Sofitel Cairo Maadi Towers

... out the front of Giza platea!. It was so shocking to see the pyramids in the middle of the suburbs - our first view of the pyramids was through apartment blocks. We went into the plateau and directly at the base of the main and largest pyramid (146 mts tall), it was huge - breathtakingly so. We wandered around the base and then climbed the first few blocks up and then went to the second pyramid which was our favourite as it still has some of the limestone ...

... morning (as I discovered from my hostel room). The first adventure though was walking from the spot we finally found to park back to the hostel. There is an art to crossing the street here, and if you don't learn it you will either never get across the street, or, well, you may just end up a part of the street. The easiest way to cross is to find a local that is crossing (there always is one), stand to his ...

... back to Egypt.

Now any time I have traveled and I hear the term free my Spidey sense starts tingling and I become extremely skeptical but the guy was insistent and he said they would make sure I was on time for my flight and take care of the Visa for free.

So the first thing was to return the one I bought which wasn't too hard and see if the Visa was really free. Myself and a few Germans who had heard me getting this deal were put in the VIP line and bypassed all ...

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Day 6: Nile Cruise

Visit of the High Dam and the temple of Philae- View of the Elephantine Island by felucca (sailing boat) and view of the Agha Khan Mausoleum. Overnight in Aswan.

Day 7: Optional

Disembarkation after breakfast. Transfer to Aswan Airport for departure to Cairo by flight - Meet & assist at Cairo Airport- Transfer to hotel. Optional to visit Old Cairo, including visit to Hanging Church (El Muallaka), one of the oldest churches ...

... was excellent as well, all 4 of us have a fair bit in common.

I told you every day brings something new and amazing, today it is just the PYRAMIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We walked out of the front door and there was a taxi offering us a very reasonable price to Giza – so we hopped in and arrived so early nothing was open! So we got some breakfast of Full (a bean based snack in pita), falafels (chick pea based in Pita) and a nice cup of tea (tea leaves and hot ...

... of marble inside. All the religious buildings are dark inside with some paintings and naive stained glass windows. Further along we came across the gate of Babylon and once again saw the influence of the Greek and Roman eras.

We spent time in the Coptic Museum which was very well set out. Security was tight with bags subject to search and X-ray and cameras confiscated and held for later collection. It held examples of early religious books and artefacts ...

... are in cahoots to write a book together (although neither one knows what they are going to write about!). I seemed to get along with his daughter Joleene and shared lots of stories back and forth about life in general! Its amazing the people you meet along your travels that make such an impact on you life! We are off to Jordan for 3 days and then to Greece. Places in particular I am really excited to see are Jaresh and of course my ultimate visit...Petra!

... br>to 395 AD - Roman rule from Rome, Italy.
to 641 AD - Christian Byzantine/Greek rule from Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey).
619 to 629 AD - Persian rule from Ctesiphon (near Baghdad, Iraq).
to 868 AD - Muslim Arab rule from Baghdad, Iraq.
to 1517 - capital of various Muslim Arab dynasties. 1260 - Egypt defeats Mongolian invasion force ...

... fuller and the noise level increased with horns blaring and people yelling. The market itself was a beehive of activity and an assault on the senses. Not only the yelling but the smells of the spices, the colour of the scarfs and the number of people pushing and pulling to get through such a small space at once. Cesca negotiated with a tradesmen for a pashmina scarf and we got offered many other great deals that we turned down. In the market the trend continued where the ...