Monday, June 28, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Catch up in Cairo
I haven’t kept up with my blog this past week because we’ve been so busy on our tour of Egypt! It’s been a terrific trip, and right now I am camped out at my lovely hotel back in Cairo for a much needed “rest day.” I am not going to leave the hotel today except to acquire water and food – I seriously need a break from all the noise, hassling, haggling, and offers for Egyptian husbands.
I believe I left off before our trip to Abu Simbel temple – on Tuesday (June 22) we left in the caravan at “stupid o’clock” as Nicola called it, but I’m glad we did! By the time we arrived, the sun was already blazing and there was no place to escape from it, but since it was early in the morning we managed to avoid some of the scorching heat of midday. The temples were take-your-breath-away exquisite; unfortunately, there are no cameras allowed inside, but the outside gives you an idea of the grandiosity of these temples. We spent a couple of hours exploring Abu Simbel, then started the long bus ride back towards Aswan.
On our way home we stopped at an Egyptian Pharmacy – which is actually a perfumery. We got a crash course in how essential oils and perfumes are made, complete with a free lunch and massage by the Nubian women who work there. They made us try about 25 different scents and we all left the Pharmacy covered in perfumes and oils. For the first time since arriving in hot Egypt I really smelled great, and of course I bought a yummy scent for my honey (called “Sphinx” – raaawwwr!).
Wednesday morning we woke up to board our felucca boat, which is a simple, traditional Egyptian sailboat. It was an awesome, relaxing break from all the insanity of the cities! The deck of the boat was covered in comfortable mattresses and we had a fabric roof to protect us from the sun; we spent the entire day sailing down the Nile River on our comfy, breezy felucca boat which we named GINA. It was so lovely!!! (from the left that's Nathan, Nicola and Euan. I think those are Spencer's legs) Sights along the way included a couple of donkeys being amorous and a stark naked man taking a dip in the water. See if you can spot the camels just chillaxin' next to the river! That night we docked and slept on our felucca boat on the Nile, under the stars.
Thursday morning (June 24) we woke up with the sun (it’s hard to sleep past sunrise when you’re sleeping outside), brushed our teeth, then loaded our stinky selves onto a van to head for two small towns and their temples.
At the start of the Kom Ombo Temple, Mudi gave us a little history and showed us some pictures of important hieroglyphics in a book. It was a bit like an Easter egg hunt after that, trying to find the real-life versions of the photos he had shown us. The first one was my favorite (ha ha ha!!). I found it! :-) I also think the hieroglyphics of medical equipment are pretty cool. The mummification process was actually an advanced surgical procedure that we still, to this day, have not been able to successfully duplicate.
After Aswan we drove to the town of Edfu where we stopped to visit the Temple of Horus. It's the most well preserved ancient temple in Egypt. If you look at the third picture below, you might notice that it looks like someone took a hammer to the images of the people. That's exactly what happened - during the early years of Christianity, groups of Christians did this to many of the ancient ruins. They especially had a field day in Edfu.
After a few more hours we finally made it to Luxor, checked in to our very nice hotel, and spent the evening relaxing and exploring.
I realize that we woke up so early to beat some of the heat, which I honestly appreciate, but it’s a little weird to wake up every morning of your vacation before 5 AM! However, on Friday we had another early wakeup call so that we could begin what I think might have been my most favorite part of the tour – a 1 ½ hour donkey ride to the Valley of the Kings! My trusty, friendly donkey was named Casper and he did a great job carting me along the west bank of the Nile at sunrise. It was AWESOME!
We arrived at the Valley of the Kings, which is basically a huge archeological site where dozens of pharaoh’s tombs have been discovered – including the tomb of King Tutankhamen. It was an awesome place that would really take days to explore, and of course no cameras were allowed inside. One ticket allows you access to only three tombs, so we took Mudi’s recommendation on which three to visit. They were fantastic and all of us were disappointed that we couldn't see more. Guess I’ll have to come back another time!
After Valley of the Kings, we caught our van to Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple – the only female ruler ancient Egypt ever had. Check out the hieroglyphic of the dude drinking right out of the cow's udder!
We had the rest of the afternoon free to explore Luxor, which was probably my favorite city that we visited in Egypt. This little dude cracked all of us up – he wanted to give us a shoe shine, even though we were only wearing flip flops. I gave him a dollar to let me take a picture with him. He was so cute!!
The last outing we had as a tour group was definitely the most amazing – Luxor Temple at sunset. The temple itself is awe inspiring, and to see it at sunset and at night was just breathtaking. It’s a huge, huge temple that actually got added on to by several different pharaohs and even some Christians. There is a fantastic road lined with sphinx statues that leads up to the front of the temple, then a huge obelisk at the entrance (there were two obelisks, but only one is still standing). Luxor Temple was buried beneath the sand for ages and various buildings and roads had actually been built on top of it before it was discovered. The only building remaining is a mosque that is planted right in the middle of the temple. As we were enjoying the sunset and watching the temple lights come on, the mosque’s muezzin added a haunting air to everything. It gave me goose bumps!
This morning we again woke up at “stupid o’clock” and caught an early flight back to Cairo. I found a great little hotel that is really nice and the proprietors are helping me set up some activities for tomorrow.
Oh yeah, in case you are too lazy to go to McDonalds, they have delivery service in Luxor.
At the start of the Kom Ombo Temple, Mudi gave us a little history and showed us some pictures of important hieroglyphics in a book. It was a bit like an Easter egg hunt after that, trying to find the real-life versions of the photos he had shown us. The first one was my favorite (ha ha ha!!). I found it! :-) I also think the hieroglyphics of medical equipment are pretty cool. The mummification process was actually an advanced surgical procedure that we still, to this day, have not been able to successfully duplicate.
After Aswan we drove to the town of Edfu where we stopped to visit the Temple of Horus. It's the most well preserved ancient temple in Egypt. If you look at the third picture below, you might notice that it looks like someone took a hammer to the images of the people. That's exactly what happened - during the early years of Christianity, groups of Christians did this to many of the ancient ruins. They especially had a field day in Edfu.
After a few more hours we finally made it to Luxor, checked in to our very nice hotel, and spent the evening relaxing and exploring.
I realize that we woke up so early to beat some of the heat, which I honestly appreciate, but it’s a little weird to wake up every morning of your vacation before 5 AM! However, on Friday we had another early wakeup call so that we could begin what I think might have been my most favorite part of the tour – a 1 ½ hour donkey ride to the Valley of the Kings! My trusty, friendly donkey was named Casper and he did a great job carting me along the west bank of the Nile at sunrise. It was AWESOME!
We arrived at the Valley of the Kings, which is basically a huge archeological site where dozens of pharaoh’s tombs have been discovered – including the tomb of King Tutankhamen. It was an awesome place that would really take days to explore, and of course no cameras were allowed inside. One ticket allows you access to only three tombs, so we took Mudi’s recommendation on which three to visit. They were fantastic and all of us were disappointed that we couldn't see more. Guess I’ll have to come back another time!
After Valley of the Kings, we caught our van to Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple – the only female ruler ancient Egypt ever had. Check out the hieroglyphic of the dude drinking right out of the cow's udder!
We had the rest of the afternoon free to explore Luxor, which was probably my favorite city that we visited in Egypt. This little dude cracked all of us up – he wanted to give us a shoe shine, even though we were only wearing flip flops. I gave him a dollar to let me take a picture with him. He was so cute!!
The last outing we had as a tour group was definitely the most amazing – Luxor Temple at sunset. The temple itself is awe inspiring, and to see it at sunset and at night was just breathtaking. It’s a huge, huge temple that actually got added on to by several different pharaohs and even some Christians. There is a fantastic road lined with sphinx statues that leads up to the front of the temple, then a huge obelisk at the entrance (there were two obelisks, but only one is still standing). Luxor Temple was buried beneath the sand for ages and various buildings and roads had actually been built on top of it before it was discovered. The only building remaining is a mosque that is planted right in the middle of the temple. As we were enjoying the sunset and watching the temple lights come on, the mosque’s muezzin added a haunting air to everything. It gave me goose bumps!
This morning we again woke up at “stupid o’clock” and caught an early flight back to Cairo. I found a great little hotel that is really nice and the proprietors are helping me set up some activities for tomorrow.
Oh yeah, in case you are too lazy to go to McDonalds, they have delivery service in Luxor.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Egypt is HOT
No, I mean REALLY hot, a heat like I’ve never before experienced. No, seriously, you can’t comprehend how hot it is – I am not exaggerating or kidding – we rode camels in the desert of Aswan at somewhere around 130F. I actually didn’t know that it was possible for human beings to survive temperatures that high. I spent the entire time concentrating on not throwing up and not passing out and falling off the camel. Later that day, local temps read 60C – which is 140F.
Besides the unbearable heat, Egypt is amazing! I definitely recommend coming to visit when they aren’t having a record breaking heat wave. January or February is probably quite nice.
In Cairo, on Sunday, we visited the Egyptian History Museum, which houses an incredible collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts (including King Tut’s complete tomb!). It’s crazy to see 4000 year old things up close and personal that I’ve only previously read about or seen in photos. Unfortunately, many of the monuments and museums do not allow any photography inside, so I only have a few pictures from outside the museum. (Well, ahem, maybe I tried to sneak a couple of pictures with my iPhone that didn’t turn out great. Here is a mummy of one of the ancient queens and a mummified doggie.)
After spending several hours at the museum we made our way to the Great Pyramids of Giza. It’s a little strange to be driving through the suburbs of Cairo and see one of the Great Pyramids poking out from behind some buildings, but Cairo has grown right up to the borders of the area. Once we entered the pyramid area, however, it was like being transported to another world. Those suckers are huge!!!
We went inside the medium sized pyramid, the one behind the Sphinx – it’s nothing much inside, just some long narrow tunnels that lead to a room with a coffin. But I can now say that I’ve been inside an ancient pharaoh’s tomb in Egypt!
After the pyramids we stopped for some delicious falafel and then on to a papyrus factory, where we learned how the ancient Egyptians used the papyrus plant to make paper. We got to try it out for ourselves, then did a little shopping for some lovely paintings on papyrus paper. Since I have a little collection of art from most of the countries I’ve visited, of course I had to make a purchase here!
Sunday night we made our way to the train station to take an overnight sleeper train to Aswan. I’ve never been on an overnight train before! I had my own cabin and the 12-hour ride was pretty cool. All of our cabins were right next to one another, and there was an unintentionally retro Club Car a couple of cars down – it was too smoky for me to hang out for long, but I did get one surreal picture that kinda captured the spirit of it all. From the left that's Nathan, Brian and Spencer.
This morning (Monday) we arrived in Aswan, which is a small town right on the Nile in the far south of Egypt. It's picturesque and much calmer than crazy Cairo - these two photos are the view from the rooftop of our hotel. We checked into our hotel, showered (which I have since realized is a pointless venture because the buckets of sweat start pouring as soon as you get out), and then took a little motor boat over to the west side of the Nile. This is where the desert camel ride in the ridiculous heat happened, and I honestly don’t remember most of it due to the previously mentioned concentration on not fainting and not throwing up. We rode (for what seemed like hours, but I think it was only 30 minutes) out to a sixth century monastery called St Simeon.
I asked Mudi, our guide, to make my camel go faster for the return trip, so he tethered my camel to the back of his and we literally galloped through the desert back to our boat. This entire experience would have been a lot of fun if my skin hadn’t been hot enough to bake cookies on. The boat took us to Kitchener Island, which contains a botanical garden where I sat on a bench in the shade and tried to regain consciousness while everyone else walked around.
After shade, lots of beverages, and dumping a liter of cold water on my head and torso, I was feeling much more human when we re-boarded our boat and made it over to a Nubian village where we met up with a very nice man and had a delicious lunch in his house! It was awesome (the food, the village, the company, the experience – all of it!)! One of the Nubian ladies came by and gave us all henna tattoos.
Tomorrow morning we wake up at 3 AM to join a caravan down to Abu Simbel temple. Apparently, Abu Simbel is out in the middle of nowhere, so the Tourist Police of Egypt require all tourists to travel in an escorted caravan to the site for safety reasons. Otherwise, the road to Abu Simbel is deserted and if your vehicle breaks down you’re screwed. Unfortunately, the caravan leaves at 4 AM! But we just have to wake up, board the van, and then sleep for the 2-3 hour drive to Abu Simbel. Good night!
Besides the unbearable heat, Egypt is amazing! I definitely recommend coming to visit when they aren’t having a record breaking heat wave. January or February is probably quite nice.
After spending several hours at the museum we made our way to the Great Pyramids of Giza. It’s a little strange to be driving through the suburbs of Cairo and see one of the Great Pyramids poking out from behind some buildings, but Cairo has grown right up to the borders of the area. Once we entered the pyramid area, however, it was like being transported to another world. Those suckers are huge!!!
We went inside the medium sized pyramid, the one behind the Sphinx – it’s nothing much inside, just some long narrow tunnels that lead to a room with a coffin. But I can now say that I’ve been inside an ancient pharaoh’s tomb in Egypt!
After the pyramids we stopped for some delicious falafel and then on to a papyrus factory, where we learned how the ancient Egyptians used the papyrus plant to make paper. We got to try it out for ourselves, then did a little shopping for some lovely paintings on papyrus paper. Since I have a little collection of art from most of the countries I’ve visited, of course I had to make a purchase here!
I asked Mudi, our guide, to make my camel go faster for the return trip, so he tethered my camel to the back of his and we literally galloped through the desert back to our boat. This entire experience would have been a lot of fun if my skin hadn’t been hot enough to bake cookies on. The boat took us to Kitchener Island, which contains a botanical garden where I sat on a bench in the shade and tried to regain consciousness while everyone else walked around.
After shade, lots of beverages, and dumping a liter of cold water on my head and torso, I was feeling much more human when we re-boarded our boat and made it over to a Nubian village where we met up with a very nice man and had a delicious lunch in his house! It was awesome (the food, the village, the company, the experience – all of it!)! One of the Nubian ladies came by and gave us all henna tattoos.
Tomorrow morning we wake up at 3 AM to join a caravan down to Abu Simbel temple. Apparently, Abu Simbel is out in the middle of nowhere, so the Tourist Police of Egypt require all tourists to travel in an escorted caravan to the site for safety reasons. Otherwise, the road to Abu Simbel is deserted and if your vehicle breaks down you’re screwed. Unfortunately, the caravan leaves at 4 AM! But we just have to wake up, board the van, and then sleep for the 2-3 hour drive to Abu Simbel. Good night!
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