Egypt
Khaled Ibn Al Walid

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    • Day 7

      I finally walked like an Egyptian

      September 8, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ 🌙 38 °C

      Early morning balloon ride, Valley of the kings, and of course more temples! We went to one of the oldest temples that took over 1000 years to build. We went out for a traditional Egyptian dinner with Rocky, our tour guide. The waiter told me what we ordered was a "small meal" from the photo you can see our entire table was full of food 🙈. Needless to say, we could not finish and gave our leftovers to the driver!Read more

    • 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.
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    • Day 13

      Luxor, Egypt

      March 17, 2020 in Egypt ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

      Instead of sailing down the Nile today, we went on the bus to explore the Valley of the Kings, known as the "Gateway to the Afterlife"; which provides a window to the past. Many of the tombs within the valley were once filled with an abundance of antiquities. Though many suffered at the hands of grave robbers, others thankfully remained unscathed. Next is a visit to Deir el- Bahari, the mortuary temple of ‘Pharaoh Queen’ Hatshepsut. Rising out of the desert sands in a series of terraces, it’s an incredible sight to behold. On the way back to the river Nile, the road passes by the famed Colossi of Memnon, two massive stone statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep
      III. However, on the bus we found out that Sharon and Ron had organized flights to fly out from Cairo tomorrow morning. We also found out that the Cairo airport is definitely closing after midday on Thursday. With the help from Cath and with little internet along the way, Sil managed to book new tickets to get out. (Nile Airway from Luxor to Cairo the next morning $455.00/ and Cairo - Abu Dhabi- Sydney for $2500.00 on Thursday b4 midday) We left the group on the boat and booked into the Karnak's Mercure Hotel near bý, this way we could get to the airport quickly in the morning. We thought that was the best chance to get to Cairo and back to Aust.

      About

      The Valley of the Kings is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. This is a royal burial ground, with exquisitely decorated tombs for the pharaohs who ruled Egypt between 1539 and 1075 BC. There are over 60 tombs in this small area, although only a handful are open to public.
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    • Day 12

      Sailing down the Nile to Luxor

      January 1, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

      What a great way to spend New Year's Day morning!!

      We were up in time to have coffee and an omelette for breakfast. Then, we had a much-appreciated free morning. We sat up on the top deck in the sunshine watching life on the banks of the Nile. I made sure I had suitable reading material! 😂🤣Read more

    • Day 12

      New Year's Day lunch

      January 1, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

      The ship's crew really went to town with the lunch time buffet on New Year's Day! It looked amazing and tasted even better. The main course was Beef Wellington, no less!

      The best thing? We were not too tired to appreciate it! 😀Read more

    • Day 11

      Tag 11

      March 21, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

      Mit Boot vom Hotel über den Nil. Mit Bus zum Tempel von Hatschepsut -Terassentempel am Steinbruch. Dann zum Tal der Konige. 3 Gräber besucht! Thutmosis IV; Tausrert und Sethnacht (Doppelgrab) und Merenptah. Tee Pause vor Medinet Habu. Abends Licht Show in Karnak!Read more

    • Day 125

      Luxor, Egypt

      April 18, 2018 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 100 °F

      On Wednesday we docked at the port of Safaga and drove to the southern Egyptian city of Luxor to visit the temple complex at Karnak and the Valley of the Kings. The temperature was about 106 degrees F, and the air was extremely dry. Karnak, which was called Thebes in ancient times, is amazing. It was the capital of the New Kingdom, lasting from 1550 to 712 BC. The site contains a complex of 10 temples, each of which is large enough to hold about 10 European cathedrals. It is hard to imagine the size of the temple at Karnak without actually experiencing it. It boggles my mind to think that this enormous city of religion was visited by no one but the priests and royalty. Common people woshipped in much smaller local temples near their homes. These temples must have been mysterious, beautiful, and awe-inspiring.

      At the Valley of the Kings Glenda fulfilled a childhood dream. When she was a little girl she would often fantasize that she was discovering the tomb of a pharaoh. Several years ago when we came to Egypt, she had hoped to have that experience at the Great Pyramid. However its passageways are simply unadorned empty shafts and she was disappointed. Today she fulfilled her dream. As we entered the tomb of Ramses IV we were in awe. The hieroglyphic inscriptions are beautiful, and the colors are still alive and fresh. We were not allowed to photograph the interiors of the royal tombs, but I hope you can go on the internet and see photos of the tombs of Ramses IV and, of course, Tutankhamen. On my Facebook post I have Included a virtual reality presentation of the tomb of Ramses IV. Nevertheless, one must see the beauty of this place to believe it.
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    • Day 10

      Luxor Explorations

      January 18, 2019 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 4 °C

      We awoke to the sound of morning prayers this morning. The initial call was fairly nice and peaceful but soon the mass of different prayers echoed around us. Outside, the deck was strangely dry, no morning dew as I padded out in my wooly socks. If not for the temperature, I think it would've been very nice, not that it wasn't.

      Our crew provided another tasty breakfast, this time including pancakes as we drifted slightly further down river to a waiting van that would drive us the rest of the way to Luxor (4 hours given how little distance we'd covered the day before.

      The city itself is smaller than Cairo and Aswan and we found it quite pleasant to walk around until the hassling began. Luxor after all is the hassling capital of the world. Not to waste the day, we dropped our bags at the hotel and headed out to Karnak Temple, a stunning complex and stories that we'll remember even if the names require a little googling. We had some free time to explore, I wish we had a bit more time here.

      After that, back to town and a quick stop at the jewelry store for some silver. Debated getting something and then passed. (Only to wish the next day I'd gotten something and then thinking if and when I would actually wear it. Oh well, next time). We passed through the souk to get back to our hotel and the hassles arose. Pretty much every shop wanted you to look at their stuff. Even though we've gone through this at Aswan, this took it to the next level. We managed to escape unscathed, save for the bottle of sand art that I was wanting to get anyway.

      Group dinner out tonight at Al Sahaby Lane Restaurant, tried the camel burger and Oum Ali for dessert. The burger was good, but the dessert gets a pass. Also couldn't resist fried cauliflower and lemonade with mind =)
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    • Day 11

      Luxor Temple at Night

      January 19, 2019 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      Returning from the West Bank, we were free to explore the rest of the day, and did we pack it in! I had a craving for McDonald's french fries, and then we browsed through Aboudi Bookshop next door which had a number of neat souvenirs and a great book selection.

      We then wandered down the corniche (path along the Nile) to the Winter Palace, popping into a few shops along the way. The hassles are constant annoyingly with guys offering feluccas or wanting to chat you up and follow you for a bit, but it's more manageable with two people than if one were wandering on their own.

      The Winter Palace is a fancy-ish old hotel, like the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan. I'd read it was a great place to have a drink and watch the sunset. I think the writer was probably there at a different time of the year though as we checked out the view and sun appeared to be dipping behind some trees. With that, we skipped the drinks and headed right down to the corniche and found ourselves a spot to watch sunset and try a time lapse on the go pro. What we'd hoped would just be a peaceful viewing was interrupted by the constant conversation by one local man and then another. Imagine trying to invent a boyfriend and giving fake names to fend them off!

      As soon as the sun disappeared, we headed off to Luxor Temple. Our guide had mentioned the best time to go was around 5pm, just as natural light was disappearing and the artificial light was coming up. This way you could still see the details in natural light and appreciate the beauty of the night views. It took a little while to find the ticket office as it's tucked away just below street level and there was still a number of people streaming in and wandering about.

      We got a little addicted to the multitudes of columns and took many photos. For once, it was nice not to be on a time constraint and wander as long as we wanted. Some of the lights weren't on yet, so we turned on the flashlights and admired some of the hieroglyphics in two "alcoves", giving us a very different experience than all the previous temples. It felt like how early archaeologists must have felt when they first came across the temple and they had no light but that of candles or torches.

      By the time we left, much of the crowd was gone and more lights were turned on. Luxor Temple was a place we could have just continued to linger. I suspect given the opportunity, we would have liked to have done the same at all the other temples on this trip.
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    • Day 6

      Luxor, Valea Regilor și insula bananelor

      February 22, 2021 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

      Azi mergem sa călătorim în timp.
      Ne trezim la 4:30 dimineața.
      Drumul a fost lung dar am apucat sa vedem mai mult despre ce înseamnă Egipt. Mizerie, sărăcie crunta și turism de mana a doua. Peste tot pe unde oprești ești asaltat de vânzători ambulanți, pentru care negocierea începe de la 50 de euro și se sfârșește undeva la 5 euro când, cu disperare trag de tine sa cumperi suveniruri făcute în China.
      Ajungem la Luxor și trag bine aer în piept. Construcții de 4000 de ani se întind cu măreție în fata noastră. E o enigma cum au reușit oamenii ăștia sa distrugă o civilizație asa de bine calculata și maiestruoasa și sa ajungă aici.
      Trecem peste disconfortul de la intrare (negustori, bai murdare, continuu sentiment ca ești furat) și ne pierdem printre coloane. Ascultam cuminți descrierea ghidului, incercăm sa descifram hieroglife și ne străduim sa trăim momentul. E amețitor.
      Vizitam o fabrica de alabastru, coloșii lui Memnon și Valea Regilor.
      Valea Regilor e și mai frumoasa, în plin soare poți admira grandoarea mormintelor săpate in zeci de galerii, adânc în pamant, în speranța că faraonii vor rămâne în eternitate.
      Traversam Nilul albastru și plin de viata și ajungem pe insula bananelor. Plătim 10 euro de persoana și ajungem într-un mic sătuc ce cultiva bananieri, ne facem poze, enervam aligatorii și ne umplem burțile de banane înainte sa plecam spre hotel.
      Cu bune și cu rele, o zi memorabila
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