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Egypt Experience

November 2022
A photojournal of a journey around Egypt with Intrepid Travel. Read more
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  • TravelerEgypt Experience
    1
    Day 8

    Nile Cruise 1; The Temple of Kom Ombo

    November 24, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    We leave Aswan and the first stop on our Nile Cruise is the town of Kom Ombo, to visit the temple here.

    The Kom Ombo Temple is about 30 miles north of Aswan situated on a promontory at a bend in the Nile, where in ancient times sacred crocodiles basked in the sun on the riverbanks here .

    The Temple is unique because of its 'double' / mirror image design meaning that there are courts, halls, sanctuaries and rooms duplicated for two sets of gods; the southern half of the temple was dedicated to the crocodile headed god Sobek (fertility) and the northern part of the temple was dedicated to the falcon headed god Haroeris aka Horus (power and healing). There are many reliefs and carvings; an interesting place to visit.

    There is also a small museum here dedicated to Sobek; it features a number of mummified crocodiles and statues in the shape of crocodiles. Quirky!

    We leave Kom Ombo and the ship stops overnight at Edfu.    Read more

  • TravelerEgypt Experience
    Day 9

    Nile Cruise 2; Edfu to Luxor

    November 25, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We leave Edfu at about 8am; Intrepid trepid Travel tours do not visit Edfu Temple for ethical reasons, but that does stop the other tour groups making a short and rushed visit.

    There are excellent views from the top deck, where we relax for the morning until we reach Esna. Here there are two barrages that act as bridges over the Nile; just before reaching them many small boats come to the ship and throw their wares up in the hope that they will be inspected and purchased, since cruise ships do not stop here. Each barrage has a lock to allow vessels to pass through.

    We cruise on to Luxor, arriving at 3:30 pm; we dock close to the magnificent Temple of Luxor and disembark.    Read more

  • TravelerEgypt Experience
    Day 9

    Luxor 1; Downtown and Luxor Temple

    November 25, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We disembark and walk to Luxor Temple along the Corniche and via the bazaar.

    The Temple was founded by Amenophis III and added to by Tutankhamun and Ramesses II, with the Sanctuary rebuilt by Alexander the Great. The Temple was half covered by sand and silt for centuries and very recently The Avenue of Sphinxes has been uncovered; this linked Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple back in the day, and it is now possible to walk the 2.8km between them again.

    From the Avenue of Sphinxes we enter the Temple via its gateway of two pylons, one 25m high obelisk (the other of the original pair is on La Place de la Concorde in Paris) and 6 colossi og Ramesses II. We pass into the Court of Ramesses II, where a mosque has been built on the remains of colonnades. We walk along the Collonade of Amenophis III to the Court of Amenophis III and on to the Hypostyle Hall, with its Roman altar. We then reach the inner sanctums and visit the Birth Room and the Sanctuary of Amun's Barque.

    We walk back to the Cruise Ship for our final evening on it.    Read more

  • TravelerEgypt Experience
    Day 10

    Luxor 2; Karnak - The Precinct of Amun

    November 26, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    The Temple Complex of Karnak is second only to the Pyramids of Giza on the list of "Wonders of Egypt". There are three separate enclosures or "precints", with each dedicated to one of the Theban Triad of Gods (Amun, Mut and Khonsu); together,. they cover an area of 100 acres Like most tours, we visit The Precinct of Amun, which is by far the grandest (and largest at 62 acres).

    We enter the Temple of Amun via the Processional Way and pass the largest pylon in Egypt as we reach the Temple Forecourt. As we leave, and just before the second pylon, is a colossus of Ramesses II; we then enter the Great Hypostyle Hall - 600 square metres of titanic columns where the original colours are being recovered using special cleaning techniques. On the outer walls of the Hall are reliefs of battle scenes. Beyond the third and fourth pylons there are obelisks before we reach the Sanctuary.

    We leave the Temple of Amun and enjoy views from around the Sacred Lake and walk through some of the open air museum to the Temple of Khonsu where there are some excellent wall reliefs; the Temple of Opet is here too and we see this and enjoy a fine view back over the Precinct of Amun.

    Opposite the Temple of Khonsu is the Gateway of Euergetes II which opens to the Avenue of Sphinxes; this provides a direct route between the Karnak Complex and the Luxor Temple.

    Another fantastic visit.    Read more

  • TravelerEgypt Experience
    Day 11

    The Theban Necropolis

    November 27, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Situated on the Western Bank of the River Nile, opposite Luxor, is the Theban Necropolis. Like the Pyramids, it is a testament to the Ancient Egyptians obsession with death and resurrection. There are many funerary monuments here, including:
    - The Valley of the Kings
    - The Valley of the Queens
    - The Tombs of the Nobles
    - The Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Beiri
    - The Colossi of Memnon
    - The Ramesseum
    - and others too.
    This post features some of the "lesser"" monuments.    Read more

  • TravelerEgypt Experience
    Day 11

    The Valley of the Kings 1

    November 27, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    The Valley of the Kings is removed from other parts of the Theban Necropolis; the site was selected by Pharaohs because of the pyramid shaped mountain peak of Mount Al-Qurn. There is a total of 63 Royal Tombs here, and relatively few are open to the public. Our guide selects her favourite three to cover the three that we can visit with our ticket:

    The Tomb of Ramesses IV is noted for its colourful reliefs.

    The Tomb of Ramesses III is the grandest of the Ramessid tombs and has 10 side chambers.

    The Tomb of Tausert/Setnakt is noted for having two burial chambers; the first is for Seti's wife, Tausert, and this was usurped by a disgruntled Setnakt.    Read more

  • TravelerEgypt Experience
    Day 11

    The Valley of the Kings 2

    November 27, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    We pay extra to visit two more tombs:

    The Tomb of Tutankhamun is the most famous in the Valley of the Kings, but is tiny because of his short reign. Discovered by Howard Carter in 1922, its treasures are in the Cairo Museum.

    The Tomb of Seti I is the finest and deepest in the Valley of the Kings. It was closed for many years but now open at a high price to keep it exclusive! It is noted for the quality of its painted relief decorations and the vaulted ceiling of the burial chamber.    Read more

  • TravelerEgypt Experience
    Day 12

    Cairo 4; Islamic Cairo - Khan El-Khalili

    November 28, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We fly back to Cairo from Luxor this morning and after landing set off in the coach to see some of the real thing - Islamic Cairo.

    The Fatimids established Cairo as their new capital in 973; they built city walls around medieval Islamic Cairo and we see some of these and the portals (gates) in them. We then set off along the streets of the bazaar to reach its centre - the Khan El-Khalili, a famous souk area in this historic centre. We have a falafel sandwich wrap before exploring further and meeting up at the large Mosque Al-Hussein.Read more

  • TravelerEgypt Experience
    Day 13

    Cairo 5; Islamic Cairo - The Citadel

    November 29, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    The Citadel of Cairo is a medieval Islamic-era fortification in Cairo, Egypt, built by Salah al-Din (Saladin) and further developed by subsequent Egyptian rulers. It is located on a promontory near the centre of Cairo and commands a strategic position overlooking the city and dominating its skyline. It is now an iconic and preserved historic site, comprising mosques and museums.

    The southern enclosure is dominated by the Mosque of Mohammad Ali; it is also known as the Alabaster Mosque because the lower storey and forecourt is tiled with alabaster.  It is built in the Turkish style, with an open court and prayer hall.  The open court has a Turkish Baroque Ablutions Fountain and a monumental tower clock in the middle of the north-western wall; donated by Prince Philippe of France, it was reciprocated by a the obelisk of Luxor (now in Place de la Concorde).  The huge prayer hall inside is vast and noted for its two minbars (pulpits used for sermon reading).  We then visit the Mosque of Sultan al-Nasir and have a look in the Police National Museum.

    Much of the northern enclosure is closed to the public at present, but the Egyptian Military Museum is open; this is the official museum of the Egyptian Army and was moved to the Harem Palace at the Cairo Citadel in 1949; the interior of the place is extremely large and very beautiful.

    We take a taxi back to the hotel in good time to transfer to the airport and the flight home.  The Egyptian Experience trip has been fantastic.    Read more

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