Day 1 - Alexandria
We left for Egypt to arrive in Alexandria, a city on the Mediterranean about 3 hours north of Cairo. After some confusion with our tour guides about the airport that we had flown in to we finally were met and began our tours. They expected we were at the International airport and instead we had flown into one of the smaller airports in the city. The Al Nozha airport in Alexandria must be one of the first airports ever built. The terminal has one arrival area and one departure area. It looks like a building from the 20s. Our first day was spent touring some of the sights in Alexandria, mostly from the Greek-Roman period. We went to a Roman catacomb which was discovered by a horse that accidentally had his foot fall through the roof of the underground building. We arrived the day before the start of the Muslim festival Eid al Adha (Festival of the Sacrifice). This festival observes the time that Abraham was asked by God to sacrifice his son Isaac (or Ibrahim was asked to sacrifice Ishmael in Arabic) and at the last minute he was told to sacrifice a lamb instead. The festival includes families sacrificing an animal (lamb, goat, cow, or camel) in remembrance. The animal is divided into thirds; one third for family and friends, one third for the poor, and one third to keep for the feasting. As we drove through Alexandria and then into Cairo, we saw many sheep and cows in the back of trucks or tied outside of homes waiting for the sacrifice and festival the next day.
Day 2 - Cairo
The must-see sights of Cairo are the Great Pyramids, the Sphinx, and the museum of antiquities. Our hotel was in the Giza area, within sight of the Pyramids (however, our recommendation would be to stay closer to the center of town, there is not much to do in that neighborhood). We were up early to see the Pyramids and Sphinx and then to go to the museum. The Pyramids are truly an amazing sight – their size is massive. It’s hard to imagine that they have been there for 5,000 years. We took a small camel ride around them, which was one of the highlights of the trip for Lyra. The Museum of Antiquities that is in downtown Cairo houses the treasures from Tutankhamun and many of the royal mummies that have survived. We were truly impressed by the collection that was discovered in Tut’s tomb. The solid gold mask that was on his mummy was on display along with the 3 gold caskets that he was placed in. Each casket is slightly larger than the rest – kind of like Russian Dolls. As we drove through the city, the sheep, goats and cows were now gone, replaced with piles of leather pelts outside of the butcher shops. Later that night we went to the sound and light show at the Pyramids. The whole show was like an over dramatized Cecil B. DeMille movie. At one time, the Sphinx was speaking in King James English stating, “Thou art the Pharaoh, and thine people shall worship you as God.” Add to that the fact that it was FREEZING!! The giggle factor was perhaps worth 15 minutes, but 45 minutes was too much.
Day 3 – Cairo
A free day on our itinerary. We had to check out of the hotel and decided to spend the day at the zoo; something for Lyra. What a mistake. First, it was a holiday (the second day of Eid al Adha) and the zoo was overflowing with families. Second, we were overwhelmed by over friendly Cairenes who were following us through the zoo. Third, the animals – although not in horrible conditions – were hardly impressive. And fourth, it rained. So, after only about 1 hour, we went back to our driver who was waiting for us and went back to the hotel to wait for our ride to the train station. Since we had already checked out, this translated to a couple of hours at the hotel bar and an extended playtime at the hotel playground. Lyra met a very nice Egyptian family with 3 boys, one of whom asked us, “Did you kill a sheep?” Ummm, no. At about 6pm we went to wait for our overnight train ride to Aswan (near the southern border with Sudan). We had tea and waited on the cold platform (who knew Egypt would be this cold!) Our train wasn’t luxurious, but clean and well cared for. Kind of what I would expect on an Amtrak sleeper train. We had 2 adjoining cabins – each with an upper and lower bunk. Having 2 cabins was a real bonus! We had imagined that Lyra would be sleeping with one of us. Note: Food on train is horrendous – bring something or eat beforehand. Not even the worst airline food would compete with how truly awful the food was.
Day 4 – Aswan
We wake up while the train is still heading south to Aswan. Outside our window are scenes of farmland and small villages along the floodplains of the Nile. We have a relaxing morning while we look out the windows and get ready for the transfer to our Nile Cruise ship. When we get on board our boat, we meet two other families traveling with the same tour company that we used. One is a newlywed couple on their honeymoon, and the other is a family with at 2 ½ year old girl who soon becomes Lyra’s companion for the cruise. The next set of days will be spent touring the sights of the Nile Valley with them. After settling on the boat, we head out to tour the Aswan Dam sites. The Hoover dam near Las Vegas is much more impressive. I was expecting the dam to be built in a dramatic gorge, but instead it is very long and its height is not as dramatic as the Hoover dam. When the dam was built, the lake that formed behind it stretches all the way in The Sudan and has displaced over 800,000 Nubians (an African people who had lived along the southern part of the Nile). Our guide, told us that 1,000 Nubians were displaced – hmmm, his statistics are a bit off. That evening we also head to an island where Philae Temple, dedicated to Isis, has been relocated (it was under the flood waters created by the dam). The setting sun over the desert to the west, the blue skies, palm trees on the island and lovely Nile river make this a scene to remember.
Day 5 – Aswan/Kom Ombo
We have a free morning. Russell is feeling a little under the weather (Ramses Revenge), so Lyra and I head out with the other family (the one with a 2 ½ year old) to view a few sights along the southern Nile. First, we take a traditional Nile sailboat (felucca) to a Botanical Gardens that was built in the late 1800s – Russell would have enjoyed the variety of trees and plants. Then we carry further upstream to a village where the displaced Nubians have re-established a village. If we were there to buy souvenirs, this would be the place to get them. The best prices of anything we saw were here. After a leisurely trip back down river to our ship, we board for the first sailing to Kom Ombo. Kom Ombo Temple was dedicated to the gods Horus (the Falcon) and Sobek (the Crocodile) who were brothers. The story of these two brothers is very much a Cain & Abel story. After our tour of the temple, it’s back to the boat for a late night cruise to Edfu.
Day 6 - Edfu and sailing
We have an early morning wake up to head over to the temple in Edfu. This is another temple dedicated to Horus – the God of Protection. Our guide had arranged for us to take a horse-drawn carriage ride from the boat to the temple. Our frosty morning ride through the town was another highlight for Lyra – she is horse crazy these days. A highlight for us was the massive carvings of the falcon god, Horus guarding the entrance doors to the temple. After a whirlwind rush through the temple and carriage ride back to the ship, we set sail for Luxor. As we would soon realize, the rush was because we were in a “race” with other ships to set sail first for Luxor. There is a lock & dam at Esna and only 2 ships heading for Luxor are allowed through at a time. It takes at least 30 minutes (probably more) for each 2 ships to take their turn. As we sailed toward the lock, I counted about 10 ships ahead of us and about 8 ships behind. We reached Esna at about noon and docked to wait our turn. We were initially told that our ship would sail at about 4pm. We decided a little walk about in Esna would be nice and our guide took us out to see the town. Not much to see, but a nice set of tourist shops where we were able to try our hand at bartering and Russell picked up an aluminum drum. We returned to the ship for the 4pm sailing, which never materialized. Sometime in the middle of the night, I felt the gentle bump of our boat docking in Luxor.
Day 7 – Luxor
This is a city to spend more time in. We had an early morning start to see the sights of Luxor. The “big draw” there is the Valley of the Kings where most of the tombs for many Pharoahs are (including where King Tutankhamun’s tomb was found). We were able to go into 3 of the tombs – unbelievable the work that was done and survives nearly 3000 years later. We also visited the temple to Queen Hapshetsut (the only female Pharaoh). And the most impressive temple of our tour was Medinat Habu – a temple to Ramses III. This is a temple highly recommended by our guide, but not on our original itinerary – and well worth the trip! The walls and columns were the most well preserved of anything we saw. Why this temple isn’t on more itineraries is a mystery – I think that no one knows about it, so the tour companies don’t offer it in their packages. We sacrificed going into the Valley of the Queens, but it was worth the side trip. After lunch, we toured Karnak temple, dedicated to the head Egyptian god, Amun. The size and scale of the temple is hard to take in. Since this was such an important god, each Pharaoh would try to outdo his predecessors by adding to the temple, resulting in a massive monument. Our guide told us this was his favorite temple – not hard to figure out why. From there it was rush, rush, rush to Luxor Temple for a quick 30 minute tour before we had to catch our ride to Hurghada on the Red Sea.
Day 8 – Hurghada (Christmas Day)
Another place to come back to! Sun, sand, snorkeling, sea – wait, isn’t this what we have back home in Dubai? Anyway, we stayed at a beautiful resort in Hurghada for Christmas Day. We had a relaxing day on the beach with a late afternoon sail on a glass bottom boat to the coral reefs for snorkeling. Really it was a bit too nippy to really want to go snorkeling, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity – and it was the best coral reef I’ve seen. The water was cool, but not so cool that you couldn’t get used to it. But after about 20 minutes, I’d had enough. What was really cold was the sail back to the resort in our cold wet bathing suits (we weren’t thinking and hadn’t brought warm jackets). Really, who would have thought that Egypt would be this cold! I yearned for the warmth and sun of Dubai. Our trip to Hurghada was too short and we were instantly thinking of when we could come back to enjoy it more.
Day 9 – Cairo
If we had known, we would have tried to arrange for more time in Hurghada and less time in Cairo. Usually we like city breaks, but Cairo is a city we didn’t figure out. I think it had more to do with the area we stayed in – Giza. If we had been able to get out and walk the city, we may have found it more interesting. But, nevertheless, we were back in Cairo really just waiting for the trip home the next day. Turns out we had a nice leisurely day at the poolside (trying to get a little warmth from the sun) and again at the hotel playground with Lyra. Our guide tried to interest us in a sunset dinner cruise on the Nile, but by then we’d had enough of cheesy touristy stuff, so opted instead for an early night.
Day 10 – travel home
Well, looking back we would have like more time in Luxor and Hurghada. The trip, had lots of quiet days built in and wasn’t the complete whirlwind that I was thinking it might have been. On the other hand, it sometimes seemed like we were rushing from one place to the next, just to get there and wait. But I guess that is what happens when you try to cover so much of a place in such a short period of time. As with every trip that we’ve made, we leave thinking there is something we’d like to come back to see more of.
Day 3 – Cairo
A free day on our itinerary. We had to check out of the hotel and decided to spend the day at the zoo; something for Lyra. What a mistake. First, it was a holiday (the second day of Eid al Adha) and the zoo was overflowing with families. Second, we were overwhelmed by over friendly Cairenes who were following us through the zoo. Third, the animals – although not in horrible conditions – were hardly impressive. And fourth, it rained. So, after only about 1 hour, we went back to our driver who was waiting for us and went back to the hotel to wait for our ride to the train station. Since we had already checked out, this translated to a couple of hours at the hotel bar and an extended playtime at the hotel playground. Lyra met a very nice Egyptian family with 3 boys, one of whom asked us, “Did you kill a sheep?” Ummm, no. At about 6pm we went to wait for our overnight train ride to Aswan (near the southern border with Sudan). We had tea and waited on the cold platform (who knew Egypt would be this cold!) Our train wasn’t luxurious, but clean and well cared for. Kind of what I would expect on an Amtrak sleeper train. We had 2 adjoining cabins – each with an upper and lower bunk. Having 2 cabins was a real bonus! We had imagined that Lyra would be sleeping with one of us. Note: Food on train is horrendous – bring something or eat beforehand. Not even the worst airline food would compete with how truly awful the food was.
Day 4 – Aswan
We wake up while the train is still heading south to Aswan. Outside our window are scenes of farmland and small villages along the floodplains of the Nile. We have a relaxing morning while we look out the windows and get ready for the transfer to our Nile Cruise ship. When we get on board our boat, we meet two other families traveling with the same tour company that we used. One is a newlywed couple on their honeymoon, and the other is a family with at 2 ½ year old girl who soon becomes Lyra’s companion for the cruise. The next set of days will be spent touring the sights of the Nile Valley with them. After settling on the boat, we head out to tour the Aswan Dam sites. The Hoover dam near Las Vegas is much more impressive. I was expecting the dam to be built in a dramatic gorge, but instead it is very long and its height is not as dramatic as the Hoover dam. When the dam was built, the lake that formed behind it stretches all the way in The Sudan and has displaced over 800,000 Nubians (an African people who had lived along the southern part of the Nile). Our guide, told us that 1,000 Nubians were displaced – hmmm, his statistics are a bit off. That evening we also head to an island where Philae Temple, dedicated to Isis, has been relocated (it was under the flood waters created by the dam). The setting sun over the desert to the west, the blue skies, palm trees on the island and lovely Nile river make this a scene to remember.Day 5 – Aswan/Kom Ombo
We have a free morning. Russell is feeling a little under the weather (Ramses Revenge), so Lyra and I head out with the other family (the one with a 2 ½ year old) to view a few sights along the southern Nile. First, we take a traditional Nile sailboat (felucca) to a Botanical Gardens that was built in the late 1800s – Russell would have enjoyed the variety of trees and plants. Then we carry further upstream to a village where the displaced Nubians have re-established a village. If we were there to buy souvenirs, this would be the place to get them. The best prices of anything we saw were here. After a leisurely trip back down river to our ship, we board for the first sailing to Kom Ombo. Kom Ombo Temple was dedicated to the gods Horus (the Falcon) and Sobek (the Crocodile) who were brothers. The story of these two brothers is very much a Cain & Abel story. After our tour of the temple, it’s back to the boat for a late night cruise to Edfu.
Day 6 - Edfu and sailing
We have an early morning wake up to head over to the temple in Edfu. This is another temple dedicated to Horus – the God of Protection. Our guide had arranged for us to take a horse-drawn carriage ride from the boat to the temple. Our frosty morning ride through the town was another highlight for Lyra – she is horse crazy these days. A highlight for us was the massive carvings of the falcon god, Horus guarding the entrance doors to the temple. After a whirlwind rush through the temple and carriage ride back to the ship, we set sail for Luxor. As we would soon realize, the rush was because we were in a “race” with other ships to set sail first for Luxor. There is a lock & dam at Esna and only 2 ships heading for Luxor are allowed through at a time. It takes at least 30 minutes (probably more) for each 2 ships to take their turn. As we sailed toward the lock, I counted about 10 ships ahead of us and about 8 ships behind. We reached Esna at about noon and docked to wait our turn. We were initially told that our ship would sail at about 4pm. We decided a little walk about in Esna would be nice and our guide took us out to see the town. Not much to see, but a nice set of tourist shops where we were able to try our hand at bartering and Russell picked up an aluminum drum. We returned to the ship for the 4pm sailing, which never materialized. Sometime in the middle of the night, I felt the gentle bump of our boat docking in Luxor.Day 7 – Luxor
This is a city to spend more time in. We had an early morning start to see the sights of Luxor. The “big draw” there is the Valley of the Kings where most of the tombs for many Pharoahs are (including where King Tutankhamun’s tomb was found). We were able to go into 3 of the tombs – unbelievable the work that was done and survives nearly 3000 years later. We also visited the temple to Queen Hapshetsut (the only female Pharaoh). And the most impressive temple of our tour was Medinat Habu – a temple to Ramses III. This is a temple highly recommended by our guide, but not on our original itinerary – and well worth the trip! The walls and columns were the most well preserved of anything we saw. Why this temple isn’t on more itineraries is a mystery – I think that no one knows about it, so the tour companies don’t offer it in their packages. We sacrificed going into the Valley of the Queens, but it was worth the side trip. After lunch, we toured Karnak temple, dedicated to the head Egyptian god, Amun. The size and scale of the temple is hard to take in. Since this was such an important god, each Pharaoh would try to outdo his predecessors by adding to the temple, resulting in a massive monument. Our guide told us this was his favorite temple – not hard to figure out why. From there it was rush, rush, rush to Luxor Temple for a quick 30 minute tour before we had to catch our ride to Hurghada on the Red Sea.Day 8 – Hurghada (Christmas Day)
Another place to come back to! Sun, sand, snorkeling, sea – wait, isn’t this what we have back home in Dubai? Anyway, we stayed at a beautiful resort in Hurghada for Christmas Day. We had a relaxing day on the beach with a late afternoon sail on a glass bottom boat to the coral reefs for snorkeling. Really it was a bit too nippy to really want to go snorkeling, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity – and it was the best coral reef I’ve seen. The water was cool, but not so cool that you couldn’t get used to it. But after about 20 minutes, I’d had enough. What was really cold was the sail back to the resort in our cold wet bathing suits (we weren’t thinking and hadn’t brought warm jackets). Really, who would have thought that Egypt would be this cold! I yearned for the warmth and sun of Dubai. Our trip to Hurghada was too short and we were instantly thinking of when we could come back to enjoy it more.
Day 9 – Cairo
If we had known, we would have tried to arrange for more time in Hurghada and less time in Cairo. Usually we like city breaks, but Cairo is a city we didn’t figure out. I think it had more to do with the area we stayed in – Giza. If we had been able to get out and walk the city, we may have found it more interesting. But, nevertheless, we were back in Cairo really just waiting for the trip home the next day. Turns out we had a nice leisurely day at the poolside (trying to get a little warmth from the sun) and again at the hotel playground with Lyra. Our guide tried to interest us in a sunset dinner cruise on the Nile, but by then we’d had enough of cheesy touristy stuff, so opted instead for an early night.Day 10 – travel home
Well, looking back we would have like more time in Luxor and Hurghada. The trip, had lots of quiet days built in and wasn’t the complete whirlwind that I was thinking it might have been. On the other hand, it sometimes seemed like we were rushing from one place to the next, just to get there and wait. But I guess that is what happens when you try to cover so much of a place in such a short period of time. As with every trip that we’ve made, we leave thinking there is something we’d like to come back to see more of.
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