Despite a bit of turbulence, the flight is pretty good, not having to pay for anything compared to the NA airlines - that’s a nice surprise. We arrive on time and there is a gentleman to take us through getting our visas- bought at an airport bank, and through customs. It takes us no time at all to get through to collect our luggage.
Because of the national feast holiday, traffic is apparently light. We travel along a bridge that is 36 km long and continues to be added onto (similar to the elevated freeways we travelled on in Italy). We cross to the west side of the Nile and arrive at the Pyramisa Hotel 35 min. later. The room is quite spacious with enough room for us for the next three nights. We are pleased with the hotel. We get ourselves unpacked and go downstairs to order a drink, we’re served chickpeas and garbanzo beans in lieu of the nuts we’ve been used to - they weren’t bad actually and get on the net.
November 7 - Monday - Our first full day in Cairo. We were up at 7 to meet our guide and driver at 8. It turns out that we are going to have a private guided tour throughout our time here - a different experience than Turkey. Our drive in the daylight is an eye opener for us all. There is definite disparity amongst the people. The amount of trash that is deposited along the banks of the Nile is a crying shame. Once out of the really busy part of Cairo, trucks and cars share the road with donkey and horse led carts.
Our first stop of the day is Memphis, the first capital of East and West Egypt dating back to 3500 BC. It was built on the banks of the Nile and because of flooding most of it was destroyed or buried. The site has remnants of statues of Ramses II as well as an alabaster sphinx (meaning mysterious thing), with the head of a human and body of a lion. We saw the remainder of the statue built to honor Ramses II, our guide explained the various significance of the dual crowns - king of north and south Egypt, left foot in front of the right, indicating he’s still living, cobra on forehead signifying strength and cartouches which are hieroglyphic etchings identifying him.
Next stop was to Sakkara, the City of the Dead, 2800-2200 BC, to see the step pyramid of King Zoser, the first pyramid to be built in ancient Egypt, before those at Giza by many centuries. At this site, we see the rock palace - everything is done by hand, emulating various architectural styles: columns that are ridged, similar to bamboo bundles, ridged ceiling similar to wood poles. The rock on the exterior is very smooth they used sand to smooth out the blocks.
We see the step type pyramid, which was tried first but the design needed improvement. Off in the distance we saw the next styles where the design of the pyramid we all know so well (the Great Pyramids was perfected).
Our second stop is at the Titi pyramid and the tomb. It is here that they first built small-scale pyramids to perfect the architecture. We went inside the tomb where we saw evidence for etchings, cartouches, and pictures signifying life at the time and in the afterlife. There was also colored drawings still remaining on some of the walls. We found out that the Egyptian drawings always had the head viewed from the side because it’s the best profile, torsos were always slightly twisted to amplify the best side and feet were always drawn sideways.
All three of us walked down into the pyramid having to bend over and crouch through the passageway that led into the burial chambers. We saw all kinds of etchings on the wall and sarcophagus signifying the signs of the person buried. There were stars drawn on the slightly-peaked ceiling.
Next, we head to the Ancient Egyptian capital city of the Old Kingdom, Memphis (Giza) to the great pyramids, Cheops, Chephran and Mycerinus. They’re the only surviving wonder of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World. Built over 35 centuries ago, they were built to preserve bodies and treasures for the afterlife. The great pyramid, Cheops' Pyramid, took over 23 years to build (the king was in power during for those 23 years) was over 400 feet high and on 13.1 acres. Each pyramid was built using 2.3 million blocks, each weighing an average of two and a half tons. We walked up to Cheops’ pyramid and were in awe of this incredible structure as it towered over us. M and J climbed up a couple of levels, while T took the picture. This is the only pyramid people are allowed to do this on and only on the first couple of block levels. Each block is huge!
At one time the first two pyramids were encased with limestone plaster. It was very interesting to hear how these magnificent structures were built with over 1000 slaves - some working in the quarries afar, some transporting the rocks and some assembling the pyramid. Dirt ramps were used to build the levels, the sarcophagus were placed inside the burial chambers before the pyramid was completed. That is why the sarcophagus are still in the pyramids and the mummies have been removed. Once the limestone coating was applied, the ramp was gradually removed as they proceeded down the face of the pyramid.
The place is clamoring with locals as this is the national feast lasting 4 days. The feast is when the Muslims slaughter sheep, goats, or cattle as a re-enactment of the sacrifice of Isaac,(Ishmal to the Muslims). Meat is slaughtered and then given to the poor. We’re approached many times by a local to take our picture as they ask for money having done it. J made the mistake of commenting about some thing he saw at a vendor, who continued to hound us until our guide told him to get lost. Having the guide was great because she gave us lots of info and we could ask questions whenever we wanted. She also got us through any lines very quickly.
While up at the panoramic viewpoint of the three pyramids J had the opportunity to go for a camel ride.
It was pretty cool to watch his big grin as the camel raised itself to go on its stroll. The view of the “valley of the pyramids” allowed us to see how the ancient world in now bordered upon by the new world.
We always thought that these magnificent structures were way out in the desert, and at one time that was the case, but not anymore. We also had the opportunity to visit the Great Sphinx, located very close to the three pyramids - a great sight! No one knows for sure why it was built.
We had a stop at a textile factory where rugs were made by hand. Children up to the age of 14 are employed to make the rugs. They use children because their hands are smaller. We’re told they earn money for their families and for themselves for further education. This is a state sponsored program to keep the art alive. The knot technique was the same as what we had seen in Turkey. We enjoyed hibiscus tea while we were being shown designs and handiwork. Even though the designs were different than in Turkey, we did not buy any.
We stopped at a great restaurant for lunch. The location surprised us, as it was this little oasis near the hustle and bustle of the dirty roadway. How looks can be deceiving! The lunch had many local foods similar to Greek or Turkish cuisine - grilled chicken, meatballs, stuffed grape leaves, abeurgine and tahini. We even saw a group of ladies making the pita bread by hand.
We went to a papyrus museum where we were shown how papyrus was made. It’s a simple process to make this strong paper.
We purchased an Egyptian calendar as a remembrance of here. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant enjoying some Indian food and J had Italian, not quite up to his Italian standards, but he ate it just the same.
November 8 - Tuesday - We’re out the door by 8 to see more of Cairo. We crossed back over the Nile to head to the massive walled Citadel, situated on the hills, overlooking Cairo's skyline.
At one time it was the center of the city and Egypt for almost 700 years. Its construction began in 1176 by Saladin and completed by Muhammad Ali. Mameluke sultans and Turkish governors later on made it their residence, building palaces and mosques within the Citadel walls. Facing the Citadel is the Mosque of Sultan Hassan, built between 1356 and 1363 and perhaps the most majestic monument of Arab architecture in Egypt.
The interior of the Mosque was beautiful alabaster. The interior of the domes had beautiful European influenced designs.
There’s another mosque across from this one where the royal family and dignities are buried. Our Muslim guide gave us the low-down on Islam both interesting and enlightening. Before leaving the citadel we walked around some and looked out over Cairo, although it was very hazy from pollution. We were told this is standard, it’s a rare day when the view is clear. Too bad as it would have been neat to see the surroundings in relation to where we were.
We took a tour to of Khan El Khalili, the famous Cairo Bazaar dating back to the late 14th century. It was just before 10 and festival time, so many of the shops were closed. It was similar to the idea of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. Apparently the shops open after 10 and stay open late. The streets are uncharacteristically empty, but we didn’t mind as we enjoyed walking leisurely through the narrow streets without being hounded or jostled. We had an opportunity to visit a 13th century mosque, serving for more than just prayer - serves as a shelter, nursery, school, mausoleum, and medical facility.
We were told that some mosques are like this today, while some are only used for prayer. We stopped for tea and coffee at a cafe and watched the locals going about their business. As time passed, the bazaar area was coming alive with more shops opening and more people coming out.
We got lucky and saw just how talented some people are at balancing things on their head.
Our tour took us through Tahrir square where the January revolution took place. It’s the same square where other past revolutions also started. The burned out building of the NDP stands next to the Egyptian Museum. During our tour, we’ve asked out tour guide’s impression of the political and economic impact from the uprising in Jan. Tourism is down by about 90%, the government elections are to take place near the end of Nov. So far, according to the majority of the populace, nothing has been solved. They are in limbo, hoping that the elections will lead them forward to better times. The majority of Egypt’s population, 60% are under 30, they want change.
We visited the Egyptian Museum, the most important collection of Egyptian antiquities anywhere in the world. Even though there are over 100 000 artifacts on display, many more have been stolen or given to other museums. As well, many things are still lying under ground as that’s the best preservation method of all. There were artifacts from the Pharaonic and Greco-Roman periods. Once again our guide enlightened us about the significance of statue stance, and other ways in which to tell the different time periods in Ancient Egyptian history.
The upper floor of the museum housed mummies of ancient Egypt's kings as well as the immense collection of King Tut Ankh Amun treasures from his tomb. We had an opportunity to see the painted gold mask, placed over the mummified body, the solid gold coffin in which his mummified body was placed and the outer elaborately decorated wood coffin we’ve seen in books and thousands of other artifacts. All three of us enjoyed the visit, but after a while, it was information overload.
Once again we were brought to a wonderful eatery to enjoy another delightful meal of Egyptian food. Again, the exterior of the eatery did not represent it’s great interior. Some things were the same as yesterday, but we also had some new foods. Once back at the hotel, we work out at the hotel gym and then J goes for a swim in the outdoor pool. We go to bed early, 9:30 as we have an early morning tomorrow.
November 9 - Wednesday - Today we have an early morning start (5 am wake up call, and 6 am pickup), the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great, in 332 BC with 8 million people. Here we are on the road again.
The drive takes us north along a relatively new highway system. In ancient time, it played an instrumental role in the development of mathematics, engineering, medicine and a center for Christian thought. Little of the ancient city remains.
Our first stop is to the Alexandria National Museum, only 5 years old. It has 1800 pieces, covering the different historical periods from the Greco Roman Era onward. Visiting the museum was a different experience than in Cairo, we enjoyed an almost empty museum, taking our time with the collection after we had our guide’s explanation. It was somewhat of a review for us after having visited the Cairo museum, but there were some wonderful pieces found both on land and under water. Again, we learned more about the history of the Egypt.
We also visited our second set of catacombs on our trip. We walked down, through a chiseled out central shaft, along a circular stairway, to the main chamber. The shaft was likely used to lower the bodies for burial. These catacombs had some amazing elaborate etchings and carved sarcophagi, dating back to the second century AD, are three levels, but the lowest level is flooded by groundwater.
We visited Pompey's Pillar, a column of red Aswan granite standing some 90 feet high with a circumference of 27 feet, was erected in honor of the Emperor Diocletian, as a Greek. At one time there was a temple erected on this site, but earthquakes and using materials for blocking the harbor to prevent enemy boats from entering reduced the number of ruins in this area. They actually have dive expeditions in the eastern harbor to view the remnants from the destroyed temple There is a couple of large red granite sphinx where J posed.
They are very proud of the very contemporary designed, Alexandria Library, supported internationally. It was closed today, so we had a walk around the outside and took a couple of photos. The library provides both the national and international researchers with collections and facilities focusing on Alexandrian, Egyptian, ancient and medieval civilizations.
We had a great lunch at the “Fish Market” restaurant of fried or grilled mullet and delicious assorted salads (which are dips with freshly made pita-style bread), and a great view of the bay.
Once we finished lunch we headed to the Maritim Hotel Alexandria. A very nice hotel and we have a sea view. We worked out and J had a swim in their ice-cold swimming pool. We decided to watch Around the World in 80 days before we ate at the hotel’s Lebanese restaurant.
November 10 - Thursday - We are ready to roll at 8 for our tour at El Alamein, the place where the Allied forces of WW II gained a decisive victory over the Axis forces. The drive takes 1 1/2 hours traveling parallel to the Mediterranean Sea. Driving in Egypt makes driving in Naples a walk in the park! Hardly anyone uses a signal to indicate lane changes, they just creep in or merge in. It seems that it’s the very rare vehicle that does not have dents and scratches on it. Our guide in Cairo told us “why buy a new car, when it’ll be old by the time you drive it home for the first time!” Our driver, Memut, knows his way around and keeps us safe. We appreciate his skills. Watching the traffic from our hotel balcony is a source of amusement and amazement at the brazenness of the drivers. Although if they weren’t this way they’d never get anywhere.
Our drive to and from the battlefields and museum, takes us by an oil refinery, a sea salt bed and refinery, as well as countless resort developments lining the Mediterranean with condos for rent or purchase. These facilities border onto the western desert and are the hot spots for summer vacationers from all over Egypt and likely some of the Arabic countries. They appear to be like enclosed mini towns with all the modern conveniences. They own the beach in front of their resort and so no outsiders can use them. They are like mini oasis in the midst of the desert.
Once we arrive at El Alamein, we stop at the war museum explaining the 2 year battle for control over the Suez Canal. Egypt having been a former British Colony fought on the Allied side. Eventually the Allies won this back and forth battle. The museum had an extensive collection from this battle and other North African battles that we found interesting to view.
Our last stop was to the Commonwealth cemetery and memorial for those who died in this battle. It is immaculately maintained on behalf on the commonwealth countries and a beautiful tribute to the soldiers. There was a registry for the buried as well as a registry for those missing with a small number of Canadian casualties. There were tombstones for about 7800. It gave us time to think about our soldiers who have died, as tomorrow is Remembrance Day. Visiting these places really brings home the devastation that war causes - so many lives lost. It’s one thing to read about it, its another to see the vastness of these cemeteries.
We went back to Alexandria in time for J to have a swim in the Mediterranean and play in the waves.
November 11 - Friday - Today we made our way back to Cairo. Being Friday, their day of prayer and day off, the traffic is very light and at no time at all, we are on the highway. The main highways are 2 - 3 lanes, but not nearly as smooth as what we are used to - good thing we had seat belts on a couple of times to keep from hitting our heads on the roof!
As we travel along, we pass wall-enclosed brick factories, enclosed big scale farms as well as some residential communities (especially closer to Cairo). If the ground is not irrigated, its desert. We were told that 90% of Egypt’s people live along the Nile and out of the 85 million people, 25% live in Cairo. We can believe it. Cairo is crowded and quite dirty. Most of the buildings are dirty from the pollution, and from the sand.
We were dropped off at the hotel. Our guide from the other day Mywah met us at 12:30 to visit “Old Cairo”. Old Cairo is a small area consisting of a synagogue, and 2 Coptic Churches and a Mosque. The synagogue is no longer being used for religious purposes, but for tourism. The Jews were expelled from Egypt in the 50’s so there are very few remaining Jews in Cairo. The Coptic Church (Christian) is where the Holy Family is said to have stayed for 3 months while hiding out from the census.
Then we went to the “Hanging Church” built upon walls of an ancient Roman fortress.
Our last stop was to the Coptic Museum, learning about the Christian movement within Egypt, again, another insight into the makings of Egypt. While walking the streets in this area, the young tweens were eyeing J, one even was bold enough to touch his cheek! This time he was soaking it in!
Then we went to the “Hanging Church” built upon walls of an ancient Roman fortress.
Our last stop was to the Coptic Museum, learning about the Christian movement within Egypt, again, another insight into the makings of Egypt. While walking the streets in this area, the young tweens were eyeing J, one even was bold enough to touch his cheek! This time he was soaking it in!
We returned to our hotel in the late afternoon and set about getting organized to leave in the morning for the next part of our Egypt tour. We went downstairs for dinner, enjoying Chinese cuisine with a few vegetables. We’ve found that the meals we’ve been having do not come with many vegetables, so this was welcomed! While in the lobby we had a chance to watch a wedding procession accompanied by Egyptian horns and a bagpipe type instrument with the wedding guests following to the reception hall. The Muslim bride doesn’t look much different than NA brides, she is dressed in white, with no skin exposed. Her hair is encased in a white scarf and a veil is attached to that. The male of course, is in a tux.
November 12 - Saturday - We left the hotel at 8:15 today to head to the airport for our flight to Luxor. Luxor, located on the Nile is about an hour flight time south of Cairo. The airport is not busy at all. Our guide indicated that the Jan. revolution has really hurt tourism in this country and the airport used to be filled with tourists, whereas now, it’s very quite. We can see this as soon as we walk into the terminal. It takes us less than 10 min to get through all of the formalities.
Our 10:30 flight is smooth and we arrive on time. We are met by another Emeco Travel co. rep, Michael, who takes us to our hotel, Sonesta St. Georges Luxor. We immediately notice how much cleaner this city is compared to Cairo. We find out that tourism is the main industry here and 50% of the population works in it , so they have a stake in the well being of the place. There are flowering bushes planted along the highways and garbage is not stacked up in places and corners like what we’ve seen in other places.
It’s located along the east bank of the Nile and it’s a very nice spot. The view from the back of the hotel is very pleasant, of the Nile, but not so nice on either side of the hotel. T wanted to go out for a walk to get a feel for the place. M decided to go with her and about 3 min into the walk she wanted to return to the hotel. The hounding from the local Egyptian men to come look, come buy, I give you good price, come for a carriage ride, “I give you good price” was quite overwhelming and uncomfortable. Staying at the resorts certainly allows for avoiding this interaction! We did walk for about 20 min. finding sidewalks was not easy, but we did manage to stay out of traffic’s way. Just before we returned to the hotel we stopped across the street to buy bottled water, an experience too. The water cooler was locked so we placed our order to one guy while the other wanted us to come into his establishment to pay, and peddle his shop wares leading us deeper into the building. Finally, he told us a price to buy the water but still wouldn’t let up... A good scheme to get people into their shop!
The hotel had a wonderful pool area to lounge around and a great pool for J to swim in. We spent the rest of the afternoon soaking up some rays. Dinner was at the hotel’s Japanese restaurant - J tried sushi for the first time and liked it!! another first for him. We ordered our first and last glass of Egyptian white wine. We had heard it was lousy, but thought we had to try for ourselves, what we had heard was not far off from our vie as well, well the Luxor beer is very nice.
November 13 - Sunday - Today you will embark on a full day visit to the ancient temples of Abydos and Dandarah. Both temples were well preserved and were at one time very big complexes. Even though Dandarah is only 30 miles north of Luxor, it takes us about 1 1/4 hours to reach it. The road is busy with traffic, many places where traffic is stopped /slowed down with barriers placed on the road to control traffic speed and just a down right bumpy road! The flowers along the road are wonderful, and the landscape of the farming area is enjoyable.
Dandarah is the temple where Egyptians worshipped Hathor, the ancient Egyptian goddess of love and joy, equivalent to the Greek, Aphrodite and the Roman’s Venus. It was very large and we spent some time walking amongst the ruins and getting an explanation.
Next we visited Abydos, an important place in the religious history of Pharaonic Egypt. By the end of the Old Kingdom, its local god, Osiris, was the most prominent and popular of the Egyptian gods, since he was considered the god of afterlife.
We spent about 6 hours in the van today - M had had enough of being bounced around in the back. Our guide was into giving detailed explanations of the drawings and temples eventually it was information overload, M and J before T.
Although the drive was long it certainly provided us with a glimpse into the life of rural Egypt. There are mud brick homes built to keep them cool in the 40 - 50 degree summer temperatures. We passed many fields full of sugar cane and many with veggie crops.
We see lots of vans and small pickup trucks with canopies on the back used as taxis for the locals to get from place to place. Sometimes we’ve been amazed and laughed at how many people they fit into the vehicles. We arrive back at the hotel for J to have a swim and to see the sun go down.
We spent about 6 hours in the van today - M had had enough of being bounced around in the back. Our guide was into giving detailed explanations of the drawings and temples eventually it was information overload, M and J before T.
Although the drive was long it certainly provided us with a glimpse into the life of rural Egypt. There are mud brick homes built to keep them cool in the 40 - 50 degree summer temperatures. We passed many fields full of sugar cane and many with veggie crops.
We see lots of vans and small pickup trucks with canopies on the back used as taxis for the locals to get from place to place. Sometimes we’ve been amazed and laughed at how many people they fit into the vehicles. We arrive back at the hotel for J to have a swim and to see the sun go down.
November 14 - Monday - We were met at 9:30 today, so J enjoyed a sleep in. We visited the Luxor Museum and enjoyed seeing a great collection of Egyptian antiques from the upper Egyptian Kingdoms. Many of them were from the Luxor Temple, with some from King Tut’s tomb as well. Many of the statues were in great shape and we even recognized a few from previous museum visits. We also stopped at a shop where they make things from alabaster as well as other rocks. There were some neat items. We bought a couple of small pyramids
We were driven to our river cruise boat TUYA one of about 15 moored in the area. Cruising on the Nile is big business by the looks of the number of boats moored, actually there are 250 being used. Our boat is three stories high and our room is quite comfortable. The upper deck is well outfitted with lounge chairs and covered sitting areas to enjoy the scenery when we cruise down the river. There’s also a small pool to cool off it, which J might use.
We met our tour guide, Osama, for 3:00 to visit the Temple of Karnak and the Temple of Luxor on the East Bank. Luxor Temple was built by two Kings, Amenophis III and Ramses II. The Temple of Karnak is huge, covering several acres, with towering pillars, columns and a couple of obelisks. There are still great remnants of the tales of the life and afterlife etched into the walls.
The temples have four main sections, with only the rich, royalty, and high priests granted entrance into the most holy place, the sanctuary and the commoners, only allowed in the courtyards. As we are leaving the sun is going down, which only takes about 5 minutes here.
We reached Luxor Temple, which used to be the main worship centre of ancient Egypt. As the sun has set, the temple with its statues, immense columns and decorated walls are lit up adding a special majestic feeling to the place.
At one time these two temples were joined to each other by over a 2-mile avenue of ram headed sphinxes. We only see a portion of this, because the rest is buried under modern day hotels, houses and a couple of mosques. We’re told they would like to eventually be able to reclaim this land, not sure it’ll happen.
The temples have four main sections, with only the rich, royalty, and high priests granted entrance into the most holy place, the sanctuary and the commoners, only allowed in the courtyards. As we are leaving the sun is going down, which only takes about 5 minutes here.
We reached Luxor Temple, which used to be the main worship centre of ancient Egypt. As the sun has set, the temple with its statues, immense columns and decorated walls are lit up adding a special majestic feeling to the place.
At one time these two temples were joined to each other by over a 2-mile avenue of ram headed sphinxes. We only see a portion of this, because the rest is buried under modern day hotels, houses and a couple of mosques. We’re told they would like to eventually be able to reclaim this land, not sure it’ll happen.
November 15 - Tuesday - We are up at 6 to be ready to leave the boat for 7am. We left the East bank of the Nile to travel to the West bank to where the Ancient Egyptians wanted to be buried. Today’s tour took us to the Valley of the Kings, where there were 62 tombs built into the barren hills and mountains.
They chose to build tombs here because the pyramids were being robbed so they wanted to find somewhere where this didn’t happen.... but did. King Tut Ankh Amun’s tomb was discovered here, and the only reason why he’s so famous is his tomb was the only found within the valley of kings totally intact and not emptied by the grave/tomb robbers. He was only 19 when he died, having ruled for only 10 years. Over the tours we have heard of the robbing of countless antiquities now in the hands of foreigners and museums abroad. It’s really only since 1959 that there’s been a law in place concerning the removal of artifacts. But that doesn’t stop the locals from finding things and selling them to collectors for big bucks and sudden richness.
They chose to build tombs here because the pyramids were being robbed so they wanted to find somewhere where this didn’t happen.... but did. King Tut Ankh Amun’s tomb was discovered here, and the only reason why he’s so famous is his tomb was the only found within the valley of kings totally intact and not emptied by the grave/tomb robbers. He was only 19 when he died, having ruled for only 10 years. Over the tours we have heard of the robbing of countless antiquities now in the hands of foreigners and museums abroad. It’s really only since 1959 that there’s been a law in place concerning the removal of artifacts. But that doesn’t stop the locals from finding things and selling them to collectors for big bucks and sudden richness.
We also visited mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, the only woman Pharaoh to rule ancient Egypt and the Valley of the Queens. Again we entered a couple of tombs and saw some great colored walls full of stories. All these areas were within the desert surrounded by sandstone mountains. Very cool place to see, kind of reminded us of an Indiana Jones movie set.
Our last stop of the day was to an alabaster factory where we were shown how they make the artwork by hand, a labor-intensive process. The shop was full of wonderful works made from 3 colors of alabaster, onyx of many colors, moonstone, basalt and granite. There were some wonderful pieces and T chose a green alabaster jar to buy.
We returned to the boat for lunch and relaxation in the room and up on deck as the boat continued its cruise down the Nile.
November 16 - Wednesday - After breakfast at 7:30 we leave the ship to go for a carriage ride through the town of Edfu where the Temple of Horus, the Falcon God. Again the structure is huge with some great remains of color and pillars as well as walls where the ancient stories were told. J enjoyed sitting up front with the carriage driver and he took over the reins to guide the horse, with the drivers help. There were merchants galore trying to get us to visit their shops, too much of a hassle to go in!
We returned to the boat for some sun and relaxation and a BBQ lunch on the upper deck. We set sail for Kom Ombo at 10:30. It was very relaxing cruising the river and enjoying the scenery of the lush green river banks and the desert not far away. The temple of Kom Ombo is to the crocodile god and is built in the same time period as the one in Dandara. The Greeks also built this one, taking 180 years to complete. Caught another sunset...
Tonight is Egyptian night and many of the guests are dressed in Egyptian attire they’ve acquired from one of the hundreds of vendors we’ve encountered on our excursions. J wanted to go down, so when T went to check on him he was dancing with the women from Spain and doing his John Travolta moves including handstands - priceless!
Tonight is Egyptian night and many of the guests are dressed in Egyptian attire they’ve acquired from one of the hundreds of vendors we’ve encountered on our excursions. J wanted to go down, so when T went to check on him he was dancing with the women from Spain and doing his John Travolta moves including handstands - priceless!
November 17 - Thursday This is our last full day on the cruise boat. This morning we are out the door by 8:00. We are now docked in Aswan, Egypt’s largest southern city of 1.5 million. Our first stop on this morning’s tour is an ancient granite quarry with the unfinished obelisk lying on its 40 m long side.
It is from this quarry and area that any carved red or black granite statues came from. We drove over the original Old High Dam spanning the Nile, built in 1898 to the Aswan’s High Dam built in 1960’s. Our guide provided us with the history and details of the project which has prevented Egypt from suffering from droughts as this dam has formed the world’s largest artificial lake, Lake Nasser (after the president at the time) 5km in width and 500 km in length.
It is from this quarry and area that any carved red or black granite statues came from. We drove over the original Old High Dam spanning the Nile, built in 1898 to the Aswan’s High Dam built in 1960’s. Our guide provided us with the history and details of the project which has prevented Egypt from suffering from droughts as this dam has formed the world’s largest artificial lake, Lake Nasser (after the president at the time) 5km in width and 500 km in length.
Once they built the high dam, it flooded the Philae Temple. To preserve this monument, it was dismantled and reassembled on an island about 500 m from its original place. The Temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis, is in a beautiful setting that has been landscaped to match its original site. Its various shrines and sanctuaries, which include a temple of Hathor, a Birth House and two pylons, celebrate all the deities involved in the Isis and Osiris myth were all moved as well. During the relocation project there were some 47000 pieces to reassemble, taking 10 years. The boat ride out to the island was accomplished in no time in one of the many water taxis lining the small harbor. We were able to see several Ibis standing along the shore.
We saw this bird depicted in all the temples we visited. While on the island we bought a book about Egypt for J as it’ll be a good reminder and reference of the many places we visited.
We saw this bird depicted in all the temples we visited. While on the island we bought a book about Egypt for J as it’ll be a good reminder and reference of the many places we visited.
Our last stop was an essence shop, selling oils they get from plants and flowers. We were all treated to the general sales pitch as well as a massage. T didn’t enjoy hers as much as M or J.
We did learn about the making of the oils and were able to sample a few. We came out of there with a few to bring home. Then we went back to the boat for lunch and catching some rays before heading out for our last tour with Osama, our guide, for a felucca sail around a couple of islands and just enjoy being on the water under sail.
Our sail was an hour and then we headed for the local bazaar for an hour of browsing and some did shop.
We did learn about the making of the oils and were able to sample a few. We came out of there with a few to bring home. Then we went back to the boat for lunch and catching some rays before heading out for our last tour with Osama, our guide, for a felucca sail around a couple of islands and just enjoy being on the water under sail.
Our sail was an hour and then we headed for the local bazaar for an hour of browsing and some did shop.
We enjoyed checking out one of the many spice shops and asking the shop keeper what some of the things were - cool to see indigo, dried hibiscus for tea, cinnamon sticks, dried lotus flowers, many kinds of dried dates - apparently there are over 150 different varieties grown here. We bought some dates and peanuts and both were very tasty. We walked the length of the bazaar and back again checking out the shops from the street. Of course, every vendor said something to us to try to get us into their shop to check things out. We didn’t buy anything and it was tiresome to continually say no. We did decide to cross the street where the locals were busy buying veggies from carts. It was fun to watch their comings and goings. When we still had time to wait for the other tour members, we found a set of stairs to sit on out of the way and people watch on the busy bazaar street.
Once everyone got to our meeting spot, we headed for the boat for our last night. After dinner, we said goodbye to our tour mates, Brenda and Jan from New Zealand, they were headed out at 7 am to catch a flight.
November 18 - Friday - This morning we are up at 7:00 and down at breakfast for 8:00. Our luggage had to be outside our room for 8:30. We are meeting our tour rep at 9 who will accompany us to our hotel, Pyramisa Isis Island Hotel. After breakfast we said good-bye to our other tour mate, Sandra, from Perth, ON and made sure we tipped the crew of the boat, before heading off on a water taxi to travel up the Nile to our hotel. While on the tour, it’s been a continuum of tipping for services. It is on its own island and quite large. It has a couple of pools we enjoyed in the afternoon after working out and having a leisure lunch on one of the covered patios. It was very pleasant. The general manager came to greet us in the lobby and thanked us “choosing to come to Egypt at this time”. It was another indication that the revolution has really hurt one of the country’s biggest industries.
We have enjoyed the weather here, about 30 C during the day, but being on the water, there has been a breeze. By 4 pm it is being to get cooler and by 5 the sun has set. This is the first hotel in Egypt we have had free WIFI so we spent the evening trying to get some downloads done for J’s school work.
November 19 - Saturday - We had a leisure morning and enjoyed a walk around some of the hotel’s island. There are citrus, orange, grapefruit and date trees. There are countless birds here as they migrate here from other parts of Europe for the winter. Winter here has an average temperature of 30 while the summer hits 50! Our tour company rep met us at 11:45 to go back to the mainland so we could head to the airport to catch our flight back to Cairo. We are staying overnight at the Pyramisa Cairo, the same hotel we stayed at 2 other occasions this past couple of weeks.
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