Treasures of Egypt – Cairo to Abu Simbel
Treasures of Egypt – Cairo to Abu Simbel
I’ve always loved history, especially Egyptian history. I decided I needed a holiday and popped into a travel agent. I originally planned to book a trip to Italy. In the end I came out having booked a trip to Egypt.
Cairo
My trip started in Cairo. We visited the Cairo Museum and were amazed at the beautiful pieces on view. Tutankhamun’s treasures, especially his funeral mask, were stunning, the gold tomb, chair and coffin were breath taking. We saw his sandals, chariot, bows and arrows, as well as every day items. As a child I remember them exhibits coming to London. I remember the long queues to see them all, especially the Mask. Unfortunately, being small I was just pushed passed it and didn’t see it properly. This time I made sure I took plenty of time looking at it. It was stunning.
The Great Pyramid
After visiting the Museum, we had lunch at a restaurant over looking the Great Pyramid (Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops). It was very surreal. You initially think the pyramids are in the middle of the desert, but they’re not. They are on the Giza plateau, on the edge of Cairo and can be seen from the city. The great pyramid is one of the remaining Seven Wonders of the World.
After lunch we went to the pyramids. The other’s decided to go inside. I’m claustrophobic and decided not to. I visited Cheops’ boat instead, that was found buried in the shadow of one of the three pyramids.
Karnak and Luxor
Later, we got the sleeper train to Karnak temple in Luxor. It is a huge site and has obelisks, statues and a grand hypostyle hall of huge carved columns. If you look up, many of the stone lintels still have paint adhering to them. It is amazing to see what the columns might have looked like over 2,000 years ago.
Karnak market
As with many places on the ‘tourist trail’, there was a market in Luxor, with stalls either side of the road. White lines designated where we could walk without the stall holders hassling us. If we crossed over those lines, we were far game. The trick, we learned, was to saunter slowly down the middle, between the white lines, and view the goods on display, but not showing any interest. Once we had seen something we liked, we could then cross over the line and start the haggling. It became a fun game between us and the stall holders.
Cruising from Luxor to Aswan
We then boarded our small cruise boat, for a 3 day cruise down the Nile to Aswan, visiting Edfu and Kom Umbu enroute. Never having cruised before, it was quite a pleasant feeling to just sit and watch the scenery drift past, watching kids play in the water.
Abu Simbel
Our last stop was a trip to the fabulous temple at Abu Simbel. This involved an armed escort riding with us on our coach ride across the desert.
Abu Simbel is an amazing place. It was moved stone by stone, through internal effort, when the Aswan dam was built.