Blogs from Upper Egypt, Egypt, Africa - page 12

Well we were out to it almost all night thanks to good earplugs and sleeping tablet each. We were so tired and the sleeper train beds were actually pretty comfy considering what we were expecting from the look of the outside of the train. After eating dinner they came in and converted our cabin to bunks. I feel asleep as you have just read while Ben was writing the blog and then settled in when he woke me up to get ready for bed! I only woke once at 6am to go to the loo which was on sonstant flush stuck somehow and the whole cubicle was flooded which was a lovely experience! Then back to bed and I faintly heard a knock on our door while I was dozing at 8am but ignored it which ... read more

Ahmed joined us again this morning when we met Hussein to arrange the transfer of our luggage to the Mövenpick Hotel on Elephantine Island and advise us that our Cairo hotel has been changed from the Hilton in the city to Le Meridien Pyramids out at Giza. Even before we left Australia we thought that this could happen because the Hilton is very close to Tahrir Square. After seeing just how close the Hilton was to the buildings that were damaged in the revolution of 25 January 2011 when we visited the Egyptian Museum, we thought it even more likely that we might be relocated to the hotel at Giza when we returned to Cairo. Of course our return to Cairo coincides exactly with the second anniversary of the uprising against President Mubarak. With our bags ... read more

This morning we awoke docked in Edfu. After breakfast on board the boat we took horses and buggies from the dock to the Temple of Horus which is dedicated to the Falcon God. Some of the horses are terribly skinny which is very distressing because they don't look strong enough to be pulling tourists around. There doesn't seem to be any alternative though to being taken to the temple in a horse and buggy. I guess it would be even worse for the horse if its owner wasn't getting the customers. Despite being off sightseeing again by 7.30am it was worth it to be amongst the first few tourists at the temple. Hussein has been really good at hustling us along so that we can beat the crowds and enjoy most of the sites without too ... read more

Español / Català Usermaatra Setepenra, the chosen of Ra, born to be a god, otherwise, he was deeply convinced. Son of Seti I and Queen Tuya was the third Pharaoh of the nineteenth dynasty. Rule Egypt for nearly seven decades between 1279 and 1213 BC with the name of Ramses II or Ramses Meriamon. Under his reign moved the Egyptian capital of Thebes to Memphis and then to Pi-Rameses on the Nile Delta. Fought at sea against shardana pirates. On land pacified Canaan and Syria, and confronted Hittites in the Battle of Kadesh. All these facts have been written in several stelae engraved in numerous temples. Fighting pirates told in the Tanis Stelae. Syrian campaigns in Eleuteros and Byblos ones. The Batt... read more

I awake at 7.15 with a call. Fuuuuck! We were meant to be leaving at 7.15! I chuck on some clothes and hurry down to reception. Everyone is there, I apologize for my lateness. They're all good suprizingly. They tell me to grab some buns etc from Reception for breakfast and before we know it we are on our way. First up is Valley of the Kings. We drive past Luxor temple on the way. I find out on the way that they missed me on the wake up call list. Ahhhh! I see!! As we arrive at valley of the kings it's breath taking, so huge! We head in the entrance and are told we are not allowed cameras. Lame. Our pass only allows us to enter 3 temples. So we enter two of the ... read more