Blogs from Upper Egypt, Egypt, Africa - page 74

We woke up early this morning to sail to the town of Ferris to transfer from our Felucca to our van that will take us to Luxor. We traveled along a desert highway past small poor villages and people going about there daily life. There were people farming, childern playing, and people traveling to their jobs. We drove to the Temple of Edfu which was filled to the brim with tourists. There were bus loads of people going thru the temple. This temple still had its roof and the temple was just hugh. At this point in my trip all the temples have been amazing but now they are starting to look similar but how can you not enjoy them. After the Temple we joined the police convoy of three vehicles to Luxor. Our driver depending ... read more

We joined the Felucca boat at 10:30 am in Aswan. The Felucca was captained by Eub and his first mate and cook named Mohammed. The great thing about the Felucca is that you have nothing to do but relax. The crew takes care of all the sailing jobs and the cook prepares your meals. All you have to do to lounge around on the mat under an awning to protect you from the sun while watching the Nile, Date Palms, and Mango trees go by. The first night we stopped on a little island that was home to water buffalo that is that is looked after by there care takers who live in the village nearby. The Felucca is like a step back in time where everything is simple and you can relax. ... read more

I spent a semi restless night on the overnight train from Cairo to Aswan. The train was 2 hours late because between Luxor and Aswan some thieves had stolen the communication cables for the train to communicate with the stations. So with no communication the train went down the track very slowly and stopped frequently. After arriving in Aswan I was greeted with a spectacular view of the Nile. The water is semi blue with Feluccas (Sail Boats) sailing down the nile and date palms all along the shore. After taking a nap our group headed to a boat to be taken across the Nile to a small village. We were shown the home of the boat driver and watched a video of his cousins marriage. Later we taken to the desert where we mounted our ... read more

(Kev) We only had a week to cover all of Egypt. So that meant fun nights of all night travel on trains and busses, I think in all the week in Egypt is the least amount of sleep I have ever gotten in a seven day span. The lack of sleep was worth it though because the days were fully action packed. Following the Nile, we got right to exploring temples. We saw four in all, Karnak, Luxor, Kom Ombo, and Edfu. They were everything I hoped for...and expected actually. It was just like the movies, huge statues, and pillars, and all sorts of Egyptian writing and inscriptions on the wall. The one thing we didn't get to do, that I had hoped to see was the valley of the kings...but that will be for next ... read more

Day 5: Cairo to Aswan Let's see.. Last you heard from me, I was in a cafe with hooka smokers and domino players, right outside the fruit market.. That night, we took a 14 hour train ride from Cairo to Aswan.. Definately not a sleeper car, we were in decent seats, but they kept the light on all the time. Leaving at 10pm, we arrived right at noon.. Checked into our hideaway next to the Nile. After a few hours rest, we headed over to Elaphantine Island and relaxed at a traditional Nubian home. We then went off for a nice camel ride across the sanddunes and ended up at another Nubian house with a fabulous meal. Nice relaxing day along the Nile, all the village children came and danced for us, then with us. We ... read more