May 1, Thursday
Our last day on the boat. We had breakfast at the usual buffet meal served on the ship, and we left to see the Luxor and Karnack temples. They are a huge complex with an avenue of Sphinx which used to line an avenue between both temples. The columns are awesome, so huge, so many, so old. We had a guide who was very well versed in Egyptian history, he even was able to read and write hieroglyphics. He could tell us a great deal about each site.
Our flight didn’t leave till 1:00 AM so we had the afternoon free to wait, so we went about in Luxor for a while, avoiding the market and spent time relaxing on the boat. The boat had three decks plus an upper open air pool lounge area. Bottom deck was the dining room, second and third was guest rooms, lounge/bar and the top area was open air with lounge chairs and sitting areas so we could sit out and watch the Nile scenery pass by. We visited just a small fraction of the sites available, and we saw many cut into the banks of the Nile as we floated down river. Our driver was at the airport to meet us and we arrived here at my apartment about 3:00 AM quite tired.
Ten o’clock next morning, Friday our driver was at the door to take us to Sakkara, Memphis and the Pyramids of Giza.
(I’ll explain driver: when you want to go on an excursion whether it is to the airport, a tour of the city or out of the city, you can hire a cab for a day which is cheaper but sketchy and usually ready to fall apart. An other choice is to hire a new van, with a familiar driver, from a travel agent for about 14 dollars a day and that is all day going to a destination about 1 ½ hours away. Also with a familiar driver you can get in and say ‘swiya, swiya’ (my spelling of ‘slowly’ in Arabic) and he will go at a reasonable speed.)
Sakkara is on the site of one of the earliest pyramids, we saw the step pyramid and the Bent Pyramid of Sneferu, who later built the Red Pyramid. The Pyramids are so massive you can’t imagine their size till you actually are beside them. I’ll post pictures on my web album, the only way to give an idea of what they really are like. Up till now I had barely time to sleep…..but enjoyed every bit of time with friends and family. Sleep I can get later! Peggy and Alice had an early flight Saturday and we were sorry to see them go. It was so nice to have familiar faces around for a few weeks.
Friday, 9 May 2008
Visitors From Home Part 2
May 1, Thursday
Our last day on the boat. We had breakfast at the usual buffet meal served on the ship, and we left to see the Luxor and Karnack temples. They are a huge complex with an avenue of Sphinx which used to line an avenue between both temples. The columns are awesome, so huge, so many, so old. We had a guide who was very well versed in Egyptian history, he even was able to read and write hieroglyphics. He could tell us a great deal about each site.
Our flight didn’t leave till 1:00 AM so we had the afternoon free to wait, so we went about in Luxor for a while, avoiding the market and spent time relaxing on the boat. The boat had three decks plus an upper open air pool lounge area. Bottom deck was the dining room, second and third was guest rooms, lounge/bar and the top area was open air with lounge chairs and sitting areas so we could sit out and watch the Nile scenery pass by. We visited just a small fraction of the sites available, and we saw many cut into the banks of the Nile as we floated down river. Our driver was at the airport to meet us and we arrived here at my apartment about 3:00 AM quite tired.
Ten o’clock next morning, Friday our driver was at the door to take us to Sakkara, Memphis and the Pyramids of Giza.
(I’ll explain driver: when you want to go on an excursion whether it is to the airport, a tour of the city or out of the city, you can hire a cab for a day which is cheaper but sketchy and usually ready to fall apart. An other choice is to hire a new van, with a familiar driver, from a travel agent for about 14 dollars a day and that is all day going to a destination about 1 ½ hours away. Also with a familiar driver you can get in and say ‘swiya, swiya’ (my spelling of ‘slowly’ in Arabic) and he will go at a reasonable speed.)
Sakkara is on the site of one of the earliest pyramids, we saw the step pyramid and the Bent Pyramid of Sneferu, who later built the Red Pyramid. The Pyramids are so massive you can’t imagine their size till you actually are beside them. I’ll post pictures on my web album, the only way to give an idea of what they really are like. Up till now I had barely time to sleep…..but enjoyed every bit of time with friends and family. Sleep I can get later! Peggy and Alice had an early flight Saturday and we were sorry to see them go. It was so nice to have familiar faces around for a few weeks.
