Travelling Rhoads

Egypt

 Our much anticipated trip to Egypt begins. A bucket list trip for one of us. A little on how we chose to see Egypt and why. The options where, going on our own, organised tours or the Nile cruises which are 4 to 5 days duration from Luxor to Aswan and vice versa. They dock and bus you to the sites which isn’t a bad idea. After much research the decision was made to use a guide (Egyptologist) and driver which gave us more flexibility and more time to look around. The cost we thought was very reasonable. 

We were met at the airport by a pre-arranged driver. The drive into Giza was about an hour, we arrived at our hotel settled into our room and ventured to the terrace for our first look at the pyramids, amazing just there so close. After dinner on the terrace and a chat with our hosts a tour was organised for the following day. A driver picked us up and off we went to see these amazing structures, we started back behind  on the plateau, given plenty of time to wander amongst them, touch them and be in there presence.
 We also visited  Saaquara and Memphis. Back to our hotel, dinner and a front row seat to the light show - super 'kitchy.' The next day we walked back to the Pyramids and Sphinx, the entry gate being  5 minutes from the hotel we were there at about 7:30, well before the tourists arrived, it was lightly raining which dampened down the smog a little, we wouldn't see such clear Sky's again. We were able to get closer to the Sphinx and have a quiet wander around - lucky us.

 After breakfast Cairo Museum with an Egyptologist who took us through, stopping at the "masterpieces" and explaining the significance of them. We also saw the Tutankhamen display, about a third of the contents of his tomb are on display and that's  certainly a lot. We bought an extra ticket for the Mummy's display about 13 of them one being Ramases II we would learn a lot about him. A new museum is being built closer to the pyramids due to open in about a year, it will be bigger, high tech and  will definitely display a lot more artifacts  currently held in storage. The old museum is disorganized and does not flow, of course it has a wonderful ambiance and history. After the museum we drove to the Citadel and Mohamed Ali mosque. Back to the hotel. 

 

Police keeping an eye on David.

   Cairo Museum

Our Cairo hosts

Leaving Cairo for Hurghada, a seaside resort town on the Red Sea. Firstly lets just cross the road from the bus station to the actual bus, haven't mentioned the Cairo traffic as yet, well it's bad, chaotic no road rules  and they don't stop for pedestrians so bags in hand  we started, hoping they would stop, they did we made it. The bus ride was about 6 hours. The apartment was light and spacious with a great view as long as you didn't look left or right, it had a private beach with course sand bits of garbage floating in the water, we didn't swim - too cold. A quiet week, giving us time to plan before we launched into the next city Luxor. We knew the town was primarily a tourist diving area and we watched the boats stream out every morning to various dive locations . There were singing and drinking trips as well. A destination for Russian tourists we observed. There were supermarkets for basics and restaurants close by, Shisha smoking ones none the less,  if you can sit in the right spot it's ok. More tolerable  than  cigarette smoke. 

After arriving in Luxor from Hurghada, our prearranged car and driver took us to our accommodation on the West bank. The drive took about an hour as traffic is slow and speed bumps many, the only bridge across the river is on one end of the city . Our first trip in Luxor was  the East bank. First stop Luxor Museum then  Karnack Temple and lastly Luxor Temple. After a full day with our guide we visited Mohamed our host in his office to arrange more guided tours. After organising the next few days, we had a  refreshing drink on the terrace of the Winter Palace,  caught the very scenic boat  back to our accommodation on the west bank. The following day we visited the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple and Madanet Habu Temple. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at an Artisans Village for potential purchases. The Papyrus seller welcomed us, ‘look around no pressure’  he said as he followed us around the shop and out to the  car with Papyrus in hand, the price dropping with every footstep closer to the car, no sale.

Another wonderful day visiting the Valley of the Queens, Dar-el- Medina and Valley of the Nobles. The  day  again full of information which makes sense at the time and helps you understand, especially the meaning of some of the hieroglyphics  it sure is a lot to absorb though.

Off again to visit Abydos and  Dendera the drive was interesting in itself along the river observing daily life. Fields of sugarcane in the process of being burnt off so yes smoke haze. 

Having a day off we did some local sight seeing, our planned trip to Aswan underway.

All entrance fees go to the Military

Luxor Temple

Ramses II

Crossing the Nile from the West bank to East

Luxor Museum

                                                                           Ramses II

Winter Palace from our Balcony

Inside the Tomb of Ramses III

Valley of the Kings

Valley of the Queens- Queen Nefertari Tomb

Vicky and Hamby our Guide

Winter Palace Front and Back

Valley of the Nobles

Abydos Temple

Chef Hassan

Sunrise

Leaving our Luxor hotel which was a highlight with sunrises, moonrises and hot air balloons floating over the valley, we’re off to our hotel at the Nubian village on the outskirts of Aswan, now there is a place that’s hard to describe. A stop at Edfu and Kom Ombo which are halfway between Aswan from Luxor. A visit to the Aswan dam with views over lake Nassur.  Another temple, this time Philae, a scenic boat ride to this one. After visiting so many Temples and Tombs and observing the colours we were amazed at the vibrancy, some had been cleaned and some as is, still beautiful. We were not expecting that.

                                                                               Kom Ombu Temple

                                                                   Crocodile museum Kom Ombu

Graffiti

Philae Temple

Aswan

Heading out early the next day was the much anticipated Abu Simbel. Approximately 3 hour drive along a straight road with desert either side. Unlike other Temples this was carved into the mountain. It was moved in the 1960’s due to the construction of the dam, I remember as a teenager it was a big news story. Very interesting learning how they did it; UNESCO, $40 million and 4 years, there are two temples, Ramses II and his beloved wife Nefetari. On the road the vehicles usually travel in convoy for safety as it’s close to the Sudan border, we had the usual checkpoints and just a small section in convoy as we had to leave at the same time. Back to the hotel after an interesting day.

Abu Simbel

After a couple of days in the village  planning and taking walks. The terrace was a favorite place for  drinking tea and people watching.  Camel rides for the tourists starting at the far end of the village  trekking through to the other end, after they where deposited in the village the local  kids bought them back (the camels) ready for the next day. The local music was a highlight we  heard nightly, wafting through the village from the restaurants lulling us to sleep. 

Time to leave, we caught a Taxi to Aswan Airport where we observed workers trying to finish the road before the Presidents visit in a few weeks looked like a big job. I hope they got it done.

Nubian Village

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