Click on the links for more info on the sites and the hotel names for pics of the hotels we stayed in.
Of course they changed our flight from 2pm to 10pm. Of course they never told us. Of course the flight was late. But when we finally arrived in Cairo at 7am and made our way to the hotel (Movenpick Pyramids), it was worth it. Our lodging was near the base of them making for a great launching to a long day of traveling. But after breakfast and a nap, we hit the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities which houses some of the most significant artifacts in history. Nestled next to the government building burned in the revolution, 7 items are still missing from the looting that day. But what remains are 185,000 items that date back almost 5,000 years. We saw the famous pharaoh statutes and all of the King Tut masks and burial items. Despite being an insignificant leader in the history of Egypt, King Tut is perhaps best known since his tomb was the only one to ever be discovered in tacked. His wealth took up an entire floor of the museum so one can only extrapolate the treasures that once accompanied the great kings of Egypt. We paid a bit extra to go into the mummy exhibit and saw numerous corpses preserved with teeth, skin, and hair from thousands of years ago. It was a haunting and sobering experience.
Is there anything more iconic at Egypt than the Pyramids of Giza? Towering into the sky, these crumbling relics mark one of the Wonders of the Ancient World (the Great Pyramid is the only surviving item of the original seven) and are every bit as exciting in person when seen. Millions of blocks cut in exact measurements, weighing between 3 and 12 tons each, all carted from 1,000km away, and done 4,000 years ago – amazing. The Great Pyramid is taller (though it sits lower) than the rest, and its corners are at near exact measurements to the 4 directions of the compass. It took 20 years to make all to bury one man. As we bounced around the pyramids and the Sphinx on the backs of camels it was hard not to imagine the absolute impressiveness of these sites.
Later that day we went to Dahsur to see more pyramids, this time into the bowls of one which is entered by traveling down a long, steep, passage to the bottom of the structure. The distance to the tomb put into perspective the sheer mass of the object built for just one little room. Near it was the bent pyramid, one that they built incorrectly and adjusted halfway up. We also saw the oldest pyramid in existence and the detailed hieroglyphics of a time when only a handful of civilizations existed on earth.
There are three big tourist items here: carpets, perfumes, and papyrus. We had a chance to visit all today in one of those stop and learn sessions where they really just want you to buy something afterward. But it was a really cool experience. The perfumes were nice, but the papyrus making was cool. Any paper that has been around for thousands of years sparks an interest, so we bought a nice painting of the pyramids and then an Egyptian calendar with the girl’s names written in hieroglyphics along the sides with their birthdays in Arabic underneath. The winner of coolest art goes to the carpet making people, though. Hand-woven intricate designs can take up to two months per meter, and some of the rugs take years to make! Three hundred knots per inch…it was fascinating. However, at about $500-20,000 US a rug, we took a pass!
With a few hours to kill before taking the overnight train to Aswan, we went to our guide’s home. He introduced us to his daughter and we joined him for dinner. It was a great fare of breads, veggies, tuna, meat, and cheese – all laid out on the floor. It was really a cool experience and great conversation about education, politics, and travel. Sleeping on a train sounds really cool – it isn’t. This thing rocked and rattled all night long while the overpowering smell of cigarette smoke drifted in constantly. Everyone in Egypt smokes, which makes for rough train rides and other encounters where there is no escape. The toilet floor is lined with piss and the waste just flows out a tube onto the tracks below. Dinner and breakfast never came, but we arrived in Aswan which was the primary concern albeit two hours late.
Our first day in Aswan was awesome! We boarded a small boat past the great sand cliffs housing ancient tombs and modern religious buildings. Far upstream was the Nubian village. We disembarked to the home of a Nubian couple who treated us to a meal on their sand floor. We also got to hold a crocodile – apparently there is one in most homes in the village. We moved to the Nubian school where we sat for a lesson on Arabic and Nubian language, wrote our names, and learned phrases. After returning to the hotel (Movenpick Aswan) we hit the pool and had room service in our 5-star accommodations. All-in-all not a bad day to say the least.
The rest of our time in Aswan was a visit to the High Dam and the Unfinished Obelisk. The sheer size of these structures was again impressive. We took a boat ride out to the Greek-Roman Philae Temples (285 B.C.) where more recently piece by piece they were moved from another island when the dam caused most structures to go underwater. Then we ended up with a 5-course lunch on the boat (M/S Amarco I). This is a nice cruise ship with luxurious rooms, several bars, and a pool.
An early morning departure sailed us a few hours to Kom Ombo. This temple was spectacular. The construction was such that the length of the temple was built like a megaphone so that when the people were outside and the high priest was inside, his voice amplified out. Since they could not see him and could only see the statue of the God, they thought it was the God speaking. We got back on board and sailed a bit longer to Edfu where we disembarked to horse drawn carriages. The temple at Edfu was equally spectacular, though the experienced was soured by overly aggressive people trying to touch the kids or sell things. This was the only instance so far on the trip where we have felt hassled. After hearing how bad it could be here, we have been impressed with the lack of aggression (save Edfu).
The boat landed late at night in Luxor, though we would still stay on the boat one more day. We headed to the West Bank of the Nile to The Valley of the Kings. This is where many of the great kings of Egypt were interred. We visited 3 of the 62 known tombs, Ramses III, IV, and XI. All had amazing color and detail on the walls. Our next stop was the temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Al-Deir Al-Bahari. Massive in size, much of it was destroyed or defaced, leaving a slightly sour taste to what otherwise could have been a great site. Our last stop was the Colossi of Memnon, two great statues just lining the road that until six years ago, had unknown meaning, until a temple was unearthed nearby. Amazing that temples from 2,000 years ago are still being discovered in these busy cities.
Our last day in Luxor was spent visiting the Karnak and Luxor Temples where priests used to ferry offerings to the gods between the two. Once again, Karnak proved to be an impressive colossus of a site. Much of it was destroyed and it still spanned many blocks. This used to be the capital of Thebes and its more than 100 pillars and two tall, complete obelisks were the best sites so far. We headed back to Luxor on the Nile and found it not nearly as impressive. By the way, it looks nothing like the Luxor in Las Vegas – why they chose that name for the casino I have no idea. We passed Christmas Eve in the hotel (Sonesta St. George) after a bad lunch that left me with cramps.
Our Christmas Day started with loud Mosque praying on a loudspeaker at 5:00am. We stumbled to a wonderful breakfast in our hotel and then boarded our van to the sprawling, unfinished Red Sea side city of Hurghada. Again we stayed in the Movenpick and again we were pleased. The pool was large and the beach was wide with turquoise waters all around. Sarah took in a massage.
Our final full day was a return flight to Cairo and then a visit to some other sites. We visited the Citadel of Saladin and the Alabaster mosque, the former from medieval times and the latter from the 1800s though it was very large and we learned a little about Islam. Then we went to Coptic Cairo and visited the Church of Abu Serga where the Holy Family is believed to have rested during their travels in Egypt. Nothing but a single pillar remains from the original church but we did glimpse the resurrected crypt below the church where the family rested. Just outside the church we stopped in the home of the mother of our guide’s friends and she fed us bread and tea and gave the girls’ necklaces. Perhaps most like home was the City of the Dead, a sprawling village of 200,000 people who have built homes on top of the tombs of people. The government has tried to relocate them but they continue to exist there due to the proximity to downtown. We finished with a walk through the Khan El Khalili Market, one of the biggest and most amazing markets I have seen. Though I didn’t care to buy anything, the large number of vendors and items down every street was a site to behold.
Put up in the Le Passage hotel by the airport for dinner and a rest before the 2:30am departure. In sum, I have to say we were quite pleased with Cairo, found it relatively safe, and the people no pushier than anywhere else in Africa. It is a highly recommended trip.
Of course they changed our flight from 2pm to 10pm. Of course they never told us. Of course the flight was late. But when we finally arrived in Cairo at 7am and made our way to the hotel (Movenpick Pyramids), it was worth it. Our lodging was near the base of them making for a great launching to a long day of traveling. But after breakfast and a nap, we hit the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities which houses some of the most significant artifacts in history. Nestled next to the government building burned in the revolution, 7 items are still missing from the looting that day. But what remains are 185,000 items that date back almost 5,000 years. We saw the famous pharaoh statutes and all of the King Tut masks and burial items. Despite being an insignificant leader in the history of Egypt, King Tut is perhaps best known since his tomb was the only one to ever be discovered in tacked. His wealth took up an entire floor of the museum so one can only extrapolate the treasures that once accompanied the great kings of Egypt. We paid a bit extra to go into the mummy exhibit and saw numerous corpses preserved with teeth, skin, and hair from thousands of years ago. It was a haunting and sobering experience.
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| This digital scrapbook customized with Smilebox |
Is there anything more iconic at Egypt than the Pyramids of Giza? Towering into the sky, these crumbling relics mark one of the Wonders of the Ancient World (the Great Pyramid is the only surviving item of the original seven) and are every bit as exciting in person when seen. Millions of blocks cut in exact measurements, weighing between 3 and 12 tons each, all carted from 1,000km away, and done 4,000 years ago – amazing. The Great Pyramid is taller (though it sits lower) than the rest, and its corners are at near exact measurements to the 4 directions of the compass. It took 20 years to make all to bury one man. As we bounced around the pyramids and the Sphinx on the backs of camels it was hard not to imagine the absolute impressiveness of these sites.
Later that day we went to Dahsur to see more pyramids, this time into the bowls of one which is entered by traveling down a long, steep, passage to the bottom of the structure. The distance to the tomb put into perspective the sheer mass of the object built for just one little room. Near it was the bent pyramid, one that they built incorrectly and adjusted halfway up. We also saw the oldest pyramid in existence and the detailed hieroglyphics of a time when only a handful of civilizations existed on earth.
There are three big tourist items here: carpets, perfumes, and papyrus. We had a chance to visit all today in one of those stop and learn sessions where they really just want you to buy something afterward. But it was a really cool experience. The perfumes were nice, but the papyrus making was cool. Any paper that has been around for thousands of years sparks an interest, so we bought a nice painting of the pyramids and then an Egyptian calendar with the girl’s names written in hieroglyphics along the sides with their birthdays in Arabic underneath. The winner of coolest art goes to the carpet making people, though. Hand-woven intricate designs can take up to two months per meter, and some of the rugs take years to make! Three hundred knots per inch…it was fascinating. However, at about $500-20,000 US a rug, we took a pass!
With a few hours to kill before taking the overnight train to Aswan, we went to our guide’s home. He introduced us to his daughter and we joined him for dinner. It was a great fare of breads, veggies, tuna, meat, and cheese – all laid out on the floor. It was really a cool experience and great conversation about education, politics, and travel. Sleeping on a train sounds really cool – it isn’t. This thing rocked and rattled all night long while the overpowering smell of cigarette smoke drifted in constantly. Everyone in Egypt smokes, which makes for rough train rides and other encounters where there is no escape. The toilet floor is lined with piss and the waste just flows out a tube onto the tracks below. Dinner and breakfast never came, but we arrived in Aswan which was the primary concern albeit two hours late.
Our first day in Aswan was awesome! We boarded a small boat past the great sand cliffs housing ancient tombs and modern religious buildings. Far upstream was the Nubian village. We disembarked to the home of a Nubian couple who treated us to a meal on their sand floor. We also got to hold a crocodile – apparently there is one in most homes in the village. We moved to the Nubian school where we sat for a lesson on Arabic and Nubian language, wrote our names, and learned phrases. After returning to the hotel (Movenpick Aswan) we hit the pool and had room service in our 5-star accommodations. All-in-all not a bad day to say the least.
The rest of our time in Aswan was a visit to the High Dam and the Unfinished Obelisk. The sheer size of these structures was again impressive. We took a boat ride out to the Greek-Roman Philae Temples (285 B.C.) where more recently piece by piece they were moved from another island when the dam caused most structures to go underwater. Then we ended up with a 5-course lunch on the boat (M/S Amarco I). This is a nice cruise ship with luxurious rooms, several bars, and a pool.
An early morning departure sailed us a few hours to Kom Ombo. This temple was spectacular. The construction was such that the length of the temple was built like a megaphone so that when the people were outside and the high priest was inside, his voice amplified out. Since they could not see him and could only see the statue of the God, they thought it was the God speaking. We got back on board and sailed a bit longer to Edfu where we disembarked to horse drawn carriages. The temple at Edfu was equally spectacular, though the experienced was soured by overly aggressive people trying to touch the kids or sell things. This was the only instance so far on the trip where we have felt hassled. After hearing how bad it could be here, we have been impressed with the lack of aggression (save Edfu).
The boat landed late at night in Luxor, though we would still stay on the boat one more day. We headed to the West Bank of the Nile to The Valley of the Kings. This is where many of the great kings of Egypt were interred. We visited 3 of the 62 known tombs, Ramses III, IV, and XI. All had amazing color and detail on the walls. Our next stop was the temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Al-Deir Al-Bahari. Massive in size, much of it was destroyed or defaced, leaving a slightly sour taste to what otherwise could have been a great site. Our last stop was the Colossi of Memnon, two great statues just lining the road that until six years ago, had unknown meaning, until a temple was unearthed nearby. Amazing that temples from 2,000 years ago are still being discovered in these busy cities.
Our last day in Luxor was spent visiting the Karnak and Luxor Temples where priests used to ferry offerings to the gods between the two. Once again, Karnak proved to be an impressive colossus of a site. Much of it was destroyed and it still spanned many blocks. This used to be the capital of Thebes and its more than 100 pillars and two tall, complete obelisks were the best sites so far. We headed back to Luxor on the Nile and found it not nearly as impressive. By the way, it looks nothing like the Luxor in Las Vegas – why they chose that name for the casino I have no idea. We passed Christmas Eve in the hotel (Sonesta St. George) after a bad lunch that left me with cramps.
Our Christmas Day started with loud Mosque praying on a loudspeaker at 5:00am. We stumbled to a wonderful breakfast in our hotel and then boarded our van to the sprawling, unfinished Red Sea side city of Hurghada. Again we stayed in the Movenpick and again we were pleased. The pool was large and the beach was wide with turquoise waters all around. Sarah took in a massage.
Our final full day was a return flight to Cairo and then a visit to some other sites. We visited the Citadel of Saladin and the Alabaster mosque, the former from medieval times and the latter from the 1800s though it was very large and we learned a little about Islam. Then we went to Coptic Cairo and visited the Church of Abu Serga where the Holy Family is believed to have rested during their travels in Egypt. Nothing but a single pillar remains from the original church but we did glimpse the resurrected crypt below the church where the family rested. Just outside the church we stopped in the home of the mother of our guide’s friends and she fed us bread and tea and gave the girls’ necklaces. Perhaps most like home was the City of the Dead, a sprawling village of 200,000 people who have built homes on top of the tombs of people. The government has tried to relocate them but they continue to exist there due to the proximity to downtown. We finished with a walk through the Khan El Khalili Market, one of the biggest and most amazing markets I have seen. Though I didn’t care to buy anything, the large number of vendors and items down every street was a site to behold.
Put up in the Le Passage hotel by the airport for dinner and a rest before the 2:30am departure. In sum, I have to say we were quite pleased with Cairo, found it relatively safe, and the people no pushier than anywhere else in Africa. It is a highly recommended trip.
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| Now that is a lot of sites |
