ATV's in the Sinai Desert

We headed into town in the morning and saw a motorcycle and pool of blood. We picked up our ATV’s and got the full story of their friend who died that night.

We were off to the desert. We saw a local shepherd with his “wolf”-dog and John discovered an unexploded tank round.

We had lunch with the Bedouin Bob with flies everywhere. They were dive bombing into the tea, covering the bread and meat. Our guide assured us that “desert flies don’t carry any disease”. I decided that I’d run screaming into the desert naked ,crazed by the flies if I were forced to be a Bedouin.

I nicknamed my ATV the “big red boob bouncer”…

After our desert adventure, we took a taxi to back to the “no charm-Sharm" and had dinner at the hotel….

From Luxor to the Sinai

We left Luxor for the Sinai and landed in Sharm el Sheik. We hecked in at the hotel and asked about things to do. The answer--a glass bottom boat, lie in the sun and at night, go to the discos. We were depressed- this wasn't exactly what we had in mind. So, we headed immediately into town to see if we could get out of Sharm early.
We were able to shorten the stay in Sharm, giving us only one full day with nothing to do. Our options- to go with the Italians to Ras Mohammed or take camels with the Germans to have dinner with the Bedouins. Then, we saw a place that rented ATV's - so we made our reservation for a day in the Sinai desert.
Dinner at the hotel- more burgers and beers…

The Turban Terrorist and the Temple of Dendara

We tipped the guy who made our twin beds into a double—he kissed John…
We were finally off the boat
Our first stop was at the Luxor Museum

Guide quotes: “The Japanese aren’t very smart…. When they’re separated from their group, they can’t think…”

We decided to make one more excursion to the Temple of Dendera. It was an hour drive outside of Luxor and we realized that we had the “Road Warrior” as our driver. It was a “brisk” drive down.

We had a great tour from our guide, Mohammed…The Temple of Hathor was built in the 1st century B.C and it is one of the best-preserved Temples in the whole of Egypt. Ptolemy VIII and Queen Cleopatra II built it, and then later, Roman Emperors continued to decorate it and honor the Goddess Hathor; the Goddess of maternity, love and music.

At 4:00, the tour was over… Mohammed took us for obligatory drinks--and gave us the news- “We have to wait for the ‘convoy’ before we can return". It would be about an hour…our new scheduled departure- 5:30
We retired to the dirt floor outdoor café and drank cokes and watched the water buffalo, donkeys and dust…

When we walked to the old water wheel, we were frantically called back by the restaurant owner—“stay in sight or go with your guide”…

We were beginning to get a little nervous- wondering why we needed a convoy to take up back to Luxor and why we couldn't wander anywhere without our guide. Then at 5:30, a red pickup truck pulled up. Two guys with jeans and AK-47’s hopped out. Not sure whether we were being taken hostage, we were told that they are the undercover police here to escort the tourist conveys between towns…. Oh joy!
Our new departure time - 6:15. The sun was going down, the cold setting in and still no motion to leave- just lots of Arabic chatter…
At 6:45, we got into the car and sat waiting for the convoy from the Red Sea to reach Quena. At 7:05 the convoy moved to Quena and waited…
The “Turban Terrorist” - our new name for our driver, was driving on completely dark, deserted roads with no lights on. The lead army vehicle appeared to abandon us and we were all alone with our insane driver with stretches of empty highway. Then, there was a sudden stop—we had a flat tire. The police van shown their lights on the way behind us…all the other cars sped off…
We were finally off - the Turban terrorist was driving well beyond a safe speed limit with a car with shot suspension, questionable tires. He was driving at top speed with no lights, passing cars, people—while he adjusted and readjusted his turban (driving with no hands) and staring at me in the rear view mirror… We were absolutely terrified.
We finally got to a slower speed zone in town. Our Turban Terrorist pulled another driver over and started screaming at him, then he turned to us and said calmly, “No problem”.
We jumped out of the car the second we reached the outskirts of Luxor.

Valley of the Kings and Queens, Karnak and Luxor Temples and New Years Eve in Luxor

We landed in Luxor and took a ferry to the west bank

The Valley of the Kings…

The Valley of the Kings was the royal cemetery for 62 Pharohs, and is located on the west bank at Luxor. The only entrance to this place was a long narrow winding path. This was a secret place, where sentries were placed at the entrance of the Valley, as well as along the top of the hills, in the hopes of discouraging tomb robbers, who had in the past plundered all royal tombs

We visited the Tombs of Ramses VI—just opened after years of restoration… It was exceptionally beautiful with painted reliefs… then the Tomb of Ramses IX
and finally, the Tomb of Tutankhaman # 62—the guard at the tomb is the grandson of an Egyptian that worked with Harold Carter.

And finally, we saw the Tomb of Ramses I #16—a very steep incline.

Then it was off to the Valley of the Queens… It contains about 70 tombs, mainly belonging to Queens, Princesses, Princes and Nobles, who lived during the XIX and XX Dynasties. In general, these tombs are smaller than the ones of the Kings. The plans of these tombs usually consist of a small antechamber, a long narrow corridor with several side chambers, and at the end - the burial chamber.
* Tomb 44 belongs to Prince Khaem-waset, who was a son of Ramses III. He died at the young age of 9. It consists of 2 long corridors, with 2 side chambers, and a square burial chamber. The walls of this tomb are decorated with various painted scenes, some of them representing the Prince with different deities, and with his father in front of the deities of the after world.

One of the most important tombs in the valley is the one that belongs to the famous Queen Nefertari, the principal consort of King Ramses II - The Temple of Deir El-Bahri was built of limestone, not sandstone like most of the other funerary temples of the New Kingdom period. It is thought that Senimut, the architect who built this Temple, was inspired in his design by the plan of the neighboring mortuary Temple of the 12th Dynasty King, Neb-Hept-Re. The Temple was built for Queen Hatshepsut (18th Dynasty), to commemorate her achievements and to serve as a funerary Temple for her, as well as a sanctuary of the God, Amon Ra.

Colossus of Memnon These two, gigantic figures of Amenhotep III were originally situated in front of his Mortuary temple, which was destroyed. The two colossi are made of sandstone, which during ancient times was brought from Gabal El Silselah. Each colossus, including the pedestal and the crown, is about 69 feet tall and represents King Amenhotep III seating on his throne, wearing the royal headdress, with the divine cobra protecting his forehead. On the sides of the colossi there is a representation of the Nile god Hapi, bending together the lotus and the papyrus plants, symbolizing the union of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Back to the ferry…. Our guide arranged a special tour for us of Tomb of Nefartari… This tomb was closed for 20 years and allows only 150 people per day. We were alone in the tomb. The paintings on the tomb walls depict Nefertari's journey after death to the afterlife, guided by various guardian-spirits and deities, including Isis, Hathor, and Osiris. Nefertari was one of several Queens of Rameses II, 1290-1224BC. Her name means “the most beautiful.”

We got the ferry back to the boat
That afternoon, we had a tour to Karnak and Luxor Temples.

The Temple of Karnak is the largest Temple in the World. The complex contains a group of Temples such as the Great Temple of Amon Ra, The Temple of Khonso, The Ipt Temple, The Temple of Ptah, the Temple of Montho and the Temple of the God Osiris. A 65 foot high, mud brick enclosure wall, surrounded all of these buildings.

The Temple of Luxor was built in the reign of Amenhotep III and added to significantly by Rameses II, who had colossal statues of himself erected at the complex.

We got to escape group mode and headed to the bank (our guide said he was going to go home, close all the drapes and have a beer… it was a tough day with some very obnoxious American tourists…) We headed off to see some local color alone.
We stopped at a local restaurant and asked if they serve beer. They directed us to a second floor dive and had kebab and korfa (and beer, no label, they covered the bottled with napkins). great food.

We walked the streets of Luxor to get a little taste of real life
We took an “Egyptian Cadillac” to the “Winter Palace”, Agatha Christie’s hotel in “Death on the Nile” and had "stellas" at the bar.
We met an Egyptian in the travel business. He calls the Brits “fish and chips” and said that “after Aquilli Lauro, the Americans stopped coming to Egypt. Now they have to deal with the Japanese”… and his best quote - “When you deal with the French, you either go blind or you go bankrupt”. Best time to visit Egypt—October November January or pre Christmas (Dec 8-13)
We got the Egyptian Cadillac back to the boat (10L). Cost for the “Cadillac”—15000L, for the horse - 3-4000L
Dinner on the boat…we paid Hanni NOT to serve us more food… dessert- crepes suzette. John said, “Stay with me on this, you’ve got to stop the food…”
Mehmet delivered a bottle of wine to our room. We watched Thelma and Louise on TV and welcomed in the New Year.

Watching the Nile flow

Edfu… the most important monument in the city of Edfu is the Temple of Horus

We took a horse carriage and ran into a traffic jam—Arab style… horse carriages filled with tourists. We got # 97…

We spent the afternoon…watching the Nile flow…

Cruising the Nile

Photo courtesy of Flickr

First on our tour- the unfinished obelisk It lies, in its original location, in a granite quarry in Aswan. It is 138 feet in length and was probably abandoned when cracks appeared in the rock during its construction. Had it been completed, it would have been the heaviest obelisk ever cut in Ancient Egypt, weighing nearly 1100 tons! It is believed that it was constructed and abandoned during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut (18th Dynasty).

Temples of Philae…Philae Island was a rocky island in the middle of the River Nile, south of Aswan. The Ancient Egyptians built a Temple on this island for the Goddess Isis, but the Temple became submerged after the first Aswan dam was built in 1906, and it was not until the seventies that a number of countries banded together and attempted to save the Temple. All these countries, together with UNESCO, selected a suitable place, but they had to wait until the completion of the High Dam, in 1971, which would stabilize the level of the water around their chosen island. The new island was called Egilica (also called Agilika), and it was completely reshaped to imitate Philae Island as closely as possible. A cofferdam was built around the Temple and the water was drained. Next, the Temple was dismantled and transferred, stone by stone, from the submerged Philea Island to the redesigned Egilica Island. The project took over 9 years and the Temple of Philae was reopened in 1980.

Back to the boat…cruising down river north to the Temple of Kom Ombo dedicated to the God Sobek, the crocodile God, together with his wife, the Goddess Hathor.

The vendor's call around Kom Ombo… “See you later alligator…on the Nile crocodile”
John shopped for a galabeia…. the guy tried to sell him the clothes off his back…

Aswan and Abu Simbal

We had a 5:00 wakeup call --at 6:00 we were off to the airport. We had a 7:30 flight to Luxor/Aswan.business class.

We stopped for a view of the Aswan Dam before getting on another flight for Abu Simbal. Work on the dam began in January 1960 and was completed in the spring of 1971. The dam was built with financial and technolgical aid from the Soviet Union (after Western nations refused to help).

The flight to Abu Simbal was a nightmare with a stepping, pushing shoving Japanese tour group and no seat assignments…
We arrived in Abu Simbal at 12:30… and had to leave by 2:00

Abu Simbal…The Temples of Abu Simbel are located close to the southern border with the Sudan. The site consists of two, rock-cut Temples, which both date back to the reign of King Ramses II (1290-1223 BC). These temples suffered from the raising water of Lake Nasser while the Aswan Dam was being built. To save them the two Temples were cut in to pieces, and then they were reconstructed on a site that was higher and further inland to escape the rising water level. This operation began in June 1964 and was completed in September 1968.

The first Temple was built by King Ramses II. The façade has four seated colossi of the King; each one is about 60 feet tall and represents the King seated on his throne wearing the double crown, accompanied by 3 small figures of his wives, daughters and sons flanking his legs.

The Temple of Queen Nefertari was also built by Ramses II, dedicated to the Goddess Hathor and to his wife Queen Nefertari. Queen Nefertari was the principal, and the most beloved, wife of King Ramses II. It contains 6 standing colossi. Four of them represent Ramses II and the other two represent Queen Nefertari, each is accompanied by two smaller figures of their children.

Back to Aswan…onto the Sonesta Nile Sun Goddess - our home for the Nile Cruise. We were a bit cranky- twin beds and a dining room filled with French and Japanese tourists…. and aa sanitary landfill engineer from Georgia who talked at 100 decibels - we called him “double bourbon”…
We had beers with our new friend, Mahmood, at the bar.
Dinner was a buffet…. meat with sauce on rice….
We moved our beds together and crashed early.

Exploring Cairo

Today we explored Old Cairo

The Citadel…The construction of the Citadel of Saladin was started by King Saladin in 1170 A.D, and completed by his brother, King El-Addel.
Muhammad Ali Mosque
Old Cairo…

Al Muallaqa (The Hanging Church)…The Hanging Church is considered the oldest church in the area of Al-Fustat (Old Cairo). It is known as Al-Muallaka (the hanging) because it was built on the ruins of two old towers that remained from an old fortress called the Fortress of Babylon. It was dedicated to The Virgin Mary and St. Dimiana. It has played a pivotal role in the history of the Coptic Christian Church.

Coptic Museum
St Sargius Church…The church is considered as one of the sites visited by the Holy Family during their escape from King Herod to the land of Egypt.….the oldest Christian Church in Egypt

Ben Ezra Synagogue.. oldest Egyptian synagogue…. It is believed that the site of the Synagogue was where the box of Baby Moses was found and that he grew up in the temple

Egyptian Museum.overwhelming…. especially the King Tut exhibit -- we saw Tuts’ guts bucket…
Khan el Khalili Bazaar….

We got back to the hotel and had beers and and tried the local custom- the Shi-sha (water pipe) ..

Memphis - The Pyramids!

Up at 7:00. We drove to Memphis, the Capital of the Old Empire
Our first stop was Saqquara…the "City of the Dead" . While Memphis was the capital of Ancient Egypt, Saqquara served as its necropolis. It remained an important complex for minor burials for more than 3,000 years - well into Roman time.

The Step Pyramid - ca. 2650 BC - was built by the architect Imhotep for the III Dynasty king Djoser. It is the oldest complete mud-brick building complex in the world.

Tomb of Mereruka…The tomb was built in the memory of Mereruka who was an official to Teti, the Pharaoh of the VI Dynasty. Mereruka was known as ‘Chief Justice and Vizier’. The scenes of domestic life were truly touching.

Pyramids of Giza….There are three main Pyramids here, which were built in the 4th Dynasty (circa 4650 B.C)- Cheops, Chephren, Mycerinus….

And, of course, the Sphinx

The open air Museum, which amongst other artefacts exhibits a limestone colossus of King Ramses II (an enormous statue carved in limestone, which is about 34 feet long,and a giant alabaster Sphinx, weighting more than 80 tons, which once stood outside the massive temple of the God Ptah.

Mortuary Temple and Valley Temple of Chephren -part of the funerary complex
Papyrus Institute…tourist rip-off
Back to the hotel…we had burgers, listening to a combination of rap music and Christmas carols
We walked into a Egyptian wedding…a video event complete with tambourines, bagpipes, snake charmers and ululation….