Tombs, Temples & Pyramids

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We landed in Dahab, a seaside Egyptian town on the Sinai Peninsula, after a long day of travel from Jordan. We started in Wadi Rum in Jordan, drove through Aqaba, Jordan-Israel Border, picked up visa at Egyptian embassy in Eilat, through Israel-Egypt Border and a 1.5 hour taxi ride from Taba to Dahad. Dahab used to be a small seaside village catering to hippie travelers and scuba divers in 70-80s and has now turned into a big tourist hangout spot.

We spent two days chilling by the sea and snorkelled around three pools - first time snorkelling experience for Alison. There are plenty of tropical fish to see underwater and the water is pretty warm. I spent an evening playing ping pong and drinking beer with the locals. Afer two days of rest in this beach town, we headed south to Luxor,through Sharm El Sheik/Hurgadha. Along the way, we met a missionary couple who tried to convince me that "The only way to reach God is through Jesus Christ" and a German couple that was touring on bikes from Germany to Kenya over three months!

We took a tour bus from Hurghada to Luxor and realized that there is a Russian invasion in Egypt. The new wealth created in Russia & cheap chartered tours has created a huge influx of Russian tourists to Egypt, most coming to get some sun at a Red Sea Resort. On our bus, we had 30 Russians, 2 Slovenians, 2 Estonians, 4 Swedes and the two of us. We met couple of Egyptian Tour guides were learning Russian to capitalize on the new influx from Russia.

In Luxor, we visited to Karnak Temple. The Temples were built 4000 years by the Pharaohs and has been enlarged, restored and decorated over a period of 1500 years . We then crossed the Nile river on a motor boat and went to visit the Royal Tombs in the Valley of Kings. We visited Ramses II, Ramses IV and couple of other Tombs and were amazed by the preservation of the beautiful wall paintings, even after 3000-4000 years.

In the evening, we checked into our Luxury Nile Cruise. We were excited to be in our Suite and found the ship to be fabulous, with open air views on the top where you can lounge and see the small villages go past you as you sail along the Nile. The food on the cruise was excellent and the entire journey on the Nile was relaxing. While on the Nile, one notices that only a 10km swath of land on either side of Nile is verdant with palm trees and crops. Most of the country's population is also concentrated along the Nile river. Beyond that, it is a barren desert.

While the cruise was docked in Luxor, we went to visit the famed Hatshepsut Temple. Hatshepsut was one of three women Pharaohs. She married her half-brother and ruled the kingdom when her husband died early. Her son, Tuthmosis III killed her to become the king, and was equivalent to Napoleon of Egypt. Tuthmosis III ensured that his mother's images were destroyed everywhere. Today, there is only one intact sculpture of Hatshepsut in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo - despite the vast temple she built for herself. We also visited Luxor Temple, that was built by Amenhotep III 3500 years. We saw many Luxor Art students at the temple drawing based on their inspiring ancient monuments.

Over the next two days, we stopped by old Pharaoh Temples in Edfu and Kom Ombo before arriving in Aswan. Before that, the cruise goes through the locks of Esna. The ship is elevated using a set of locks and sets sail again to Edu. At Edfu, we visited to famous Horus Temple. We took a horse drawn carriage to the temple. The temple was built for the Falcon God by Ptolemy III and completed by Ptolemy XII, father of Cleopatra in 57 BC.

We set sail again and glided along the Nile river watching beautiful sunrise and sunsets. We docked into Kom Ombo before sunset. Kom Ombo Temple was built by Ptolemy VI/XII. It worships Sobek, the crocodile God & Horus the Elder, the Falcon God. We saw macabre crocodile mummies. The temple is spectacularly set on the banks of the Nile and witnessed a beautiful sunset while at the Temple.

The next morning, we reached Aswan. We checked out of our Hotel and took a Felucca ride on the nile to see a Nubian Village. Aswan is close to Sudan and one can see the people are darker down here. I could easily be considered a Nubian, if only I could speak the language ! We met with the head of the Nubian village and walked around the colorful village, had some Hibiscus tea (Karkadera) at a villager's house and discussed Nubian life and politics. In the evening, we visited the Nubian museum. Nubian was an empire that stretched from Southern Egypt (Aswan) to Sudan and Ethiopia. For most of history, Nubian was occupied by the Egyptian rulers but Nubians still maintain a distinct identity.

Next morning, we got up at 3am to join a convey of 100 buses to visit Abu Simbel. When the Aswan Dam was built, it created a huge Nasser Lake that would have submerged the magnificent Abu Simbel Temple. With the help of UNESCO, the entire temple was disassembled and reassembled at a higher elevation. Ramses II, one of the greatest Pharaohs, built this colossal temple on the banks of Nile. Ramses II depicted himself as a god in this temple & the temple was built as a show of strength. Even today, after thousands of years one is inspired by the power of the temple.

After Aswan/Abu Simbel, we took the night train to get to Cairo. Cairo is a busy metropolis along the banks of the Nile. From our hotel room on the 27th floor, we got great views of the city in constant motion. We visited the famed Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The highlights of the Museum were the Royal Mummies, Tutankhamun treasures & Ancient Jewellery. We were impressed by the sophisticated civilization that existed 4000-5000 years ago. The clothing/Jewellery/shoes/paintings are very tasteful and can be used even today.

In the afternoon, we took a taxi to Giza to see the only remaining Ancient wonder of the world, Pyramids. I hate to say this, but I was a little disappointed with the Pyramids. They are huge and it is a marvel they built this gigantic tombs 4500 years with no machinery. But, from a visual perspective I was far more impressed with the temples and tombs of Upper Egypt. We talked around the pyramids and took some pictures near the Sphinx and made our back to Cairo.

The next morning, we went to Khan-al-Khalili, the souks of Cairo. We spent the day shopping for our Sheesha(water pipe), Chess set & Souvenirs. We visiting the famed Al-Fishawi Coffee, open for over 250 years, were we had our Sheesha with good Shai/Karkadera. Earlier, in the morning we picked up a few Egyptian sweets such as Busbusa, Kunafa & Umm Ali that we devoured with our Shai. We visited the famed Al Azhar Mosque, home to Egypt's highest Islamic Theological Authority. It was built in 970 AD and Alison felt their attitudes haven't changed much since then. She was uncomfortable in the Mosque and we left shortly and decided not to visit any more Mosques in Egypt.

In the evening, we saw Sufi Dancing where a sufi was spinning for over 1/2 hour and going into a trance. The entire troupe performance was fascinating and put a fine end to our Egypt tour. Btw, almost everyone in Egypt seems to know Amitabh Bachchan !

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