Cairo, Egypt
Trip Start
Jul 24, 2008
1
13
Trip End
Dec 2008
Loading Map
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
Cairo,
Egypt
Thursday, July 31, 2008
From Lisa:
Pyramids, Camel Rides, and Abu Semble Temple...
So far the trip through Egypt has been fantastic! We're sampling life in a way so TOTALLY different from anything we've known before...different foods, different customs, and amazingly open and friendly people. Julie is joining us this trip and she's brought us so much fun! Our Intrepid Tour started on Thursday with a visit to a traditional mosque where we learned about the Islamic religion of the Muslim people. Out of respect, we wore the traditional head coverings (which we'd just bought from the street vendors) - now that was funny watching us struggle to get our scarves tied properly before entering the mosque. We'd practiced a bit the night before, but mine still kept falling off whenever I bent over
Ready for the desert trek!
! :-)Friday, we headed for the Pyramids of Giza - wow! Of course, I'd seen them in books, but standing under their shadow of over 4000 years of history, it was an amazing experience. And SO hot! It's been between 99 and 111 degrees F here the past few days (40-44 C)...even our shoes felt like they were melting in the desert heat! Yes, we're drinking lots and lots of water, but even that doesn't seem to help.
We had a great visit at the Pyramids. Even got Priscilla in a couple of shots with only a few strange looks from the other tourists. :-) The Sphinx was my favorite, even though at first glance I thought it was smaller than imagined. But once I got closer I was reminded of just how vast the scale of things here in Egypt. The rest of the day was spent at the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities - another place you could spend days and days...the Tomb of King Tut was on display (the same one that's been touring the world), so we were lucky to see it at its "home".
Friday night we boarded an overnight sleeper train for the 13 hour trip to Aswan where we'd be spending the next couple of days. The sleeper car was awesome! We all had adjoining cabins and the entire car to our group, so it was like a big sleep-over
Practicing with our scarves for the mosque visit!
. We arrived in Aswan about 10am on Saturday and by 2pm, we were ready for a long afternoon of fun...First we rode a boat along the Nile to an original Nubian village for lunch on the boat, then a tour of their traditional village...very nice people! Afterwards, a visit to the Nubian Beach for a dip of the toes in the Nile - we could have gone swimming, but the water was FREEZING! Then it was time for what I'd really been looking forward to -- the camel rides! We each rode a camel through the dunes of the Sahara, and even though it was about 4:30pm, then temp was still well over 100 degrees! It was such a blast - my camel was Ziggy and even though he fussed a little at the end, he was an angel to ride. What an amazing experience!
The wakeup call this morning (Sunday) came at 3am to catch the travelers convoy for the van to Abu Sembel, the temple of Ramses II and Nefertari along Lake Nasser. It was a quick 3 hours as we all slept most of the way through the desert - though the stars while it was still dark were spectacular! The temple was jaw-dropping...you walk around this mound of rocks and suddenly see these incredible statues carved directly out of the surrounding rock. Inside the temple was equally was beautiful. Definitely worth the ride out there
Properly attired!
. Tomorrow we board a felluca (wooden sailboat) for a day and a night ride down the Nile to our next stop in Luxor. Thanks for coming along with us!! :-)
From Cheryl:
I have to admit to having a bit of an expectation upon arriving in Egypt. We have all seen pictures, watched TV, or seen movies that represent Egypt and all the glory it has to offer. Being here has in person has exceeded all my expectations! As you stand in front of the great pyramids, it is difficult to even try to comprehend how these amazing people managed to create all these wonders. The pyramids, the Sphinx, and all the beautifully carved temples we have seen - it truly is mind boggling..
The Mosque was a wonderful experience for me. Again, there were preconceived notions about the people we might meet here and the feelings that might exist with us from America. Everyone I have met here has been more than welcoming and many have told us that the things that we hear about certain people and certain religions simply is not true for the majority
Visit to the mosque
. Everything I have seen and heard here make me believe that statement. I was fortunate enough to find someone who was anxious to share her religious backgrounds and beliefs with me. She was a Muslim and very much devoted to her religion. In spite of what we all might see or hear, we are not as different as I thought. In many ways we all believe many of the same things and a peaceful coexistence is one of those things. It taught me a great lesson to not believe everything I see or hear. Taking the time to learn some truths makes a big difference. As usual - I miss you all! Take care and remember to always live YOUR dream!
![[11] Camel and Pyramids](http://images.travelpod.com/users/el_condor/thumbnail.asia_2005.1143747660.picture_032.jpg)
Comments
what a fun trip!
I was so glad to hear about your trip. We are considering doing this trip at Thanksgiving time with our college-age son meeting us. It's great to get your perceptions of the experience. I had even earlier looked at Intrepid's website and thought they looked like a good tour organization. I don't remember if you or someone else recommended them to me. Have you been happy with them? Any other advice you can give us about the trip? We still have such great memories of our cruise together. I was just reading about Santorini in a magazine and looked at the pictures with wistful longing.
Carolee Weber