Our Egypt Adventure

Packing and setting up a blog

September 05, 2019

Our bag selection. Randy get first dibs!

It is almost time to leave for Egypt. We have 10 days left. Our departure will be on the evening of Sept. 15th. I'm almost packed and attempting to set up a blog.

Hopefully, this blog will work better than last year, which didn't work at all
As a general overview, we will be going to:
Cairo, The Pyramids, Egyptian Museum, Abu Simbel Temples, a Nile Cruise, Sharm El Sheikh to Jordan - Wadi Rum, Petra Tour, Jerusalem, Amman City Tour to enjoy the Roman Theater.

Pyramid Day 9.17
Today we a toured The Great Pyramid and 9 other Pyramids in Cairo. The Hat is a necessity as the weather was very hot. A dry 115º. Why it only felt like 100º!!!

We learned the entrance of all pyramids is on the N because it is the direction of north light symbolizing eternity. The Sphinx's body was in better shape than the head because the head was exposed to the elements well the body was covered with sand until Napoleon tried to conquer Egypt.

The internet is so slow here and my phone screen is so small, I question how much of this blog I can complete. I can’t see to get my iPad to access my blog at all. We’ll see. I just got my iPad to work. Yay. Did you know there was a female Pharaoh? Hatshepsut was the mother of the next pharaoh taking over the pharaoh role before her son was of age. She presented herself as a male and wore a fake beard. She reigned until her son killed several years later. Tonight we’re going to dinner and the sound and light show for the Pyramids. Stay tuned for more pictures. The papyrus demo on how the paper was made was fascinating. The stem of the Egyptian papyrus plant is in the shape of a triangle or pyramid. The bloom is a little different from the papyrus plant I have at home. I can't wait to check the plant I have to see if the stem mimics a pyramid as well. Below we saw one of the biggest statues of Ramesses the 2nd.

That night the pyramid light show was spectacular. Even so, I found myself dosing off during it after a long day. I leaned over to tell Randy, but he was asleep too!

Wed 18th

Today we’re off to the Egyptian museum, bazar—Randy’s fave and after that, we fly to Aswan.

Egyptian statues were often seen with the Left foot forward. The “left side is where the heart resides. The Egyptians believed you stepped with the left foot to trod out evil so the heart could proceed.
On the right is a display of cypress carvings that have lasted 4000 years

The jeweled eyes in the statue to the left were stolen

over the years.

Like the ones on the left, many of the male statues were brown while women were depicted in light stone. This is because the men worked outside women indoors. No tanning booths for the girls!

Look, Egyptian solid gold flip flops!

To enter a mosque I had to wear a hat and cover my arms where the men did not. The men would stand with feet touching to keep the devils out. Our guide and Randy are

are doing a good job of keeping the evil spirits at bay.

Laughing lions were to protect the entrance of palaces, and to welcome you. Their smiles showed visitors how happy they are to see them. Not so at the back door where they are frowning to show sadness for your departure.

We went to a Mosque, that became Coptic, (early Christian) and then a Synagogue.

Thurs 19th

Our flight to Aswan which is near the border of Sudan was late and we got to bed at 1 pm... I don't do 1 pm. Up until then It was Randy, me, our personal driver and guide. We got up the next morning at 6 am ate breakfast to meet Ash, our new guide at 7and a group of about 15 people. To our surprise, Ash told us he liked Trump because he was a good businessman and didn't solve problems with war. He hated Hilary Clinton, however.

Above is the temple for King Ramesses II at Abu Simbel. I could barely see where I was going with this hat and decided it works better in the garden. Did I say it was hot?

Below on the left is the temple for Ramesses II's wives. He chose the site because it was sacred to Hathor, goddess of motherhood, joy, and love. On the right is a Nubian Captive

When the Aswan dam was created for irrigation and flood in 1968, the Abu Simbel temples, built in 1265 bc had to be moved 200 feet above the original site. This amazing engineering feat took 5 years and cost approximately 40 million dollars. You can see on the left that the second seated statue in the Ramesses II's temple broke during the raising it. To prevent further damage they left it where it fell.

On the left is pictured the Temple for the wives of Rames II. Multiple wives were the norm to allow men to have their required sex and to protect the women from the dangers of having childbirth too often The statues on the right were inside the Temple of Rames II and must have been 20 feet tall.

The symbols on the wall to the left are representative of sounds similar to our alphabet. The Temples of Rames II was a spectacular sight. The only downside was the 3-hour drive there and back

Friday, Sept 20th

Today is a tour of the Nile, the high dam and the Philae Temples for Isis and Hathor. We will see the largest known living obelisk. The boat on the right is a felucca which was the only means of transportation back in the day. The Nile is known as the yank or sea of life. The high dam is shaped like a pyramid and is the biggest man-made lake in the world. Isis is the God of motherhood and love. How ironic. There are over 9000 Gods in Egypt.

Rock Quarry with unfinished obelisk

To the right a quarry where we viewed one of the largest known— albeit, unfinished obelisk. Above is a felucca, a traditional wooden sailing boat.

The Gods must have known my back was hurting after tramping around the rock quarry because next, we went to an essential oil shop where everyone got a free massage!!! Never mind the money I spent on the Sandalwood and Eucalyptus oils.

This time our hotel was a boat, The Royal Lily. There we were treated to cocktails and enjoyed visiting with an Australian couple while we partied. Our boat/hotel is scheduled to depart at 4:30 am. Good thing we are sleeping on the boat!

Mummified crocodiles offered to the Gods

Sat 21

Today we visited Kom Ombo and Edfu Temples and Visit the Temple shared by two gods Sobek and Haroeris in Kom Ombo. There we learned Mummified crocodiles were not Gods, but symbols offered to the Gods. The low relief carving happed before Alexander the Great and the high relief after Alexander the Great. Our guide also pointed out that Cleopatra killed herself, not out of love, but to die as a King.

A woman gave birth in a chair as seen in the picture to the left. Poor child!

The 3 seasons: flooding planting harvesting. Mummified crocs we’re offered to Sobik to allow one to have a good harvest. The artwork on the walls was offerings to the Gods along with food, drink, clothing, and ointment. Whatever a person could give would be considered an offering.

The butterflyl joint filled with copper, thieves stole the copper. In Ancient Egypt Instead of putting people in jail they put them to work.

The columns of the temple resemble tall plants that reach toward the sky often in the shape of a papyrus or lily plant

This well used to determine the level of Nile which determined the amount of taxes. Seven cubits—roughly 10 feet was the optimum height for prosperity.

Tonight I had a massage for my aching back! The very aromatic carriage ride didn't do it much good.

At High Tea in Esna, our guide gave his favorable opinion of Trump and his negative opinion of Hilary. Two women got up and walked out of the room. We had to pull the guide aside to advise him to stay away from politics if he wanted good reviews and tips!

When Christians came the temple they believed the carvings were cursed. Because of this, the carvings were marred by Christians. The area used as a kitchen was charred. Pictures on the walls represent an offering to the Gods. The eye of life is considered a protection against evil.

Sun 22

We sailed to Luxor to visit the West Bank and the Royal cemetery Temple of Queen Hatshepsut in the Valley of the Kings

We went by the house of Carter, the one who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb. A voice echo is damaging to the tomb. No hell—sinners turn to dust. The brain was taken out through the nose. Cryers were paid to morn. The mask connects the soul with the body. The heart can prove innocence by putting the heart on one side of a scale and a feather on the other. If the heart is light the person is innocent and qualified for the trip to the afterlife.
Art wasn’t compulsory. It was done so that a person would be taken to paradise. Incest was allowed and accepted as it was thought to maintain the royal blood. Hatchutsup died of breast cancer. DNA and dental matching determined her identity.

In this shop, we got a demonstration of how alabaster vases were made. The artisans used the tools of the day. Fake granite was often made by putting stones on the inside to make it feel heavier. on the right is one of the artisans working on a piece. Machinist Randy gets in on the action.
The final piece is finished with beeswax to enhance the colors.

A little downtime on the top deck of the ship before our 6pm city carriage ride, followed by dinner and belly dancing.

Luxor is a palace city. Its agriculture includes fruits, grains, and vegetables.

Under protest, Randy agreed to a selfie on the carriage ride. The lit obelisk is closely related to the Sun God Ra also known as Atum. Atum was linked specifically with the evening sun, while Ra was connected with the sun at morning and midday. We had dinner along the tour which consisted of falafel in pita bread along with sugar cane juice. Our guide explains that the men came to town to smoke the water pipes or shisha. It is a shame that too many people smoke here.

Back at our floating hotel. the entertainment was a belly dancer. Unfortunately, she had too much belly for our taste. Luckily her skin was covered with a flesh-colored fabric instead of being exposed. We went to bed early after a great day.

Mon 23

Today we will continue on our Luxor Nile Cruise and then fly to Sharm el Sheik Amin. Rah is the most powerful God

Offer children to the Gods to work at the temple

In Karnac Queen Hatshepsut took over the reign after her husband died because her step-son was only 5-years old. She had herself depicted in the traditional king's kilt and crown along with the fake beard and male body. This was not to convince people she was male but to show her authority. Some speculate that her stepson might have had her killed while others say she died of breast cancer. She has the tallest Obelisks—a tapered stone pillar erected to commemorate her and honor the gods. Go, Hatshepsut!

We have a hotel room at the Royal Sonesta until 4 when we catch a plane to Jordan to see Petra, an ancient city carved out of the mountains. We went to the lobby hoping for faster internet speeds, but they didn’t exist. After Googling why WiFi was so slow in Egypt I found that among 150 countries Egypt ranks 147th in speed. No surprise here.

Tues 24

A free day at Sharm el Sheik. Taking care of rental applications. Thank goodness we have a decent internet connection to do so.

At 5 pm we took a tour of the camp of Bedouin of Sinai, a nomadic group that settled here. After a little stargazing where we saw the Saturn rings through a telescope and the moon of Jupiter. We enjoyed a dinner of homemade tortillas along with lamb, vegetables, and eggplant. This was a repeating cuisine all through the trip. Randy is not a fan of eggplant, but I loved it. After our meal, we were entertained with a slimmer, more talented belly dancer than we saw at the hotel, fire dancers and other nomadic dancing.

And of course the bold of us were invited on stage to participate.

We had to laugh at these two members of the audience who were engrossed in their phones before the belly dancer came out. When she appeared they put down their phones and were very attentive!

Wed 25

To get to Jordon we had a 3-hour drive followed by a taxicab ride. Because of the animosity between the two countries, you can’t have your passport stamped in Israel and get in Jordon. So we had to have slips of paper stamped. Gas is 44 cents per gal. Whoo-hoo.

We then met a very happy guide in an Arabian headdress (keffiyeh) and long tunic (thobe). He thought he understood and spoke English, but he was wrong!

He took us on a beautiful ride through Wadi Rum, translated to a Valley of Sand which is a desert area where Bedouin people live. Lawrence of Arabia, The Martian, and other movies were filmed there. I watched The Martian on the plane home in honor of Wadi Rum!

I was wondering if our guide's late modeled Land Cruiser was going get us out of all that sand, but it did!

The sand and rock sand sculptures were beautiful. Randy and the guide were brave enough to climb to the top. I was not.

I tried to pet this camel, but he didn't like me at all. He made a loud bellow when I touched him. I jerked my hand back and he tolerated me—but kept me at a safe distance with a low moaning sound. I wasn't about to ride him. Perhaps he was as hot and tired as I was.

This opening led into a room in the side of the mountain that is a natural bridge. What a perfect spot for today's campers who flock to Wadi Rum!

We had been up since 5 am and were tired and hungry. When we got back to the hotel at 3 pm we ate our first hamburger!

Thurs 26

We left at 8 am to drive for 2.5 hours to the Rose Red City of Petra in Jordan. It started in the 6th-century bc by the Nabataeans.

The descent to the Treasury has breathtaking rock formations.

This camel was sweet and let me pet him without complaint.

The Treasury facades carved into the mountains got its name because of the round globe at the top was thought to hold a pharaoh’s Treasures.

Our guide was great and even took pics for us teaching me how to use the exposure meter on my camera.

After 14000 steps my
feet were throbbing, but it was worth the view on the 7 mile trek.

Friday 27

The Corp Hotel has internet in our room vs just the lobby. With comparatively blazing internet speed we were able to conduct a bit of rental business.

A tour of Jerusalem is scheduled for today.

We had a bit of a nerve-racking wait while our passports were held at the border before we got on the bus to Jerusalem.

On the way to Jerusalem, we learned that the Dead Sea was 1000 ft below sea level. We wondered if they mined the salt like they do in the Salton Sea in CA.

E Jerusalem is where the Arabs live and W Jerusalem is where the Jews live.

Our guide, Gill, (right) showed us the Al-Aqsa Mosque (left)
and we stopped for refreshment. The waitress was pushing the pomegranate
juice so we thought we would try it. After we got the bill we understood why she was so eager for us to try it. Our bill for 2 not so delicious drinks was $14!

We saw where Jesus walked performing miracles, died on the cross and rose from the dead. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus was buried is on the right

We bought a beautiful necklace for me and talked about politics with the guide on the way home.

On the way back Jerusalem to Jordon we were met by a guide who we were very happy to see. He managed to get us quickly to the front of the line and we got through the border with ease.

Sat 28

We toured the city of Amman, the Citadel the Roman theater and the Archeological and Folklore museums along with King Abdullah's Mosque.

Our guide was a Texas A&M Aggie whose wife could not get a visa back to the US even though he and his children were US citizens.

The next two photos are the remains of the Temple of Artimus in Jarash. Some of the columns. had been restored. I brought an umbrella for sun protection. The wind was so intense I had to pay attention to the direction of it to keep my umbrella from blowing inside out. I needed that sun protection—it was really hot!

The minaret and exterior of the King Abdullah Mosque

As we entered the King Abdullah Mosque all the women were sent to put the proper clothing, a long robe with a hood. Some of the men put them on too, but they weren't required to—just the females.