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Egypt Expedition

Sept. 9 – Sep. 20, 2008

Cairo, Nile River Cruise and Alexandria Egypt

 

 

Preface

The desire to see the Pyramids and walk in the temples and tombs of the pharaohs had been in my dreams for as long as I can remember.  Due to various reasons, it didn’t seem that I would ever be able to bring these dreams to reality.   Now that we are back, I still can’t believe what I have seen and experienced.  It was just an amazing trip.

My dream became a possibility through our meeting Leland and Gherry Gustafson on a British Isles/Norwegian Fjords cruise in 2004.  They were tour leaders for a group on that cruise.  They set up a couple of tours a year and have a website at Link.  We enjoyed our conversations with the Gustafsons and thought that we would enjoy going with them on a future trip.  Last year when they let us know they were going to Egypt, we quickly decided that it was time to make this dream a reality.  The tour we would be doing was through Amadeus Waterways (Link).  Several months before this trip, Amadeus decided to pull its ships out of the Egypt market.  As a result, they made arrangements with Sonesta Cruises to provide the Nile River portion of our trip.

 

Day 1&2 – Atlanta to Cairo

We flew to Atlanta the day before our departure so that we could meet and travel with the group.  It turned out to be a very good move, because Hurricane Ike was rapidly approaching South Florida where we live.  We were in the cone of probability at that time.  The first leg of the long trip to Cairo was a short 2-hour flight to JFK.  We had a scheduled 5-hour layover in New York before our 12-hour Delta flight to Cairo.  Due to serious storms going through the area, our flight had a further two-hour delay.  Since we didn’t leave until 6:00 PM and would be arriving around 10:30 AM the next day, I really needed to sleep.  I had a busy day planned on my own for our first day in Cairo.  After waiting over 14 months from the day we decided to take this trip, I was way too excited, so I took an Ambien to help me get to sleep on the flight.

When the plane reached Africa, we could see the Sahara Desert stretching out for as far as the eye could see.  This was going to be a very different place from any others we had visited.  As we flew over the Cairo outskirts, it was still incredibly sandy everywhere.  Having studied everything I could find about Egypt for the last year, I recognized the Citadel and Mohammed Ali Mosque from the air.  They would both be on tomorrow’s city tour.

   

As we got off the plane to ride the bus to the terminal, we felt the first blast of hot air that we would be experiencing for the next ten days.  Even though it was hot, my excitement to see this amazing city was hotter.  The $15 visa purchase, immigration and luggage processing went very smoothly.  We were quickly loaded on to a bus for the 45-minute drive to our hotel.  It was very exciting to see Egyptian monuments and many mosques on the drive; but it was quite sad to see how much poverty existed in this area and the filthy conditions in much of the city.  We were visiting a very different environment than we were used to.

   

We arrived at our hotel for the next three days, the Sofitel El Gezirah (Link).  This hotel was formerly one of the cylindrically constructed Sheraton Hotels.  Sofitel did a significant upgrade when they took over this facility.  It is now a lovely hotel and the rooms are very comfortable.  Its most unique feature is its location on Gezirah Island in the middle of the Nile River.  It is much quieter because there is less traffic and the view down the middle of the Nile is just awesome.

Our first afternoon in Cairo was designated as free time to settle in and see some places on our own.  Since we were visiting Egypt during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, many of the museum and tourist sites would be closing early.  I was concerned that on our scheduled tour, we would not get to spend as much time in the world famous Egyptian Museum, so I planned on getting a head start.  I also couldn’t wait to visit the museum that I had dreamed of walking through all my life.  It was a very short cab drive from our hotel.  Since cameras are not allowed in the museum, I left mine at the hotel.  It was probably just as well, since it would have slowed me down.  We were going to have an Egyptologist give us a tour there tomorrow; but I was sure they wouldn’t cover the entire museum, so I wanted to at least go into every room. 

As I had read, the museum has very poor signage on the precious treasures.  Where there is any kind of label, it is normally a very old type written card at best, and sometimes hand written pieces of notebook paper.  The display cases are antiques, but unfortunately they take away from the displays because they are dirty and in a need of an upgrade.  Because the building itself was constructed 108 years ago with very little updating since then, the lighting is poor and there are only a few air-conditioned rooms.  Even with these shortcomings, I was in heaven seeing the famous statues and treasures that are immediately recognized from seeing them in books, on websites and TV shows.  It is an unbelievable experience to visit the museum; and will be an even better experience when the new Egyptian Museum is completed in the next several years.

I returned to the hotel to see if Carol wanted to go visit Khan El Khalili Bazaar.  We had planned to visit there the first afternoon to order cartouches.  A friend had told me about a shop in the bazaar that had very good quality ones at reasonable prices, Gouzlan Jewelers (Link).  Cartouches are one of the most popular souvenirs from Egypt.  It's a type of pendant worn on a chain and usually has your name in hieroglyphics.

Because Carol didn’t sleep as much on the flight as I did, she didn’t have the energy to venture out.  She told me to check the store out and we could go back tomorrow when we were scheduled to be in the bazaar on tour.  I caught another cab, but this time the ride was quite exciting because we had to cross town.  Traveling by car in Cairo is quite an experience.  As I was told by a local, the lines on the road and the traffic lights are strictly there for decoration.  Three lanes of traffic handle 5 lanes of constant weaving motion.  I learned a lot about the Cairo drivers from my taxi driver, Sayed.  He would inch close to people, toot his horn several times and squeeze into their lanes to move through the masses of cars.  What I was surprised at was that rather than being stressed and getting mad at each other; they treated the driving more like a game.  They were having fun out maneuvering each other.  Sayed would talk and make jokes with drivers of cars that were just a few inches away.  I was impressed with the Egyptian drivers and their attitudes.

   

When we got close to the bazaar, Sayed offered to help me find the cartouche shop I was looking for, since the bazaar is quite large and I didn’t know Arabic.  I had enjoyed his company on the drive over; and he was quite friendly, so I took him up on it.  He parked the car and we walked toward our location.  In order to get over to the bazaar, we were going to have to walk across a street where there were no traffic lights, not that they would have helped.  He expected me to cross this crazy mass of traffic.  There was no way it could be done.  The traffic was moving too fast on this street.  He said it was no problem; just stay right next to him.  It was then, that I learned to “Walk Like an Egyptian”.  During the rest of the trip I would see it done many times by others, but this was the only time I got to experience it personally.  I still don’t know how we were able to do it. 

After walking around the narrow bazaar streets, we found Gouzlan Jewelers.  The salesman showed me several different cartouche styles.  I found one I liked, but he didn’t have the larger size that I was wanting in the store, so I didn’t know exactly what it would look like.  I ordered one with Mike on one side and Carol on the other in hieroglyphics.  He told me it would be ready tomorrow when we would be back in the area.  I asked if he wanted a deposit and he said it was not necessary.  I was pleasantly surprised.

   

Sayed got me back to the hotel with another exciting drive through the Cairo streets.  There is no way I would ever attempt to drive a car in Cairo.  Carol was glad to see that I was able to get back to her.  I do think she was worried that I would have problems returning to the hotel.   We went down to the hotel restaurant and enjoyed a delicious buffet of Egyptian food.  It was very different and quite tasty. 

When we got back to the room, we went out onto the balcony and took in the lovely night view from the center of the Nile.  I then signed into the hotel’s free Internet connection to catch up email and news of Hurricane Ike.

   

It had been a very long and exciting day.  We were exhausted, so we went to bed at 8:30 PM.   We had a full day’s tour scheduled for tomorrow.

 

Day 3 – Cairo

We had slept like mummies on our first night in Egypt.  Being on the 12th floor, on an island in the middle of the Nile, kept the noises of the city away from us.  Some people in our group who were on a different side of the hotel told us that they had been disturbed by loud prayers that were coming from mosque sound systems. 

During the month of Ramadan, Muslims are not allowed to eat or drink anything between 4:00 AM and 6:00 P.M., not even water.  By 6:00 P.M., they are ready to feast; and some of the parties last late into the night.  They awaken early to pray and have food and drink before the daily fast. 

When we went out on the balcony to see what the morning view would be like, we were shocked to see that we were fogged in.  At least I was hoping it was fog rather than smog. 

The breakfast buffet was very good.  There were quite a few things that I didn’t recognize on it, but I did enjoy the falafel, cheeses and rice pudding.  Not our normal breakfast fare, but filling.  We got loaded down with our cameras, hats, solar umbrellas and other supplies for the day and headed to the lobby to meet our 8:00 AM bus tour.  Everyone was excited and ready to go on our first adventure.  We were introduced to our Cruise Director for the trip, Uwe Nitschke from Austria.  Even though most of this trip was not a cruise, he was more of an Amadeus representative provided to resolve any issues we might have.  He proved to be a great asset and just a pleasant person to travel with.  Plus he was always easy to find, since he was 6’ 7” tall and easy to spot in a crowd.

   

We loaded onto the two busses that we would be spending many hours on during the Cairo and Alexandria portions of this trip.  We met our tour guide, Mostafa.  What a great guy!  He was to become our favorite Egyptian.  He was so helpful and friendly, and had such a great attitude.  We also met the two Egyptologists for our bus, the Red Bus, Nivene and Amal.  We were in the half of the bus that would be with Nivene for the land portion of our trip.

   

Mostafa

   

Red Bus Egyptologists Amal and Nivene                                        Blue Bus Egyptologists               

Our first tour was at the Citadel, a walled enclosure now containing mainly mosques and museums on top of a hill.  It was built in 1200 AD and is quite an impressive and large structure.  I don’t know why we got there so early at 8:30 AM, since it didn’t open until 9:00 AM.  Fortunately there was a canvas covered area to wait in, but waiting was uncomfortable because there wasn’t much of a breeze.  Also the heavy fog only cleared off a little revealing that much of the fog was indeed smog.

   

As would be the routine for the rest of our trip, Nivene got the entrance tickets and passed them out to everyone.  This worked out quite nicely and we were able to go right in at 9:00 AM.  Our destination in the Citadel was the Mohammed Ali Mosque or Alabaster Mosque.  This is the most ornate mosque in Cairo.  In the middle of the huge courtyard in front of the mosque is an Alabaster drinking fountain. 

   

   

Before entering the mosque, everyone was required to take off their shoes or purchase shoe covers for a couple dollars.  Additionally, for women who had on clothes that exposed too much of their bodies, a cape was provided to make them “properly attired” to enter this holy place.  The inside of the mosque was indeed quite ornate and very large.  Nivene had us sit on the carpeted floor while she talked about the history and things to look at in the mosque.  I appreciate learning about the places we visit, but I prefer to see as much of them as I can rather than spending too much time on small details.  During this trip, Nivene and our Egyptologist during the cruise portion seemed to spend way too much time talking about rather than showing us the beautiful sites we were visiting.  What they said was interesting and educational, but in too much detail.   Although I realize that my opinion was influenced by my desire to see as much as I could, several of my tour mates also expressed a similar opinion.

   

   

Our next stop was to the church of St. Sergius.  This is believed to be where Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus found refuge for a month during their flight into Egypt.  There is not much to see in this church but it is obviously very important historically.  Photography of any sort is not permitted inside.  What is strange is that there are “NO PHOTO” signs posted every few feet apart all over the church. One or two would do the job, and this really takes away from the visit.  It was also quite uncomfortable sitting in the pews of this hot church listening to Nivene.  They should have installed fans rather than all of the “NO PHOTO” signs.

Our next stop was to the Hanging Church.  The name comes from it being constructed on top of a gate of the Babylon Fortress with part of the church suspended above a passage.  The disadvantage of it being built on top of a gate is that we had to climb 29 steps to get to it.  The walk was worth it though.  It was a pretty church and there were some ceiling fans to make the visit a little more pleasant.

   

   

It was time to head to the Naguib Mahfouz Restaurant, where we would have lunch.  It is named after Egypt’s best known novelist and winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize for literature.  The restaurant is located in the Khan el Khalili Bazaar.  This bazaar or market is one of the largest in the Middle East.  There are many narrow streets with vendors crowded along every available space.  Fortunately the restaurant was close to where the bus stopped and Mostafa was able to lead us quickly to it.  In reading about the Khan, as it is referred to locally, it seems that every tour group stops at this particular restaurant.  The food was fine and it was a unique experience since the group was broken down into several private rooms.  Because the rooms were enclosed, it didn’t allow for the air conditioning to be very effective.  People were pulling out their hand and electric fans to cool off.

We were only going to be able to have about 45 minutes to shop in the Khan before our next tour.  I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to find Gouzlan’s to pick up my cartouche.  So when lunch was over, I told Carol that I was going to go by myself to find the store.  I showed Mostafa the card with the address to see if he could tell me what direction to go to find it.  We walked out of the restaurant and it was about four stores away.  I couldn’t believe we were so close to it.  I walked in and the owner, Safwat, greeted me.  He showed me the cartouche, which was just perfect.  I liked that it was thicker and heavier than some of the other styles I had seen, but was still quite reasonably priced based on my research.  I paid him and walked a few doors down and ran into Carol just as she was leaving the restaurant.  She couldn’t believe that I was already wearing the cartouche.  We walked back over to the store to see if there was one that she wanted.  She didn’t find one that she fell in love with.  Since her name was also on my cartouche, she decided that this cartouche would have joint custody.

    

After doing some shopping, I went to a pharmacy to buy an antibiotic medicine called Antinal that is used to treat “Mummy Tummy”.  This is a form of intestinal infection that many people get when visiting Egypt. We knew to only drink bottled water and not eat fresh fruits and vegetables, but it is still easy to pick up the bug.  Since the medicine that targets this infection cannot be purchased in the USA, we had to wait until we were in Egypt to buy some.  We had also asked Mostafa where we could get some and he also bought us a pack.  It was a good thing we had two packs, because we needed them.  This was the first time in all of our travels that, although we were very careful, we have gotten sick from a local bug.

The group then headed to Cairo’s Egyptian Museum.  Nivene took us to different spots in the museum and went into great detail about each thing we stopped at.  We spent a lot of time in the King Tut section, which has the most spectacular displays in the museum.  Unfortunately, with so much time spent on a few sections of the museum, we only had about 30 minutes on our own to check out the rest of the museum.  We had less time than we should, because the museum closed early due to Ramadan. 

I am so glad that I had gone the day before, since I would have missed so much.  I had found the previous day that the museum bookstore was not very good, especially compared to the bookstore right across the street from the museum.  Plus, the store across the street was air conditioned, which was quite welcomed after roaming the hot museum for two hours.  We found some books and souvenirs to add to our luggage for the trip home. 

We were very glad to return to the modern air-conditioned hotel.  By the way, one of the most appreciated features of this hotel was the rain type showerhead that was mounted in the shower ceiling in addition to the regular showerhead.  So refreshing! 

   

Tonight was to be our welcome dinner for the tour.  Once again we had a buffet with Egyptian cuisine in the hotel.  I was starting to get familiar with Egyptian food, and it seemed like every meal had some of the same things.  Fortunately there was plenty of variety to try different things, but I knew that this could get old after ten days.  After dinner, Carol and I walked around the outside of the hotel and found an outside couch to sit on.  There was a very refreshing cool breeze blowing and it was so nice to be able to just sit there with my wonderful wife, holding hands and taking in the nighttime beauty along the Nile.  It was one of those special moments that we will always fondly remember about this trip.

 

Day 4 – Cairo, Memphis, Saqqara and Giza

Today was the day I have waited all my life for.  Today we would visit the pyramids.  Since we had so much to see, our tour started at 7:30 AM.  Even though Giza, where the pyramids are located is just outside Cairo on the western side of the Nile, we were going to go to Memphis and Saqqara first.  The drive out of Cairo passed us through more of the poor and dirtier parts of the city.  Nivene had told us yesterday that Cairo has 18 million residents and that it is growing by 100,000 per month or 1.2 million per year.  Very unfortunate.

   

It was good to finally be able to travel outside of Cairo to see what the countryside was like.  It was nice to get out of the heavy traffic and over crowded conditions and into an area with farms growing dates.  The many palm trees reminded us of south Florida.

   

Our first stop was at Memphis, the former capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom.  The main attractions there are the great colossus of Ramses II and the alabaster Sphinx of Memphis.  The Ramses II statue is lying down in a covered pavilion that allows tourists to be able to view it from many angles.  It is quite a beautiful statue and very well preserved. 

   

   

   

In addition to the lovely 80-ton sphinx, there are also statues of Ramses on the grounds.

We got back on the bus and headed west toward Saqqara.  This is where the palm tree forest ends and the Sahara Desert begins.  There is a very clear-cut distinction between the two.  One side of the road is green, and the other side is desert.

Within sight of the forest is the location of the desert plateau where the Pharaoh Djoser built the first pyramid, which is known as the Step Pyramid.  I had seen many pictures of this pyramid, but had not realized that a very modern looking building was also part of the funeral complex.  The stones are cut so precisely that there is no space between them and the finish is incredibly smooth.  Quite amazing, considering the primitive tools that were used 4,700 years ago to build this structure.  It is considered the world’s oldest monument built of stone rather than brick.  I was also very impressed with the long hallway of columns that led toward the Step Pyramid.  This was an unexpected treat. 

   

   

The Step Pyramid itself was larger and more impressive than I was anticipating.  I guess so much attention is put on the pyramids at Giza, that this one is usually not even visited by most tourists.  It is a shame, because this group of buildings is well worth the time to visit.

  

This is also the first place we were seriously hounded by vendors.  They were everywhere trying to sell most of the same things we would see during the rest of the trip.  They were very persistent, but they would leave you alone if you told them to go away.  They also had pleasant personalities and made funny jokes.  They knew how to get tourists to laugh so they would buy something.  One of the attractions there was to have your picture taken with a camel or a burro (for a fee, of course).  This was not on my list of priorities.

   

We thought we were now going to get to go to Giza to see the Sphinx and Pyramids; but we had another distraction to go to first, a carpet store.  They gave us a short demonstration of how they weaved the carpets and then tried to sell them to us.  Since this was also a school, there were children making the carpets as well as master weavers.  We had seen a much better demonstration last year in Turkey that had also shown us how they converted the silkworm cocoons into the silk thread, so for us, it was a total waste of an hour. 

   

After the last person had agreed to a price and made their purchase, we finally headed to Giza.  The drive was interesting, since there were lots of date palm trees and farms to look at.  We also passed several donkey powered carts with colorful vegetables piled high.

   

   

It was exciting to get glimpses of the tops of the pyramids as we got closer.  The town of Giza goes right up to the Pyramid grounds.  It is a crowded dirty city and takes away from being in the presence of these famous structures.  We were told we would be eating at a restaurant that overlooks the Sphinx and Pyramids, which sounded just awesome; but it was an open-air restaurant.  I couldn’t imagine eating outside in this intense heat.  Due to some security issues, we had to walk a few blocks from the bus to the restaurant in the hot sun and dirty, dusty streets.  Thank goodness the tables were covered by a large canvas structure to protect us from the sun.  Additionally, most of the time there was a very nice breeze that made the temperature relatively comfortable.  We definitely had a table with a view.  This would be a lunch to remember.

   

   

Uwe had told us on the way there that we could come back that night to see the Pyramid Sound and Light Show if we chose to.  I was quite excited about doing this, since it wasn’t on the original itinerary.  While we were eating lunch, Uwe found out that an individual had rented the grounds for the night and was putting on their own party with the sound and light show.  That is why a stage and additional sound equipment had been set up in front of the Sphinx.  That was very disappointing.  However, we did get to hear the sound system while they were testing it for the upcoming party; which was quite impressive, if somewhat ear splitting.

After lunch we had some free time to see the Sphinx before the bus ride up to the Pyramids.  We were told not to take too long since we would come back later.  I took a few photos of the area and was returning to the restaurant when Leland asked if we had gone up to the Sphinx through the tunnels.  I didn’t know what he was talking about, so he showed several of us how to get through the building next to the Sphinx to be able to get the unobstructed view that we were hoping to see.  The pigeons were enjoying resting in the shade of the Sphinx's face.  We took longer than we were supposed to at the Sphinx, but it didn’t delay us much and I was thrilled with what we had seen. 

   

   

The bus drove us up the hill to a location between the Great Pyramid of Cheops, which is the largest one, and the second largest, the Pyramid of Cephren, who was Cheops’ son.  Cephren’s is the one with a portion of the original smooth surface still covering the top.  It appears larger because it is on higher terrain.  I walked over to each of the pyramids trying to get photos from various angles.  I am glad I had an ultra wide lens, since they are huge.  I also had to touch each of them to prove to myself that I was actually there.  They were just marvelous. 

   

A few weeks before our visit, the Egyptian government completed new security around the pyramids that was designed to keep out the hordes of vendors from bothering the tourists.  I don’t know what it was like before, but there were way too many aggressive vendors there.  Plus the security police kept hassling me to try to take my picture, so they could get a tip.  It really takes away from a visit to this incredible place. 

Everyone then got back on the bus to drive over to a panoramic view of all three pyramids.  Quite a sight!  I was in a very hot "heaven".  This is also where those that wanted to could ride a camel.  I had no desire to, but many took the $10 camel rides and had an experience they will never forget.

   

   

        Smaller Pyramid of Mykernius                                   Pyramids of Cheops and Cephran

We got back on the bus to head back to the Sphinx, so that those who had not been able to get the unobstructed view would be able to.  Our guides had been told that the Sphinx would be closing early, due to Ramadan, at 4:30 PM.  We got there about 3:15 PM.  As those who wanted to get the close up view started to go in, they were told that it was closing at 3:30 PM and no one else could go in.  There were some upset people. 

Before we were to go back to our hotel, we stopped at a jewelry/souvenir store so anyone that wanted to could order a cartouche.  These would be delivered when we returned from the cruise and visited Alexandria.  The prices at this store were much higher than in the bazaar in Cairo.  I am so glad that I had been given good advice on where to go to get a better deal on a cartouche.  Next door to the store was a papyrus factory.  There we saw a demonstration of how the first paper was made.  It was very interesting and gave us an appreciation for the product.  The papyrus pictures there were more expensive than what we had seen, but we did find a small one we liked and got it for a souvenir.

   

Once again we dragged back into the hotel thoroughly exhausted.  The wonderful shower reinvigorated us for what was to be a fun night.  Since dinner was not included in our package that night, Leland and Gherry organized a trip over to the Cairo Hard Rock Café for dinner and a felucca ride on the Nile after.  This was a great idea.  We got a bunch of taxis that cost about $3 for each taxi load to get us there. We were ready for a hamburger, fries and a big glass of iced tea.  It really hit the spot.  The Cairo Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts were popular.  Carol couldn't resist taking a photo of a sign on the inside of restroom.

   

The highlight of the night was the felucca ride on the Nile.  Leland had arranged for both the felucca ride and taxi fare back to the hotel for $2 per person.  Quite a deal!  We got the group of about 40 people into three of the large sailboats.  The view from the boat was really pretty with all the lights glowing along the river.  There was a nice breeze and it was cool, refreshing and so relaxing.  Everyone was really enjoying the ride.  This was Carol’s fondest memory of the trip.

   

The Felucca captain, who couldn’t speak a word of English, appointed me first mate and his assistant, since I was sitting in a good position next to the rudder.  When he had to do something with the sails, he would go to the bow and try to communicate with me in sign language which way to move the rudder or to hold it steady.  I had no problem with this, but when he wanted me to bring the felucca back into the dock, I started to worry.  He stood on the bow and grunted orders waved his hands insanely to me.  I guess I did OK, since we came in fine; but it was a different kind of experience.  Unfortunately, Carol was laughing so hard that she forgot to take a picture of my maritime adventure. 

   

What a great way to cap off an awesome day of touring.  It had been a day and night to remember.

 

Day 5 – Cairo to Luxor

Today we would finally be able to start our cruise along the Nile River.  I was going to miss the wonderful Sofitel Hotel.  Everything about it had been first class, especially the service.  They have a great staff and facility.  I hoped that we would have nice accommodations on the Sun Goddess, but knew that they couldn’t compare to the comfort of the Sofitel.

Unfortunately, we were all on a 2:10 PM flight to Luxor rather than the originally planned 8:00 AM flight.  This meant that we would be getting a late start to tour the temples of Luxor and Karnak.  Since the flight is one hour, we would be arriving 6 hours later than shown on the original itinerary.  I was disappointed that we wouldn’t get as much time as we had planned at the famous temples.   However, shortly after awakening my mind became occupied with more pressing issues.  I started to have symptoms of intestinal tract distress.  I immediately popped an Antinal.  My stress level was up.  I didn’t want to miss anything on this trip due to illness. 

Since we had most of the morning free due to the late flight, we had a leisurely breakfast.  When we went down to meet for the bus to take us to lunch near the airport, we talked to a few other people that were taking various medicines, including Imodium and Cipro to counteract the early symptoms of Mummy Tummy.  It seemed like the most likely places we could have picked something up was at lunch at the Pyramids.  We had ice in the tea at the Hard Rock, but since it is in the Grand Hyatt, we didn’t think it would be an issue there.

We took the long bus ride to the airport area and stopped at the Novotel Hotel for a light buffet lunch.  During this trip, I had found that I realy enjoyed the Sakara Beer.  Probably because it had the step pyramid on it.  I was surprised at how many ways the name of the city of Saqqara was spelled.  Perhaps this is caused by the translation from Arabic.  This would also be frustrating in the Valley of the Kings, where they spelled the Pharaoh Ramses name as Rameses.

   

Once we got to the airport, we had to go through a couple of different security screenings to make sure that we had no metal objects.  Both Carol and I had forgotten to pack our little pocket knives.  To keep us from losing them, Uwe put several knives from the group in his brief case and checked it.  We were quite grateful to him for coming up with the idea. 

The Egypt Air flight was in a large roomy Airbus plane.  We were not expecting such comfort, so it was a pleasant surprise.  Flying from Cairo to Luxor shows just how important the Nile River is to Egypt.  Looking down from the plane, the Nile appears like a long green snake.  Along most parts there is a small lush area right next to the water, and then it dramatically turns into desert sand.  I would get a better appreciation for this during the cruise part of the trip.

To maximize our time, we were going to go directly from the airport to a tour of the Temple of Karnak, while our luggage was being transferred to the ship.  We got to the temple around 4:30 PM.  The Luxor area and all along the path of the cruise is about 10 degrees hotter than Cairo.  So where Cairo had been in the mid 90’s, it would be around 105 here. It was very hot as we approached the Temple of Karnak.  Carol and I had both ordered UV umbrellas online to protect against the hot sun (Link).  We knew we wouldn't be needing an umbrella for rain in Luxor.  Our guide had told us that it hadn't rained here in three years, and then it was only a brief shower.  We had used these wonderful umbrellas some in Cairo, but their value was proven in the hotter climate of Luxor.  With the sun beating down on us as we walked up to the temple, the little umbrellas made a huge difference, an excellent investment. 

   

   

At the entrance to the Temple of Karnak, walking between the rows of ram headed sphinxes as we approached the massive walls just blew me away.  I knew that this was the biggest temple we would see, but everything was much bigger than I expected.  The hieroglyphics and carvings were everywhere, and they looked so fresh rather than thousands of years old.  It was just unbelievable.  One benefit of it being late in the day and having the huge walls was that most areas of the temple were shaded.  This didn’t help for photos, but it made it more comfortable.  We had four new Egyptologists for our group during the cruise.  The one we went with was named Robert.  He was a very nice young man with a great knowledge of Egypt and a wonderful attitude; but like Nivene, he spent way too much time on details rather than showing us more of the sites.

   

I had seen so many pictures of the 134 huge columns in the hypostyle hall, but I couldn’t believe that we were actually walking in that hall looking at them.  They were so beautiful with all their carvings.  There were even areas that still had the original paint on them. 

   

A colorized version of Karnack's columns are shown in the introduction to the main feature at Muvico Theaters.  Because of that, I could easily look at them and imagine how they must have appeared when they were new.

       

I have always been fascinated with the huge obelisks from Egypt.  We have seen them at different places all over the world, but it was much better to see them there in their natural environment where they were intended to be.

    

We spent an hour visiting the lovely temple, which was not enough; but I booked the Karnak Sound and Light show for later that night, so I could spend some more time there.  Carol was exhausted and knew better than to try to come back. 

   

   

   

I was surprised to see a statue of a scarab.  This is a beetle that I had seen in hieroglyphics and on amulets; but not as a statue.  I would later buy a gold and lapis one for my necklace.  It seems like a strange object for a necklace, but it is quite pretty.

We headed for our ship the Sonesta Sun Goddess (Link).  It would be our home for the next four nights.  With so many cruise ships on the Nile, there is not enough dock space for all of them.  As a result, several ships will park right next to the others and you walk through those ships to get to yours.  Kind of strange, but it works well.  The ship by the dock we walked through was the Sonesta Moon Goddess.  They do look like floating hotels.

We had a brief orientation program after we boarded the ship and then went to our cabins to get ready for dinner.  We had to hurry and eat, because I was going on the Luxor tour that started at 7:15 P.M., followed by the 9:15 P.M. Karnak Sound and Light Show.  Even though we needed to hurry, we wanted to make time for a shower.  The shower would not maintain a constant temperature.  It would get scalding hot, then very cold.  It was very difficult to use.  I assumed that it was caused by so many people using the showers at the same time.  Bad assumption!

   

I was disappointed that we wouldn’t see the Luxor Temple in the daylight; but as we approached it, I was thrilled.  The temple was just gorgeous.  It was all lit up and I realized that it was a much better way to experience the beautiful temple.  Along with Carol, several other people in the group decided to skip going to the Luxor Temple or Karnak Sound and Light show.  It was really a shame, because to me, Luxor was the prettiest of all the temples we would see on the trip.  Plus, with it being at night, the cooler temperatures made for a more enjoyable tour.

   

Once again we were walking among massive statues, obelisks and hieroglyphic covered walls.  With the lights highlighting the beauty of the temple, it was just an awesome experience.  We even had a full moon shining over the obelisk. 

   

   

In the 15th century, a mosque was built in one of the courtyards of the temple.  It is a nice contrast to the pharaonic architecture. 

   

There was so much beauty to see in the temple.  We got to spend about an hour there, and I could have stayed a lot longer.  It would have been nice to see it in the day also; but if I had a choice, nighttime was the best way to see the Temple of Luxor.

   

   

   

We then headed back over to the Temple of Karnak for the Sound and Light Show.  We got there just before it started.  The show began with everyone standing outside of the temple, with a recording of a deep voiced narrator telling about the history of the temple.  The lights came up on various parts of the temple as the voice talked about them.  Since there was a large crowd there it was hard to see much.  After about 10 minutes, the voice stopped and the crowd was allowed to move into the front part of the temple and the voice began talking again.  Once again, lights came on at different parts of the temple.  I had enjoyed the Temple of Luxor a lot more with all the lights on at one time and no booming voice.  Once again this went on for about 10 minutes and we were allowed to then move further into the temple.  Because there were so many people I was with a large group to one side and couldn’t even see the lights that were highlighting what the voice was talking about.  This was not for people who didn’t like crowds or didn’t like to stand for long periods of time in a hot place.  This went on for two more 10-minute cycles before everyone had to climb stairs to get into stands to sit and watch the same thing from bleacher seats for 30 more minutes.  I saw an older lady tourist who had fallen down on the stairs.  I am surprised more people didn’t fall, except that there were so many people crammed in that you wouldn’t have hit the ground if you had fallen. 

   

   

Between the stands and the temple was a nice sized lake.  Everyone kept expecting there to be some type of light show other than just turning spotlights on and off.  It looked like a good place for fireworks, but all that kept happening was the booming voice and on and off spotlights.  It was incredibly boring and I saw some people sleeping during the show.  I almost dozed off myself.  The Karnak Sound and Light Show was a terrible waste of time and money. 

When I got back to the boat, Carol was rested and she had gotten the cabin set up. She had also sent out a bunch of clothes to be washed.  The prices on the ship were very reasonable and by knowing we could get them washed, it had allowed us pack with fewer clothes.  The good news was that the Antinal seemed to be keeping my system working okay; but the bad news was that Carol had started having to take it also.

 

Day 6 – Luxor, Esna and Edfu

The next morning we had a 5:00 A.M. wake up call, so everyone would be ready for the 6:00 A.M. excursion to the Valley of the Kings.  It is an excursion that needs to be done as early as possible to hopefully avoid the higher temperatures later in the day.  When we headed down to meet the group, we found that several folks were going to miss the excursion due to Mummy Tummy.  Leland had gotten several boxes of Antinal the night before and was passing it out to those in need.  It was a shame that someone who had come so far would miss visiting the tombs of the pharaohs.  While we were waiting to leave the ship, we could see the hot air balloons lifting off to fly over the area.  It was a beautiful sight. 

   

Instead of heading for busses, we were going to take a couple of small open boats across the Nile to meet up with our busses on the west bank.  This made it faster to get to the Valley of the Kings; but to get over to the boats, we had a treacherous climb over another boat to get to ours.  This was a terrible way to start a tour.  I was very concerned about some of the older members of our group being able to maneuver through the boats without hurting themselves, but they made it. 

   

As we pulled away from the dock, we got a full view of the Sun Goddess.  The west bank was more interesting with the sand dunes and mountains behind the palm trees lining the Nile.

   

After the short ride across the Nile, we packed on to the busses to head for the Valley of the Kings.  It was only a ten-minute drive to the entrance.  The terrain on the west side of the Nile was very different from the east side.  It was a very rocky and mountainous area.  That is why it was chosen for the tombs.  The pharaohs wanted to be buried in higher ground and less likely to be affected by the annual Nile flooding.

   

As had been the system at our visits to other sites, Robert purchased the tickets for our entry into the Valley.  This time, however, there were hundreds of people trying to get through the single entrance in the fence.  There was only one person collecting the tickets.  Not good!  We used the techniques we had learned from watching the Cairo taxi drivers and squeezed and changed lanes frequently to get to the ticket taker.  We finally made it to the welcome center where there was a plastic model of the valley showing all of the tombs.  There were certainly lots of them.  Before the trip I thrilled to find out about the website www.thebanmappingproject.com.  Luxor and the Valley of the Kings are in the area that was previously called Thebes.  This website showed pictures and layouts of each tomb; as well as detailed descriptions.  There is a wealth of information about this whole area on this site. 

   

We then waited for one of the many trams to take us into the valley.  Thank goodness they had these, since it would not be a pleasant walk, especially later in the day when the sun would be beating down on us. 

When we got off the tram, we listened to Robert tell us about the tombs we would be visiting.  He also pointed out that the mountain at the end of the valley was shaped like a pyramid with a pointed top.  Then Carol and I got in the short line to enter KV11, the tomb of Ramses III.  It was a relatively easy tomb to visit.  There were a few ramps we had to go down, but they were hardly noticed with all the pictures to look at on the walls and ceilings.  I was amazed at how large the passage into the tomb was.  I had been expecting something narrower with lower ceilings, kind of like in Indiana Jones.  This was a much better experience.  I wish we could have brought cameras into the tombs, but I do understand why not.  Not only would it hurt the experience and slow down the lines through the tombs; but there is no way the camera can capture the beauty of these special places.

   

   

The next tomb I went in was KV16, the tomb of Ramses I.  It had a very long line waiting to get in.  I was sure glad I had my UV umbrella to protect me from the intense sun.  Since this tomb had many steps and there were even a lot of steps down to the entrance, I suggested to Carol that she skip it.  It pays to research before you go, since this was a difficult tomb to visit.  That thought would be confirmed, when the ticket taker handed everyone a piece of cardboard to use as a fan.  The main attraction of this tomb was that there was a sarcophagus in the burial chamber.  It was not nearly as pretty as the first tomb we saw, and it was not worth the physical effort and having to deal with the heat.  Unfortunately, we were only able to visit the tombs that were open that day. 

   

Our ticket only allowed for three tomb visits.  Our third one was KV2, the tomb of Ramses IV.  It was the easiest of the tombs to visit, so Carol joined me.  There was just a short line to enter it.  We had saved the best one for last.  It was the prettiest one with the most paintings, and there was a sarcophagus in the burial chamber.  As we left the tomb, I couldn’t believe how long the line had grown.  It was stretching out to the main path through the valley.  What a difference a few minutes made.  It was only 8:20 AM and many busses were arriving with tourists anxious see the marvelous tombs.  It definitely paid to arrive early. 

   

While we were waiting for our group to gather for our return tram ride, we talked to a few people who had gone to KV16 first, the tomb with a lot of steps.  Since it had worn them out, they decided not to try either of the other two tombs.  We told them that the other two were much easier and more beautiful; but they didn’t have the time or energy to do them.  It is a shame they hadn’t looked at their handouts, since it did warn them that KV16 had a lot of steps.  They had missed seeing some of the best sites of the trip.

Our next destination was the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut.  It is a very modern looking structure that is built up against a mountain with many steps to climb.  We had to park the bus a long distance from the temple, and I was concerned that there would be a long walk in the very hot sun.  After we walked through the vendor area and fought off a few of the more aggressive ones, I was thrilled to see that there was a tram that would take us closer to the steps.  The steps didn’t look that steep on TV.  I knew it would be some heavy exercise to climb to the top in the heat, but I was there and I had to do it.  It was a beautiful structure and I didn’t want to miss seeing anything in the land of the pharaohs.

   

   

I am glad I made the climb.  I was tired, but the excitement of walking among those beautiful statues and looking at the paintings and carvings was a great reward for the effort.  Also the view from the top of the temple is quite lovely, with the stark contrast of the desert sands against the irrigated green fields in the distance.  This was another great excursion stop and it was only 10:00 AM, with a lot more to see today.  After the climb down the steps, I stopped at the refreshment area and got a Fanta orange drink.  I rarely drink them, but for some reason I was craving one.  I had been drinking lots of water all day, but that orange drink really hit the spot.  It is amazing what your body will crave when you are almost at the point of heat exhaustion. 

   

   

   

   

Although this was an awesome stop, I was glad that Carol and a lot of others waited in the air-conditioned bus.  It is a difficult temple to climb and see, and it is a site that would be much more enjoyable during cooler weather.

Our next stop was to the Valley of the Queens.  It is a less visited area and the tombs for the queens are much smaller.  That made them much easier to visit since there were almost no lines and they didn’t take long to see.  This is where Queen Nefertari is buried.  Unfortunately, that tomb is not open. We went to a couple of others.  They were prettier than I expected, but not very big.

   

   

Our last stop before going back to the ship was a short photo stop to see the Colossi of Memnon.  These are two 54-foot high statues of Pharaoh Amenophis III, which once flanked the doors of his mortuary temple.  They are all that is left of what was the most magnificent mortuary temple that ever existed.  Since they have been heavily damaged, they aren’t that pretty anymore, but they are quite magnificent.  I was more awed by them than I was expecting.  I can’t imagine what they were like before the earthquake in 27 BC that damaged them so severely.

   

It was now time to return to the boat and begin the cruise down the Nile River.  We had already had a full day’s touring and all we wanted to do was watch out the windows and observe life on the Nile.  We were looking forward to relaxing on the ship the rest of the day.  As soon as we boarded, the Sun Goddess left the dock.  Within a few minutes we were passing by the Temple of Luxor, and we were able to see what it looked like in the daylight.  I was already enjoying our first river cruise.

   

It was really enjoyable to watch the world go by from the cabin window.  I understood why cruising the Nile is so popular.  It is so beautiful passing by the palm tree groves and lush green farms with the sandy dunes and mountains right behind them. 

   

We would pass by farm animals, people fishing, kids swimming and people in row boats.  There was always something to observe.  The Nile is Egypt’s lifeblood.  Without it, the whole country would be sand.

   

   

   

   

   

   

Since this was the first time I had some free time on the ship, I walked around to get some photos.  The Sun Goddess is a small ship for us, with only 62 cabins on four levels.   The ship was okay for a short Nile cruise, but I would not want to go on her again.  The food was good and the cabin was comfortable, but the problems with the showers that everyone was experiencing and the state of repair the ship was in did make it less enjoyable than it could have been.  These ships take a beating from the weather and the frequent passenger turnovers.  It also would have been nice if the crew had a better understanding of English, since this was supposed to be a cruise for English speaking passengers only.

   

   

As we approached the Esna Locks, the vendors in rowboats approached the Sun Goddess.  These vendors are sometimes referred to as the “Crocodiles of the Nile” because of the way they surround the riverboats.  They holler up to the cruisers to get their attention and then throw up their wares for the potential buyer to look at.  It is a fascinating process to watch.  Several ladies in our group bought galabeyas from the vendors.  I felt sorry for the guys that had to row the boats to keep up when the ships moved away. 

   

   

   

While we were waiting to enter the locks, we had a lovely sunset.  The passage through the locks went much faster than expected because a second lock was recently opened.  I had read about ships previously having to wait many hours when traffic was heavy.  After we passed through, it was time for us to get ready for the Captain’s Welcome Reception in the lounge followed by a seated dinner.  The dinner was very good, but the highlight was Black Forest Ice Cream Cake.  We had not had ice cream since we came to Egypt due to our concerns with potential Mummy Tummy.  It was so delicious.

   

   

   

 

Day 7 – Edfu, Kom Ombu and Aswan

This morning we awoke in the town of Edfu.   I was up early, so I figured it would be a good time to get some more photos of the ship while most people were still asleep.  I wanted to get some pictures of the unusual and pretty art objects.  I hadn’t taken them the day before because of improper lighting, and I was just too exhausted to fool with them. 

   

   

       

   

When I went to the upper deck I could see that we were right next to another river boat and  in the center of town.  As with every town we had seen, there were many lovely mosques and minarets.   Close to the ship some kids were taking a morning swim in the Nile. 

         

   

Then I saw what would be our transportation for the day, a horse drawn carriage was moving down the road in front of the ship.  Having previously seen these carriage rides on TV, it looked like it would be a fun experience.  Don’t believe everything you see on TV!

   

We met in the lobby at 8:00 A.M. to go to the Temple of Horus.  It was covered by sand for over 2,000 years, and is considered the best preserved temple in all of Egypt.  We climbed up the two levels of steps to street level to meet our carriages.  Egypt is not a good place to visit for someone with physical disabilities.  There were no ramps at any of the places we docked while on the cruise; and very few at any of the other sites we visited.  For that matter our ship didn’t have an elevator either, so it was not “Handicapped Accessible”. 

 

The horse drawn carriages are just like taxis.  You need to attract them to pick you up, as well as negotiate a price before you board.  Amadeus gave each group of four a 20 Egyptian pound bill (about $4.00) for the whole carriage and told us to only give it to the driver on the way back.  Otherwise he might not be there when you want to go back to the ship.  This meant we would have to find the same driver after our tour of the temple.  These carriages are made for smaller people, but we were to stuff four of us in each one.  Where’s a stretch horse carriage when you need it? 

   

Carol and Marie sat in the main carriage compartment facing forward, I sat in the rear facing seat and Richard sat up front with the driver.  My rear facing "seat" was really no more than a narrow board.  We proceeded to the temple with the driver snapping his whip at the malnourished horse.  At first, it was a nice way to travel with the sound of the horse hooves clomping along on the pavement. 

Then the driver started snapping the poor horse with his whip to make it pick up speed.  Slow was nice, fast wasn’t, since I wasn’t in a real secure position.   I really couldn’t see much in front of me due to my position and the restricted movement I had on the tiny bench seat. The girls seemed to be enjoying the ride, since they were laughing and having fun.  Unfortunately I think they were laughing at their two guys in our uncomfortable positions while we held on for our lives.  It took about ten minutes of pain to get to the temple.  I was so happy to be able to get out that carriage.  I don’t know who was in more distress, me or the poor animal.  We had written down the carriage number so we could find it on our return. 

   

Where we had been dropped off we could see the Temple of Horus in the background behind a large area of shops.  We knew that we would once again get to meet many of the local vendors.  We found that if you walk really fast and look straight ahead with no emotion, like a robot, they don’t bother you as much.  Then again vendors working together were trying to find ways to outflank us to get our attention.  Carol used her 3rd grade school teacher "stern look" to discourage them.  Since there were easier targets than us, we were able to quickly get to the ticket booth and enter the temple grounds. 

After listening to Robert tell us about the plans to see this temple we headed toward it.  We saw Leland standing in the shade with Gherry sitting down against a wall.  We went over to see if there was a problem and found out that Gherry had gotten very ill and needed to rest.  We were quite worried about her.  Gherry had been telling us earlier in the trip how she had never been sick on a trip before.  Leland told us that there was nothing we could do to help, so we continued on the tour and he stayed behind to comfort her.

   

   

This temple was indeed in very good shape.  The carvings were very clean and in excellent condition.  This was a beautiful temple.  At the entrance were the two statues of the falcon god Horus to whom the temple is dedicated.  Everyone has to get the required picture with Horus.  We were no exception. 

   

Walking through the entrance to the huge courtyard, I was surprised by how large this temple was.  The carvings on the walls and pillars were so clear and in such good condition.  This was one gorgeous place. 

   

   

At the back side of the courtyard we entered the enclosed hypostyle hall with huge pillars covered in hieroglyphics and carvings.  Seeing how much decoration was present in this temple made me wish I could have seen the temples of Luxor and Karnak when they were in this good condition.  It must have been some sight.

   

   

Going deeper into the enclosed temple, we marveled at the numerous paintings and carvings. 

   

   

Robert took us out a side entrance to show us the outside walls.  This was a good move, since it was warm and stuffy in the temple, whereas on the outside there was shade and a nice breeze.  Once again we were amazed by the beauty of walls that were covered with decorative carvings.  Robert told us the story of how Horus lost his eye, as depicted in the drawings.  This is a must see temple.

   

During our free time at the site, I went back into the enclosed temple to see the sanctuary at the very back.  There was a huge crowd of people trying to look into the sanctuary to see the Sacred Boat of Horus.  It was very dark in the sanctuary and quite a challenge to even be able to see the boat over all the people, but I was able to snap a few photos.  Thank goodness my camera is pretty good in low light conditions. 

   

It was time to head back to the ship.  We found Leland who was assisting Gherry out of the temple grounds.  She was still not well, but at least she was able walk slowly.  I am sure she wasn’t looking forward to the carriage ride.  Amazingly, after sleeping the rest of the day, Gherry was back to her bubbly self the next morning.

We found our carriage driver and this time I got to sit up front next to him.  It was much more comfortable but it also allowed me to witness the driver whipping his poor thin horse to make him go faster.  Every time he would whip him, the horse would jump and ram his legs into the front of the carriage.  The driver would laugh and was very proud of his whipping abilities.  We could not get him to ease up on this abused animal.  I presume this is how the driver proves how much power he has.   It was quite upsetting to all of us.   I hope all the drivers are not that abusive to their horses.  We did see later in Alexandria that the drivers treated their horses very well, so perhaps we just had a miserable person as a driver.

Since I was able to see ahead of me, I was able to take photos while I held onto the seat very tightly.  These carriages were not required to have seat belts; they really needed them on the driver’s seat I was sharing.  With him weaving through the crowded streets, I was being thrown around where I would have easily fallen off, had I not been able to get a good grip.  The temple was marvelous, but the town of Edfu was not one that I cared for.

   

   

As soon as we got back to the ship around 10:00 AM, it left the dock to head for Kom Ombo.  Once again, we were able to watch the beautiful contrast of lush plant life and desert pass by as we headed south up the Nile.  There were lots of Egyptians working their fields and fishing.  It was fascinating watching this totally different life style from what we are used to.

   

   

We arrived at Kom Ombo at 4:15 PM.  We were there to visit the Temple of Kom Ombo.  Due to its close proximity to the ship, we were able to walk through town to the temple, which sits up on a hill overlooking the Nile.  Carol and many others had decided to skip this excursion, since we had already seen many temples and it was a good time to relax.  I, on the other hand, am a glutton for punishment and didn’t want to miss a single opportunity to see the wonders of Egypt. 

   

It is a unique temple in that it was dedicated to two gods, Horus who is represented by a falcon and Sobek who is represented as a crocodile.  The temple is divided right down the middle with the left side to Horus and right to Sobek. 

       

   

Much of this temple had been destroyed; and although it was not in as good a condition as most of the other ones we had seen, it was still quite pretty.  There were some very nice paintings with lots of color that had lasted over 2,000 years.  Also many of the carvings were in very good shape and quite beautiful.  One of the unique things there are drawings that show surgical instruments. 

   

There are also pictures showing a queen in a birthing chair and even another one with the queen delivering a baby.

   

   

Another thing I hadn’t seen anywhere else was the large sacred well.  It has two staircases used to descend to the bottom of it.  The priests would use this well to determine the rate of taxes to charge, which were based on the depth of the Nile.  The deeper the water, the more crops they could grow and tax.

   

 

On the walk back to the ship, we were able to view a lovely sunset across the Nile.  The sand in the air does give the sky a lovely color.

That night on the ship was the traditional galabeya party.  These are the traditional tunics worn in Egypt.  Most tourists buy the heavily decorated ones for the event.  The shop owner on the ship, who we got to know very well with our frequent visits, told us that Egyptian men normally wear very plain ones and it is the women who shine in theirs.  I wasn’t going to get one, since this would probably be the only time I would wear it in my life.  Plus all the ones they had were a bit tight.  (Sizes must run smaller in Egypt.)  However, they did have a very nice linen one that did fit.  Being linen, it was like the ones that I had seen so many Egyptians wearing during the course of this trip.  Since it wasn’t that expensive, I was curious to see what it was like to wear one.  I had thought that they would be uncomfortably warm to wear; but it was just the opposite.  Air moved very well through the linen as well as through the open bottom.  This was very comfortable attire for this climate.  I guess that is why they wear them!

   

   

Carol and the other girls who bought galabeyas looked just lovely playing Egyptian princesses.  It made for a fun evening.  But since, we had a 4:00 A.M. wake up call in the morning; it was a very early to bed evening for most people.

   

 

Day 8 –Aswan and Abu Simbel

This was going to be a big day.  One of the highlights of this trip was to be the visit to the famous temples at Abu Simbel.  Since it was about 250 miles to Abu Simbel, we had to catch a 6:30 A.M. plane to fly there.  During the night we had docked in the town of Aswan.  As we drove to the Aswan airport, we were amazed to see that this was a very pretty and well taken care of town.  It was relatively modern and clean.  We asked Robert why Aswan was so different from the other places we had visited.  He said that the governor of this province allocates funds to keep it looking good.  It was money well spent, because this was a very refreshing change from what we had been seeing.  The airport was also quite nice. 

It was only a short 45 minute flight to the site, which is only about 30 miles north of Sudan.  I was able to see the temples as we approached the Abu Simbel airport, but it was too far away to get a decent photo.  Abu Simbel was a temple that was buried under sand until it was discovered in the 1800’s.  It was in very good condition.

When the Aswan High Dam was being built, Abu Simbel was going to end up being under water.  In the 1960’s the temple was completely disassembled and moved to the higher location where it is today.  How they accomplished this relocation is an amazing story.  Thank goodness it was done, because these are very beautiful temples.

It was a short bus ride to the temples from the airport, but a fairly long walk around the back of the temple structure to get to the temple entrances.  It was only 8:00 A.M., but the temperature was rising quickly to what would be a high of 107 that day.  As we got to where we could see the lovely entrances to the temples, Robert and guides with other groups would search for one of the few shaded areas to tell the tourists about what we were about to see. 

   

   

Since the smaller Temple of Nefertari (Ramses II wife) was closer we visited it first.  After walking into so many temples recently, we were very impressed that these actually had wood floors installed rather than having to walk on the sand and rocks.  It made it much easier to walk around the gorgeous enclosed temple.  It was unfortunate that photos were not allowed inside, since it was so beautiful.  I guess that is why they sell souvenir books of Abu Simbel.  I know the photos in it are a lot better than I could have taken.

   

   

We then walked over to the magnificent Temple of Ramses II.  It was much larger than his wife’s.  The four sixty foot tall statues of Ramses II make one feel quite insignificant as you walk into the entrance of this temple.  Inside are more statues of Ramses on either side of the hall that leads further into the temple.  Once again there were beautiful paintings, carvings and hieroglyphs all over the walls, ceilings and columns.  I am so glad our tour offered this visit.  These temples are very special and it would have been a shame to miss them after coming so far.

   

   

   

   

On leaving the temple to walk back to the bus, I was able to appreciate the location of these temples along what is now Lake Nasser, but was just the Nile River when they were built.  The water looked so refreshing.  But I imagine that the sight of these temples left quite an impression on anyone who came up the Nile River 3,000 years ago.

   

I walked around the other side of the temples to head back to the concession area.  I wanted to see what the backs of these temples looked like from the other side.  I didn’t want to miss a thing. 

   

When I arrived at the concession area, the popular item was pre-packaged Magna ice cream bars.  Talk about refreshing!  Then we were ready to fly back to Aswan and board the ship.  We arrived back at noon, with some time to have lunch on board and a short rest before our 1:45 Aswan city tour. 

During lunch we sat with several people including Roger and Ann from our group.  We were discussing the incredible sights we had just seen at Abu Simbel, when Roger appeared to be having some problems.  Ann asked him if he was okay and he shook his head no.  He made a Heimlich Maneuver type motion, so I assumed that he was choking.  It had been years since I had CPR training and a brief explanation about the Heimlich Maneuver; but it was time to try to recall what to do.  Roger was sitting down and like me has a good sized stomach.  I was concerned about performing the maneuver too high on him and breaking a rib, but it wasn’t easy to tell where I should place my fist, so I just did it.  After a couple of pumps, whatever was there moved down his esophagus.  Roger was breathing fine.  I was more concerned that I might have broken a rib, but he said he was fine.  Roger, who is in the medical field, told me the next day that, for future reference, I was too high, but that it was okay since it worked.

The city tour began with a stop at a red granite quarry that contained an unfinished obelisk.  Construction of it stopped when it developed large cracks.  It would have been the largest obelisk ever constructed at 126 feet had it been completed.  Walking around this quarry was the most challenging excursion we had been on.  There was a lot of climbing in 107 degree heat.  With the hot red granite burning through my tennis shoes, I think it might have been even hotter there.  In some areas where it wasn't as dust covered, I could see that this really was red granite.  I was very glad to get back in the air conditioned bus.

   

    

All during this trip we were able to buy bottled water from the bus driver at a price of $1 for two bottles, which was comparatively quite reasonable.  With the high temperature today, he must have been having record sales.   We then took a ride across the old Aswan Dam to get to the road to take us to the newer Aswan High Dam.  As we crossed we could look across the lake and see the last temple we would visit on this trip, the Philae Temple.

   

In about 15 minutes we were on the top of the High Dam and looking over the side.  It is very large and it holds back the 2nd largest man made lake in the world, Lake Nasser; even so, it isn’t much to look at.  Unlike Hoover Dam, which is very high and relatively narrow, this dam is high, but doesn’t look like it because it is very wide with a gradual slope.   On the other side of the road was the 300 mile long Lake Nasser.

   

   

We then headed to what we thought would be our final destination of the day.  The Temple of Isis at Philae is one of the newer temples with construction of it covering the period from 300 BC to 500 AD.  Most of the construction was done during the Roman Period. This temple was relocated from the Island of Philae, a few hundred yards away, to where it is now.  The below photo is taken from the temple.  All that is showing above the water of Philae Island is the small grassy mound in the center of the photo.

To visit this island and temple we had to take a boat.  It was a very pretty ride passing by small rocky islands and cliffs. 

   

   

   

The temple was constructed similar to the others we had seen with the large entrance, courtyard and enclosed temple.  Many of the carvings had been damaged intentionally.  The figures on the right side of the entrance are very smooth, while the ones on the left are very rough in appearance.  This was an attempt to cover them up that was never completed.

   

   

Once again, this temple had the wood floors like the ones at Abu Simbel.  It really makes a difference and just looks good.  This temple had many beautiful wall carvings and decorated pillars.  There was graffiti on the walls that was left by Napoleonic troops.  It also had a lot of water damage from when it was on the lower Philae Island and was under water after the high dam was built.

   

   

   

   

To the side of the main temple is Trajan’s Kiosk.  This is the remains of a church built in the 6th century AD. 

   

Although this was a nice temple to visit in a quite scenic location, it didn’t have the same feel to me as the older ones we had been visiting.  Either I had just seen too many temples or I was becoming an older temple snob.  Either way, I had seen enough temples for a while.  It was 5:30 and I was ready to get back to the ship.  Unfortunately we had a surprise.  We were going to stop at a perfume factory.  I won’t spend time discussing it, except to say it was a waste of time and we didn’t get back to the ship until 6:30 P.M.  The group was not happy about this stop, especially since everyone was exhausted and ready to get back.

Tonight the ship had a Nubian Show.  Aswan was a part of the ancient region of Nubia, most of which was in the Sudan.  The music and dancing were very good.  When what was supposed to be a funny witch doctor type person got up to have fun with the audience, I decided it was time to get back to the cabin to download pictures.  We would be heading for Alexandria tomorrow.

   

 

Day 9 – Aswan to Cairo and Alexandria

Today we would be leaving the cruise portion of the trip to fly back to Cairo for a bus ride to Alexandria.  We were all supposed to be on a 2:30 P.M. flight, but Egypt Air had changed 17 people’s tickets to an earlier 12:30 P.M. flight without notifying Amadeus or anyone else.  Fortunately for us, Amadeus found out about it a few days earlier when confirming flights, so other arrangements could be made.

Since most of the morning was free, a felucca ride on the Nile was scheduled.  Aswan is in a very photographic part of the Nile, and it was a great place for felucca rides and pictures.  The ride was enjoyable, but there wasn’t much wind and because of the heat, it didn’t compare well to the great one we had in Cairo in the cooler night air. 

   

The highlight of the ride was when a couple of kids came rowing up to the side of our felucca in a tiny rickety row boat.  One boy was rowing while the other was baling out water from the boat.   I do hope they knew how to swim.  They sang some American songs and got a few tips before moving over to another boat. 

   

Of course there was a vendor on the felucca who first sang and tried to get everyone to dance before throwing wood crocodiles and other stuff on the floor that he wanted to sell to us.  Vendors everywhere.

   

   

   

When we got back to the Sun Goddess, I put out our luggage and waited for the bus to the airport.  When we got to the Aswan airport we killed time finding some more souvenirs.  There is always room for a few more.  When our flight landed in Cairo everyone was so happy to see Mostafa again.  It was like a reunion, even though we had just known him a few days.  Our tour guides Nivene and Amal were also there.  They would all be with us throughout the rest of the trip.

We went to lunch at the same Novotel Hotel we had lunch at previously on the way to Luxor.  We would wait there for the larger group that was flying in at 3:30 P.M.  When they arrived at the Novotel around 5:00 P.M., we all boarded the busses for the long bus ride.  The highway to Alexandria is a very bumpy road.  I don’t know if it was constructed that way or it was damaged, but it was incredibly bumpy.  Adding to this, our bus did not have very good shock absorbers.  It was a very long 3.5 hour drive.  We really had to hold on to keep from being knocked out of our seats in some parts of it.  Carol said that it was like riding a mechanical bull.  Even drinking water took major hand and eye coordination efforts.  I just couldn’t believe we were stuck in a situation like this.  It did get somewhat smoother when we got further away from Cairo. 

Another problem was that the pollution level increased as we crossed the city of Cairo in rush hour traffic.  During Ramadan, the Muslims begin their celebrations at 6:00 P.M.  We had witnessed these several times and were very impressed with the love and affection everyone was sharing at their group dinners.  It was quite eye opening.  Unfortunately, in the parts of the city we were crossing, many celebrants were cooking on open fires, so it was quite smoky.  This smoke added to the already polluted atmosphere made the air uncomfortable to breathe, even inside the bus. 

Since we had read reports about Cairo’s polluted air, Carol had planned ahead for something just like this by purchasing some inexpensive carbon masks for traveling in the polluted areas.  But since we hadn’t needed them the first part of the trip when we were in Cairo, they were packed in the luggage to be checked in rather than being in the carry-on luggage we had with us on the bus.  Carol had more difficulty than I did, so she rode with a cloth over her nose and mouth.  This was a bus ride we want to forget.  I am still amazed that no one got openly sick.  Thank goodness.  We had a half hour stop midway to Alexandria around 7:30 P.M.  Those folks that had been on the later flight had eaten lunch at 11:30 before going to the airport, and they were starving.  The time at the pit stop was well utilized. 

We finally got to Alexandria and our hotel, the Sofitel Cecil Alexandria (Link) around 9:30 P.M.  It is a very pretty historic hotel that has had many famous people of the past stay there.  Because it was so historic, they still used the two small old style elevators that required opening and closing two sets of gates.  It was a very nice touch, but also very slow.  The check in process and luggage movement process were not well organized and took a long time.  We didn’t get to our room until after 10:15 P.M.  We were worn out.  The room was OK and quite “historic” looking.  When I sat on the rock hard bed, I was concerned that my back might not make it through the night.  I must say that I was very surprised how well I slept in the bed and how my back felt better the next morning than it had during the whole trip.  The shower stayed the same temperature the whole time and the air conditioner worked fine, so I was happy with the Cecil.  We slept great.

   

 

Day 10 – Alexandria

Our tour didn’t begin until 9:00 A.M., so we could take our time this morning.  With the Cecil being right across from the Mediterranean Sea, some of the rooms must have fantastic views.  I opened the shutters in our room to see the wall of a building a few feet from us.  But when I looked left I could get a view of the park across from the front of the hotel.  Oh well, we didn’t come here to spend a lot of time in the hotel room. 

We went down to breakfast.  With the lobby area not being crowded like it was last night with a bunch of tourists anxious to get to their rooms, the hotel looked rather spiffy.  The elevators were indeed very pretty and charming.  We couldn’t get over how quiet they were.  It was a nice experience.  The restaurant also had that historic hotel look.  The hotel was old, but it was clean and had character.

   

   

   

We met up with our guides on the bus and began our 6.5 hour city tour and lunch.  Alexandria was a much cleaner city than Cairo; and because it is on the Mediterranean, the ocean breezes blow any pollution away and into the desert.  Our first stop was to the Serapeum. It was the main temple in Alexandria.  All that remains of the temple is the one 90 foot pink granite column called Pompey’s Pillar and two sphinxes. 

   

   

Nivene took us to the side of the open area in a shady spot and told us about the site.  The main things to see were the underground small library and the sanctuary.  At one time the small library contained many rolls of papyrus.  It was fascinating to see the ancient tunnels with large openings for the storage of papyrus rolls, which is similar to how the Great Library of Alexandria kept their documents during ancient times. 

   

   

The next series of tunnels led to a sanctuary room that contains a reproduction of the Egyptian bull god Apis.  Since these tunnels are fascinating to see, I am surprised that most tourist information only refers to the above ground obelisk and sphinxes.

   

After leaving the tunnels, I went over to take some closer photos of the pillar and sphinxes.  After taking these, a security guard motioned to me to come to him.  Had I done something wrong?  He pointed down to the bottom of some stairs cut into the rock with a door at the end.  Was I being thrown into an Egyptian jail?  But, since he was smiling I felt pretty comfortable.  He went down to the door and punched in some codes to open the door.  He motioned for me to follow him and then made a motion like taking photos.  Ahh, he wanted to show me something that I would like to take a photo of.  I knew that he would expect a tip, but since I was the only one getting to see whatever it was he wanted to show me, I was most interested.  There were more tunnels to walk through that weren’t lighted as well as the others I had just visited.  We stopped at what looked like wells going to the surface.  He tried to explain what they were used for but I didn’t understand him.  He thought they were important.  They might have been used for ventilation or to use as dumb waiters for all I know, but it was interesting.  I was glad that I had been given this private tour of whatever it was.

   

We got back on the bus and headed for the Roman Amphitheater.  It is a small theater only seating 800 people, that was built in the 4th century AD and connected to a palace.   It doesn’t compare to the ones in Rome, but is quite special because it is a Roman theater in Egypt.

   

Also at this site were statues that had been recovered in harbor excavations.  Many people were having fun with the headless sphinx and a busty headless statue.

   

We loaded back into the bus and headed to the New Library of Alexandria.  The new library has been built close to where one of the original Seven Wonders of the World, the Old Library of Alexandria once stood, which was destroyed 2,000 years ago.  The new one is a massive library that was opened in 2002.  It has state of the art computer systems with data bases that are accessible though the Internet.  The demonstrations provided to us by library guides were most impressive.  The architecture of this structure is also quite unique.  The windows on the roof are called eyebrows because of the way they are constructed to prevent any direct sunlight from entering the library through them. 

   

   

   

I really liked the gray granite walls that are carved with hieroglyphics and symbols from every know alphabet worldwide.  The use of water around the library really set off the lovely building.

   

   

 

Our next stop was to the Qaitbay Citadel in Alexandria.  It was built around 1480 A.D. on the exact site of one of the other original Seven Wonders of the World, the Lighthouse of Alexandria.  The Citadel is impressive, but most people were watching the large waves of the Mediterranean crashing into the rocks.  The breeze was refreshing, which coupled with the milder Alexandria temperatures convinced me that Alexandria is the place to live if you are moving to Egypt.  There is certainly plenty of poverty in Alexandria, but we saw much less of it here than in Cairo.

   

   

We were running late.  It was almost 2:00 P.M. and we were just now heading for lunch.  We had gotten used to not counting on eating at any regular time, but we were hungry.  On the way to the restaurant we passed the Monument of the Unknown Soldier.  The guards were marching in the front of it, so while we waited at a traffic light, we were able to enjoy the show. 

   

There were other interesting sites to look at on the bus ride.  Our lunch destination was Athineos Restaurant.  When we walked in I was disappointed that it was not air conditioned.  But when we sat at the table, the cool breeze coming through the windows made for a very pleasant environment.  The restaurant is recognized as a fine seafood restaurant, so when we were given a choice of seafood or beef, it was easy to select the seafood.  The meal was sea bass; and it was so delicious that even Carol, who doesn't like fish, enjoyed it. 

   

We had our fill of touring for the day and were ready to get back to the hotel.  After resting for a while, I went out to get some photos of the hotel and the Saad Zaglool Square right next to it.

   

That night a group of us got together to go down to the Stanley Bridge area to sightsee and find a restaurant.  We talked with a bunch of local people on the bridge to see if they could recommend a place to eat.  As I had found all during our trip, I was so pleased to see that the Egyptian people were very friendly and helpful.  We found a nice open air place called View Café. Everyone got pizzas and was very pleased.  The View Café was kind of like a singles bar; but since Muslims don’t drink alcohol, they smoked water pipes after dinner instead.  The smell of the burning apples that they smoke was quite pleasant; but I was glad that the restaurant was open air, or it could have been overpowering.

 

Day 11 – Alexandria and Cairo

We had the morning free since we weren’t leaving for our bus trip back to Cairo until noon.  In my research I had read about the Kom El-Shukafa Catacombs.  They are listed as one of the modern day wonders of the world, so it sounded like a good place to visit if I had the time.  I figured if I got an early start I could beat the heavy traffic, see the catacombs and get back with plenty of time to spare before we had to have our luggage out at 11:00 A.M.  The catacombs were supposed to open at 9:00 A.M.  I caught a taxi that cost about $3.  It got me to the gates of the catacombs ten minutes before they were supposed to open.  The ticket seller let me in early and took my camera because photography is not allowed inside the catacombs.

   

I was the only tourist there.  I walked over to the entrance and an old man who checked tickets to enter the catacomb started taking me on a tour.  He couldn’t speak much English, but he was able to communicate about where rich people were buried and poor people, as well as where Egyptians or Greeks were buried.  The catacombs are a three story underground cemetery that was constructed in the 1st century A.D.  The lowest level can’t be reached because it is partially flooded.  The catacombs were fascinating and my tour guide was running me around trying to show me all the important sites.  Even though we were pretty far underground and were the only people in them, it was pretty warm for it being so early in the day. 

It would not be the place to visit in the afternoon.  I came back to the surface and looked around at some of the sarcophaguses and statues that were on display.  As I left, the ticket seller gave me back my camera and motioned that I could take photos of the outside area.  I appreciated her letting me do that.  This was a beautiful underground city of the dead.  I am so glad I had been able to visit it.  As I was leaving a bus load of tourists drove up.  I am so glad I went early.  It is not a site that lends itself to a large crowd in it.  This is what Nivene had told me when I asked her why it wasn't on our scheduled tour.  Now I understood, and I couldn’t agree more.

   

I found a cab to take me back to the hotel.  I was surprised to find an old woman in the front seat with the driver.  By the way they were constantly talking; I assumed that she was his mother.  I asked him “Mama”?  He nodded yes, very proudly.  It was very sweet.

I did get back to the hotel with plenty of time to put out the baggage.  We weren’t looking forward to a repeat performance of our bus ride to Alexandria.  It was a bumpy ride and Carol had gotten out her carbon masks in case we needed them, but the pollution was much better on our return trip earlier in the afternoon.  Perhaps we had toughened up from our first ride, but this one didn’t seem as bad.  Perhaps it was better because it was daytime and we were able to look at the passing countryside.  I was fascinated with the large cone shaped objects that we kept passing.  Nivene told us that they were pigeon houses.  I guess that pigeons are good eating in Egypt.  I hope we didn’t have pigeon on any of the many buffets we ate.  Sometimes it is good not to know what you are eating.

   

   

By popular request, we were going to make a half hour stop at a linen store.  I wasn’t very excited about doing this.  But I was excited about it when I saw that it was close enough to the Pyramids at Giza to provide a wonderful sight.  You never get too many views of these marvels.  When we got into the store, I was also pleased to see that they had many other items other than just linen.  There were hats, t-shirts, souvenirs and ties.  In fact, the whole trip I had been looking for an Egyptian souvenir tie, but no one had them.  I try to collect a tie from every place we visit.  I was thrilled to find them there, so this turned into a great shopping stop for me.

After the shopping was over we headed to our last hotel in Egypt, Le Passage Hotel in Heliopolis.  The hotel is right at the Cairo airport and would make it very easy to be transferred to our flights the next day.  I had read negative reviews about the hotel before we left, but I had hoped that the reviewers were just very picky.  As we entered the facility, I was pleased that it was quite nice looking.  The lobby was crowded and the hotel was very busy.  Our keys were passed out to us and we took our carry on luggage to the room.  The room was nicely appointed and looked very comfortable. 

I turned down the AC so it would get a little cooler.  Since we were only one floor above the lobby, I decide to go down and get our large bags rather than waiting for them to be brought to our room.  That night we were going on a dinner cruise on the Nile; and by having our luggage, we could shower and get ready for the evening events.  I walked out of the hotel to pick up our bags and I didn’t see any porters picking any of them up.  All the bags were just sitting out in the open on the sidewalk with no one watching them.  Since we had four bags, I decided it might be a good idea to take two trips and get everything safely to our room.  I found out later from a few people I talked to that they had waited for their luggage and finally gave up.  They had to come down and pick it up themselves.  This was not a good example of the level of service one expects a hotel should display. 

Back at our room, we had taken showers and the room was not cooling down.  We heard some commotion outside the door and saw the maintenance men with a ladder.  We tried to communicate to them that our AC was not working well.  They came in, took out the ceiling tile and spent a few minutes doing something in the ceiling.  They checked the thermostat, put their hand in front of the AC vent and acknowledged that everything was fine now.  I put my hand up to the vent and it wasn’t getting colder.  The air was cool, but it wasn’t blowing out enough volume of air to cool the room.  The maintenance guys said we would have to wait 10 minutes for it to cool down.  I didn’t have much faith, but we didn’t have much choice. 

Fifteen minutes later nothing had changed.  I went out to the hall to see if others were having the same problem, and I saw the same maintenance guys.  I tried to tell them that we still weren’t getting cooler.  Communication wasn’t working.  He called someone who could speak English.  I explained the problem; and she said that the AC was working like it is supposed to work, and that we needed to wait 20 minutes for it to cool down.   She suggested turning off the lights to make it cooler.  Just what I wanted to hear.  We needed to head down to the lobby to catch the bus to our dinner, so we just hoped that by the time we returned it would have cooled down enough where we could sleep through the night.  When we got down to the lobby everyone was complaining about their air conditioning too.  Not good. 

The bus drive to the dinner boat was going to take an hour.  The ride gave us a last chance to see the Ramadan celebrations.  We really loved how the mosques were decorated with what appeared to be Christmas lights.  It made the skyline really pretty.   Another thing about Ramadan that fascinated me was how people would set up tables in many locations with large urns of what I was told was hibiscus juice.  As we drove down the highway to the dock, I saw more of these urns set up.  People would just pull off the highway to stop and get a drink.  It seemed like everyone must be friendly this time of year.

   

       

When we got to the dinner cruise ship dock there was a large crowd waiting to board our boat, the Nile Crystal.  We had arrived at 8:30 P.M., but couldn’t board until 9:00 PM.  Fortunately it was a lovely night on the Nile and the wait wasn’t that bad except for having to stand that long.  When we got on the boat it looked pretty nice.  Dinner was okay.   The entertainment started with some Egyptian dancers.  The music was nice and the dancers did a pretty good job.  The highlight of the show was the whirling dervish.  He came out and started spinning to the music.  He would lift up his clothes to spin with him.  It was rather entertaining.  It was certainly very colorful.

   

   

   

The next act was a female singer.  She wasn’t that bad but the sound system was turned up very loud to make her sound "better".  It didn’t help.  It was amusing to watch her manager try to get people to get up to dance or start clapping along with her.  He was getting very frustrated and mad as people kept getting up and leaving to get relief from the loud noise.  Most people that left went outside on the back of the ship where it was much quieter and they could enjoy the city lights along the Nile.  After the show was over we headed back to the hotel.  We were worried that our room was still hot.  Fortunately it had cooled down enough where we could go to sleep, but certainly not as cool as we wanted it to be. 

 

Day 12 – Cairo to Atlanta

We had heard some music in the distance when we went to bed, but it wasn’t close to our room.  In the morning many people were complaining that the people that were partying went on till 3:00 AM.  The party was just outside the rooms of many in our group.  Uwe made a formal complaint to the Le Passage hotel; but reading reviews about the hotel after we got back, I found out that this happens all the time, not just during Ramadan. 

We were quite happy to check out of this hotel and head for our flight home.  The vacation was over and we were ready to get back to an environment that we were used to.  We had some wonderful adventures and saw some incredible sights, but there is no place like home.

 

Recap

This had been a trip that I had dreamed of all my life.  It was an amazing adventure and one that I will think about regularly.  If I were to do it again, I would definitely go during a cooler time of year.  It is a high activity level trip and the extreme heat can be dangerous, particularly to older tourists and the handicapped.  Even though it was very hot, it didn’t bother me nearly as much as it bothered Carol; but I was so psyched and excited to be in the land of the Pharaohs that I was too awed by what I was experiencing for it to bother me most of the time.

I gained a real appreciation for the people of Egypt and a better understanding of the Muslim religion.  They are very loving, caring and friendly people.  Both Carol and I felt very safe while we toured Egypt.  It certainly seemed safer than the streets of many communities here in South Florida.  So many people pass on vacations to Egypt from fear of terrorism.  They are missing out on an experience of a lifetime.

I still can’t believe that I have been to Egypt.  It was real and I walked in the footsteps of the Pharaohs.  I couldn’t be happier.

 

 

For many more photos in our Kodak EasyShare photo album, click here.

Photographic Equipment Used in Review:

Canon 40D digital SLR camera
Canon 17-85 IS lens
Canon 10-22 ultra-wide lens
Canon 70-300 IS telephoto lens

Canon SD800

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