EGYPT - the Cruise

We started the cruise portion of our trip by flying from Cairo to Luxor where we boarded the MS Giselle. We spent the next 7 days cruising the Nile River and stopping in several cities to visit the temples and ruins. It was my first cruise and I loved that it was a small ship that held 150 passengers. With 75 employees catering to my every need, I truly felt like a Queen. On board we feasted on 3 meals a day, including many special Egyptian vegetables, salads and desserts. I can't begin to write about everything we saw in the 7 days, so I'll hit some of the highlights of the Cruise. We took the Wonders of Egypt Trip guided by Trafalgar Tours. First, we visited the gigantic temple complex of Karnak which is the largest temple complex ever built by man. It was so exciting to walk down the Avenue of the Sphinx above which once stretched for more than 2 miles between the Temples of Karnak and Luxor.

That afternoon we rode by horse-drawn carriage to the Temple of Luxor (below) which largely dominates the town and was built parallel with the Nile. It has been used almost continuously (and still is) as a house of worship since it was built by King Amenhotep III, completed by Tutankhamun and added to by Ramses II.

On the 3rd day of our cruise, we visited the West Bank and Valley of the Kings. It seemed like every day I was overwhelmed by the fact that I was really there in Egypt, actually walking over such historical grounds and in temples built thousands of years ago.

The sacredness of the Valley of the Kings created a spiritual cloud that enveloped me as I walked through the area, which was the most moving ruin sight for me. I have no personal pictures of the area as we were not allowed to take pictures there. We did go down into King Tut's tomb. Our tour guide, Sammy, warned us that it was a rip off -- not worth the $20 additional fee to go in it; but hey, how could I have gone to Egypt and not seen King Tut's tomb. (and it wasn't worth the money as it's quite small and all the artifacts are in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo)

As of 2008, there are 62 tombs and chambers in the Valley of the Kings, ranging in size from a simple pit to a complex tomb with over 120 chambers. The tombs are decorated with scenes from Egyptian mythology and give clues to the beliefs and funerary rituals of the period. While all of the tombs have been opened and appear to have been robbed, it is still fascinating to actually go down into the tombs and just imagine what life was like for the Pharaohs and kings. We went into 4 tombs and my favorite was King Seti II with its numerous rooms, hieroglyphics and colors still so vivid on the walls in the tomb. (see stock photo below)
I would have loved to have spent more time exploring the tombs, but that's one of the drawbacks of being on a guided tour because our time in the Valley of the Kings was limited to 2 hours. But it's still the safest way to travel in Egypt and to maximize the number of Temples and sights you can visit in a few weeks.

We also visited the breathtaking Deir el-Bahri, Queen Hatshepsut's impressive temple. I found the story of Queen Hatshepsut really interesting because she was one of the original feminists. She had run-ins with the Kings and other high rulers, so she decided to dress like a man as she wanted to be taken more seriously. That's Sue and I in front of her temple. Unfortunately, her Temple was also the site of a massive attack in November 1997 which left 71 people dead, which further why you need the securityof traveling with a group when in Egypt.
Everywhere you go in Egypt, the locals will try to sell you something. It gets very tiresome and you have to be firm with your "NOs" for them to stop bothering you. But, by far, the wildest approach in shown in the pictures below. While waiting in the Esna lock on the way to Edfu the tourists are a captive audience so the locals come by ship to try and sell their wares. It is just a riot, as they literally throw bags with everything from dress to shoes to carpets up on the top deck of the ship. Then the tourists yell down to them what they are willing to pay. Once the negotiated price is agreed upon, the tourist puts the money in another bag and throws it down to the ship.

I'd highly recommend an Egyptian Tour that includes cruising because it's just such a relaxing way to go. We'd usually sightsee in the morning; have lunch and then cruise to the next town. Every afternoon at 4 pm, they would serve high tea on the top deck.

Again, if you plan a trip to Egypt, go in late winter/early spring to avoid the high temperatures. Egypt was everything I expected and more -- so for me it truly was a dream come true!!

(There we are below with Sammy, our tour guide, on the top deck of our cruise ship.)

EGYPT - CAIRO

We spent the first 2 days of our exciting Egyptian adventure staying at the LeMeridien Pyramids Hotel Cairo. It was the perfect location, so close to the Great Pyramids, that you can see them from your room and the pool. Again, part of the 5-star treatment provided by Trafalgar tours. For me, the 2 most important monuments that I had to see were the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx.

The most well-known and photographed of the Pyramids is Cheops, which is approximately 540 feet tall, the equivalent of a 54 story high building. I've always been curious as to how they were actually built. The most widely held theory as told by our tour guide, Sammy, is they cut big limestone blocks , then gangs of men dragged the blocks to the pyramid site and pushed the first layer of stones into place. Next, they built long ramps of earth and brick to drag up the next layer of stones. They continued this process until they made it to the top. Finally, they covered the pyramid with an outer coating of white casing stones which is why the pyramids always look smooth in pictures. While Sammy's story seemed plausible, it's such an amazing engineering feat, that it's still hard to believe that's how they were actually built. As shown in the picturs in the EGYPT Planning BLOG below, we actually climbed the lower section of Cheops, which for me was one of the most thrilling things we did.

The other mystical sight was the Great Sphinx which is a creature with a human head and a lion's body. Of all the myth0logical stories we heard, the one most fascinating to me was how the Sphinx was found as it was buried for most of it's life in sand. The story goes that when Thutmose was still a prince, he had gone hunting and fell asleep in the shade of the sphinx. During a dream, the sphinx spoke to Thutmose and begged him to clear away the sand because it was choking the sphinx. The sphinx told him that if he did this, he would be rewarded with a kingship. Thutmose carried out this request and the sphinx held up his end of the deal. The statue is crumbling today because of the wind, humidity and the smog from Cairo.

After 2 days in Cairo, we flew to Luxor to begin our cruise which will be covered in the next EGYPT BLOG.

At the end of the cruise, we flew back to Cairo and spent 2 more days there visiting several of the local Mosques and the world-famous Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The Museum is just overwhelming as it houses over 120,000 objects, including the mummies of Egyptian Pharaohs, sarcophagi, sculptures and furniture We spent just 3 hours there which wasn't enough. I'd highly recommend that you take a tour that visits the Cairo Museum at the start of the tour as I feel you'll get more out of visiting the temples by having seen the jewels and antiquities first. To truly take it all in, you'll need a few days so look for a tour that gives you the option of extra days in Cairo. For me, the highlight of all exhibits were the jewels and antiquities taken out of King Tut's tomb. King Tut's Death Mask was just breathtaking, with the colors still so vivid after all these years.

When visiting one of the mosques, we had to take off our shoes and also put on the green capes pictured below as our pants were too short.

The picture below was taken inside one of the mosques and the other is an of over-crowded Cairo. I've never seen anything like the dense living conditions there. The final tip on traveling in Cairo is NEVER DRIVE. The drivers there are more reckless than those in either Italy or Paris --- so always take a guided tour.

EGYPT- Planning the Trip

One of the luxuries of being retired is having the time to take a trip in off season which reduces the price and makes sightseeing more enjoyable by avoiding crowds. Since 1970 I’ve wanted to see the Pyramids and the Great Sphinx in Egypt and was thrilled to finally make that dream come true earlier this year. As mentioned before, Sue and I started our trip in Europe and visited Germany and Italy for the first 2 weeks. We then flew from Frankfurt to Cairo on April 29th and spent almost 2 weeks in Egypt. I'm dividing the BLOGs on Egypt into 3 parts -- planning the trip, Cairo, and the cruise. I'll include some photos with each BLOG.
I always love the planning stage of any trip because of the excitement I feel in anticipating the adventure. Since this would be my only trip to Egypt, I decided to take a 5-star tour through Trafalgar Tours which turned out to be a great choice. They not only booked us in exceptional hotels and provided a luxurious cruise ship but I felt very secure on the trip as there were armed guards accompanying our group. I didn't realize it until I actually started travelling through Egypt, but there are still unsafe areas, but at no time did I feel threatened. In planning a trip abroad, for travel advisories always check the State Department's website at http://www.state.gov/

For any potential health problems, consult the Center for Disease Control website at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx to determine what vaccinations you'll need. Also, carefully plan what you'll bring as most foreign tour operators now allow only one 26" suitcase. Many museums will require you to cover your head and knees so bring appropriate clothing.

A great website for clothing tips is http://contiki.com/contikipedia/articles/suggested-packing-list-egypt Be sure to get all your medications filled well in advance. The most useful items I found for traveling in Egypt were a hand-held battery operated fan; a ventilated hat and a small square scarf. What I loved most about traveling with Trafalgar is that from the minute we arrived in Cairo until we departed Egypt, their tour guide and other personnel more than delivered on everything promised in the brochure. From all my travel experiences, that was truly a pleasant experience -- to have my expectations exceeded!