Our flight to Heathrow featured a loud and belligerent
passenger. Five bobbies were waiting at the gate for her
to deplane.
The flight to Cairo arrived at about 11:00 p.m. We were
met at the airport by a helper and a driver provided by
Djed Travel. It became a recurring theme that the Djed
would show up promptly with very helpful people.
A 45 minute drive took us to our hotel in Giza which
was quaint but featured a view of the pyramids and
sphinx from our window.
In the morning we were picked up at 8:00 by our guide
and driver for a very good day.
First stop was the Cheops pyramid where we entered the
burial chamber of remarkably well-fitted granite.
Next we went close up to the other two Giza pyramids
and then were driven to a panorama view of all three.
After that we visited the sphinx.
We then went to Saqquara which was a necropolis still
under excavation. We went through the world’s first
colonnade and visited two tombs which had
heiroglyphics and other life scenes depicted.
The Step Pyramid and its courtyard were next.
We then went to a place that made papyrus and bought
some art.
After that we went to a farmhouse for lunch.
Next was the Bent Pyramid. We decided to climb to the
burial chamber. It was supposed to be strenuous and it
was; lots of climbing up and down.
The last adventure of the day was the Red Pyramid. Our
guide advised that it was easier than the Bent Pyramid
but had nothing significantly different than the Bent
Pyramid. We therefore eschewed a climb in.
Back to our hotel. We decided to walk around the
neighborhood. The shopkeepers were very friendly.
That night we watched the Sound and Light Show of the
pyramids from the roof of our hotel.
In the early morning our driver picked us up to take us to
the airport for our flight to Luxor. We picked up Tarriq
along the way who helped us with the process. Djed
Travel took care of everything and allowed us to fully
enjoy ourselves as we received lots of information.
We were met in Luxor by Mohammed who got us to our
vehicle and driver. Along the way we picked up Amel,
who would be our guide in Luxor and left off
Mohammed.
We went first to Karnak where Amel guided us around
the compound (fortification) and then let us free to
explore and take photos.
After Karnak we were picked up again and driven to the
Temple Of Luxor where we followed the same protocol
with Amel.
Mohammed who went with us to the Nile and crossed
with us on the ferry to Djorff Palace to make sure we
got situated. Djorff Palace is a gorgeous resort looking
hotel with an Arabian Nights motif.
We ate at Djorff for dinner which was great. I had
Potatoes Nicoise and Spaghetti Bolognese. Teresa had
feta with grapefruit and Chicken Tangine with banana.
The next morning we were picked up early to tour the
Valley of the Kings. It was much more than I was
anticipating. Amel was very good and fed us a lot of
information. Ancient Egyptians were preoccupied with
death and the afterlife. Their thoughts on it were well
expressed in their tombs. The passageways to their
semi-final resting places were rich with hieroglyphics
and artwork depicting this as well as other things.
The first tomb we visited was Merenptah.
Next was Tut Ankh Amun (yes, that Tutankhamun).
The third tomb was Rameses V/VI.
We followed that one with Rameses I
We the visited the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut
which has undergone quite a bit of restoration.
Next was the Valley of the Nobles where we went inside
the tomb of a grand vizier.
Finally we went to the Memorial Temple of Rameses III
which was an impressive compound I had never heard
of.
Later in the day we took the hotel’s ferry to the East
Bank to go to the Luxor Museum.
We caught a ride on a horse and buggy to go to a
riverside restaurant before catching the ferry back.
The next morning our balloon ride was canceled because
of the weather. We went to the Colossi of Memnon and
Amenhotep’s Temple excavation for a short visit.
Then we went to the Valley of the Queens where we
visited four tombs, including Nefartari, the most
expensive to visit in the Luxor area (her artwork was the
best preserved).
Next was the Valley of the Artisans for the royal workers
who got burial privileges. There are ruins of their
abodes.
Ptolemy, a Macedonian ruler who tried to fit in with the
natives.
Finally we went to the mortuary temple of Ramses II.
There was a massive statue of him that had fallen and
split apart.
Great lunch at the hotel. I had boucle; prawns and
mushrooms with mushroom sauce over puffed pastry.
Teresa had tabouli and a Greek salad.
We got in some exercise that afternoon. We ate dinner
again at our hotel (they change the menu daily). I had
Egyptian Goulash and Teresa had Peanut Vegetable
something over rice; again, excellent.
The next morning we were again up early for the balloon
ride. We grew anxious as our ride with the balloon
people was a half hour late. We made it in time and it
was a fantastic experience.
From the air you could see how the verdant farmland
snuggled up to the desert.
Visible was the Valley of the Queens, Valley of the
Nobles, Valley of the Artisans, The Ptolemic Temple,
The Temple of Rameses II and the Temple of Queen
Hatshepsut.
Back to our hotel for breakfast and checkout. We took
the ferry across the Nile to meet up with Ahmed our
coordinator and Shahad our driver (who loved playing
jokes on us) for our drive to Esna to board our Dahabiya
boat. It was a very nice boat that accommodated 12
passengers though only nine on this trip. The boat was
expansive as were the rooms. Our fellow passengers
were very friendly. We were the only Americans.
Before leaving port our guide took us to the Esna
Temple devoted to Nkhom. It was recreated by the
Greeks, then Romans who were attempting to endear
themselves to the locals.
guide then gave us more history.
It was a relaxing afternoon. Teresa and I both napped
after two straight 4:20 wake-ups.
The next morning we sailed to El Kab, the ancient town
of Nekhel to see scant remains of temples and tombs cut
into the cliffs.
Back to the boat for breakfast then onward to Edfu to see
the well preserved remains of the Temple of Horus. This
was a Ptolemic (Macedonian) edifice with varying
column capitals.
The next morning started with a tour of the ancient
sandstone quarry of Gebel el-Silsila which featured
small chapels.
Later we toured the double temple of Horus and Sobek
in Kom Omba. The remnants of the temple standing
were built in the Greek and Roman periods.
Next we visited a crocodile mummy museum. There is a
story to that. Sobak was among other things a crocodile
god who protected Egyptians from those reptiles but
was also a small part of some of them. These favored
crocodiles were mummified after death.
In the morning we went to Daraw to visit the markets.
We then sailed to the Nubian village El Koubania where
we walked through the town and enjoyed music and
dancing in the house of a local musician.
We then sailed to Aswan and spent our last night on the
boat.
In the morning we took a three hour long drive to Lake
Nasser. On the way we saw the beginnings of an
ambitious plan to make the desert bloom with both the
silt and the water from the big lake. We did not see the
largest solar panel array in the world which was not far
away.
We arrived at Abu Simbel in the afternoon. It is a
remarkable site for a few reasons. First, the two temp-
les were created by carving them out of the rock. They
did this thousands of years ago (Rameses II) without
dynamite which was relied on heavily at Mount
Rushmore. Secondly, both temples had to be moved 67
meters higher because of the construction of the High
Dam. This was quite a modern day engineering feat.
Third, the scale and beauty of the temples are amazing.
Our guide, Mahmoud, provided us with plenty of
information about the site.
After our visit we were driven to our hotel, Escala. We
had dinner there. I had the talapia, Teresa had chicken,
both were very good.
In the morning we were driven back to Aswan. We
toured around islands in the Nile on a small boat and
stopped for a museum and ruins on Elephantine Island
(it was the center of the ancient ivory trade). There were
several layers of buildings among the Middle Kingdom,
New Kingdom and Macedonian.
From there we went to the island of the Botanical
Gardens which was quite lovely.
We then checked into the Nubian Guest House where we
also had a nice dinner.
In the morning we were taken to a boat that got us to an
island to visit the Philae Temple of Isis.
Next was a tour of the High Dam.
Then it was another boat ride to Kalabsha and it three
temples.
We were driven back to town for a late lunch and a
lengthy walk through the market.
The next morning we flew back to Cairo. We were
picked up at the airport, picked up our guide, and went
first to the Citadel of Saladin, a large fortified complex.
visited a few mosques. We then sauntered through the
market/bazaar.
Lunch was Egyptian Pancakes.
Next was the Egyptian Museum. Our guide filled us in
on some of our gaps in Egyptian history. No photos
allowed in the Tutankhamun section.
On to the hotel. We took a walk and found some decent
gelato.
We had koshari for dinner, followed by ice cream.
The next morning we were driven to the Egyptian
Civilization Museum. It is a modern museum (three
years old) and well laid out. Its main attraction is the
Royal Mummies Exhibit, perhaps 18 of them with
interesting write-ups. All the favorites were there. Our
guide explained how the mummies were obtained.
Unfortunately no photos were allowed in this exhibit.
The mummies were wrapped except for the head and
feet. I was surprised to see many had a full set of teeth.
Next we went to the Coptic area where we visited
churches, The Coptic Art Museum and a synagogue.
For lunch I had a very good shewarma followed by very
good gelato.
Our guide suggested a nice restaurant for our farewell
dinner. In Cairo we were staying on an island in the
Nile. The restaurant was on our island and only a 17
minute walk from our hotel. We had a very nice meal
which included pyrotechnics.
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