Africa 2023

mei - juli 2023

Een 76-daags avontuur van Karen Meer informatie

61Footprints
12landen
76dagen
642foto’s
68video’s
21,2kmijl
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Reiziger Africa 2023
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- 21 jul. 2023 09:46
- ☀️ 102 °F
- Hoogte: 292 ft
- Egypte Aswan Wādī al Hūdī 24.096237, 32.89752524°5’46” N 32°53’51” E
Dag 75
59. Egypt - Aswan Dam & Temple of Isis
21 juli 2023, Egypte ⋅ ☀️ 102 °F
The Aswan High Dam is one of the world's largest embankment dams, which was built across the Nile in Aswan, Egypt, between 1960 and 1970, 60 years after the Low Aswan Dam. With its ability to better control flooding, provide increased water storage for irrigation and generate hydroelectricity, the dam was seen as pivotal to Egypt's industrialization.

Our guide described this as one of the most important industrial accomplishments in Egypt. It is guarded by the military, with the acknowledgement that the entire Aswan province would be flooded in 6 hours should the dam be compromised.

The dam was responsible for the creation of Nasser Lake, and at about 300 miles long and 10 miles wide, it is the second largest man-made lake in the world. The lake shares a border with Sudan, with 83% of the lake in Egypt.

We also went to the Temple of Isis, aka the Philae temple, which is an island-based temple complex in the reservoir of the Aswan Dam.Meer informatie
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Reiziger Africa 2023
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- 20 jul. 2023 13:01
- ☀️ 111 °F
- Hoogte: 295 ft
- Egypte Aswan Wādī al Hūdī 24.096038, 32.89766724°5’46” N 32°53’52” E
Dag 74
58. Egypt - Abu Simbel Temple
20 juli 2023, Egypte ⋅ ☀️ 111 °F
Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel near the border with Sudan. The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside in the 13th century BC,

To me, the most noteworthy fact about this temple was that it was completely relocated in its entirety in 1968 to higher ground to avoid it being submerged by Lake Nasser, the Aswan Dam reservoir. Can you imagine the level of effort & engineering?

Temple commemorates the 19th Dynasty reign of the Pharaoh Ramesses II, and his wife Nefertari.Meer informatie
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Reiziger Africa 2023
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- 19 jul. 2023 10:48
- ☀️ 104 °F
- Hoogte: 344 ft
- Egypte Red Sea Governorate Nag‘ el-Hubla 24.811082, 32.91150224°48’40” N 32°54’41” E
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Dag 73
57. Egypt - Nile Cruise
19 juli 2023, Egypte ⋅ ☀️ 104 °F
I failed to mention that we've been travelling through Egypt via cruise ship on the Nile. Our room is surprisingly large with great views, and the ride has been quite smooth. All food is buffet style, and with a full ship, filling your plate is a contact sport.

I would have to make the general observation that i enjoy travelling under our own power (as we did in South America in Craig's car) more than being part of a tour group, where you are herded around like a bunch of cattle. Maybe I'm just too old to be told where to go and what to do and when to do it for 76 days straight...Meer informatie
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Reiziger 😞
22-07-2023Reageren
Reiziger 👍
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Reiziger A nice comfy bed and air conditioning … ahhhhhh 😊
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Reiziger Africa 2023
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- 19 jul. 2023 10:00
- ☀️ 102 °F
- Hoogte: 200 ft
- Egypte Muḩāfaz̧at Aswān Nag‘ el-Ritag el-Bahari 24.891176, 32.86496224°53’28” N 32°51’54” E
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Dag 73
56. Egypt: Edfu - Edfu Temple
19 juli 2023, Egypte ⋅ ☀️ 102 °F
We sailed south on the Nile to the town of Edfu, and disembarked for a tour of - you guessed it! - Edfu Temple. The temple is dedicated to the Horus, a god in the form of a falcon whose right eye was the sun or morning star, representing power and quintessence, and whose left eye was the moon or evening star, representing healing.Meer informatie
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It's mind blowing how they could have such intricate and precise work way back then [Virginia]
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Reiziger Africa 2023
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- 18 jul. 2023 10:05
- ☀️ 102 °F
- Hoogte: 266 ft
- Egypte Luxor 25.70569, 32.64311125°42’20” N 32°38’35” E
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Dag 72
55. Egypt: Luxor - Luxor Temple
18 juli 2023, Egypte ⋅ ☀️ 102 °F
The Luxor Temple, located on the east bank of the Nile River, was constructed approximately 1400 BCE.

Unlike the other temples in Thebes, Luxor temple is not dedicated to a cult god or a pharaoh, but rather to the rejuvenation of kingship. Apparently it was where many of the pharaohs of Egypt were crowned.Meer informatie
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Amazing! [virginia]
11-08-2023ReagerenVertalen
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Reiziger Africa 2023
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- 18 jul. 2023 08:00
- ☀️ 95 °F
- Hoogte: 256 ft
- Egypte Muḩāfaz̧at al Uqşur Al Karnak 25.709983, 32.64881825°42’36” N 32°38’56” E
Dag 72
54. Egypt: Luxor - Karnak Temple
18 juli 2023, Egypte ⋅ ☀️ 95 °F
Today, a tour of the Karnak & Luxor Temples. Outdoors. 105 degrees F.

The Karnak Temple Complex is comprised of four precincts (sections) that took over 2000 years (during the reign of about 30 kings) to complete.

The Precinct of Amun-Re is the largest, and the only one open to the public. The temple complex is dedicated to the principal god of the Theban Triad, Amun, in the form of Amun-Re.

My eyes are starting to glaze over. I can't take any more churches, monasteries, tombs, temples, or ruins. They're starting to all look and sound alike.

Some pix attached.Meer informatie
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Reiziger Africa 2023
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- 17 jul. 2023 04:25
- 🌙 77 °F
- Hoogte: 341 ft
- Egypte Cairo Governorate Masākin at Ta‘mīr 30.111282, 31.39629230°6’41” N 31°23’47” E
Dag 71
53. EGP:Luxor - Valley of the Kings plus
17 juli 2023, Egypte ⋅ 🌙 77 °F
More temples & tombs - a tour of Valley of the Kings and Queen Hatsepshut's temple.

VofK:
During Egypt's New Kingdom (1539-1075 B.C.), the valley became a royal burial ground for pharaohs, queens, high priests, and other elites of the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties, thus becoming known as the Valley of the Kings. It is home to more than 60 tombs, including Tutankhamun (as in King Tut), Ramses II, and Seti I. The walls are adorned with hieroglyphics and colorful artwork that tell stories about ancient Egyptian life.

Queen H's Tomb:
Upon the death of her husband (who was her half-brother), Harshepsut ruled initially as regent to her 2 year old stepson, assuming the position as official pharoah several years later. In order to establish herself in the Egyptian patriarchy, she took on traditionally male roles and was depicted as a male pharaoh, with physically masculine traits and traditionally male garb. Hatshepsut's reign was a period of great prosperity and general peace.Meer informatie
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Reiziger Africa 2023
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- 16 jul. 2023 09:08
- ☀️ 88 °F
- Hoogte: 66 ft
- Egypte Muḩāfaz̧at al Jīzah Nazlat as Sīsī Maşrif Ghaţāţī 29.988803, 31.14622229°59’20” N 31°8’46” E
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Dag 70
52. Egypt: Cairo - Pyramids & Sphinx
16 juli 2023, Egypte ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F
Egypt - our last country! We immediately headed out to see Egypt's biggest claim to fame: the pyramids and the sphinx.

The Great Sphinx of Giza is one of the most famous statues in the world. Created from limestone, it depicts a mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion, and was built to guard the pyramids and tombs of Giza. It is the oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt, with archaeological evidence suggesting that it was created during the reign of Khafre (c. 2558–2532 BC), and the largest free standing sculpture to survive from ancient times.

I thought it was pretty cool.Meer informatie
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Reiziger Great shot!
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Reiziger Africa 2023
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- 13 jul. 2023
- ⛅ 82 °F
- Hoogte: 5.617 ft
- Ethiopië Amhara Region Say Āger 9, 39.59°0’0” N 39°30’0” E
Dag 67
51. Ethiopia: Lalibela
13 juli 2023, Ethiopië ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F
Ok, I was really grateful that Craig did all the work to research and book both our Ethiopia and Egypt tours. Truthfully, I was mostly focused on the 8 week safari-overlanding tour.

I thought I was up for it when he said these 2 countries would have more of a cultural focus. That is, until today, when we were subjected to a guided tour of ELEVEN churches in one day. I was numb after the first few, and looking for a spire to jump off of after a half dozen.

That being said, the eleven rock-hewn (carved into rock) Churches of Lalibela are monolithic structures named after the late-12th and early-13th century King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela of the Zagwe dynasty, who commissioned the massive building project of 11 rock-hewn churches to recreate the holy city of Jerusalem in his own kingdom. The site remains in use by the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Church to this day, and it remains an important place of pilgrimage for Ethiopian Orthodox worshipers. It took 24 years to build all the 11 rock hewn churches.

This was our last evening in Ethiopia - we celebrated dinner with our guide at a neat looking restaurant overlooking Lalibela.Meer informatie
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Reiziger Africa 2023
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- 11 jul. 2023
- ☁️ 68 °F
- Hoogte: 7.700 ft
- Ethiopië Amhara Region Debre Birhan 12.620793, 37.46821412°37’15” N 37°28’6” E
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Dag 65
50. ETH: Gondar - Fortress, church & fun
11 juli 2023, Ethiopië ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F
We visited Gondar, a city in northern Ethiopia known for the walled Fasil Ghebbi fortress and palace compound. King Fasil (Fasilidas) settled in Gondar and established it as a permanent capital in 1636. The fortress city functioned as the centre of the Ethiopian government until 1864. At the center of the compound is the immense 17th-century castle of Emperor Fasilides, which combines Portuguese, Indian and local architectural styles.

We also visited the Debre Birhan Selassie church, which means Trinity and Mountain of Light, and is the most famous place of worship in Gondar. Originally painted for those unable to read, every inch of the church walls are covered in vivid depictions of biblical verses.

But the real fun was heading out one evening to a local establishment called a "traditional house", where we watched the ekista dance. Eskista is a traditional Ethiopian cultural dance from the Amhara ethnic group performed by men, women, and children. It's known for its unique emphasis on intense shoulder movement. I gave it a shot, but, as usual, my enthusiasm outweighed my talent!Meer informatie
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Reiziger You did great!
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Reiziger Pretty good for a white woman
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