Snorkeling by the Red Sea Our first stop this morning was snorkeling by the Red Sea. I found snorkeling in the Red Sea intimidating and a little scary. There was a strong current pushing me towards the reef and I admit that I am not the best swimmer. I ended up cutting myself on the reef and decided not to go back in the water due to the strong current. Nevertheless, other travelers in the group said that they had an amazing experience snorkeling and would highly recommend it. I think Dahab would be a great area to visit for more experience swimmers. Dahab is known as the site for the "Blue Hole" nicknamed the worlds most dangerous diving site. It is also home to the "Canyon" another internationally famous dive site. It is one of ... read more

Today, was dedicated to exploring the wonderful city of Cairo. Our first stop, the Egyptian Museum! The Egyptian Museum The Egyptian Museum houses the worlds largest collection of ancient Egyptian Artifacts. During our trip to Cairo, the Egyptian government had just finished building a beautiful, new, more advanced, and larger Egyptian museum closer to the Giza plateau. The museum officials were in the process of moving the artifacts from the current Egyptian museum to its new location. So not all of the artifacts were on display at the old museum. The old museum looked like it needed a makeover as it was in a state of organized chaos. It was small and overcrowded with no air conditioning. However, it did have the ambiance of an old storage warehouse. Going through the museum would not be as ... read more

This morning we had to unfortunately say goodbye to the amazing crew who took care of us on our Felucca journey for the past two nights as we head back to Luxor. On our way to Luxor, we stopped at the Temple of Edfu, which is considered the best preserved temple in Egypt. Temple of Edfu The Edfu temple is the second largest temple in Egypt after Karnak Temple. It has an inner sanctuary and is dedicated to the falcon god Horus. As the son of Osiris and Isis, Horus avenged his father Osiris's death at the hands of Seth in a great battle at Edfu. Seth was exiled and Horus took the throne. Egyptian Pharaohs claim to be the incarnation of Horus, who was said to be "the living king." The temple was buried in ... read more

Today, Renata and I are heading early in the morning to explore the temple of Abu Simbel. Then we are going to check out the Philae Temple and end our evening boarding a felucca to cruise along the Nile. Abu Simbel We arose early in the morning at around 3:00 a.m. to head towards Abu Simbel. Abu Simbel is an elaborate temple constructed by the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II. The temple is mainly cut into a solid rock cliff, and depicts the victory of Ramses II during the Hittites at Kadish battle in 1274 B.C. The Grand temple entrance has four seated colossi of King Ramses II on his throne at different ages. In the inner sanctum there are four statues: Ra, Amun, Ptah and Ramesses himself. The temple was built in such a way ... read more

Today, we set out to explore the famous pyramids in Egypt. The pyramids were tombs created by Egyptian Pharoahs. The Egyptian pharoahs believed that they would become gods in the afterlife. To prepare for the afterlife they erected temples to the gods and massive pyramids tombs for themselves filled with all the things they would need in the next world. While the pyramids of Giza are the most famous in Egypt, there are more than 130 other pyramids discovered scattered throughout Egypt. One such pyramid is the step pyramid in Saqqara. The Step Pyramid in Saqqara The step pyramid in Saqqara was built by the Pharoah Djoser in 2700BC. It was planned by Imhotep, an ancient Egyptian vizier who became known for his incredible achievements. The step pyramid at Saqqara is considered the oldest complete stone ... read more