FYI: Egypt is CRAZY! There are around 80 million people in a country a little smaller than Quebec. Around 20 million of those live in Cairo. When we decided to go to Egypt we were told by many people that this is one trip you shouldn't plan on your own, and definitely don't rent a car and tour the country by yourself. After being there, we agree 110%. We were recommended to a travel company in Egypt and they set up our itinerary and arranged for all our tours and a tour guide. It was nice to be picked up at the airport and shuttled around. We arrived on Saturday April 27th and started our adventure early on Sunday.
Day 1: Sunday March 28th: Giza Pyramids
We started out at the Giza Pyramids on our first day. It was about an hour drive (it would have been 30 without crazy traffic) and it was surreal to see the top of the pyramids over apartment buildings. It never occurred to me that people would live in the shadow of the pyramids but when you have 20 million people in a city you have to put them somewhere. Our driver told us he sees the pyramids everyday! However, many Egyptians have never been to see them up close. Even when I told my students I was going to Egypt they all asked if I was going to Sharm El-Sheik, which is the beach resort area in Egypt. They seemed surprised I would go see the historical spots. I guess when things are close by you take them for granted, much like PEI! :)
We spent about an hour at the pyramids and took a camel ride with the kids, which was the highlight of the trip for them. You could pay extra to go inside the pyramids but our guide said it was not worth it. "Just an empty room." Unfortunately, we left Isaac's Buzzlight Year bubbles in the van and he was distraught! We will always associate the pyramids with Buzz!
The Sphinx, across the street from a lovely KFC and Pizza Hut. Our camel ride on Mickey Mouse and Moses. The man who took us was the first of many who asked us where we were from, and when we responded Canada he quickly said "Canada Dry!" It was funny the first three times, but got a little tired after the 50th!
Day 2: Monday March 29th: Sakkara Pyramids and the Museum
We were off early again on day two and drove for an hour outside of the city to the Sakkara Pyramids. These are the oldest pyramids (around 5000 years old) in Egypt and they are set up as steps. They are in the process of restoring these pyramids as their foundations are starting to crack and they are worried it will collapse. In my opinion this is just another example of some shoddy Egyptian workmanship, imagine a structure only lasting for 5000 years!
This hallway of pillars seemed impressive at the time. Little did we know what was waiting for us in Aswan and Luxor.
Here is the view from the Sakkara Pyramids. You can see different pyramids in the background.
We then headed off to the National Museum. It is an amazing museum and you could spend hours here and still not see it all. Our tour guide was trying to give us a tour but the kids just wanted to explore so he gave us an hour on our own. We paid extra to see the Mummy Room (oddly, there were no pictures of me in there....Zoe and Isaac liked this joke quite a bit!) and it was well worth it. The mummies are thousands of years old and you could still see their hair, teeth, and nails. We also visited Tutankhamen's room with all the treasures from his tomb. We couldn't bring cameras inside the museum so we could only get a few in front of the museum.
Side story: Some men were not so discreetly taking pictures of me in front of the museum. Not sure why they would be interested in a haggard looking white mother from Canada but they do have a few of me glaring at them and a few with me giving them the finger. Look for it on-line!! Seriously, we became very tired of people taking pictures of the kids. I know my kids are cute but really, what do you do with pictures of strangers kids!
A not so successful family picture in front of the museum.
I took this picture from the van and it is an example of the litter and pollution we passed by in Cairo.
We arrived in Aswan and met up with our new tour guide, Mohamed. He took us to our cruise ship and we spent a few hours getting settled and checking out the boat. I should explain that when I say 'cruise ship' I mean river boat. Our boat was five floors, six if you include the top deck with a mini pool and it could accommodate 200 people at the most. There were hundreds of these boats cruising up and down the Nile River. The kids were very excited to be on a hotel on the water.
That afternoon we went to Botanical Gardens on the Nile and to a Nubian Village (original group to settle in Egypt). Both spots were nice but very touristy and we were hassled quite a bit to buy things. We were actually in a Nubian home and they had crocodiles. When we ask Mohamed what cultural significance they had, he looked at us like we were crazy and said, "Well, the tourists like them!". The highlight of our afternoon was being on a small little boat getting a close up view of the Nile.
We had a late supper on the boat and spent the night docked in Aswan.
The Nile River with the Sahara Desert in the background.
Overlooking the Nubian Village. All the houses have thatched roofs and some of their rooms had sand on the floor.
Day 4: Wednesday March 31st : Aswan and on to Kom Ombo Temple
We were out the door and into the van by 8:00 and drove to the High Damn. It was the only part of the tour that focused on Egypt in the world today. We found the information interesting but the High Damn was..., well a dam! We then a caught a small boat and headed out to Philae Temple. This was our first temple and it was breathtaking. The kids were so excited to find hieroglyphics and kept saying, "Come check this out Mommy!" I didn't have the heart to tell them that they were not the first to discover these things. This temple was actually moved from it's original spot because when Egypt built the High Damn on the Nile the water levels changed and many of the temples were covered in water. I believe our guide said it took 8 years to move.
We then headed back to the boat for a quiet afternoon sailing down the Nile. The scenery was breathtaking and I took many many pictures. We sailed for a few hours and then docked at Kom Ombo Temple. This temple was dedicated to two different Gods. One was the crocodile god Sobek, who was god of fertility and creator of the world. Over the years almost 300 mummified crocodiles have been discovered around the Temple.
On the way back from the Temple we picked up some Egyptian clothes for the kids. There was an Egyptian party that night after dinner and Zoe was very excited about it. Unfortunately, she didn't even make it to dessert and feel asleep in her chair.
Zoe (with her adventure hat on) discovering hieroglyphics.
The outer wall of Philae Temple
Flat Stanley in front of the entrance to the temple!
The view from the boat. The sail boats are Falukas and were all over the Nile.
An evening visit to Kom Ombo Temple
Zoe, not so ready to party!!
I am not sure how they expected us to get the money to them but they kept throwing things up to us. I started to barter (not very seriously...offered 1 dollar for a table cloth!) and the man called me crazy and was extremely angry with me! I was very glad to be on the top of the boat.
Isaac checking things out!
An obelisk outside of the Temple. The Pharaoh's would build these with messages to the Gods. Some are as large as 97 feet!
This is a good example of what the walls looked like at the time of construction.
I like this picture because it shows the size of the Temple and the fact that Isaac was more interested in his Lighting MacQueen car then the Temple!
Girl Power!!
Day 7: Saturday April 3rd: Last Day!
We were packed up and ready for check out at 9:00 and off for our last adventure. We spent our last day visiting the Karnak Temple Complex. This is a huge combination of ruined temples, chapels, pylons and other buildings all started by Pharaoh Ramses II (ca. 1391–1351 BC) but added on to by other Pharaohs. It was INCREDIBLE!
Here I am in the Precinct of Amon-Re. It is one of the most visited monuments of Ancient Egypt.The hall covers an area of 50,000 sq ft (5,000 m2). The roof, now fallen, was supported by 134 columns in 16 rows; the 2 middle rows are higher than the others (being 33 feet (10 m) in circumference and 80 feet (24 m) high). (from wiki)
The Hughes/Leck Family!
There is our Egypt trip for you! I hope you enjoyed. As I look back at the pictures it amazes me that we were there and we saw all this history. This trip was our last big trip from Kuwait and it really does signify the beginning of the end of our Middle East adventure. Now we focus on selling our belongings and packing our keepsakes. There will be a few more blogs before I return and then KrazyaboutKuwait will be complete...where does the time go??