Backpacking: Egypt

19: UK to Cairo – Leave Heathrow at 6.20am (after staying up the night in the airport) and arrive in Cairo that afternoon. Join Topdeck Tour that afternoon.
20: Cairo to Luxor – Egyptian Museum, Giza and Pyramids, night train to Luxor
21: Luxor – Valley of the Kings. Ramesseum Temple, Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Colossi of Memnon, light show at Karnak.
22: Luxor to Aswan – Temple of Karnak, Temple of Luxor, Aswan
23: Aswan – Abu Simbel and Temple of Hathor, felucca ride at Elephantine and Kitchener Islands, swim in and drink the Nile, Nubian village, bazaars
24: Aswan to Cairo – Temple of Isis and High Dam, night train to Cairo
25: Cairo – Saqqara, Coptic churches, Khan el Khallili market, dinner cruise on the Nile.
26: Egypt to Amsterdam – Tour ends in morning, taxi ride to airport, leave Cairo in afternoon to arrive in Amsterdam that evening.

Though a bit nervous at first about going to such a culturally different country, I eventually loved Egypt. Our guides, Rafik and Ahmed, were both very welcoming and insightful, fantastic guides for their country and culture. Our tour was small, only 15 people that were mostly Taiwanese or Aussies, but became very familial very quickly. The Egyptians were also very friendly and welcoming, though some uncomfortably eager to sell their goods in the markets (though I recognize that it was their right and livelihood to do so). As a woman that did not easily blend in, I received my fair share of uncomfortable compliments, such as being compared to a glass of milk and offered up in exchange for some camels. As for the landscape, culture, and history, I was more and more entranced the further south we went into Egypt. The pyramids in Giza I found rather underwhelming in comparison to the temples in Luxor with their impressive structures, hieroglyphs, and history. I loved the prayers being called from the mosques, the food, and the language. All in all, Egypt was fantastic all around.

(photos: Cairo from our hotel; Egyptian Museum; me infront of the Great Pyramid (look closely at its bottom-left corner... I'm in a black shirt); me infront of the Second Pyramid; and the pyramids of Giza with Cairo in the background)






(photos: me at the Sphinx; morning from our night train near Luxor; sign at the entrance to the Valley of the Kings; Valley of the Kings; and our group at the Valley of the Kings)






(photos: Temple of Hatshepsut; hieroglyphs at the Temple of Hatshepsut (still in original colors, have not been altered); Karnak Temple (my favorite!) with the row of ram-head sphinxes; columned room at Karnak, originally only for priests, high priest, and pharoh; and what columned room originally looked like, with much of original color still visible (though not in these posted photos of Karnak))






(photos: Temple of Luxor; Sunrise over the Sahara on the way to Abu Simbel; Lake Nasser from Abu Simbel, only about 25 km from the Sudan; Trace and me at the Temple of Hathor at Abu Simbel; and me at the Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel.)






(photos: On the felucca, with our guide Rafik on the right; feluccas on the Nile; drinking the Nile; at Philae Temple; and more feluccas and the Nile as seen from our Hotel in Aswan)






(photos: Giza Pyramids as seen from city; Khan el Khallili bazzar; and Tristen, Rafik, Matt, Ahmed, and Fiona on our Nile dinner cruise our last night.)