Luxor, Sinai Penninsula, and the parting of ways


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Africa » Egypt » Sinai » Dahab
October 31st 2010
Published: October 31st 2010
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Train from Aswan to LuxorTrain from Aswan to LuxorTrain from Aswan to Luxor

Dad and I jumping on
My dad, brother, and I took off the next morning for Luxor via the train. The journey was approximately three hours down the Nile. We arrived at the train station to overaggressive locals bombarding us with taxi offers as soon as we stepped foot outside. We grabbed a taxi and headed to Emilio hotel, which ended up being a great deal. It was a nice 3 star hotel with a rooftop pool that we used quite a bit, as the temperature was around 110 the whole time we were there. Luxor used to be called Thebes, and was the ancient Pharaoh capital city. After we checked into the hotel, we proceeded to the Luxor museum, which included the Mummy of a Pharaoh that had been in a museum at Niagra Falls for 140 years, until someone figured out that it was a Pharaoh and had it returned to Egypt. That night we went to Luxor Temple, which was right across the street from our hotel..Many Pharaohs had contributed to it, Tutankhamen being one of them. In the 13th century, they build a Mosque right on top of one of the walls. It was strange to see it sitting on top of
Luxor TempleLuxor TempleLuxor Temple

Jer, Justin, John
an ancient temple. The temple wasn't very large, but it was very impressive to look at at night with all of the lights shining on it. We spent some time wandering around.

The next morning we got up and grabbed a taxi over to the West Bank via a ferry and went straight to the Valley of the Kings, which of course is where the tombs of the Pharaohs are buried. With admission, you get to see three tombs of your choice, with the exception of Tut, that costs extra. There were no camera's allowed in that whole area, so most of my images there are committed to memory. We went to see Ramses IX, Twosret/Sethnakht, and Thutmose III, the latter who we had just learned about the previous day at the Luxor Museum. We also payed the extra money to see Tut. We went there first to beat the crowds. It payed off as there were only two other people in his tomb. His mummy was in the corner in the antechanber, the room that we entered the tomb through after walking through the passage. The burial chamber had an encased gold coffin for the body, one of three. The other two we had seen previously in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Unfortunately the Treasury Chamber and the Annex were closed off. Howard Carter discovered this tomb in 1922, and it was literally right under the tomb of Ramses VI. Tut died when he was 19, and is probably the most famous Pharaoh only because his tomb is the only one that has been discovered (so far) almost untouched. There was a lot of digging going on in the Valley of the Kings. They are constantly searching for more tombs and restoring the known ones. They only have about 8 open at a time, as they are constantly doing a restoration rotation of the tombs. Tut was going to be closed the next month so we were lucky to see it.

Before we went back over to the East Bank, we stopped at another place called Habu Temple, which my Lonely Planet book had recommended. I found it to be impressive, as I did with just about all of the ruins we were exploring. Driving around the West Bank, there seemed to be countless spots with ancient statues and temples and ruins. It was overwhelming. I am fascinated with ancient Egypt and probably could have spent another week exploring that area. We decided to skip the Valley of the Queens. It was really hot and the rooftop pool sounded like a good idea. We spent the rest of the day there. The next day I went to Karnak twice, once in the morning with my Dad, and once at dusk with my brother Jeremy. Karnak was huge, the most impressive part of it being the center where there were 134 huge stone pillars and the remains of part of the ceiling of what was once a very large room called the Great Hippostyle Hall. In between Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple is the Avenue of Sphinxes which run in between the two great temples. There used to be 730 of them, only 58 still remain. Much of it is underground with streets running perpendicular to it. There is an effort going on to uncover the rest of the ancient road, which will definitely change the traffic routes in Luxor. That night we went to the mummification museum which we all thought was a waste of money, but at least it was air conditioned a place to escape
Front of Luxor TempleFront of Luxor TempleFront of Luxor Temple

It looks really cool with the lights
the extreme heat that was supposed to have gone away by October.

Very late that night three of us took a delayed Egypt Air flight that left between 1 and 2 am back to Cairo. Jeff took the night train and met up with us the next morning. We went back to the President Hotel in the Zamalek area. We spent the last day relaxing for the most part. Our last night we went out to eat at Sequoia, the same place Jeff and I had gone to earlier. Afterward, the two of us caught a night bus over to Dahab. We left the hotel a few hours before Dad and Jer had to leave for the airport to catch their flight back home. Thanks for coming out to visit, it was a blast! Good to see you guys!

We arrived in Dahab the next morning and checked into Bishbishi. We were now on the Sinai Penninsula, which almost feels like another country. There were countless checkpoints and passport checks on the ride. We were meeting up with our friend Signe, a Dutch girl we had previously spent a week with in Kampala, Uganda. We met up with her, her sister Emma, and a couple of their friends. Her sister is a singer for a band that plays in Sharm El Sheikh, a touristy town about an hour South of Dahab. Both cities are on the Red Sea, which has the clearest water I think I have ever seen. Across the bay in Dahab you can see the Saudi Arabian coastline. I'm told its a bad idea to take a boat over to the other side. We spent a couple of days hanging out with the girls on the beach. We found a beach front resort that never had any people staying there. The manager was so happy to have company that he let us use all of his facilities for free, so we spent the next couple of days going back there. We now call it 'the spot', and go there almost daily. I've shared the secret with a few people that I have met at my hostel.

After the girls left, Jeff and I decided to climb Mt. Sinai, which is the mountain that Moses climbed to obtain the 10 commandments from God. We took off around midnight on a bus with 5 other people.
Tut's tombTut's tombTut's tomb

Jer very cleverly took this picture without being caught
It took about 1.5 hrs to get there. On the way up the mountain we passed St. Katherine's Monastery, which was built in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian (anyone else think of my mom and myself when they read those names?) Within the monastery is the ancestor of the original burning bush, which is the bush in which God supposedly spoke with Moses (it reminded me of the singing bush from the movie The Tree Amigos), as well as the water well in which Moses supposedly met his first wife. The hike took just over two hours, but I think it can be done in 1.5. It was really cool climbing it at night. We had a full moon that was reflecting off of the cliffs all around us. Looking up the trail, I could see the lights of the other hundreds of tourists doing the same pilgrimage we were doing. We got to the top and found a spot to watch the sunrise. There were two different buildings on the top that I assumed were churches. The end of the hike had 700 steps to climb. We took a different way down which had over 3000 steps. Going
Habu TempleHabu TempleHabu Temple

Jer taking a break
down I was glad I didn't go up that route, that would have made for a difficult climb. We ended up getting back to Dahab around noon and relaxed the rest of the day. It was a great hike and one I would definitely recommended to anyone visiting Sinai.

The next day Jeff and I decided to go South to Sharm El Sheikh to watch our friends perform their show. The girls we were hanging out with were two of the three lead singers. They are all based out of LA and mostly sing hip hop. We scoped the place out before the show and found a bouncer to give us a discount to get in. The next day we mostly hung out with our friends in an area called Na'ama Bay, which is where all the tourists all hang out. We went to a 'mexican restaurant' which ended up being an epic fail. We've been talking about Mexican food for months and can't find any! The next morning Jeff took off for Jordan, and then will go on to Israel before he flies back to California. We've had an unforgettable 6.5 months. We started out the trip as cousins and ended it as brothers. It's been real Jeff! I think we did a good job of making our presence known in Africa. This really has been the trip of a lifetime. We should have done this years ago.

I stayed behind for one more night in Sharm and hung out with Emma, and her friends Fefe and Dale (who is also in the group). We went to see this guy called Saki, who every Thursday night sings to a karaoke machine with broken English. He seems to have a large following. I was cracking up. I'm now a big fan. The next morning I jumped on a bus and went back to Dahab. I like it much better, its a lot less touristy, and a lot more laid back. It's where I am currently lost in translation waiting for Sher and her sister Tiff to get here from LA. They are coming out to visit me for a week. They are making a pit stop in London to watch the Broncos beat (hopefully) the 49ers. We are meeting up in Sharm and will spend a half a week there, and the rest of the week in Cairo.
Scarab statue in KarnakScarab statue in KarnakScarab statue in Karnak

My dad had just watched 'the mummy' and was obsessed with Scarabs. They were used to replace the heart during the mummification process.
I will probably not write another blog for a while, as this next week will mostly be a repeat of things that I have already seen and done. When the girls leave, I will stay in Cairo for three more days, and then will catch a flight to Kathmandu, Nepal on Gulf Air via spending the night in Bahrain (the kingdom Michael Jackson went too after his trial). It will be time to continue to move on. Mt. Everest is calling my name.


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Emilio HotelEmilio Hotel
Emilio Hotel

Jer and Jeff escaping the heat in the rooftop pool
Chillin at DahabChillin at Dahab
Chillin at Dahab

Fefe, Jeff, Signe, Emma, Justin
On top of Mt. SinaiOn top of Mt. Sinai
On top of Mt. Sinai

Us and 1000 other people waiting for the sunrise
Waiting for the sunrise on SinaiWaiting for the sunrise on Sinai
Waiting for the sunrise on Sinai

our spot as far from the tourists as possible
St. Katherine's MonestarySt. Katherine's Monestary
St. Katherine's Monestary

View going down the 3000 steps
The burning bushThe burning bush
The burning bush

Can you hear me now?


31st October 2010

egypt
Looks like Egypt turned out! Thought I was supposed to meet ya there if it came to fruition? oh well, maybe next time ...

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