Friends, today we have the pleasure of welcoming an author who is going to take us on a tour of the sites left over from ancient Egypt. She has included photos and we are going to learn more about her.
Welcome to my blog, Cheryl. I am very happy to introduce you to my readers. It isn't often that I get someone with so many awards on my blog. Today, Cheryl has brought along one of her characters, Rosa, who will give us the tour. Welcome to Rosa too. So nice to meet you.
A Virtual Tour of the Settings of Sons of the Sphinx
With Rosa
Most of us only dream of walking the streets of Ancient Egypt, viewing the sphinx and pyramids of Giza, discovering the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, and sailing on the Nile. I actually did all of these, and I’d like to invite you to join me for a virtual tour.
Hi. I’m Rosa, the one with the gift in Sons of the Sphinx. I’m grateful to Barbara (aka Lionmother) for inviting me to her blog. Before we get started, though, I have to confess that I haven’t sailed on the Nile. We used another form of transportation in the story. However, my author Cheryl Carpinello has, and she told me all about it. I’ve borrowed some of her photos for this tour, although she visited Egypt a few thousand years after me!
First stop is Akhet-Aten:
OMG. It’s sad how little of this beautiful city built by Tutankhamen’s father remains. This was once a city of white, lit up by the sun and where its people worshipped the Aten, the sun disc. I remember the laughter and the scolding of the children running in the streets, oblivious to the carts full of fruits and vegetables pulled by donkeys. In modern times, all that remains are remnants of that glorious time. No photos exist; no pictures, except in my mind. I have surfed the internet and found a photo to share with you, but it’s not the same.
Second stop is the Giza Plateau:
To this day, I’ve never seen a sight such as I saw that day with Tutankhamen. It is only when I look at the old texts of explorers like Napoleon that I see the Sphinx and pyramids of my time in ancient Egypt. It is still a breath-taking sight today, as Cheryl found out.
Here is an overall view the plateau:
And, here is the Sphinx. Notice the stele (slab) that sits between its paws. This stele holds great importance for Tut and me.
Third stop on our tour is the Valley of the Kings:
Tut called this place of burial Ta-Sekhat-Aat, or the Great Field. I simply called it magnificent, barren, hot, desolate, but OMG what a discovery this had to have been! It was impressive even 3000 years ago. The tombs of pharaohs. The treasure of kings. The valley of death. And not just of pharaohs! Oops, can’t reveal too much. Better get to the pictures.
Here is the pyramid-shaped dome that watches over this valley:
This steep staircase leads up to another just as steep that marks the entrance to the great-great-great grandfather of Tutankhamen. At least, I think I got all the greats in there!
Here is a better view of just how tall the Theban hills are in the Valley of the Kings.
That’s right. That’s a tomb entrance and goes down deep into the base of those hills. Trust me. I know.
Okay, Cheryl’s telling me that we are out of time and space!
Last stop—The Nile:
Cheryl took these pictures of the vegetation along the banks near Thebes to show that not much as changed since I visited there 3000 years ago. OMG, that still sounds strange!
Beautiful, isn’t it. I will never forget my time there, even when I didn’t think I’d come home alive!
I hope you read Sons of the Sphinx. I’d love to share my adventure with you. Thanks.
Thank you, Rosa. I know I really enjoyed seeing all of these places. I can't believe you have been to all of them. Now I guess we have to read the book to find out more about you. Lucky Cheryl has provided all this information to me.
2014 Literary Classics Silver Award for PreTeen/YA
2014 Literary Classics Seal of Approval
Back Cover Copy
Two souls
Separated by three millennium
One with a gift that is more like a curse
One on an almost impossible quest
Destinies entwined; one seeks to find herself while the other seeks his lost queen. To succeed, the pair must right the injustices 3,000 years in the past.
Only together can they fulfill The Prophecy, but in the process they must defeat the Pharaoh Horemheb.
Dishonor and death are the fate of the defeated.
Blurb
Armed with what she considers her grandmother’s curse, 15-year-old Rosa agrees to help the ghost of King Tut find his lost queen Hesena. Though Hesena’s ba inhabits part of Rosa, finding the whole spirit of Hesena so that she and Tut can be together for the first time in over 3300 years proves to be a harder task than Rosa first thinks. Thrust back into Ancient Egypt with Tut, Rosa discovers that finding Hesena is not all she must do. She must keep out of the reach of the living Horemheb—who crosses mortal boundaries using Seth’s evil magic—if she is to stay alive to make it back home.
Buy Links: Sons of the Sphinx
Author Links
Author Sites:
Other Books by Cheryl Carpinello
Author Bio
I love the Ancient and Medieval Worlds! As a retired English teacher, I hope to inspire young readers to read more through my Quest Books. Please follow me on this adventure. On Carpinello’s Writing Pages, I interview other children/MG/Tween/YA authors. At The Quest Books, I’ve teamed up with Fiona Ingram from South Africa and Wendy Leighton-Porter of England/France/Abu Dhabi to enable readers to find all of our Ancient and Medieval quest books in one place.
Thank you Rosa and thank you Cheryl for bringing her here to tell us all about ancient Egypt and what is left today to see. Your book sounds fascinating and I can see why it has won so many awards.
Cheryl is going to give away a free book to the lucky person who wins the comment drawing. Wouldn't this be a great gift for that teen who loves history?
Until the next time when I will be hosting another excellent guest author here on the blog.
Red River Radio Tales from the Pages will be moving to November 19 due to Thanksgiving. I hope you all will tune in to hear what our author is saying.
Happy writing to all who are doing NaNoWriMo. I am doing it and as of now I am over 31,000 words on what some of you will be very happy to see, the sequel to If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor called Jennifer's Story. It's all told in Jennifer's point of view.
Happy Poeming to my poeming friends who are writing as many poems as they can for the month.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who celebrate.
