Luxor, Egypt

We arrived in Luxor, the “hassle capital” of Egypt…wow, we didn’t think it could get any worse! The good news is that our beautiful little hotel, El Nakhil, was located on the opposite bank of the river nestled in a palm grove.

We took the ferry across to the Luxor Temple which is right in the heart of the modern town. At sunset the temple is lit up, creating an eerie spectacle as shadow and light play off the reliefs and colonnades.

In front of the temple is the beginning of the avenue of sphinxes that ran all the way to the temples at Karnak 3km to the north. It is currently being excavated…so for 3km you find the remains of sphinxes on sidewalks, in front of shops and along the street.

The next morning our "Dahabiya-mate" Duncan joined us for a bike ride. We decided to bike around the tombs and temples. Here we are making our way up the Valley of the Kings, as quoted in Lonely Planet “the road in is a gradual, dry, hot climb…” Riding a 1960’s one-speed bike in the desert seemed like a good idea at the time. The best part was looking at the faces of all the tourists as they roared by in their air conditioned buses. Envy? I don’t think so, but hey…at least we burned a calorie or two.

Traffic also got hairy at times…..our goal was to NOT be passed by a donkey.

The Temple of Seti I, which was recently restored after being damaged by floods in 1994. In places you can still see color. It is amazing to think what these temples must have looked like brightly painted!

We had so much fun passing donkeys the first day that we decided to try it again. This is the Temple of Hatshepsut, surrounded by limestone cliffs that rise nearly 300m above the desert plain. It has also been designated as one of the hottest places on earth, perfect for an early morning bike ride. Ugh.

More vibrant color. The reliefs are incredibly detailed…Sad to say, but Lonely Planet quoted, “the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities has stated that tourism is the greatest threat to the Egyptian monuments, and that if nothing is done they will be destroyed in less than 100 years. “

The Valley of the Queens….no cameras allowed in the tombs, thus no pictures! The tombs have suffered great damage from mass tourism: carbon dioxide, friction and humidity produced by the average of 2.8g of sweat left by each visitor. The inside of the tomb is comparable to a “steam room” and smells like a high school locker room. You move fast.

The Temples of Karnak are an extraordinary complex of sanctuaries, kiosks, pylons and obelisks dedicated to the Theban gods and the greater glory of pharaohs. The Temple of Amun is the largest religious building ever built. This is a picture of the Great Hypostyle Hall which is large enough to contain both Rome’s St. Peters Basilica and London’s St Paul’s Cathedral. The hall has a forest of 134 towering papyrus-shaped stone pillars.

Our last day in Luxor we visited ACE (Animal Care in Egypt, www.ace-egypt.org.uk), a small UK charity dedicated to making a difference to the lives of working animals. We have been traveling for eleven months and have been to over twenty countries...and I can tell you that I have NEVER seen animal abuse like the kind we've seen in Egypt. Definitely my new charity (once I start getting a paycheck again!) On to the Red Sea for some diving!

Dahabiya down the Nile River

A highlight of any trip to Egypt is a cruise down the Nile. After deciding against the felucca and the "cruiser" we opted for the Dahabiya. These boats were described by medieval historians as lavishly decorated, two-masted wooden boats with private cabins and bathrooms. Perfect for the middle aged couple who has hit their eleventh month of travel! Note the "tug boat" in the picture...most of these boats are actually pulled as sailing can be quite slow.
The top deck...where we wine, dine and generally laze about. The boat also stops at major tourist sites along the way. We were offered a swim in the Nile...but passed. After watching what goes into the Nile...no thanks!
Here is proof of the "lazing"...lot's of naps and book reading. The view is pretty amazing...palm trees, camels, donkeys, birds, villages all drifting past. In the morning we would open up the large window in our room and watch the shore go by.
The Temple of Kom Ombo at sunset. Unique in Egypt, it has dual dedication to the local crocodile god Sobek and Haroeris, meaning Horus the Elder. We raced down there with our "boat-mate" Duncan (from London) to explore.
The reliefs inside are amazing! Some are giant sized. It is a strange feeling being able to reach out and run your fingers over them.
The Temple of Horus, the falcon god. The sandstone temple was buried by sand, rubble and part of the village of Edfu around 200 years ago. Excavation was begun by the mid-19th century. We got to view this one early in the morning...which was ideal. Nice and cool, and less tourists!
The hieroglyphs, meaning 'sacred carvings' in Greek, are the earliest form of writing yet found. More than 6000 hieroglyphs have been identified, although less than 1000 were in general use.

Fun to look at...we would walk along trying to find the most unique character...slugs, snakes, frogs, faces...
We sailed! One afternoon they turned us into the wind and lifted both of the sails. Possibly because the tug boat needed fuel...but it made us happy!
The famous Nile sunset. Seen either from a temple or along the shore...stunning.
Our last morning we awoke to find camels along the shore. One of the local villages has a camel market which sometimes has as many as 2000 camels brought down from Abu Simbel. They are trucked or walked from long distances. Now on to Luxor from more temple-mania!

Aswan, Egypt

We arrived in Aswan…along the banks of the Nile river. This is the view from our hotel balcony. We could watch the Feluccas sail by and the horse drawn carriages go along the waterfront. A nice transition after the craziness of Cairo and Alexandria.

The Tombs of the Nobles, which date from the Old and Middle Kingdoms. At the top of the hill is the Kubbet Al-hawa, a small tomb constructed for a local sheik.

We found the one “floating” restaurant that serves cold beer (Muslim country…very little alcohol served!) Luckily, they also served delicious food…baba ghanoug, tahini, clay pot stews (tagens), lentil soup. The view of Elephantine Island and feluccas sailing by as the sun set was stunning!

The next morning we went to Sharia as-Souq…a bazaar selling things such as clothing, spices, perfumes, etc. As usual, my favorite thing to see is the food. Hanging meat is always a winner. Keeps me vegetarian.

The souq in all its glory. We got hassled to no end. “Madame….you come into my store???” Our favorite is the “block” where they get in front of you holding some touristy item and won’t let you by. Or the “where are you from?” and when you say America they saw “Obama!”

We took a felucca ride around the islands. The boat goes much slower than you would think….however it is a peaceful way to travel for a few hours. Many tourists take a multi-day felucca ride up or down the Nile. No toilet..and you sleep on the deck on some slabs of foam. Most we passed were packed with people lined up like sardines. At this point in our trip we will have to pass on this form of travel. We have had our fill!

The “cruisers” that stack up along the Nile. There are 270 of these…so many that there is now a moratorium on the launching of new boats. They are like a floating hotel….most have pools surrounded by astro-turf, restaurants, bars…possibly even a casino. Not my cup of tea.

The west bank…you can take a camel to the 7^th-century Monastery of St. Simeon. Having already experienced riding on a camel we declined, but what a great picture!

We had the felucca drop us off on Elephantine island so that we could go to the Aswan Museum…only to find the museum is “closed”. We decided instead to walk through the Nubian villages. In the 1970’s the Nubian lands were drowned when the High Dam was created. They were forced to rebuild their houses on higher ground or move....so two villages now reside here. While wandering around we mostly encountered herds of sheep. Now on to our dahibya boat ride!

Alexandria, Egypt

We took the train to the city of Alexandria, the ‘greatest historical city with the least to show for it.’ Our intent was to dive the remains of the ancient city, which are now under the Mediterranean Sea. Ironically, we never dove (read poor reviews of the ONE dive shop in town) and our highlight was our time spent with the Hash House Harriers! A small group of wonderful hashers drove us out into the countryside where we ran between fields and saw what no tourist every really sees!

Nothing like encountering a herd of goats, sheep and donkey on your running path! We passed farmers, crossed rickety bridges, jumped across drainage ditches and crawled under irrigation pumps spewing water. I shocked them all by wearing running shorts (women must hide their knees and shoulders…well, and preferably everything else.)

Self photo with a farm horse…also took one with a donkey. I was the official photographer…so had to include myself in a picture! Afterwards we went back to Phil’s (Scottish expat) apartment for a homemade dinner and then on to Dave and Desiree’s (New Zealand expats) for a round of cards. The highlight of the night was throwing paper airplanes off their high rise apartment deck…

The centre of the city arcs around the Eastern Harbor. We spent part of the day wandering around the city…having breakfast at a famous old café, drinking fresh mango juice at the “king of mango” and sipping Turkish coffee (and I mean sipping…strong stuff).

For lunch we headed to Mohammed Ahmed for “fuul”, an unassuming peasant dish of slow-cooked fava beans cooked with garlic and garnished with parsley, olive oil, lemon, salt, black pepper and cumin. Definitely a local hangout…the place was packed…and we were the only tourists. Right up my alley!

That evening we again met up with the hashers. We started with a rooftop Chinese dinner looking over the harbor…and ended with beers at the famous Spitfire bar. We learned so much about Alexandria from our new friends…the good and the bad!

We decided we should be good tourists, and go sightseeing. First stop, Pompey’s Pillar and the Temple of Serapeum. The pillar is a massive 30m column that rises out of the ruins. It is one of the only ancient monuments remaining whole and standing today in Alexandria. The best part is that it is right smack in the middle of a dilapidated neighborhood. One minute you feel like Indiana Jones, and then you notice the flapping laundry on the neighboring patio.

The ironic thing is that my favorite part of the day was our walk between tourist sites. Most people go by tour bus. We passed donkey carts, children playing, and old men smoking their sheesha (water pipes).

The catacombs of Kom Ash-Shuqqafa, discovered accidentally in 1900 when a donkey disappeared through the ground. These catacombs are the largest known Roman burial site in Egypt. This picture shows loculi, the holes in which the bodies were placed.

Our taxi driver took us down streets packed with rabbits, ducks, geese, etc. Some came without fur or feathers if you know what I mean. Desiree told me that she got to witness the recent “Feast of Sacrifice” which as the name suggests includes the sacrificing of animals…and that the streets were running with blood. Glad we missed out on that part. On to Aswan and the Nile river!

Cairo, Egypt

We arrived in Cairo, Egypt at around 1AM to find the streets packed full of people. Now with a population of 2o million, I suppose that this might often be the case. However, what we didn’t realize is that it was Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday "the festival of sacrifice." Which explains why we had such a difficult time finding a hotel room! This is the view from our window. Downtown Cairo is a very dilapidated, dirty city!

The next day we headed for the famous Egyptian Museum. After standing in four different lines and going through metal detectors we made it in. What takes most people half a day to see took the Eisenbrauns a little over an hour. We are not museum people...however, it was fascinating...mummies, the treasures of Tutankhamun, jewelry, statues, death masks etc. all packed into an old dusty building that is literally bursting at the seams.

Cairo does have some beautiful old buildings. We spent a lot of our time wandering the streets of downtown...causing quite a scene. It is almost like the people of Cairo have never seen a tourist before (to be fair, the only ones we saw were in buses). We also sampled some delicious Egyptian foods...chicken shwarma, kushari (a mix of noodles, rice, black lentils and dried onions served with a fiery tomato sauce and garlic vinegar) and felafel.
The Pyramids of Giza. Does this not look like a movie set??? Crazy! The pyramids are smack in the middle of the congested city of Giza. We had a driver (thank goodness) who helped us buy our ticket and get through this mayhem. The locals were literally getting "smashed" trying to get through the gate. When the pyramid "officials" saw us we got right in. We both felt a little guilty about the preferential treatment.
Up close the pyramids look more like a pile of rubble....but impressively large! They are guarded, and have a "do not climb" sign.
We got out in the nick of time, as the locals came in droves to see the pyramids during their holiday. We also got hassled for horse, camel and cart rides. Very distracting as the animals were in VERY poor shape...which was hard for us to see.
Our drive home through the suburbs. Garbage piles on both sides of the canal. We watched a young girl walk out and dump the family garbage can over the side of the bridge and into the water below. Very disheartening.
We noticed that VERY few buildings were "finished." We have since heard two theories. One is that the family keeps "growing"....so if the son marries, they can add a level for him and his family. The other is that if the building is not finished they don't have to pay the taxes on it.
Coptic Cairo is the heartland of Egypt's indigenous Christian community. This is the Hanging Church, as it is built on top of the Water Gate of Roman Babylon. There is also a synagogue within the high stone walls, which explained the metal detectors and guards in full riot gear. On to Alexandria!