The trip was WONDERFUL!!! I fell in love with Egypt and will return for another visit with Mike! Sue and I could not believe it that we were sailing down the Nile, climbing into and up the Pyramids, and scrambling into tombs. Security was HIGH. We were accompanied by armed military and guards as well as followed by guards with machine guns. We felt very safe, except for the physical activity that occurred, such as walking the 'gang plank' as I named it, to get into the boats. The sailboats (feluccas) were the same as those that Cleopatra used to navigate the Nile thousands of years ago. They did not have nice large ramps to board, but a narrow (foot width) board that they put on the hull and the shore. It was interesting getting on and off when one has NO balance. Fortunately, there were lots of Bedouins, fellow tour mates and guides to help us on and off. The boat rides were quite enjoyable as long as you didn't think about getting OFF and there was NO wind.
We started the tour in Cairo (Giza) with a view of the Pyramids and the Sphinx from our hotel room window/patio. They are bigger and more impressive than one can imagine. We climbed into 1 and part way up a 2nd, as well as toured the entire step pyramid of the Zoras complex at Sakkara. A day was spent visiting the Egyptian Museum, the Coptic Museum, Coptic Churches, Ben-Ezra Synagogue, and walking through the narrow streets of old Cairo. I found it fascinating and religiously rich, as the day was the Coptic (Eastern Orthodox) Christmas and we were at Ben-Ezra while a Hebrew ceremony spontaneously(?) took place and with in 5 minutes we were in the Coptic church where legend has it Mary, Joseph and Baby stayed in the crypt during their time in Egypt. While there, the Moslem call for prayer occurred. A wonderful blend of religions all praying to the same God, known by many different names.
The next morning was a 3:30 wake up and plane trip to Aswan and Abu Simbel. The temples at Abu Simbel were breath taking. They were build by Ramses II to signify his power and governing over the Nubian peoples of the south, as well as over the Assyrians of the North. The next day, we visited more tombs and museums in the Aswan area. We rode a camel over the desert to St. Simon Monastery (I swear it was at least 100 miles to the monastery, Sue believes it was 1000 miles; it probably was 3/4 miles each direction). We attended a Light and Sound show at the Temple of Philae. The temple is dark and various parts are illuminated while voices recite a story, or history of the temple. We also spent 1/2 a day in the daylight, visiting the temple. We took a felucca ride to the Nubian village of Sehel where we walked through the alleys of the village with children following us and requesting 'bakshee' and attempting to sell us strings of beads. That night we visited the local 'suk' (open-air market). The next day we took off by bus to Luxor visiting en route: more temples and tombs at Kom Ombo, Edfu, and El-Kap. We attended a second Sound and Light show at the 'grand daddy of temples' - Karnak Temple. The lighting highlights the carvings and reliefs on the temple walls. At Luxor, we spent 4 hours visiting Karnak in the daylight! The Valley of the Kings and Queens and Nobles took us into the desert mountainsides to visit the tombs of the ancient Pharaohs' The color and paintings were magnificent. We had our own private military escort to take us to the Dendara temple and Abydos (temple of Seti I). Finally, back to Cairo and Plane trip home.
That is a brief synopsis of the trip. It really doesn't capture the essence of Egypt. So I'd like to share some visual sound bites that I recorded as we traveled.
looong plane ride to Cairo
Pyramids in silhouette outside hotel room
city sounds and call to prayer 5 times daily
donkeys main mode of transportation outside of Cairo
evidence of armed police and guards
armed guard accompany our tour bus
all sales are negotiated
Sue and I negotiating the sale of 2 Nubian style rugs
drinking tea with shop owners during negotiations
camel ride complete with armed guard on camel in front
Nile boat rides
walk through Nubian village
being in a 3rd world country
children everywhere
visit El-cap (along the ancient caravan route between red sea and Nile)
donkeys carrying sugar cane
camels carrying sugar cane
women washing clothes along the Nile river bank
visit the suk (bazaar at Aswan and Luxor)
temples at night : Karnak, Philae, and Luxor
circling the scarab at Karnak
Felucca rides at sunset
reading Hieroglyphics (or at least attempting to on my part)
Crawling into tombs and surrounded by magnificent paintings and relief's
visit to the artists village by the valley of the Kings.
the gentle drawings in the tomb of Ramses II's son who died as a child
toilets (really yucky)
Lovely vegetables which we could NOT eat
drinking bottled water
brushing teeth with bottled water
eating only HOT (fried, boiled) food
paying bakshee
visit to guides parents home in the valley of the kings
walking up many many steps daily
TOUR: the outward bound of the ancient world of EGYPT
IT WAS A WONDERFUL TRIP!!!! THANKS TO SUE FOR INVITING ME TO JOIN HER. I HOPE WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO BACK TOGETHER AGAIN. Sue can really read the Hieroglyphics!!!
