which occurred during three hours of riding and walking around Washington, stopping on occasion for lectures, leaning down and then standing on tiptoe to get a better view. Most were sweating under the blazing sun during the portion of the trip that involved climbing stairs.

Browder's lesson, the one he's been pushing for 18 years, is that Washington -- a city of secrets, political and personal -- has hidden its biggest secrets in plain sight. Look around, he said, and it's clear to the trained observer that symbols and mythologies hatched thousands of years ago on the banks of the Nile River influenced the layout and design of this capital city.

That most people don't know that, he argues, is part of a deliberate effort to obscure the contributions of black people to America -- something that began as soon as slaves arrived and continues today. His goal for black Americans, in particular, is to understand that what they were taught is not necessarily the whole truth, and that unearthing reality requires vigilance and hard work.

"We were written out of history," said Browder, author of "Egypt on the Potomac." "Tourists leave this city wondering what is wrong with black folks, never knowing the role that we've played in the creation of this great city. We have to tell our story."

One of the stories he tells is about Benjamin Banneker, a black man who was part of the team that conducted the survey for the city before it was built. But Banneker gets less credit than Pierre Charles L'Enfant, who quit the project and was bailed out by Banneker, said Browder. L'Enfant has a plaza named for him, Banneker a tiny park nearby.

"How many of you were taught that?" Browder asked on a recent trip. "How much more have you not been taught?"

Browder's tours grew from his studies and travels. An author and lecturer, Browder became interested in Egyptian history after graduating from Howard University. His knowledge is drawn from 39 trips to Egypt over the last two decades, including one this summer in which he led 210 people on an excursion to study and learn through his Institute for Karmic Guidance, on H Street NE.

Like many in Washington, he aims to push people toward action. He presses them to ask questions and challenge him. And they do. One question he gets often is why, in his literature and on tours, he refers to Meridian Hill Park instead of Malcolm X Park, as many people call it. He has a ready answer.

"The park doesn't deserve the name," he said. In the 1970s, when black people began calling the park after the assassinated black activist, they did not organize to keep it clean, and they allowed prostitutes and trash to proliferate, he said. Browder wants less complaining about the displacement surrounding gentrification and more work to stop it from occurring. He switches easily between current events and ancient history, believing that it's important to use the past as a guidepost for the future.

For him, much of that past leads to Africa, and what he calls the fascination of the founders and designers of the city with ideas first used in Africa: the laying of the cornerstone at new buildings and the repetition in local architecture of Egyptian pyramids.

The similarities are striking, he said, pointing to the Washington Monument, a tribute to America's first president, as a prime example. It's a copy of a 6,000-year-old memorial that honored the resurrection of Ausar, an African god. And the Masonic temples along 16th Street NW -- the Scottish Rite Temple in the 2800 block and the House of the Temple in the 1700 block -- are modeled after those in ancient Egypt, or Kemet, the country's original name. Ancient influences, and replicas of pyramids and obelisks, can be seen all over the Mall, he said.

The Masonic temples and their prominence on 16th Street, Browder said, are examples of the founders' belief in the principles of freemasonry, which has its foundation in Africa. But the links to Africa are often obscured. Browder said that when the Greeks changed the name of the country now known as Egypt along with the names of prominent symbols -- tekhens, for example, became obelisks -- the original meanings of the symbols were altered.

Acklyn Lynch, an activist scholar and retired professor of Afro American studies, held a tape recorder to capture the trip so he could listen to it again.

"It shows that the founders were aware of African historiography," he said. "The question for me is, what is the relationship of this to gentrification? How can we get this information out before black people have left the city? . . . If you know you are essential, and have been essential, then your desire to live in the city is different."

Sam Paige of Upper Marlboro met Browder while fixing the phone lines at the Institute for Karmic Guidance. The two clicked and Paige went on a tour.

He liked it so much that he brought 40 members of his family, selling out an entire bus with siblings, nieces, nephews and friends.

"I wanted to enlighten my family," he said. "When we know what we've done, we know what we're capable of."

That's the kind of response Browder seeks: for black people to understand that their ancestors provided this country with much more than labor.

"Our story does not begin in slavery, but thousands of years earlier," he told the people on the bus. "The nation's founding fathers incorporated African culture into the capital of the world's most rich and powerful nation. If it was good enough for them, it should be good enough for you. . . .

"Dates and names and numbers don't mean anything if you don't find a practical application for it in your life," he said.

Browder is so confident in his information that he offers to refund the $20 cost if people can't see how the story he tells is relevant. He had no takers after a recent tour.

"It opens my mind," said Tamara Wade, 25, who teaches at Lake Arbor Elementary in Prince George's County. "It makes you want to find out more and share it with others."



The IKG Cultural Resource Center is located at:
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Dispatches From The Nile

Reflections of my 39th trip to Egypt



It has been four years since I last visited Egypt. My last study tour was a memorable one and the participants included my future wife, my uncle and two aunts. That was in June, 2001, three months before Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda became household names.



The tragic events of 9-11 and the subsequent War on Terrorism have had a devastating effect on the tourism industry. As a consequence I was forced to cancel study tours to Egypt for the years 2002-05 due to many peoples apprehensions about traveling to the "Middle East."



Concerns about travel to Egypt also disrupted the plans of the "D'zert Club," an educational organization founded by Ali and Helen Salahauddin, which offers free trips to Egypt and Ghana for youth and adults who successfully complete a 2-year educational program on African history. My second book, "Nile Valley Contributions to Civilization," is part of the curriculum for the D'zert Club which currently has chapters in nine states and the District of Columbia.



All D'zert Club members must attend monthly seminars and participate in field trips and fund raisers before they are eligible to travel to Africa. I have spoken at monthly meetings of the D'zert Club in each location. After a recent meeting Ali Salahuddin made me an offer I couldn't refuse-he offered me a free trip to Egypt in exchange for a series of lectures. After negotiating terms for me to bring along my goddaughter, who had recently graduated from college, the deal was sealed and the trip was on.



This recent study tour to Egypt (July 21-29) was my 39th trip to Egypt. I served as a tour leader for thirty four of those trips and have been a participant on five trips which were lead by noted scholars such as Dr. Ben and Asa Hilliard.



This recent trip was memorable because it was one of my shortest (nine days instead of my usual 15) and it was also the largest group I have ever traveled with (210 passengers including 140 teenagers). During the course of the trip we traveled over 10,000 miles by plane, bus and train. We had lodgings in Cairo, Luxor and Aswan, and we collectively carried over 600 pieces of luggage. Fortunately all of our transportation was reliable. Our hotel accommodations were superb and the dozen pieces of luggage that were lost were all recovered before our departure. This speaks legions of the organizational skills of the D'zert Club staff and their representatives in Egypt.



Another wonderful aspect of this trip was the fact that I had no responsibility for the logistics of the group. My only obligations were to present three lectures and look after my goddaughter. Fulfilling these obligations were as natural as breathing.



Our group was the first of two that were traveling to Egypt with the D'zert Club in July. Our group members were from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The second group (which traveled July 29-August 6) was comprised of members from Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and the District of Columbia. The second group consisted of 200 members and their lectures provided by my colleague Runoko Rashidi.



Our group departed out of JFK on an EgyptAir flight to Cairo on July 21. My goddaughter, Patrice, arrived at the airport by mid afternoon. Even though I had only seen her three times I recognized her immediately because she is the spitting image of her father Jim and her mother Anne.



I met Patrice's father in 1972 when he pledged me into Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity at Howard University. Jim was the first person I met who had traveled to Egypt. He spoke fluent Arabic and wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on the civil war in Sudan. I was pleased when he asked me to be the godfather of this third child.



Jim's wife, Anne, is a prominent civil rights attorney and they have raised three children, each of whom have completed college in less than four years, and all three are attending graduate school in the fall. One son begins his doctoral program while his both his brother and sister start law school.



I mention Jim and Anne because they are a fine example of an educated African American couple who have maintained a deep love for Africa and African American values. They have raised three children who are excelling academically and are destined to make their family and people proud.



Ali and Helen are a lot like Jim and Anne. Helen and Anne are attorneys, Ali and Jim are educators, and both couples share a Howard University experience. Through the D'zert Club Ali and Helen have expanded the parameters of their parental experiences and have made it possible for hundreds of African American youth to receive the education of their lives by traveling to Africa. Their devotion to the intellectual and cultural development of African American youth is reflected in the motto of the D'zert Club, "It is better to raise a child than to repair an adult."



The following timeline offers a brief glimpse of my travels with the D'zert Club and reflections of my 39th trip to Egypt:





Day 1 July 21



Our group of 210 people arrived at JFK Airport in the early afternoon. We checked our luggage and received our boarding passes with such ease that it instantly affirmed the influence that people can exert when they move as an organized group. Because the D'zert Club was bringing 410 people to Egypt, within a period of two weeks, the management of EgyptAir was quick to respond to Ali's request to upgrade my ticket from coach to business class.



Moving from the cramped confines of the coach section to the comfortable quarters in business class made the 12-hour flight to Cairo so much easier to bear. The spacious seats and individual video monitors, the restaurant quality food and the special attention from the flight attendants, all made me feel so special.



When I parted the curtain that separated the business class from coach, and walked toward the rear of the plane to check on Patrice, I became keenly aware of how privileged I was to ride in the front of the plane. Returning to my seat I also realized that I wasn't as fortunate as the 12 people seated in 1st class (which was also separated by a curtain) who were being pampered with treats and service that were unavailable to me.



This flight to Egypt made me keenly aware of a phenomenon that I refer to as "airplane apartheid." Even though we were all traveling to the same destination we were separated by class. First Class, Business Class and Coach. The VIP's, the privileged and the masses.



Reflecting on my flight to Egypt has confirmed the continuity between the past, present and future. Unlike apartheid in South Africa or Jim Crow in the USA, my seat on the plane was not determined by color, it was made possible by contacts and money. The lesson is, who one knows or how much one can pay, determines how one moves through life. How one lives in the past, present or future is often determined by wealth, knowledge and power. These are the passports for those who seek to broaden their horizons and experience the wonders that the world has to offer.





Day 2 July 22



We arrived in Cairo early Friday morning and our group deplaned with great anticipation of the adventures to come. We were met by our handlers in the airport, and our group of 210 received our visas, cleared customs, retrieved our luggage and were bound for our hotel aboard five busses, within ninety minutes.



Our hotel was located in Giza, a suburb of Cairo, and our rooms offered breathing views of the Great Pyramid three blocks away. After a brief orientation meeting, the group was given the balance of the day to rest, shop or swim before meeting for dinner at a nearby restaurant.



During my free time I made contact with my old friend Abou El Naga Gabrail, who I had not seen in four years. Abou Naga (as he is affectionately known) has been the Egyptian tour guide who has worked exclusively with my groups since 1988. I can always look forward to a good home cooked meal and conversation with his family whenever I'm in Luxor. I called Naga to inform him that I would be in Luxor in two days and was pleasantly surprised to learn that he and his family were currently vacationing in Cairo. Naga came to my hotel later that day and we updated each other on the major events of our lives-family, history and the travel industry.



I was particularly interested in introducing Naga to Helen and Ali so that he could work with future groups as their tour guide. Egyptian law requires that licensed Egyptian guides accompany all tour groups to temples, tombs and museums. Since many Egyptians believe that Egypt is in the "Middle East" and not Africa, the average tourist leaves Egypt believing that African people had little to do with the founding and development of one of the world's oldest and greatest civilizations. To address this issue, a number of African American tour leaders have re-educated Egyptian guides by providing them with books written by African and African American scholars who have documented the African origins of ancient Kemet. My friend Abou Naga is one such guide.





Day 3 July 23



I gave my first lecture this morning before our group departed our hotel to visit the Giza Pyramids and Her-em-akhet (the Sphinx). During breakfast I was informed of the early morning bombings at Sharm el-Sheikh, a resort area on the Red Sea some 300 miles east of Giza.



Attacks at archeological sights have been rare since the Egyptian government began cracking down on dissidents. The last major incident occurred on November 17, 1997 when six gunmen killed 58 Japanese tourists and four Egyptians near the temple of Hatshepsut on the West bank of Luxor (my group had visited that same sight just two weeks earlier without incident). Since that attack the Egyptian government began providing armed guards and military escorts for all tour groups in an attempt to safeguard tourist and the tourist industry.



According to Ahmed el-Magharbi, Minister of Tourism, speaking at a seminar on tourism after the Sharm el-Sheikh attacks, "Tourism in Egypt is the primary source of hard currency, making $6 billion annually, while 8.1 million tourists visit our country every year, having increased by 270 per cent over the past 10 years."



The attack at Sharm el-Sheikh had no impact on our group but it was a cause of concern for our loved ones back in the U.S., and those who were preparing to travel to Egypt with the second D'zert Club group the following week. In the 25 years that I have been traveling to Egypt I have never feared for my life. I actually feel safer in Egypt, and other parts of Africa, than I feel in certain parts of the American south and some northern cities. Just as the attacks on New York City and Washington, DC, on September 11, 2001 has not stopped people from traveling to the United States, the attacks at Sharm el-Sheikh should not stop people from traveling to Egypt.



I raised these issues with the group during my morning lecture and made the point that there are more people killed in America's urban cites by Americans, in one year, than are killed by terrorists abroad. In other words, we were safer in Egypt that we were at home. My morning lecture also focused on two main themes:



1. The relationship between modern Egypt and ancient Kemet, and



2. The responsibility of African Americans as cultural ambassadors while in Egypt



Fuel for the first theme was provided by an article in Horus, the inflight magazine of Egyptair, entitled "Face Off: Up close and personal with King Tut." The article discussed the findings of a recent CT scan of King Tut's mummy and the "most authentic reconstruction possible" of his face. The article was written by Dr. Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, based upon a multi-national examination of the forensic evidence Hawass described Tut as a "Caucasian male."



I have followed Hawass' career for years and was not surprised by his findings. He has consistently stated that ancient Egypt was not an African civilization and that indigenous Africans played no role in its history or early development. Hawass is also the driving force behind the King Tut exhibit which is currently touring the United States. Last fall, while promoting the upcoming exhibit, Hawass declared that Europeans have been making money off of his ancestors for years, and now it was time for Egyptians to get paid.



This is the first touring exhibit in the U.S. to charge an entrance fee ($30), and it is currently shattering attendance records in Los Angeles. The issue of Tut's ethnicity was designed to be controversial and by playing the race card, Hawass will be laughing all the way to the bank.



The racial identity of the ancient Egyptians was settled decades ago by Cheikh Anta Diop, Tehopehile Obenga and others. But if a lie is told with conviction by "experts" who have unlimited access to the media, it will be accepted as fact-despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Such is the current state of modern Egyptology.



The current belief among Egyptians is that they are a "unique" people. Part Arab, French, English, German, Turkish, but definitely not African. This anti-African view is reinforced by most tour guides who define Kemet (the original name for Egypt), as "the black land," and not "the nation of Blacks" which was the term the original inhabitants used to describe themselves.



After highlighting the historical achievements of the people of Kemet, I proceeded to inform the group that African Americans cannot afford to travel to Egypt as tourists. We must see ourselves as cultural ambassadors in pursuit of a mission to rediscover and document ancient African history so that we can re-educate ourselves and enlighten our family, friends and associates upon our return to the U.S.



After the lecture we visited the Giza Pyramids. Some brave souls ventured into the subterranean chamber of Khafre's Pyramid, and we all posed for group photos on a plateau with the pyramids as a magnificent backdrop. We then drove to the temple of Her-em-akhet and saw the famous statue now known as the Sphinx. The afternoon ended with numerous people taking camel rides in the shadow of the pyramids.



Our evening was spent on the Nile aboard a cruise ship where we dined like kings and queens and were entertained by Nubian singers and dancers, and a belly dancer who instructed several members of our group on the exotic art of oriental dance. It was a joyful day that will be remembered by many for years to come.





Day 4 July 24



Prior to our morning departure to the Cairo Museum the youth were given a scavenger list of items they were to look for in the museum. This activity was organized by Chike Akua, an author and educator, who headed the Educational Committee for the D'zert Club. Chike also divided the youth into 10 groups and instructed them to prepare a two to five minute presentation on the most memorable moments of their study tour. Each group was assisted by several adults who aided them with their projects and helped prepare them for their presentations on the final day of our tour.



After a two and a half hour visit at the Cairo Museum we drove to Saqqara and visited the Step Pyramid and the adjoining temple complex designed by Imhotep-the world's first architect and physician.



After our visit at Saqqara we were driven to the Giza train station where we took an overnight train, with assigned sleeping cars, and made the nine-hour over night journey to Luxor.





Day 5 July 25



Upon our arrival in Luxor we were transferred to our hotel, assigned rooms and after freshening up we met in a conference room for my second lecture. The topic was, Waset: The Soul of Kemet-Spirituality, Philosophy and Art.



Waset was the capital of Kemet and the center of an educational, spiritual and architectural renaissance during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties (1550-1225 B.C.E.). It was called Thebes by the Greeks and regarded as the home of Zeus, their chief god. Luxor is the westernized version of the Arabic L'Quqsor which means "The Palaces," and is the origin of the word "luxury."



Eighty per cent of Egypt's ancient treasures can be found in Luxor. The great temples of Luxor and Karnak are on the east bank of the city and incredible tombs and temples are located throughout the valley of the Kings, Queens and Nobles on the west bank of the Nile.



My lecture focused on the depth and breath of Kemetic spirituality which formed the bases of a philosophical worldview that was embodied in the art and architecture which has inspired and mystified humanity for over five thousand years.



After the lecture everyone caught a ferry to the west bank where they visited several tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the magnificent temple of Queen Hatshepsut. After several hours in the hot desert sun, the group returned to their hotel where many spent the remainder of the day engaged in their two favorite activities-shopping and swimming.



Later that evening we had dinner at our hotel, on a veranda overlooking the Nile, where we were entertained by musicians who performed traditional songs interspersed with music by Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie and James Brown. The musicians took great delight whenever our group rushed to the dance floor to do the Electric Slide or applauded enthusiastically whenever they heard a song that affirmed our contributions to the world of music.





Day 6 July 26



We spend our final hours in Luxor visiting the great Temple of Karnak which was known in the ancient Kemet as Ipet-Isut, "The most select of places." This temple complex was built over a period of two thousand years and is still the largest temple ever constructed. Thousands of priest/scholars lived within Ipet-Isut where they performed daily sacred rites, maintained the temple grounds, conducted scientific research and contributed to one of the greatest libraries in the ancient world.



Even though Karnak Temple is now a shadow of its former self, one can't help but admire its architectural greatness and notice the influence it had on the architects who designed the mall in Washington, D.C. thousands of years later. This ancient edifice gives value to the old saying that something new always comes out of Africa. The incredible history found throughout Luxor helps to explain why some are obsessed with removing Egypt from Africa-mentally if not geographically.



After leaving Karnak Temple our five busses joined a caravan of other busses and cars loaded with tourists. We were provided with a police escort as we made the three-hour drive to Aswan, our final destination in Egypt.



Upon arrival in Aswan, home of the Nubian people (descendents of the original inhabitants of Kemet) we were transferred by ferry to our hotel which was located on an island in the Nile. Our accommodations were quite lush, and after receiving their room keys, many people dashed off to engage in their favorite activities, you guessed it...swimming and shopping.



In the early evening we visited the Nubia Museum which houses an extensive collection of Nubian artifacts in the most modern and beautiful museum in Egypt. After the museum we had dinner in a Nubian restaurant. Throughout our trip we always acknowledged, at dinnertime, those participants who were celebrating their birthdays. This evening I was the guest of honor as we celebrated my 54th birthday.





Day 7 July 27



The group had an early morning wake up call in preparation for a 3AM departure from Aswan, into the heart of Nubia, to Abu Simbel and the great Temple of Rameses II. This magnificent temple is one of my favorites. It is carved into a mountain and has four, 67 foot high, seated statues of Rameses II at the temples exterior. There are three large rooms hollowed into the interior of the mountain and each room was lavishly decorated with painted wall carvings and Medu Netcher (hieroglyphics). The beauty of this temple was not just confined to its architecture, it was also a profound testament to the astronomical and engineering skills of scientists in ancient Kemet.



The Temple of Rameses II at Abu Simbel faces the rising sun and was oriented so as to allow sunlight to illuminate a statue of Rameses II located 180 feet in the inner most room of the temple. This incredible event only occurs on two days of the year-February 21 and October 21-the day of Rameses II birth and coronation. The Temple of Abu Simbel is a monument that not only honors Rameses II but also the king's architects, engineers and astronomers who (ca. 1265 B.C.E.) were aware that the earth was round, it orbited the sun in 365.4 days, and tilted 23.5 degrees on its axis. All of this knowledge was incorporated into the construct on a monument to honor the wealthiest and most powerful man alive.



Since I had seen Abu Simbel Temple dozens of times, I decided to stay in Aswan and rest, read and write instead of enduring the six-hour road trip. The group returned to Aswan by mid afternoon and people resorted to their favorite pastimes. That evening we spent our last dinner together in the Nubian Desert dining under the stars and eating on small tables spread over huge carpets that covered the warm desert sand. Everyone was asked to wear white and we participated in the ritual pouring of libations and ancestral blessings and later witnessed seven couples renew their wedding vows. It was a breathtaking sight and a memorable event.





Day 8 July 28



This was our last day in Egypt. I gave my final lecture in the morning and discussed the practical applications of a journey down the Nile and focused on "The Rescue and Reconstruction of the African American Community." The group responded favorably when I shared several demonstrations that illustrated the practical application of ancient knowledge. This experience was best described as a "Kemetamorphosis," a term coined by Lisa Douglas during a trip on the Nile in 2000.



After the lecture we visited a nearby Nubian village and presented dozens of bags of school supplies to the local school. While traveling to the village we encountered a group of African Americans who were traveling with Ashra Kwesi, another scholar who has taken hundreds to Egypt. We exchanged greetings and marveled at the impact we were making on the Nubians in Aswan.



When we returned to the hotel the students did their presentations. The adults were amazed and pleased with the quality of the presentations and the quality of information that was demonstrated in such a short period of time. In a trip of many highlights, this was the most significant, watching teenagers exhibit a profound sense of history, pride and awareness.



In the early evening we left Aswan for Cairo via train. The long journey gave everyone time to reflect on the trip and cement new friendships.





Day 9 July 29



We arrived in Cairo early in the morning and were transferred by bus to the airport where we said goodbye to the guides and travel agents who had befriended us and ensured the safety of our journey. We thanked Ali, Helen, Hassan and the rest of the D'zert Club staff for making this memorable trip possible and we wished them well as they stayed behind and prepared to meet the group of 200 that was due to arrive the next day.



As I reflected on this trip during the flight home I realized that the D'zert Club had exceeded the objective expressed in their motto-they had help raise dozens of children and also repaired many adults.



I am sure that our Ancestors are pleased and Amun is satisfied.









For information on the D'zert Club visit www.dzertclub.com.





Tony Browder will discuss his recent trip to Egypt in a lecture and slide presentation on Wednesday, August 24 from 7-9 PM at the IKG Cultural Resource Center.