10 day Trip to Egypt by Pirateskigirl

[Pirateskigirl]

Here is my travel journal from my 10-Egypt trip in April 2010. Sorry it took so long to get together. This my way of saying thanks to everyone who gave information before my trip.

 

Finally made the trek to Egypt, my friend Alicia and I used Gate 1 to book our tour after reading many good reviews on this site and others.

We flew from Washington to JFK to Cairo via Delta(ugh!). Trip started off with issues regarding our flights and seating from NYC to Cairo. Somehow our assigned seats were never assigned and both Gate 1 and Delta basically said not our problem. Our reservation showed we had a reservation and a middle seat on the plane. Fortunately, my friend is a big flyer on Delta and used her status to help fix our problem. It is a 12 hour flight from JFK to Egypt but really 2 of those hours are getting out of JFK. Avoid JFK until they get runway 3 back in service.

We finally landed at Cairo International Airport. We deplaned to the tarmac and boarded buses to the international terminal/customs. When you arrive you will see signs for the Misr bank. (Misr is Arabic for Egypt) This is where you will pick up your Visa for Egypt ($15 USD exact change) and you can exchange money for Egyptian pounds. You will proceed through customs and pick up your luggage. We were greeted at baggage claim by Mohammad from Gate 1. He directed us to a meeting place and gathered the rest of our group to pick up our van to our hotel. We spent the night at the Ibertol Hotel at the Airport because the next day, we were getting up early to fly to Aswan. A very nice hotel with 3 good restaurants, a bank, pool all the amenities. We met our guide and egyptolist Amer. He gave a complete rundown of our itinery and several excellent tips about Egypt. This was the chance to sign up for any excursions you hadn’t signed up for prior to arrival. My friend and I were so exhausted that we ate dinner repacked because we had to leave our bags outside the door by 12 midnight because we had to ready to leave the hotel at 2:30am to fly out at 4:30am to Aswan.

[Pirateskigirl]

Up way too early to catch the Air Egypt flight to Aswan. Our group of 38 loaded up the buses and the hotel gave us these giant breakfast box with snacks, fruit juice, bottle water, etc… We put our bottled water in our checked bags for later. At the airport, you have to put your luggage in a scanner before checking in for domestic flight. Naturally, there is a gentleman to assist you for tips of course. You have to go through two rounds of security, first to get to the terminal and then a separate screening at the gate. They will confiscate any bottles of water at the gate. They must have had over 30 sealed bottles stacked up on the machine. We joked that they probably resell these bottles to people arriving in Cairo.

 

Uneventful 1 1/2 hour flight to Aswan. We got to see the sunrise over the desert. Upon arrival in Aswan, we had to claim our luggage. The Gate 1 representatives met our group and took our luggage for transfer to our River boat. Only part of our group went to Abu Simbel. We had to check in for our flight and we had about an hour to hang out and eat. Be warned, banks and merchants do not want to give up small change. You have to stand your ground to get small bills/coins. Flights to Abu Simbel are limited, so they are always full. We finally arrived at our destination after what felt like 3 days of travel.

 

When you approach Abu Simbel there is an indoor/outdoor vendor area. You have the option of walking through the shops or beside them. The vendors have to stay in a certain area. There is an outdoor café right before the entrance. You enter the site from the back. You will see the tunnels that the workers used to reassemble both temples in order to save them from the flooding cause by the construction of the High Dam. We walked around to the front and the view of the Temple of Ramses II and the Temple to his Queen Nerfarti is breathtaking. Both Temples over look what is now part of Lake Nassar. The Temples were built by Ramses II to show the Nubian people and any visitors to respect and fear the power of Egypt and the power of Ramses II. One of the sitting statues of Ramses collapsed due to an earthquake only five years after the temple was completed. Ramses ordered it to remain that way because that was the power of the Gods. The Temple adjacent to Ramses II is the Temple to his favorite wife Nerfarti. The carvings and statues of her are equal to Ramses making her his equal and also a God. You cannot take any pictures inside either temple. The guards will glad let you take a picture with an ancient Egyptian key looking inside the temple for a small tip. It is amazing what man can do when we work together. 49 countries with the help of UNSECO worked together in order to move the Temples 250 meters to higher ground, so they would not be lost to us forever. It is amazing when you realize you are standing on top of the original temple site while looking at the temples. It was perfect way to start a tour of Egypt and worth the travel. We had about 2 hours total at the site and folks could shop or do whatever. We headed back to the airport to fly back to Aswan (a 30 minute flight).

 

We made it to our home for the next 4 days the Nile Admiral River boat. This boat is operated by Presidential Cruises. We had a nice cabin on the 3rd deck, right in the middle of the boat. The cabins are tiny and if you are really tall you may hit your head going in and out of the bathroom or cabin door. The bathroom takes up about a 3rd of the room. The dining room was located on the 1st deck and the bar/lounge/dance floor is on the 4th deck with the pool. The top deck of the boat is completely open with lounge chairs and shades for lounging and enjoying the Nile day or night.

 

We went for Felluca ride on the Nile after checking into our cabin. It was a very relaxing ride around Elephantine Island, the Tombs of the Nobles, the Botanical Gardens and various Nubian Villages along the Nile. We had a proper English tea service with delicious cookies while the crew entertained us with songs. And since we are in Egypt, we had a chance to buy things. Our guide was very helpful in these situations because he would negotiate with the sellers prior to the merchandise being put out and he would tell us what the cost was for certain items. The felluca went in a zig-zag pattern back to the dock in order to give us enough time to shop.

 

Upon returning to the boat, we took the time to clean up and then our guide offered to take those who were interested to the famous Spice Market Souq of Aswan. They are very aggressive in the souq and they will try to sell you anything and everything. They will call you honey, money and honey, lovely whatever it will take to get you to shop in their shop. It was very funny but exhausting at the same time. They do have every spice available. Be careful; regarding saffron, the saffron they are selling is saffron flower not real saffron spice.

We had a nice buffet lunch when we arrived at the boat and a very pleasant sit down dinner. You are at the table you chose for the whole trip. We had a good table of 4. I enjoyed a drink on the top deck under the Egyptian night sky and retired to bed.

[Pirateskigirl]

The Nile Admiral remained docked overnight at Aswan. This is a busy day of seeing the sites. Our first stop is Philae, the Temple of Isis. According to history, this is the Temple were she raised her son Horus. This is another temple that had to be relocated due to the flooding from the High Dam. You can only see the tip of the original island that Philae used to stand on. You take a boat over to the island and of course, you have to run the gauntlet of vendors to get to your boat. This temple is one of the later temples to be built and the Romans actually built temples on this site too. Isis was considered the most important God in Roman times. This temple was moved to the new location between 1972 and 1980. This complex holds the Temple of Augustus, Gate of Diocletian, Temple of Hathor and the Kiosk of Trajan. It is a beautiful location but be careful of the time or you will miss your boat back to shore. Of course, there is an opportunity to shop on the boat ride back to the dock. (Do you sense a theme?).

 

Our next stop was the Aswan High Dam; this dam was built in the 1960’s to replace the dam that was built by the British. It was a joint venture between the Egyptians and the Soviets. There is a giant Lotus flower with a gear wheel in the center to symbolize the everlasting friendship between the two nations. The Dam is a major source of power for Egypt and they are very serious about security. You are not permitted to use video cameras or telephoto lens at this location. It was a very quick stop (about 10 minutes) and you have splendid views of Lake Nasser. There are separate tours you can take of the ruins that surround Lake Nassar.

 

Our next stop was to visit a local perfumery, the Essence of Life Al Fayed. Those who did not wish to stop at the perfumery were taken back to the boat. First, we saw a glass blowing demonstration, the glass blower made a perfume bottle. Then, we were taken downstairs and shown a demonstration of the various scents and oils the shop offered. We were given refreshments and shown Mint, Sandalwood and Eucalyptus several musk scents for men and various aroma therapies. Three ladies got massages from three women (only one who spoke English) who worked in the store with the Sandalwood oil and it was sort of out in the open and they wanted us to take our shirts off. They finally put up a wooden screen to block the view. I got my lower legs done and it did loosen up my muscles. Then comes the sale. Of course, the cheaper bottles (25 ml) of fragrance come in a bottle with a stopper not a real cap and they want you to buy the next size (50 ml) and even better a four package of fragrances. My friend and I ended up splitting a 4 pack which came in a really nice box. It was interesting to watch the guys mixing up everyone’s orders. Our guide was excellent about pre-negotiating the prices, so we really didn’t have to haggle with the guys.

 

We returned the Nile Admiral and were underway towards Luxor by 2pm. We cruised up the Nile and enjoyed afternoon tea before docking at the site of Kom Ombo. There must have been 50 cruise boats docked up and down this part of the river and they are parked 5-7 boats deep. We were the 4th boat in the row and we walked through 3 other river boats to get to the shore. Two of those ships were really fancy 5-star boats with marble and brass, etc. We were heading to the Temple of Sobek and Haroeris. We encountered the biggest crowd at this temple, we saw the whole week. Our guide worked us up to the front and got us into the temple area. He explained the division of the Temple and showed us where they mummified the crocodiles in order to worship the God Sobek. The Temple is equally divided between Sobek and Haroeris with two of everything. We saw the blocks from the ceiling of the temple that fell during the earthquake in 1992 and the area where the temple priests kept the crocodiles. There are no more crocodiles in the Nile River but they have been spotted in Lake Nassar. This temple has the last standing pylon of a Coptic Church that was built on the site, some very detailed hieroglyphics and reliefs with vibrant colors. We saw a beautiful sunset on the Nile from the base of this temple. It would have been so much nicer without the crowds. Needless to say all roads lead through the vendor area. We boarded the boat and prepared to sail for Edfu.

 

Tonight was our welcome night on the boat. The crew threw us a welcome party with free appetizers and free alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, each crew member introduced themselves and there was dancing afterward. Alcohol is not cheap in Egypt. It’s about $12 USD for a mixed drink and roughly $8 for beer. The beer of Egypt is Stella and it a nice light beer perfect for a hot day.

[Pirateskigirl]

Next stop is Edfu.

We are visiting the Temple of Horus, which was buried under the sand until it was discovered by a French Archeologist. There are still several mud brick buildings on the grounds and historians believe there may have been a church built on top of the temple. The temple tells the story of Horus who avenges the death of this father Orisises at the hands of his uncle Seth. Seth is shown is the carving has a hippo making him appear less threatening. Inside the sanctuary of Horus is a boat used to take offerings to the temple. There used to be a solid gold statue of Horus in that area but it has been removed. There are statues of Horus at the two temple entrances. The Temple of Horus is the best preserved Temple in Egypt and it has various chambers for you to explore. You can even get up on the roof if the gate leading up there is open. No luck during my visit. They were installing lights and electric for the Show & Light Show that is coming for summer 2010. I bought my Gialabya at the market at this stop. Good price and it fit nicely.

 

Upon our return to the Nile Admiral, we set sail towards Esna and Luxor. We sailed through the Esna locks. The boat goes through the old lock which was built by the British and then you proceed through the newer lock which is run by Egyptians. While you are in the older locks vendors will throw their wares up on to the boat for you to buy. Be careful or you will get hit in the head. They were trying to yell to us that if we threw it back and it landed in the Nile, we pay. Not sure how they would make that happen. A few items did end up in the river and a few landed in the ship’s swimming pool. The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying a leisurely cruise on the Nile watching life on the river go by until the sunset. We never encountered the vendors on boats that my friend did on her Nile cruise. She called them Somali Pirates.

 

The entertainment was Egyptian Bingo. It’s not your mother’s bingo’s. It is played with a very small bingo card and you only play one line (horizontal no vertical or diagonal play) and only the boxes with numbers in them. They were using what looked like a bingo set you would buy at Toys-R-us. Game 1 winner was to fill one line, Game 2 fill two lines and the Final game was filling the whole card. My friend won the final game. The prizes were pieces of silver and gold jewelry from the gift shop.

 

Tomorrow, we will wake up in Luxor.

[Pirateskigirl]

This is a busy day. Our boat is docked on the East side of Luxor; we boarded our bus for the trip over to West bank of Luxor. The first stop is the Colossi of Memnon. These are two faceless statues sitting on thrones that act has the gateway to the West Bank and the Valley of the Kings. These two statues are thought to be the entrance of a temple to Amenhotep III. They are currently excavating the site and speculation is that this may turn out to be the largest temple in Egypt. You can see the work being done, when you drive by on the way to the Valley of the Kings. I was surprised that the Colossi are so close to the highway. You literally pull off into a parking lot and there they are. The vendors are there to greet you.

 

Next stop Deir al-Bahri which is the location of the Temple of Hatshepsut. You will probably recognize this temple from the Indiana Jones movies. This temple has been under excavations and restoration since 1891. The temple is in exact alignment with the Temple of Karnak. It was mostly destroyed by her stepson Tuthomus III and defaced by Akhenaten and the Christians who used it has a temple. This area is documented has one of the hottest places on earth and it was very warm the day of our visit. You take a tram to the base of the temple; you can then take the stairs or ramps up to upper terrace where the sanctuary to Amun is located. It is a magnificent temple and they are constantly unearthing more of it. So many nooks and crannies to look into and to observe. Not much shade but worth the climb. It’s amazing to me that they have restored 80% of this temple. You can actually hike over to the Valley of the Kings and back from this location and you could see people coming over from the Valley. They have a nice shaded area for shopping and getting beverages and snacks. You can walk back to the exit or take the tram to the restrooms/parking lot. Next stop the Valley of the Kings.

 

Sadly due to people before us ignoring the rules you are not longer allowed to take cameras into the Valley of the Kings period. If they catch you, it is a $100 fine and maybe you’ll get to keep your camera. They are really worried about how much deteriorating is occurring inside the tombs. You are limited to 3 tomb visits per person. They rotate which tombs are open on any given day. You enter through the visitor’s center, where there is a reproduction of the Valley of Kings, showing where all the tombs are located. You board a tram up to the entrance of the tombs. There is a ticket booth where you can purchase the tickets to see Tutahakam’s tomb (100 Egyptian) $20 USD. A few members of our group bought the Tickets to Tut. Our guide took us to two tombs. The first one was (KV47) Tomb of Siptah. It is a tomb that was never completed. The tomb is decorated with the sun disc, figures of Maot and Ra with an elaborately dressed Siptah. I was surprised about how close you get to the paintings on the walls and some of the colors are amazing. The tombs are a tight fit and it’s amazing how quickly it becomes hot and humid inside the tombs. It took about 10 minutes before you could fell the humidity. The second tomb, he showed us was (KV 14) Tomb of Tawoseret/Sethnakht. Tawoseret was the wife of Seti II. They think the tomb was for Seti and his wife but they were moved by his successor. This tomb has been open for a while but the colors are still bright and vibrant. Both of these tombs have the sarcophagus in them. Most of the marking are behind glass but some are uncovered and you are tempted to touch them. Our guide was excellent about explaining the tombs and the hieroglyphics in each one. We had one final tomb to explore on our own. Some of the group went to explore (KV 9) Tomb of Ramses VI which is easy to access and is across from Tut’s tomb. I went to explore the tomb of Tuthmosis III (KV 34). First, you have to climb a steep narrow staircase up to the limestone cliffs, cross the ravine to the entrance of the tomb. There is a long, low ceiling, narrow corridor to descend down into the tomb, there are parts where you can stand up straight. There are some incredible paintings on the walls of this tomb. You have to take one more narrow, low ceiling staircase to get down to the level were the sarcophagus in the shape of a cartouche is located. This chamber has the most amazing paintings. There are the lunar cycles of the year and the many battles of Tuthmosis III. At all the tombs, there is an Egyptian at the top to punch your ticket and one inside the tombs to help visitors. There was the weakest fan; I have ever felt in the lower Chamber of KV 34. The tomb minder would let you stand by the fan for some baksheesh (tip). It was so hot and humid down there, that when we came out of the tomb, 100 degree heat felt like fresh cool air. I don’t know how those guys can stay down there. I recommend going early and bring a travel umbrella to give you some shade. All the guide books say that the Tomb of Seti I is the best tomb in the Valley of the Kings but that it is currently closed to the public. According to our guide, it’s closed unless a group or person wants to pay $6000USD to see it! Beware when catching the tram back to visitor center it is a free for all. Everyone rushes the tram. Half of our group walked back down to the bus. The restrooms at the Valley of the Kings are clean and nice.

 

Next stop the Valley of the Queens. A quick bus ride over to the QV. Several people from our group chose to stay on the bus because of the heat. We visited the main tomb at this location, which is actually the tomb of a Prince not a Queen. Tomb of Khaemuaset(no. 44) a son of Ramses III. He died very young; this tomb has the Book of the Dead painted on the walls. This tomb is not too deep and you can walk upright the whole way. In addition, some of us did a quick stop at the Tomb of Titi(No. 52) a royal wife. It’s a small tomb with many small chambers; all the paintings are behind Plexiglas. The ticket puncher was handing out pieces of cardboard, which it turned out we were suppose to use has fans. Naturally, we had to tip him when we returned them. Once again the tomb, I was most interested in seeing is closed. The Tomb of Nefertari (No. 66) is very well appointed and was completely restored in 1995 and was opened to the public until 2003. Now it is only able to be viewed if your group pays $12,000USD for a private tour. I understand the why but it was still disappointing. Our group was hot and tired and we headed back towards the East Bank past Howard Carter’s house. We passed several Alabaster shops. Our tour did not stop at an Alabaster shop but many buses did stop. We went past the Colossi and back over the bridge into East Luxor.

 

We stopped at a Papyrus shop-Aeguptus Papyrus. First, they showed us a neat demonstration of how papyrus is made from the papyrus plant. It takes about two weeks to turn the plant into paper. After the demo, we were able to look around and shopped for various papyrus patterns that were available. They would put names on certain ones in Hieroglyphics. Let’s just say they loved our group of shoppers. Back to the boat.

 

We had a much needed light lunch and took a nap before heading out on our own to the Luxor Museum. We took a taxi that was arranged by our guide into Luxor. Its 100 Egyptian pounds entrance fee to the museum. No Pictures. This is an excellent museum. You begin by viewing a short 7 minute film about the museum and the artifacts in the museum. Everything in this museum is very well labeled and the layout is nice. They have two mummies which are believed to be Ahmose I and Ramses I and a large display of King Tut artifacts. One of the center pieces of the museum is a black and gold wooden cow head from King Tut’s tomb. This museum is worth the visit if you have the time in Luxor. Note: You have to haggle in the gift shop to get good prices on souvenirs. We had no trouble getting a taxi back to the boat. This is our last night on our floating hotel. The featured entertainment is belly dancing tonight. I missed the lady belly dancer but apparently she was not very good but the male belly dancer was much better.

[Pirateskigirl]

Farewell to our floating home. L Today, we are visiting both Karnak and Luxor temples. First stop is Karnak is the largest temple in Egypt and is located on the East bank and is a tribute to the God of Amun. The thing to remember about Luxor is that Life is on the East Bank and Death is on the West Bank. The temple area is 2 square kilometers. The most important part is the temple of Amun which had a 3 kilometer avenue lined on both sides by Sphinxes which connected it to the Temple at Luxor. According to our guide, the current governor of the region wants to excavate all the sphinxes between the temples if that means relocated people and tearing down buildings that are in the way. His vision is for Luxor to be the Las Vegas of Egypt. Apparently, Luxor is a place that rich older women come to live and get an Egyptian boy town. Most of these cougars are from Great Britain.

 

The temple of Karnak was influenced by many pharaohs. The Avenue of the Sphinxes leads to the first pylon built by Nectanbeo I, the ramps they used to drag the stones up to the temple are still in place. Behind the pylon is the Great Court which is the entrance to the Temple of Seti II on the left and the Temple of Ramses III on the right. The second pylon was begun by Horemheb and finished by Ramses I & II who added three statues of Ramses II. Then you have the great hypostyle Hall which is huge with 134 towering papyrus shaped stone pillars with Lotus Flower tops and only the pillars which get direct sunlight are shown blooming. Some of the pillars still retain the colors used by the Egyptians for the images over 3000 years ago. Next is the third pylon built by Amenhotep III. The fourth pylon was built by Tuthmosis I and was altered by Tutmosis III. Behind that is obelisk of Hatshepsut which is the tallest in Egypt and was built to the God Amun. After she died her stepson had it altered much like her temple. After the obelisk are the Fifth and sixth pylons for Tutmosis I & II plus two large statues of Amun and Amunet. From there we walked over to where the scared lake is located. This is where the temple priest would go to bath before performing their duties in the temple. The Giant Scarab (Son of God) overlooks the scared lake. Legend has it that you walk around the Scarab seven times clockwise to gain what you wish and you walk around 7 times counterclockwise to lose something. Of course, we all did it. Nothing says tourist like a bunch of oddly dressed people walking in circles. We spent 45 minutes on our own exploring this massive temple. From the parking lot, you can see the Temple of Hastshepsut across the Nile. There is sort of an office complex/duty free shopping area at Karnak. A very nice WC that costs 1 Egyptian pound to use. They offer a sound and light show at Karnak which I did not attend.

 

Next stop is the Luxor Temple which is located in downtown Luxor right by the highway with a McDonald’s across the street. This temple was built by Ramses II and Amenhotep III. These pharaohs were big builders since they both ruled for a long time. This temple is smaller than Karnak but like Karnak the deeper you the more history you see. The entrance has two sitting statues of Ramses II and one standing statute. You walk through the Great Court of Ramses II and the Colonnade of Amenhetop III which leds to the sun court where they found buried 26 statues in 1989 when they were putting in lights and sound for an opera they were staging for television in the temple. 18 of the statues are in the Luxor Museum. Apparently, the temple priests buried those statues in order to protect them from the Romans. We spent about 45 minutes on our own exploring the temple. It was pretty hot when we were at this temple 110 degrees and you could tell our group was templed out. We went to our Hotel the Winter Palace Hotel. This hotel is one of the most historic in Egypt and was built during the Victorian era to attract European tourists. It has beautiful grounds with an enormous pool area. The old hotel has a fabulous French restaurant the 1899 which is very pricey and nice old Victorian bar. Unfortunately most of us did not get to enjoy those amenities because we got sick. I’m pretty sure it was something I ate at the pool side restaurant that did me in. At least half the people on our tour became ill. Thank God it was a 4-star hotel with a comfortable bed and nice bathroom.

[Pirateskigirl]

Leaving Luxor to return to Cairo, it was a quick flight. Our group looked like the walking wounded. I mostly slept on the plane and bus rides. Our guide changed up our schedule, so that we missed the crowds at the Khan al-Khalili market since it was a holiday. Our first stop was the Citadel of Salah Al-Din which features three separate mosques. Several of our group stayed on the bus because they were not feeling well. We walked up the hill to the first Mosque, the mosque of An-Nasir Mohammed which was built by the Ottomans. It’s very spare and has a small wooden alter. You have to take your shoes off in order to walk through the center of the mosque to the altar. It is a very plain open air mosque with Turkish lamps hanging from the walkways. From there, we walked past the Police Museum to an overlook which allows you to see all of Cairo. It was very hazy and the blowing sand made it hard to see the Pyramids of Giza from there. It was interesting to me that they have has many mosques as US cities seems to have churches. It seemed like every other building was a mosque. The next stop was the Mosque of Mohammed Ali. It has domes upon domes and is very Turkish in design. You must remove your shoes in order to enter the mosque (they will rent you shoe guards) and women must have their shoulders and knees covered. They will give you a green wrap to wear if they feel that our outfit is inappropriate. You will enter the courtyard which has a large marble tomb of the mosque’s patron; the courtyard was a gift from France. The courtyard leads to the main mosque which is covered with Turkish rugs on floor and had some beautiful stain glass in the windows and hundreds of Turkish lamps hanging from the ceiling. It was crowded inside and quite frankly smelled like feet. Of course, at that point I just wanted to sleep, so forgive me if I’m vague on this stop.

 

We checked into the Hilton Pyramids Golf resort in Giza. It is a lovely hotel and if I was 100% I would have liked to play some golf. One guy in our party did play a round. Our room was huge; you could put six people in this room. One couple in our group went into downtown Cairo for dinner but most of our group was recovering or not feeling well. Our guide thinks most of it was caused by the heat, because even he was feeling poorly. We did get to see a lovely Egyptian wedding that was happening in our hotel.

 

Tomorrow the Pyramids!

[Pirateskigirl]

Everyone in our group seems to have recovered; we are off to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the three Pyramids of Giza. Our bus took us pass the Pyramids to a scenic overlook where you can see all three Pyramids. We took a group picture and our guide coordinated camel rides to the Pyramids for those who were interested. The cost was $10 USD for a single rider and $15 USD for two riders. It is more comfortable to ride single. You give your camel boy (who could be a 50 year old man) a $2USD tip. I recommend wearing old clothes because the camel smells. It’s very much like riding a horse. You must lean back and hold on while the camel gets up. The camel boy will help direct the camel, so you can enjoy the view and the ride. It only takes about 15 minutes for the whole ride. It was one of the highlights of the trip. It is so amazing to see these wonders up close and personal. You can go right up and touch them or sit on them but you are not allowed to climb the Pyramids (of course, people try too). There are vendors everywhere and someone trying to sell you a camel or horse ride. Be careful it’s one price when you get on and one price to get off and they will take you out of the sight of the group. Unfortunately with the people comes trash. There must have been thousands of bottle caps on the ground from the sodas they were selling and trash blowing in the wind. It is sad to see such a unique place treated this way. Our guide was telling us that the Egyptian government is talking about limiting access to the Pyramids beginning later in 2010. We could see the work had begun on a new tram system to move people to the observation area instead of allowing buses. He said it is doubtful that future tourists will be able to get as close as we did. We got the extra ticket to go inside the second pyramid. No photos are allowed inside the pyramids. The Egyptian paintings are not very good or bright inside but it’s worth it just to say you were inside a pyramid. It is small and cramped inside the pyramid.

 

We did not make over to the solar boat museum behind the Great Pyramid. Next stop the Sphinx. The Sphinx is much small that you think it is. You can walk around the Sphinx and you can go up to the viewing platform and take the traditional cheesy “kissing the Sphinx photo.” It is an amazing sculpture and this is the location you go to for the Sound & Light show which is hosted by the Sphinx. The Egyptians are very concerned about erosion on the Sphinx by the winds especially in the neck area. We are lucky that the desert sands covered these wonders for so long that it preserved these sites for us to see. Same situation has the Pyramids; there are a lot of venders and trash around the area. Sadly, there is a Pizza Hut/KFC next door to the Sphinx. I was amazed that these ancient wonders are surrounded by the suburbs and they are still building.

 

After our morning in the ancient world, we stopped for lunch at the Studio Misr Grill House in downtown Cairo on the Nile River. It is located on a permanent river boat next to a park which contains another obelisk to Ramses II. We had a lovely lunch of chicken or beef with three types of hummus and bread. Everyone was a little leery of food but no one went hungry and it was an excellent meal. It was nice to relax and watch the boats go by on the river outside the window. We are now ready to tackle the Egyptian Museum.

 

The Egyptian Museum houses most of the country’s antiques. It was built in the 1900’s. It is a beautiful museum but it’s incredibly dusty inside and many of the exhibits are poorly labeled. Our guide was excellent and he gave us a great tour of the major exhibits of the museum. He explained everything and really gave us though tour of the TUT exhibit. It is truly amazing what they put in his tomb. All of the dust, mislabeling and chaos of the museum are worth it when you see the Gold Burial mask of King Tut. Wow! It is breath taking. The Tut room is amazing. There are two other rooms next door that have some fantastic jewelry from ancient Egypt. There is an extra cost to visit the Royal Mummies Hall. There are 12 mummies in this room and it is well lit, well labeled, dust free and cool in this room. It contains the mummies of Amenhotep I, Tuthomsis II, Seti I and Ramses II. You can see a full head of hair on Ramses II and his arms are raised. The museum is a very busy place and there are neat things everyone. You could easily spend all day there and not see everything. Hopefully, when the new museum opens near Giza they will redo and relabel the exhibits in both museums, we can all better enjoy the antiquities in Egypt. Our next stop is the famous Khan al-Khalili Bazaar.

 

The Khan is the place to shop in Egypt. I wish, we had done here the first day in Egypt. This was the best shopping experience, I had the whole trip. No one hassled you and the quality of merchandise was so much better. Sadly, we did not have much time at the Khan because, we had to get back to the hotel to pack and get ready for the Sound & Light show.

 

Off to the Sound & Light show at Giza. It is a long line to get in and everyone has to go through security. If they would have been faster, I would have been able to get an awesome sunset over the pyramids picture. It was a little chilly the night of the show but comfortable. The Pyramids are lit and the Sphinx is bathed in light. The lasers dance between the Great Pyramid and the second Pyramid. The laser cannot reach the third pyramid. It is a complete Hollywood production with the voices of Lawrence Oliver and Elizabeth Taylor guiding you through the history of Egypt. It is totally cheesy but who cares. You get to spend an hour and half looking at the last standing wonder of the ancient world while the sunsets and the stars appear above. It was the perfect way to end our time in Egypt. We departed from the show directly to the airport and flew out that night to return to the USA.

I hope this write up has been helpful and I’m happy to answer any questions. Cheers

Stacy

[texancruzer]

Thanks for your review !! DH and I are headed there the end of October with Gate 1. We are doing the 15 day tour that includes a 7 day Nile cruise and 2 nights at all inclusive Red Sea resort. So the order of our two trips is very different. But enjoyed reading the detailed reports of the sites and their rules etc.....

 

Hopefully they won't clamp down on the sites until the end of the year allowing us to see them up close and personal.

 

this is our 30th anniversary trip and a life long dream for dh.......

 

Now, the questions...... how was the GATE 1 experience ? Guides, etc. While we know this is not a "luxury" tour but more middle of the road, we do not expect luxury....but are still looking for a quality tour for what will be probably our only trip to Egypt. Any info you can give about the GATE 1 experience part would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[Lindypc]

Absolutely amazing travelogue. We've been looking at this for years and you have just sold us. I absolutely loved your writing, your descriptions, the detail. What a treat! I'm saving your review for the future. Excellent!:D:D:D

[wanderinggirl]

Thanks for your review. I'm on the 15 day tour leaving Nov 11. I'll have to get my notebook out and fill in some info I learned from your review.

[Hydrokitty]

Pirate's Girl: Wonderful diary of your trip and it sounds like you had a wonderful time despite getting sick. We did this trip in Jan, 2009 and loved every minute of it. Only think I found surprising is that "no body hassled" you at the Khan!!! We were bombarded as we got off the bus!!! You are dead right about the spice market and saffron too...our guide told us if we wanted to buy saffron to let him come with us because he could tell the difference. such a shame about the cameras at VOK.....we were allowed to take pictures outside of the tombs but not inside, and of course there's a handful of people who always believe that doesn't apply to them and they ruin it for everyone. Thanks again, your account brought back many wonderful memories.:)

[Pirateskigirl]

Thanks for your review !! DH and I are headed there the end of October with Gate 1. We are doing the 15 day tour that includes a 7 day Nile cruise and 2 nights at all inclusive Red Sea resort. So the order of our two trips is very different. But enjoyed reading the detailed reports of the sites and their rules etc.....

 

Hopefully they won't clamp down on the sites until the end of the year allowing us to see them up close and personal.

 

this is our 30th anniversary trip and a life long dream for dh.......

 

Now, the questions...... how was the GATE 1 experience ? Guides, etc. While we know this is not a "luxury" tour but more middle of the road, we do not expect luxury....but are still looking for a quality tour for what will be probably our only trip to Egypt. Any info you can give about the GATE 1 experience part would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Thank you for your kind words. I really enjoyed my experience with Gate1. They met us at the Airport and made sure everyone was accounted for and got us to the hotel. Our guide for the week Amer was excellent! He really made the trip. He so helpful with any questions or problems, we had and he would help you if you wanted to go off on your own during the free time. He was wonderful about letting us know exactly what price we should pay for whatever we wanted to purchase. It gave us a good bargaining position. My only issue with Gate 1 was the seating problem on our flights. I would recommend that you keep following up with them regarding your seat assignments and make sure they match what the airline has for you. Mohommed from Gate 1 was great about getting us to the airport and thru the check-in/security process early enough that we got great seats on our return flight. Enjoy your trip. :)

 

I guess we got lucky at the Khan because it was a holiday weekend, so not all the stores were open, so maybe that's why they were nice to us. :D

[MercedMike]

We went for Felluca ride on the Nile after checking into our cabin. It was a very relaxing ride around Elephantine Island, the Tombs of the Nobles, the Botanical Gardens and various Nubian Villages along the Nile. We had a proper English tea service with delicious cookies while the crew entertained us with songs. And since we are in Egypt, we had a chance to buy things. Our guide was very helpful in these situations because he would negotiate with the sellers prior to the merchandise being put out and he would tell us what the cost was for certain items. The felluca went in a zig-zag pattern back to the dock in order to give us enough time to shop.

 

LOL -- certainly shopping for souvenirs is a classic Egyptian experience and you will no doubt have plenty of time for it.

 

However -- the feluccas are sail boats, and the zig-zag pattern is the way a sailboat maneuvers against the wind. The nautical term for it is "tacking". If you had the wind behind you going, then coming back you would naturally have tacked.

 

Thanks for a great report!

 

[Sekhmet]

However -- the feluccas are sail boats, and the zig-zag pattern is the way a sailboat maneuvers against the wind. The nautical term for it is "tacking". If you had the wind behind you going, then coming back you would naturally have tacked.[/size][/font]

 

Just an extra, hopefully interesting, bit of information - the prevailing wind in Egypt is from the North, whilst the Nile, of course, flows from the South. So one of the ancient heiroglyphs for "Go South" was a boat with the sail up going with the wind, and "Go North" was a boat with no sail i.e. going with the tide.

[Pirateskigirl]

LOL -- certainly shopping for souvenirs is a classic Egyptian experience and you will no doubt have plenty of time for it.

 

However -- the feluccas are sail boats, and the zig-zag pattern is the way a sailboat maneuvers against the wind. The nautical term for it is "tacking". If you had the wind behind you going, then coming back you would naturally have tacked.

 

Thanks for a great report!

 

[/size][/font]

 

That is true. But this was clearly a case of allowing maximum shopping time. Because after the shopping was done we resumed the normal sailing form, we had at the beginning of the trip back to the dock. LOL

[texancruzer]

Stacey, another quick question for you...... just curious ~

 

When visiting sites that do not allow cameras......what did Gate 1 have you do with them ?

 

Some have said you can check them at the gate....... or leave them in the bus (driver stays with the bus) and on and on......

 

what did you find they did on your RECENT trip....... any problems.

 

I am not taking expensive ones..... both our land cameras are Sony cybershots ($250.00+) but one is brand new and the other is maybe a year old..... still $500.00 worth of cameras.... (taking both our underwater cameras too but they won't get used until we head to the Red Sea resort).......and will stay in the cabin safe.

[Mzhelen]

Stacey, another quick question for you...... just curious ~

 

When visiting sites that do not allow cameras......what did Gate 1 have you do with them ?

 

Some have said you can check them at the gate....... or leave them in the bus (driver stays with the bus) and on and on......

 

what did you find they did on your RECENT trip....... any problems.

 

I am not taking expensive ones..... both our land cameras are Sony cybershots ($250.00+) but one is brand new and the other is maybe a year old..... still $500.00 worth of cameras.... (taking both our underwater cameras too but they won't get used until we head to the Red Sea resort).......and will stay in the cabin safe.

 

At the Cairo Museum they actually have a place to "check" cameras. Everyone used it, it is staffed and safe - both our Ramses guide and our Uniworld guide vouched for it. The rest of the time we were able to leave our cameras on the buses, because the drivers do stay with the buses. We felt totally comfortable leaving the cameras, packages we'd purchased, etc. on the bus.

[texancruzer]

At the Cairo Museum they actually have a place to "check" cameras. Everyone used it, it is staffed and safe - both our Ramses guide and our Uniworld guide vouched for it. The rest of the time we were able to leave our cameras on the buses, because the drivers do stay with the buses. We felt totally comfortable leaving the cameras, packages we'd purchased, etc. on the bus.

 

Thanks, knew about the museum check.....and had seen threads about leaving them on the bus - was just wondering what Stacey did since she used the same tour company as we are going to use......

 

We are not stopping here on a cruise but rather on a 15 day trip with the same group of people the whole time..... both tourists and guides so I am sure it will be safe etc.

[seafun]

I really enjoyed reading your travelogue as well. It brought back many fond memories of my Gate 1 trip. (And all the time I spent writing, LOL!)

Thanks for taking the time necessary in writing and sharing it. As I'm sure you realize, it takes a long time to write up all those details, but the grateful responses, and knowing that lots of folks will learn from our efforts is worth every moment spend writing! :D

[Pirateskigirl]

Stacey, another quick question for you...... just curious ~

 

When visiting sites that do not allow cameras......what did Gate 1 have you do with them ?

 

Some have said you can check them at the gate....... or leave them in the bus (driver stays with the bus) and on and on......

 

what did you find they did on your RECENT trip....... any problems.

 

I am not taking expensive ones..... both our land cameras are Sony cybershots ($250.00+) but one is brand new and the other is maybe a year old..... still $500.00 worth of cameras.... (taking both our underwater cameras too but they won't get used until we head to the Red Sea resort).......and will stay in the cabin safe.

 

I just left my camera on the bus. Our driver was with the bus the whole time. Most people in our group did the same thing.

[texancruzer]

I just left my camera on the bus. Our driver was with the bus the whole time. Most people in our group did the same thing.

 

Thanks.

[Kwill65155]

I am going on the same trip November 16th, I cannot wait. Our trips in reverse of yours. I was disappointed because on our itinerary it doesn't mention a stop to the Khan al kalili Bazar, did yours? I hope we stop there too...I was thinking of using free time the first day tohire a car and go on our own. All the info was great!! The history was very interesting. Thanks for tsking the time to write all that!! I can't wait to be there!!

[Pirateskigirl]

I am going on the same trip November 16th, I cannot wait. Our trips in reverse of yours. I was disappointed because on our itinerary it doesn't mention a stop to the Khan al kalili Bazar, did yours? I hope we stop there too...I was thinking of using free time the first day tohire a car and go on our own. All the info was great!! The history was very interesting. Thanks for tsking the time to write all that!! I can't wait to be there!!

 

Thank you for your kind words. Your trip will make a stop at the Khan al Kalili Bazaar. I think every tour stops there in some way. Depending on where your hotel is located you could just take a taxi to the market.

[slidergirl]

Pirateskigirl - thanks for the posts. Brought back some good memories of the trip I took 11 months ago. I remember the spice market in Aswan - Our Egyptologist took some of us to a night visit to the souk (all women). We stopped in one shop to buy some goodies. She made sure that we got what we wanted at a good price. I picked up some peppercorns and a mixed spice bag. I wish I had bought more - I've used them at home and love them! I'm sure the market was different at night than by day - it sure seemed that we were the only "non-locals" there!!!