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Ancient Egypt and the Nile

February - May 2024
An open-ended adventure by Noella Read more
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  • TravelerAncient Egypt and the Nile
    Day 2

    Salam Egypt, Cairo

    February 21 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    We met with Caroline and the Approach group at the Toronto Airport at 9:45 and were in the air on time at 12:45.
    Flight with Egyptair was good (9.5 hours), and we arrived in Egypt at about 5:30 am Egypt time. A lot of security before leaving the airport and it took a while to get going to the hotel. The hotel is very nice and our room is lovely! 16th floor overlooking the Nile 😊
    First impressions of the city.... old, very "brown everything", quite dirty and smog. We are in the newer part, so a little better.
    Had some breakfast, which I really didn't need as we ate on the plane before landing. Very nice restaurant with a big selection.
    We are now in our room to take a nap (I am having trouble with that part), then we will head out for a felucca ride, dinner, and a light show at the pyramids tonight.    Read more

  • TravelerAncient Egypt and the Nile
    Day 3

    Tour of The Great Pyramids!!!

    February 22 in Egypt ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Left around 9 to head to Saqquara. The first and oldest pyramid. It is a step pyramid.
    We were able to go into the tomb of a Vizier, and as Mahala told us, it was indeed the best. Inside, though, it wasn't completely finished, were many drawings, carvings, and hieroglyphics... it was amazing!
    We left there and went for lunch and it was traditional and good as well.
    And then, the Pyramids!! Absolutely amazing... how was it even possible is still the big question. We walked around the 2 largest (khafre & Khufu) for a while and then took the bus to the Mencaure pyramid where we went inside. It was an adventure, and we did enjoy it, though, a bit of a letdown to what we both expected. When we got to the final chamber, after going through the very low and narrow walkway, we found nothing but some graffiti!!
    Those of us who did the inside also had a camel ride. I didn't want to but was told I could just sit and get pictures. The driver pretty much forced me to stay on, with Caroline and Mahala yelling at him, and finally, rather than creating a bigger scene, I agreed. I didn't enjoy the ride.... I was very high up. The saddle was not straight, and it was a rough ride. I was terrified to fall as it was very rocky. He took quite a ways to the waiting bus... I survived.
    We then bussed over to the Sphinx. He was amazing, but it was super crowded, which made it difficult to really see much.
    Our security guard for the day, Abduhah, was super amazing. He seemed to always be around to tale pictures, help some of the women down the bus stairs, and make sure to clear the way when it was too crowded.
    After the Sphinx, we headed back to the hotel. We had a bit of a break then to the bar for our welcome drink and dinner. We had a great time, the food was good and the company was excellent.    Read more

  • TravelerAncient Egypt and the Nile
    Day 4

    Discover Cairo

    February 23 in Egypt ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    After breakfast, we toured around Cairo for a bit and then headed into the Egyptian Museum of Cairo. It was very crowded. It's an old museum but was pretty amazing. Lots of statues, artificts, and burial caskets. We didn't go into the Tutenkamon room as it was super crowded. Instead, we went into the Tanis display rooms, which are very little known but almost as amazing.
    I bought a beautiful Egypt coffee table book for 700 EG.
    Lunch was at a rooftop restaurant... ok, traditional food but a little chilly.
    The next stop was the Khan el Khalili Souk. Similar to the medinas of Morocco but the streets were wider, and the vendors were definitely more aggressive. Due to the weekend for Egyptians, it got absolutely packed. Our bus was delayed for over an hour due to some diplomatic issue. Our bus driver is absolutely amazing driving through jam packed streets where we could have grabbed stuff from the window. I've never seen anything like it 😳😳
    Back to the hotel for a quick rest and then dinner. The dinner was Foods of Istanbul... it was good but I was tired and not very hungry. We sat with Marilyn and Allan and Jan and Nick... interesting conversation with really nice people.
    Bath and a sleeping pill ...must get some sleep.    Read more

  • TravelerAncient Egypt and the Nile
    Day 5

    Cairo to Alexandria

    February 24 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    We left very early for a 3 hour bus drive to Alexandria. The city was not what I expected.... maybe had a "dream" version in my head. It is of courae very old but the area's we went through were very poor. Very industrial city with low unemployment.... less than 1 %.
    Our first stop was the Catacombs of Kom El- Shoqafa. This represents Alexandria's largest remaining necropolos of the Greco-Roman period. It was very interesting descending into the "almost" bottom. Nice to see some of the pieces that would have been part of it.
    Next was the Roman Theater... an ancient rec center as a social hub of Alexandria under Roman rule. It was not very big but quite interesting as well.
    We stopped for lunch at the Fish House. Peter had, the fish and I had assorted vegetables. Heard the fish was fresh and awesome.
    We then to the Library of Alexandria. So Mahalal took on a very fast walk around what "was" the old library. Not a good idea as it took a few of us out... way too fast. Pretty much did me in for the day.
    And, it was closed!!! Very upsetting for all.
    So then we went to the Citadel. It was very cool. It was built using the stones from the .... famous light house ... one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. We enjoyed both the walk and theview and it wasn't overly crowded which wasnice.
    We headed back to Newgiza where we had dinner reservations. It was a verynicefancy outdoor restaurant. It's a bit chilly but not bad and a really nice view. The food was ok.
    Back late and off to bed.    Read more

  • TravelerAncient Egypt and the Nile
    Day 7

    Cruise of the Nile

    February 26 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ -2 °C

    Up super early today to get to the airport to fly to Luxor. There was not much traffic at 5, which made for a quick ride. Great flight, nice airport, and on the bus by 10 ish.
    Our first stop was the Karnak Temple Complex. Incredible!! It was busy but not crazy. Mahal gets so excited to show us particular spots she tends to move fast. It was so amazing and so much to see... I wish we had the day ( and no problem walking 😢).
    We went directly to the Luxor Temple and Courtyard, which is dedicated to the god Amun-Re. It is so amazing to walk among these gigantic columns and temples to the god... it is totally amazing that so many of the carvings even have colour still totally visible after all this time.
    The 74 columbed Courtyard of Ramses II is actually the outer parts of the temple featuring colossal statues of himself.
    Amenhotep's III's 14 columned Collonade (where I get to do Supernatural) was pretty impressive all on its own.
    We did not walk the 2 mile long Avenue of Sphinxes, though I would have loved to.
    While it's great having Mahal to give us all the information, I would love to have wondered on our own for a few minutes. She gave us half an hour which is what it took to get back to the bus.
    We went next to Blue Shadow II riverboat, which is to be our "home" for the next week. It is nice and our room is quite cozy but has a huge beautiful window overlooking the river.
    Lunch was good and we are now o the upper deck on deck chair soaking up some rays. Peter is sleeping and I am writing.
    There is no light show for me tonight .... my leg is not happy (again), and I need to rest for Valley of the Kings and Queens tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerAncient Egypt and the Nile
    Day 9

    Luxor to Edfu

    February 28 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Absolutely fabulous day!!! Our first stop was at the Valley of the Kings. We were able to tour 3 of the tombs. (Find from pics)
    We then traveled to Valley of the Queens, which again were awesome. (Look up which from pics).
    The final stop in the valley was the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut... absolutely incredible.
    We stopped at a spot called Colossi of Memnon, where there were 2 large statues. Unfortunately, the vendors were so aggressive we went back on the bus.
    We got back on the ship and set sail for Edfu. We had a very relaxing afternoon on the upper deck of the boat.    Read more

  • TravelerAncient Egypt and the Nile
    Day 9

    A Day to the Gods

    February 28 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    We arrived in Edfu during the evening. After breakfast we took a carriagw ride to the Temple of Horus. That was an experience!! Our driver and carriage were old and not clean. The town of Edfu looked very poor.
    The Temple of Horus was phenomenal. I was able to get a picture of where I work out in Supernatural, and it was still amazing.
    Back to the boat for lunch and off to Kom Obo. We had the chance to get off the boat as we stayed for a couple of hours, but running the vendor gauntlet was not appealing. Instead, we enjoyed the sunshine and afternoon tea and napped.
    This was the Egyptian Night and most of our people were totally dressed up. It was a really fun night with lots of laughing and pictures.
    We even went to the bar for a bit and danced.    Read more

  • TravelerAncient Egypt and the Nile
    Day 9

    Aswan & Elephantine Island

    February 28 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Up for early breakfast and bused to the Philae Temple. The Philae Temple was really nice.... up high, surrounded by water and not overly busy. It's definitely one of my favorites.
    We then drove over the old British dam built in the 1980's to get to Lake Nasser and Aswan High Dam. Quite the interesting story.
    Back to the boat for lunch, and then we walked down the harbor walkway to a waiting Felucca. The ride to the Nubian Village was really nice through marshes to a spot where we had to change to a tour boat with a motor.
    Once we had power, we could go through the cataracts... easy to see why ships of the early Egyptians could not traverse them!!
    We arrived at the Nubian Village and had tea in a "typical" home. It was interesting and we learned a little bit of their way of life.
    The shopping that we had been told would not be aggressive was awful. They were extremely aggressive and got pissed of when we said no. We did stop at a vendor with a nice shop who had signs everywhere saying no bargaining! What a relief, and we actually bought 2 small limestone figurines.    Read more

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