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Egypt! The land of the
pharaohs, the pyramids, and The Nile! Ever since we
have been married, Egypt
has always been at the top of our trip wish list. In 2010, our dream came true.
Believe me, I felt like pinching myself from the time we landed in Cairo to
sailing into the Temple of Abu Simbel
not too far from the Sudanese border.
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| Giza & The Sphinx |
We awoke the next morning to a breath taking view of The
Nile. After breakfast, we left for the pyramids at Giza. We climbed up to the
entrance of the largest one but did not go inside since you had to crawl most
of the way through it. From there, we went to the Sphinx. I remember thinking
how close this monument was to town. There were street merchants all around,
but they didn’t hassle you. I remember buying two necklaces from the cutest
little boy.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Egypt without a camel ride so that
was our next stop. The camels looked regal with their colorful woven blankets
and handlers in traditional garb. I got up on one which surprised me!
After lunch in a local outdoor restaurant where they cooked
chickens in the ground and had restrooms that were mere holes in the dirt
(culture shock), we drove to the step pyramid, the oldest pyramid on record.
Since it was the prototype, its structure was not perfect,
but it was situated in n the Sahara desert. Not too far away, lush tropical
greenery from Nile irrigated fields served as home to water buffalo and
donkeys.
Our second day in Cairo, we visited the largest mosque in
Egypt and the Cairo museum. The museum was raided with relics destroyed during
the Arab Spring. The Arab Spring began less than two months after we arrived
home. Filled with ancient treasures, the coral colored building was not air
conditioned back then except for Tutankhamen’s room. At the time of our visit,
the museum housed many royal mummies and archeologists had just discovered a
new one of a queen. Tutankhamen’s burial mask was inlaid gold as were his two
sarcophagi.
The next day, our flight to Luxor left at four AM. From the
airport we went to
the temple of Karnak filled with statues and drawings. I was
greeted by a small dog sleeping at the feet of the statute Ramses. That same
day, we went to the Temple of Luxor with its enormous columns and its promenade
lined with small sphinxes.
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| Luxor |
That evening we took a horse and buggy ride with Omar and his
horse Rambo through the market where your eyes feasted on colors and your nose
inhaled spices before attending a light and sound show at Karnak. We watched
the show, but could see men digging not too far away reminiscent of Indiana
Jones.
One our tour, we visited the Temple of Horus with paintings
dating back to 1500 B.C and visited the museum at Luxor.
Leaving Luxor, we toured the Valley of the Kings. We went
inside the tombs of Ramses II and Ramses VI and of course the most popular
Tutankhamun’s tomb which housed his gold sarcophagus and mummy. The young
king’s room had paintings of baboons on the wall. Before this turns out to be a
book, I’ll skip down to our trip to Abu Simbel. Along the way, we visited
temples and ruins on islands since we spent three days on a Nile
riverboat. We approached the massive
temple at Abu Simbel by boat on Lake Nasser and the sight of it when we approached
was jaw-dropping.
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| Original 2000 years old un-retouched |
It was quite a walk to the large temple of Ramses with its
enormous statues that greeted us at the entrance. Inside the temple were
colorful drawings and painting that looked like they had just been finished.
From there we visited Queen Nefertiti’s temple with smaller but just as
beautiful statues. We stayed for the light and sound show which took my breath
away with its beauty in multi colors and pictures projected upon the Temple.
We were in Egypt two weeks and toured the entire length of
the country by boat, plane, bus, and riverboat. Our guides were professors of
antiquities from the University of Cairo. I feel so very fortunate to have
participated on such a journey that I filled the pages of a journal.
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| Abu Simbel- The small figures at the bottom are people! |
I love to travel and always have a wish list but this trip is by far my most memorable.
In my writing, I Travel as well, only through Time Travel like in The Duchess’ Necklace. Thank you for allowing me to share this with you.
–Mariah Lynne
