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Italy and Egypt 2022Italy and Egypt 2022
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Italy and Egypt 2022

September - October 2022
We will spend 2 weeks in Italy - Rome, Venice and Bologna - before joining friends in Cairo for a tour of
Egyptian wonders and a boat trip down the Nile. On the way home we will spend a few days in Kuala Lumpur. Read more
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  • TravelerItaly and Egypt 2022
    Day 19

    Arrived in Cairo

    October 10, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    This will be a short entry, and I have no photos…Amr said he took some at dinner (we should have done one of the whole group). ..but Amr is now asleep, and I will be soon! But we have all arrived and assembled in Cairo. Our exit from Rome was one of the least painful through security ever, and it was an easy 3 hour flight. And arrival into Cairo was very different from memories of arriving even in 2006. They have been busy building and improving infrastructure, and the arrivals hall was modern and easy - not the zoo we remember in former trips. And a tour guide from Bunniks met us as we walked from the plane, (they are allowed inside!) and escorted us through the hoops, and then we were driven to this very beautiful hotel. All the Australian contingent arrived today too…one drama was that Robin lost her passport in Dubai…it was finally found on the plane, had fallen out of her bag, but meanwhile she couldn’t board the connecting flight…so kind Evie stayed as moral support, and when it was finally found they were put on the next flight to Cairo…phew…what an almost disaster…Sally and John, and Angela had gone on as planned…they are all knackered of course, but we met for dinner, and of course Omnia who is joining us for the tour! Peter and Louise arrived yesterday to give themselves a day to adjust! Tomorrow is a day at the pyramids- Giza and Sakkara…so should have lost of photos and more info.Read more

  • TravelerItaly and Egypt 2022
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    11
    Day 20

    Cairo - first active day of tour

    October 11, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Yesterday was officially day 1, when we all arrived here, and had a welcome dinner, but today was the first active day. We have found that there are 10 other people in our group - we had thought we were a separate group on our own, but the others are fine - Australians - and no problems! Six had come on from a Jordan tour, and the other 4 are just friends…very easy and no ghastly people!! So last night after dinner we were told to assemble at 7.15 in the foyer to start the day! This is to avoid crowds and heat (though we still certainly had crowds) and a bit daunting to the new arrivals after 24 hours of travel…but everyone made it and we had an amazing day.

    Just riding in our bus in the chaotic Cairo traffic is an experience…cars going in many directions, donkeys and horse carts, people strolling through to cross the road….our first stop was Sakkara where the step pyramid is - the oldest pyramid - and Memphis, the original capital of Egypt, where there is a museum with enormous statues of Ramses II.

    Lunch at a restaurant near Sakkara, good, but I just ate the meze which was yum…and we also paid a visit to a carpet making school, where they are keeping the tradition going of making the carpets - cotton, wool or silk. Then the afternoon’s activity was the Giza pyramids and the sphinx. Millions of people of course, but they are all so extraordinary and enormous, that it is a wonder however often you see them….our guide is good, entertaining and knowledgeable and good to be with. He will be with us for the whole tour, not just Cairo.

    It was fairly hot as the day wore on, but now cool in the evening…very pleasant. We met at 7pm with Amr’s friends (Amr and Hesham) and it was lovely to see them…had a drink and little dinner…no one was over hungry and the travellers needed another good night’s sleep…I have left the 2 Amrs talking, as I feel quite ready for bed too, even though my Apple Watch is not satisfied…it doesn’t appreciate trudging on the sand and uneven surfaces round the pyramids etc…! Anyway, all is very good….and tomorrow we don’t start till 8.15 !!    Read more

  • TravelerItaly and Egypt 2022
    111
    Day 21

    More great sights of Cairo

    October 12, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Today has been more leisurely as we started off at 8.15 and arrived back at the hotel before 4pm….and it wasn’t hard walking - in fact my Apple Watch will be most upset at the lack of it, as am now very much enjoying downtime feet up on the bed!

    Our first stop was the citadel - which is high up on a hill with a great view over the city, and where there is the Muhammad Ali mosque - a beautiful mosque build by Saladin and a copy of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, though I think I heard is a bit smaller. Then we were taken to the market area, where our guide said has junky souvenirs made in China so to be aware! It was not the market area I had remembered with the Islamic gate and architecture, and I hope Omnia and Amr can maybe take us to that part when we get back to Cairo after the tour. So while we had free time there Amr suggested we visit another mosque nearby, and he and Omnia talked to the man on the entrance…this was not a tourist show mosque, and we women had to go in a separate entrance, and we found we were in a little women’s section, separated with a trellis from the main body of the mosque, and there were many women sitting on the floor, with children or quietly chatting with friends, reading or praying….I think it is a place to escape from the men! Anyway, we did look a bit odd coming in, but we quietly took a place in a corner (Omnia did not come in as she wanted to do some shopping!) and Louise and I sat on the floor. The women were sweet and friendly and made eye contact and we even had a sort of conversation with a girl who was playing with a small child…she showed us photos of different relatives and ended up taking a selfie with Louise and me! A very different experience.

    Then lunch at a nearby very nice restaurant (where you could have light meals) and that was leisurely and relaxing. Then we went off to the Egyptian museum - the new grand museum is still not opening till maybe next year, so this is the one in the city that we have been to before, which still has many exhibits despite many treasures already being moved…it still feels full of stuff! So our guide took us on a tour of highlights which was fabulous- as if you stopped at every showcase you’d be exhausted trying to take it all in. Ended seeing the jewellery of Tutankhamen and also the 2 innermost coffins - amazing stuff, and we arrived back not too overwhelmed, just right! Another great day…BUT tomorrow we will get a wake up call at 3am to leave at 4am to go to the airport for our flight to Aswan!! So an early night tonight, and more adventures tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerItaly and Egypt 2022
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    Day 22

    Aswan…a long and varied day

    October 13, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ 🌙 28 °C

    Our day started at 3am (or before as Amr woke before then in anticipation..) so we are totally wiped now - 8.45pm - and I won’t write up all the intricacies. Will leave that till we have a leisurely time…but not sure if that is tomorrow as again we get up at 3 to leave for Abu Simbel at 4am (3.5 hr bus ride) but am very excited to see this wonderful temple.

    We flew to Aswan, and immediately boarded a bus which took us via the high dam to the temple of Philae on an island (we get there by boat)…then the unfinished obelisk in a granite quarry (by this time it was very hot), then on to an oil essence shop, where they make the oils to smell nice, to cure illnesses…that was a lovely visit in a cool room, and some people indulged in buying oils…Amr bought some argan oil. Then we were delivered to our hotel for the night - a very short one - and that was utter chaos, but won’t elaborate now! After a bit of downtime mainly trying to get the internet to work, we had a sail in a felucca at 4.45 to watch the sunset. Quite a few people chose not to come as by then they were tired, but the hard core of us did and it was just beautiful - so peaceful and perfect, specially with so few of us!! That is the basics, and we have just had a drink in the bar, where a Nubian band were playing traditional music, and a dancer whirled very spectacularly….will put a couple of photos - there are so many amazing ones - but the very weak internet may not allow it.    Read more

  • TravelerItaly and Egypt 2022
    Day 23

    P.S. for Thursday, more photos

    October 14, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    The temple of Philae was so beautiful, and the felucca sunset sail was lovely. Checking into the hotel where we stayed last night was a Fawltey Towers experience!! Everyone was exhausted from being up since 3am and arriving at a rather nice hotel on an island should have been great - but the chaos was Monty Python! I thought it was funny, but some were rather annoyed…and we were very frustrated as the wifi did not function…but it did come to life eventually and I could publish part 1! Anyway, it was only our home till 4am, as we set off in the early hours again to get to Abu Simbel.

    Now will add more photos.    Read more

  • TravelerItaly and Egypt 2022
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    Day 23

    Abu Simbel, just amazing!

    October 14, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Up again at an indecent hour, and on the road soon after 4am…not sad to leave the crazy hotel, and the bus had all our luggage with us as after Abu Simbel we came straight back to our cruise boat - the Royal Lily. I think everyone dozed off on the long drive - a straight road through the desert going south to about 50 kms from the Sudanese border. I think it was a bit over three and a half hours, but when we got there WOW! It was still cool enough - and it is always a clear day - and you walk down the path, Lake Nasser huge like a sea - you can’t see the other side in some parts - and suddenly you see the huge figures carved up in the rock. So impressive, and so worth the trip. Huge statues of Ramses II, and there is a second temple for his queen…not as big of course! There are many inner sanctums in the temples, all carved on the walls…It is all carved out of the rock, not put there separately, and it is impossible to imagine how they moved the whole thing in the 60s to save it from flooding when they built the dam.

    We spent a couple of hours there, and hopped back on the bus for the ride back. Slightly more awake on the way back, and amazing to see a green patch of sunflowers in the middle of the desert. They are working on irrigating and building canals to make more fertile land, and are building new cities out there to try and decentralise the cities. Greater Cairo’s population is more than the whole of Australia’s. It felt like late afternoon by then we had been up so long, but we got back to the boat in time for a late lunch!! Lovely boat, cabin and everyone is now settled in. Some have gone off on an optional Nubian village tour, but we are here relaxing and watching the sunset over the Nile again…SO lovely. On the boat for 3 nights.    Read more

  • TravelerItaly and Egypt 2022
    11
    Day 24

    Another busy day - 2 more temples

    October 15, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    We woke this morning to find that we were cruising along, almost silently and very smoothly. An early breakfast to be ready to leave at 8am….early starts beat the later heat, and maybe the worst of the crowds. Docked at Kom Ombo where we could walk to the temple. Amazing as usual….huge and carved with stories of the carvings. Back to the boat and we floated on, relaxing on the sundeck (in the shade!) reading and watching the banks of the river. The banks are very lush and then give way to desert before very long. Very peaceful…

    After lunch we assembled again and we arrived at Edfu where there is a very spectacular temple to Horus, the falcon god. The second biggest after Karnak and just fabulous…every surface covered with carvings, some defaced by Christians trying to get rid of idols while they were sheltering from persecution themselves…and we still see graffiti from the 1800s every now and then - names and dates…! By the time we were admiring the temple of Horus is was very hot. The temple is quite a way from the boat docks and tourists have to ride in a horse and cart to get there!! This is quite a precarious experience, and you bump along the very uneven dirt roads, but all part of the tapestry and fun…

    Now back and relaxing with a glass of wine…tonight sometime we dock at Luxor. Those going on a hot air balloon will again get up around 3am (not us!!). Tomorrow we start to see all the gems around Luxor.    Read more

  • TravelerItaly and Egypt 2022
    11
    Day 25

    Now docked at Luxor

    October 16, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ 🌙 29 °C

    We are so busy, it’s hard to remember at the end of the day how it started! But today wasn’t as early for us as for the people going in the hot air balloon…but we did set off at 7.30, first to see the temple at Karnak - or complex, as it is a huge collection of temples and buildings and a forest of columns and SOO tall…I think it the most amazing of all the temples. Then off to the Luxor temple, which is also impressive, but not nearly as big as Karnak (though very tall - you just can’t imagine how that were build 2 - 3 thousand years ago. There was an Avenue of sphinxes the whole 2.5 kms between Karnak and Luxor temples…some of it is still there! And there is still colour visible in some places which is amazing. Originally they would have been fully painted and colourful.

    Then back to the boat for lunch, and off again at 2.15 to see some fascinating sites on the West Bank. The West Bank is the burial side of the river, and is where the Valley of the Kings and the temple of Hatshepsut are (where we go tomorrow - more highlights), but today we visited the village of the artists who painted the Royal tombs (Deir el-Medina), and also the Valley of the Nobles. These are so interesting and they are fairly newly discovered…there is so much hiding under the accumulation of desert sand. They are still excavating and will probably find many more. The village of the artists was a secret place, as they were hiding the kings’ tombs underground so that raiders would not find them, so the artists were bound to secrecy and had to live separately so that no one could know. The guard inside the first tomb was very friendly and explained some of the pictures (which he wasn’t supposed to, but just to make sure we behaved!) and he took a group photo on the floor showing all our faces and the roof!

    Both these places entailed walking up quite a steep hill, and climbing down narrow steep stairs and through low doorways, but it certainly was worth it. The colours in there - specially in one of the artist’s tomb (actually he was an architect) are still very vibrant…just amazing.

    I keep saying everything is amazing, but it is!! The photos just can’t do justice to it, but you can get an idea of the enormity…    Read more

  • TravelerItaly and Egypt 2022
    11
    Day 26

    Last day in Luxor

    October 17, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    This will be quick, though it was a huge day, but it’s almost 10pm and am dying to shower and go to bed….as usual up early - breakfast at 6am, bags ready outside the door at 6.30 and ready to leave at 7am…it’s a hard life being a tourist! The bags went with us on the bus as we have now left the boat…(and are now ensconced in a fab hotel for one night).

    So our first stop was the Valley of the Kings….we had tickets to go into 3 tombs, and a special ticket for Tutankhamen’s. This was good, as we saw 3 of the best, plus king Tut. They are quite hard work as you climb down and up…some are highly decorated, and some less so…Tutankhamen was not very painted until the inner room, where there is his mummy!! It was also rather hot and stuffy in there too, so always a relief to emerge. But that was always an amazing experience, and then we had a stop at an alabaster shop where they make vases and ornaments, but we didn’t buy them (some did) but it was a fun diversion.

    Then off to Hatshepsut temple which always looks as if it was designed and built a few years ago - does not look like an ancient temple. This is my third sighting of this wonderful building, and I was a little disappointed to learn today that part of the reason it looks so perfect is because it was rebuilt from the rubble they found and faithfully correct - it was a Polish project in the mid 20th century - I had thought it had withstood millenia intact!

    On the way back we paused at the Colossi of Memnon….HUGE….everything is huge here! Then by lunchtime we were delivered to our hotel, and this was certainly not a Fawltey Towers experience. It is very beautiful - the Nile Palace by Steigenberger…and we were in our rooms very efficiently, even though we were before checkin time. Our room has a balcony overlooking the Nile and it is sad that we leave tomorrow morning to fly back to Cairo. But meanwhile we are enjoying it. We had a late substantial lunch here at a Lebanese restaurant to stand us in good stead as we’d signed up for the Son et Lumière at Karnak tonight.

    In the interval till then a few of us walked to the Winter Palace, a very classy and now expensive hotel which was about a 15 min walk away. Amr, Michael and I stayed there in 1988, it is old world elegance and just lovely…and has a beautiful garden where we sat and had a gin and tonic. Very relaxing. Sally and John, Evie and Peter Walmsley came with us. They got a taxi back, but it’s only 1.25 kms and took us 17 minutes…I haven’t been satisfying my Apple Watch with walking, so it was a chance to do a little…it doesn’t give credit for the difficulty when descending and ascending into tombs etc!!!

     Just back from the Son et Lumière which was ok, but a little disappointing…it started with the whole crowd slowly walking through the temple, stopping at intervals while they did the spiel…rather difficult walking on the uneven surfaces in the dark (ok for us, but we worried about the less able walkers)…we imagined it was a sitting audience experience…finally we did get to a seating part for the last 10-15 minutes, then had to make our way back…lovely to see the amazing structures again, and lit up.

    Now sipping a little wine and off to bed.    Read more

  • TravelerItaly and Egypt 2022
    Day 27

    Back in Cairo

    October 18, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    A good day, but no sights to report on…our brains can relax, and it is relative, but Cairo is much cooler than Upper Egypt (which is the south!)…in fact it is very pleasant tonight. We flew back from Luxor this morning, and by the time we got through the Cairo traffic from the airport we could check in to our rooms. We have a nice one with Nile view.

    So this afternoon I had a good session of downtime in the room after a little lunch. Amr had a swim and then relaxed too. Tonight we were all taken to an extremely nice restaurant - the farewell dinner. Beautiful food, at a table right by the river in the open air. Everyone disperses tomorrow except for our little group of 10. We are moving to a downtown hotel, Omnia will be back in her apartment, and we will stay there too after 3 nights in the hotel. Said a fond farewell to our wonderful guide Bassem and tomorrow after breakfast we are on our own - that is, our group, and the “tour” part will be over. Omnia and Amr have made some plans for the coming days, and we will have more exploring round Cairo, and meet with some of their friends.    Read more

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