Last Day in Egypt and The Journey Home

Saturday, November 6th. My final day in Egypt. And quite possibly my least favorite day in Egypt. I was looking forward to a relaxing day in Alexandria but instead this became the most rushed day of the tour. We never even got free time at some of the sites. When planning my Egypt and the Nile tour, through the Contiki forums I met several tour mates that were staying an extra day so I too decided to stay an extra day since we all agreed that a trip to Alexandria will be a good idea. We had planned on going on our own after the tour; our idea was to grab a train early in the morning and spend the day wandering around the city. Then we found out Spring Tours, Contiki's parent company in Egypt, offered a day trip to Alexandria for $99 which included round trip transportation in one of their buses, an English speaking tour guide, and tickets to 5 sites. We all thought that was a pretty good deal and definitely a lot less hassle. There were 10 of us that booked the day trip. Unfortunately, quite a few tour mates would have liked to have gone to Alexandria but since they didn't know about the optional day tour or the fact that a few tour mates were staying the extra day, they booked their flights for Saturday morning/afternoon. I'm glad I did the Alexandria tour to say I visited the city but quite frankly, I prefer my "Old Egypt"; the rugged ruins, the pyramids, the temples, the statues, the rural villages. Alexandria is a very nice, clean, modern city and it has a European feel to it. When in Egypt, I prefer my Cairo and Luxor and Aswan. 

The morning started out like all other mornings, a 6am wake up call since we had to be ready and in the bus no later than 6:30am. Since the Egypt and the Nile tour officially ends Saturday morning with an included breakfast, we were given breakfast boxes to take on the bus. The boxes consisted of several types of breads,  a hard boiled egg, and some slices of cheese. I was expecting a small bus since it was only 10 of us plus Sherif but instead, we got a full size tour bus. Sherif rarely does the Alexandria day tours but since he had the following week off and he really enjoys the city, he joined us as our tour guide. I think that was great because he was very knowledgeable. Upon boarding the bus, I claimed two seats and passed out. I slept the whole way to Alexandria! I was feeling very run down from being sick for several days so those two hours of sleep really came in handy. 

We arrived in Alexandria at around 8:30am and were greeted with a beautiful, sunny, and clean city. Our first stop was the Kom el-Shouqafa, better known as the Roman Catacombs. These catacombs were mostly used as a private tomb at first and then later converted to a public cemetery. I was so glad we had a tour guide because those catacombs were a total underground maze and it seemed we were the only people there. Then again, it was pretty early but still, I didn't see large crowds of tourists in Alexandria. We spent about 20 minutes walking around the catacombs looking at the tombs, paintings, inscriptions, and a case that contained the bones of a horse. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures and a lot of what I saw was pretty interesting. The catacombs were one my favorite parts of Alexandria! Upon exiting the catacombs, we ran into a vendor selling different sets of postcards. I collect postcards and this was a wonderful opportunity for me to stock up. I enjoyed dealing with this vendor because there was no haggling, all three sets of post cards were sold at a fixed price of 5 LE each!!! After a week of dealing with pushy vendors trying to sell you cheap imitations of "Egyptian" items made in China, it was great to be able to buy something the normal way; fixed price, exchange product for money, everyone is happy. I of course purchased all three sets: postcards of Egypt, postcards of Alexandria, postcards of the catacombs. (Total was 15 LE which equals to $2.68) 

Next in our itinerary was a visit to Pompey's Pillar. There was not much to see except for the 82 ft (25m) granite column that was constructed in honor of the Emperor Diocletian in AD 297. The area around the pillar has other ruins and sculptures but there really wasn't much to see. We took several group pictures and were on our way to the next site. The next stop was the Citadel of Qaitbay, a beautiful fortress that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. I could have actually spent a good hour walking around this site because not only was the fortress itself amazing but the views were breathtaking!!!! Unfortunately during our visit, there were several school groups on a field trip and the kids got quite annoying after a few minutes. They kept following us insisting we take their pictures and of course that we be in the pictures. Sometimes, when I was trying to take nice pictures of the Mediterranean from the fortress, they will jump into the picture hence my pictures are all a weird size because I had to crop the kids out. I love kids but not when they ruin nice pictures!! 

After the pillar and the fort, we visited the Alexandria National Museum which contains items from Prehistoric and Pharonic times, Graeco-Roman artifacts, and items from the Coptic and Islamic era. There were also several artifacts on display that had recently been raised from the depth of the Mediterranean. The museum was very, very interesting and it is a shame we got to spend only 20 minutes. I could have easily spent an hour or more since they did have some amazing items. One of my favorite items was the giant bust of Akhenaten, Ancient Egypt's heretic Pharaoh. Akhenaten was originally named Amenhotep IV but changed his name to reflect his believe in Aten and during his reign he changed Egypt into a monotheistic society. He is the father of Tutankhamun who was originally named Tutankhaten. 

Upon leaving the museum, we drove to the coast of Alexandria to visit the Bibliotheca Alexandria, the world's fifth largest library. We toured the outside taking pictures of the building and some statues. We did not go inside which again was a disappointment because it would have been interesting. Inside you find a world of exhibits and museums; a science center with a planetarium and science museum (the science nerd in me would have loved this!), three other museums (antiquities, manuscripts, and Sadat), and an art exhibit. Definitely seems you could spend a day in that library exploring the various museums and exhibits! 

Our final stop was the Roman Theatre which is an amphitheater with 13 semicircular tiers made of white and gray marble. Around the amphitheater there were a few artifacts such as a giant Roman marble bathtub and a mini statue of the Sphinx but there really wasn't much to see. By the time we wrapped up the site seeing it was about 2:40pm meaning we had spent about 6 hrs exploring Alexandria.

On the way to Cairo, we stopped at a roadside rest stop that had several eateries including McDonalds. One of our tour mates became famous during the trip for constantly mentioning she wanted McDonalds so she was quite happy that her wish had finally come true!! I decided not to eat anything since my stomach was still a tad upset. We boarded the bus and continued onwards to Cairo where we hit heavy traffic. It actually took us almost three hours to get to Cairo because of how bad traffic was. Once we got to the hotel, I went to my room to wrap up the packing since I was leaving Egypt that evening. I had originally purchased my ticket for Sunday night but switched it to Saturday for various reasons. At around 7pm, I dragged by luggage down the stairs and to the lobby since the airport transfer bus was waiting. I said my final goodbyes to a few tour mates and boarded the bus along with four other girls. Despite it being pitch black outside, I was wearing my sunglasses because I was a tad emotional. After a few minutes, I nodded off and was sound asleep until a huge bang woke me up!! Some crazy Egyptian driver had made a wrong turn and slammed into our bus. Luckily it wasn't no big deal but it was quite funny that one of my tour mates yelled "oh my God, that's somebody's luggage on the road". Fortunately, said item wasn't one of our luggages but a piece of the bumper of the car that crashed into us. 

The airport in Cairo is nothing short of a nightmare and for some reason it didn't look like the same airport I arrived into the previous Saturday. Once you enter the airport, you need to place your luggage and carry ons into a security scanner and show your boarding pass to the security officer. Since I had switched my flight that morning, I did not have a copy of my boarding pass but the guy let me go through since my airport transfer rep explained to him the situation. Thank God I had four other tour mates with me because this airport was a total mess! There were hardly any signs or airport staff to guide you to the correct place. After a few minutes, we found the check in area for Delta Airlines and that room in short can be described as total chaos; extremely cramped and crowded, no clear indication of where the lines started, people cutting in line, and Delta reps that apparently had no idea how to check in passengers. When you first enter the room, you are directed to these individuals that ask you 101 questions to determine if you are some sort of threat. The lady I had did not speak the best English so I had a difficult time understanding her therefore I had some trouble answering the questions. Luckily, I passed! Now, my tour mates and I were standing in this "line" that was not moving at all. This guy who works at the airport told us to follow him and we did. Basically, he took us to another line and bumped us to the front meaning the five of us cut in front of a bunch of angry folks that had been waiting for quite some time. We have no idea why it was taking so long to check in people when the five of us checked in in less than 10 minutes. After we checked in, the airport rep stopped us and demanded tip. Go figures; he provides the VIP treatment of cutting in line in exchange for money. I really didn't complain because I would have paid $100 just to get out of that room sooner than later!! When we exited the room, we walked to this passport verification station and then to some duty free shops. I didn't find anything worth buying but some of the girls did purchase a few items. We then walked around looking for a place to eat but after a few, we decided to make the line for security before boarding the plane. While in line, one of the Delta reps walked up to one of the girls saying she could not bring aboard a perfume she purchased in the duty free shops. Apparently, even though the perfume was purchased at the airport, it violated Delta's no more than 3oz policy. So she went to return the perfume and at the same time, went to purchase some fries from McDonalds for us to eat while waiting in line. (Thanks Stella!!!) After going through security, we realized there were not only no restaurants or bathrooms but there was another security station! It was getting quite annoying. Finally, we boarded the trams that took us to our plane.

Since I had switched flights early that morning, I didn't have the option of picking my seat so instead of my usual window seat, I got a seat in the middle of the plane. Luckily, I had no one sitting next to me so I had a bit more room. Upon take off, we were served dinner and this time around, Delta did not provide my requested vegetarian meal; instead I got the chicken meal. I obviously did not eat chicken nor did I touch the rest of the meal. The bread was harder than granite, the salad was bitter, the rice was crunchy, and the dessert was soggy. And don't get me started on how rude the flight attendants were on this flight!!! I asked the flight attendant for some water since I wasn't feeling well and in a really rude and condensing tone the woman goes "I am very busy right now so you are going to have to wait until later". Thirty minutes passed and no water so I rang the service bell and this other flight attendant came. I explained to her that I was feeling really, really sick and if possible I would like a bottle of water that I could drink throughout the flight. She said that was not a problem and that she will bring me the bottle ASAP. I waited for about 15 minutes and still no water. Stark contrast from the great flight attendants I had on my flight to Egypt. Since I figured I was not going to get water anytime soon, I tried to fall asleep at least for a few to get some rest. The whole was flight was uneventful with nothing exciting to write about except rude flight attendants and horrible food. 

We landed at JFK at around 5:15am and I couldn't be happier that I was finally exiting that plane!! I walk to customs and despite a rather long line, the wait was short. I was in line for less than 10 minutes before heading over to baggage claim. Unlike customs, I waited about 20 minutes for my bag and at some point I started worrying that my bag was still in Egypt. Alas, after much anticipation, my bag arrived!! At this point, I said farewell to my tour mates since they were from NYC and therefore they were home. 

I on the other hand, still had one flight to go before arriving home. I walked on over to the Delta check in counter and politely asked the lady if there was anyway I could switch to the 8am flight to MIA since I had the later 10:45am flight. I had booked the later connection in the event that if my flight out of Cairo was delayed that I did not miss my ride home. Unfortunately, the flight arrived a little earlier than expected it was now 6am! The Delta rep was very rude and said I should have switched the flight the day before and that now I just had to take the tram to Terminal 3 and wait for my 10:45am flight. She handed me the ticket and since I wasn't sure were the tram was, I asked her and this was her reply "follow the signs". Thanks for nothing lady!!! I followed the signs and finally found the tram but the next 30 minutes will be nothing but confusion. When I exit the tram at Terminal 3, I follow the signs and wind up outside in freezing weather. I had no idea where to go from here. I go back inside and take the elevator to the tram station to see if I can find an airport rep. Instead I find two guys that are equally lost. They said they took the tram from Terminal 4 as told but had no idea where to go next. So we joined forces and ventured outside to figure out where exactly we were suppose to go. After walking for about 5 minutes, we come across two security officers that help us find our way. After 5 more minutes of walking in freezing weather, we found Terminal 3 and the security check point. The guys and I go our separate way but I couldn't have been more fortunate than to run into them because that was a weird experience. By the time I pass through security and arrive at my gate, it was a little past 6:30am. I had four hrs before my flight! I read some of the books I purchased in Egypt and drank a bottle of cranberry juice to kill the time. When it was time to board my flight, I took my seat next to the window and fell asleep. I was gone the whole flight and the girl next to me kindly woke me up when we arrive at MIA. 

I was home safe and sound but missing Egypt very much. While waiting for my luggage, my brother approached me and gave me a big hug. Mom and dad were waiting in the car!!! On the ride home, I was talking a mile a minute sharing all of my adventures in Egypt. When we got home, I was greeted by three very happy dogs who could not stop sniffing my clothes or luggage. I guess they were attracted to the scent of camel. I opened up my luggage and gave my parents their presents!! =) Mom got her scarves, dad got his scarab beetle, and my brother got his ankh. It was now 3pm and I told my parents I was going to take a short nap before dinner when we can sit together and talk more about my trip. Instead, I woke up at around 12:30am; I took a quick shower and went straight to bed once again waking up at 2pm Monday. That first week home, all I can do is sleep and more sleep. I was tired but I was so ready to return to Egypt for more adventures!!! 

Pompey's Pillar

Excavations around the pillar

Fishing boats on the Mediterranean

Citadel of Qaitbay

View of the Mediterranean from the fort

Bibliotheca Alexandria

Statue of Ptolemy discovered underwater

Roman Amphitheater

Shady Alleys and Cheesy Sound & Light Shows

Friday, November 5th. Today is the official end of the Egypt and The Nile tour although I'll be spending an extra day in Egypt (The Alexandria trip in the next blog!). The day was rather uneventful and not much happened on this last day.

The day started off with a loud knock on the door at 4:20am, our "wake up knock". Lisa and I got dressed and waited for the "here's your breakfast tray knock". Breakfast was very similar to the first breakfast I had on the Cairo to Aswan train except this time around I had four different types of breads instead of three. Egyptians really, really love their breads and I was thinking that next time I come to Egypt I'm bringing a jar of peanut butter. Not that the breads were bad but since we had to stay away from the butter and the little thing of jam was not enough to cover half a bread, I figured a jar of peanut butter will be a great thing to accompany the breads. We finally rolled into Cairo at around 5:10am and the looks on the faces of my tour mates was priceless; you can tell that many were exhausted and just ready to go home. We got off the train, climbed a few flights of stairs, and boarded the bus to the Victoria Hotel. I was looking forward to getting to the hotel and taking a nice hot shower because I was feeling a bit gross. We get to the hotel and Lisa and I are assigned to room 104. The wait for the elevator was a bit long because apparently only one of the two was working. When we finally get to the room and it is shower time for me I about had a heart attack...no hot water!! I had to take a shower in what can be best described as ice cubes. It is 5:30am so the last thing I wanted to deal with was having to brave such a cold shower. That of course put me in a rather bad mood so after my shower I put absolutely zero effort into looking presentable; I just went through my luggage, grabbed the cleanest things I can find, and walked out the door. Let's just say, I was looking rather rough! I go to the lobby and I was comforted by the thought that I was in the company of many tour mates that looked as rough, if not rougher, than I did. I think that after a week of very late nights accompanied by early morning wake up calls one is not going to look runway ready!

We hop on the bus for one final day of sightseeing as a group even though a tour mate or two stayed behind at the hotel catching up on sleep. Our first stop was the Citadel, home to Egypt's rulers for almost 700 years. The structure is divided into mosques, museums, and battlements and its size is quite impressive. After arriving at the Citadel, we walk towards the Mosque of the Profit Mohammed Ali (no not the boxer!). While looking at the mosque, the Turkish influence is clearly evident from the minarets to the domes to the crescent with a star above the main dome. Before entering the mosque, we had to remove our shoes and those that were not dressed "conservatively" were given a white robe to wear over their clothes. I was a tad worried that I would be given said robe since my shirt was a bit tight but in the end I had no problems. Those that were given robes were the girls that were wearing leggings, dresses, or shorts. When we entered the mosque, Sherif guided us towards the area where Muslims wash their hands, mouth, nose, face, and arms (in that order) to physically prepare for prayers. It was very interesting hearing him explain how Muslims prepared for prayer and the phrases they repeated throughout the process. Afterwards, he guided us into the mosque where he demonstrated how Muslims pray: the process, the prayers recited, the reasons why they pray the way they do, etc. I found this part of the trip to be very interesting and it was actually one of my favorite lessons. I came to Egypt not just for the pyramids and temples but to get a better understanding of the culture, the people, and the religions. I learned a lot during the visit to the mosque and I felt I got a lot out of that experience. After leaving the mosque, we walked around the Citadel where we had a great view of the Cairo skyline.

The next thing on our list of sites to see was Saqqara! Saqqara (also spelled Sakkara) is a massive necropolis pertaining to the Ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis which consists of the famous Step Pyramid and numerous other tombs and temples. Unfortunately, our visit to Saqqara was rather rushed. Sherif gave us a 20 minute tour and we got about 5 minutes of free time which consisted of me trying to take as many pictures as possible and filling up a water bottle with Saharan sand. We did get to visit one of the structures in the complex but it was so rushed I really didn't get to see much; just walk on through and run out. Why this visit was so rushed beats me because all we did the remainder of the day is eat lunch at a local restaurant and visit the Khan Al-Khalili bazaar in Cairo (and that took about 1 hour). I did take a few pictures of the Step Pyramid which belonged to Djoser, a 3rd dynasty pharaoh during the Old Kingdom, and is considered to be the first pyramid in Ancient Egypt. The first "true pyramid" is found in Dashur south of Saqqara. The Step Pyramid is obviously a lot smaller than the pyramids at Giza and unfortunately, one of the sides was covered in scaffolding. I'm hoping that on my return trip the scaffolding will be gone so I could take some great pictures!

After Saqqara, we headed out to a local eatery to enjoy our last meal as a group. The restaurant was large but it seems like it caters mostly to tour groups; the tables were the large banquet style tables that sit more than 10 people and there were no locals present, just another tour group. By this lunch, I was feeling well enough that I was able to finally eat some food!!! I devoured with much gusto some pita bread, veggies, fries, falafel, and a few other items. Another item I tried was guava (guayaba); being Cuban I grew up eating guava all the time but the Egyptian variety is not as sweet as the type I have at home. I actually liked the Egyptian variety a tad better. All of the food I tried in Egypt was amazing and I can't wait to go back so I can enjoy more of it especially the falafel!!

Now it was time to visit the Khan Al-Khalili bazaar in Cairo and this experience turned into my most bizarre (and scary) moment in Egypt. When we arrived at the market, Sherif told us where to go and in what areas to stay in. As Angele had visited the market before since she arrived to Egypt a day early, she took Shane, Thomas, and I to the area where the locals not the tourists shop. It was all real interesting until Shane made a wrong turn into an alley we were definitely not suppose to be in!!!! For ten very long minutes, we were walking through this dark, shady alley with a bunch of locals just staring at us. It was obvious tourists don't frequent this area (probably because one shouldn't be there) and there was no sign of the tourist police, undercover (well not all are truly undercover) cops that are found at each major tourist site and at times accompany groups in the tour buses. Since we didn't want to be there, we were just power walking as fast as we could trying to find a street that connected to the main market. Angele and Shane were in the front, I was in the middle trying to catch up to them, and Thomas was behind me looking not too worried. Angele and Shane kept walking faster and faster and I was having quite the time trying to catch up. Last thing I wanted was to be left behind in that alley! After finally finding our way to the main market, we didn't have time to do some shopping so we headed over to Fishawi's, a coffee shop that has been open for over 200 years. I ordered some Turkish coffee which has to be the strongest coffee I have ever drank; stronger than Cuban coffee. We sat in the coffee shop for a few minutes catching our breath and watching the locals go by. Erik the Norwegian, Matt, and Kim joined us and we all got a good laugh at the vendors that kept stopping by asking Erik if he wanted his shoes polished. On the bus ride to the hotel, Sherif asked me why I hadn't purchased anything at the market and I shared the story of our lovely experience. He could not believe it that we winded up in such an alley and said that was the reason why he told us to stick to the tourist part of the market. All I know is that I know have something to add to my "what not to do" list when I visit Egypt the next time!

Upon arriving at the hotel, we all met in the lobby for our final group meeting! Sherif said some last words and handed out comment cards for us to fill out. Unfortunately, the comment card did not provide much space so I had to leave out a lot of the feedback I wished to give. While I was writing away, people were going up to Sherif to give him a farewell hug, take a final picture, and give him some tip. The tip was completely optional and it obviously depended on your experience throughout the trip. I believe everyone gave him some sort of tip because Sherif definitely deserved it; he is what made this trip so incredible! He was extremely knowledgeable and always went out of his way to make sure everyone was enjoying their trip. After I filled out my comment card, I gave Sherif his tip but no farewell hug. I had learned earlier that day that Sherif was headed to Alexandria with a few of my tour mates and myself the following day!

Next up was the optional Sound & Light Show in Giza. The majority of my group went and while no one regretted going, it is something I'll probably not do again on my return trip. The light portion of the show was great and it was wonderful seeing the pyramids and the Sphinx all lit up against the pitch black night sky. What killed the moment was the horribly cheesy narration that sounded like it was created in the 1960s. Between the pharaohs and the Sphinx "talking" and the stupid X-File like alien sound effects, those around me and myself could not stop laughing. Overall, it was a great way to end my journey to "Old Egypt" and I was having a hard time believing that just a week ago I was in Giza for the first time touring the pyramids.

When we returned to the hotel, I said farewell to the tour mates that were leaving that evening and the following day. I was still in shock that the week had flown by so quickly and it was then that I started getting a tad emotional. I went upstairs to spend some time with my roommate since her airport transfer was at around 2am! Lisa was the best roommate one can ask for and I really was going to miss her lots!! After a while, Rosie and Sarah stopped by to chat and to say farewell. We shared stories about the trip and our lives and then at around 11:30pm, they left along with Lisa so I could get some sleep. I was beyond exhausted once again and I had a 6am wake up call for Alexandria. At around 1:30ish, Lisa woke me up (I had asked her to) to say goodbye since it was time for her to head to the lobby to await her ride to the airport. Luckily, I was still more than half asleep so I did not have time to get emotional. I went back to bed but before I did, I left one of the lights on. Don't know exactly why I left the light on but then again one doesn't think straight when they are 90% asleep! Tonight was my final night in Egypt. 

The Citadel

Mosque of Mohammed Ali

Area where Muslims wash before praying

Infamous clock tower the French gave the Egyptians; it never worked

Inside the mosque

Right circle: Allah is Great; Left circle: Mohammed the Prophet

View of Cairo from the Citadel

Step Pyramid at Saqqara

Khan Al Khalili Bazaar

Turkish Coffee

  

Sound & Light Show

Sound & Light Show

Sound & Light Show

Cardio Contiki and Dangerous Donkeys

Thursday, November 4th. Awesome! I woke up feeling 80% better with just a slight hint of nausea. :) And that was great because today we were off to the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Karnak, and our West Village Tour.

This morning was just like the others, early wake up call! I was up by 6am and jumped into the shower before my roommate woke up so I could enjoy my last shower on the cruise. I once again skipped breakfast because I wasn't in the mood to eat, I'm just not a breakfast person. While my tour mates were eating their breakfast, I took that opportunity to fix up my luggage and to back up the pictures on my camera. I then left my luggage by the front door (cruise personnel will take your luggage to the lobby) and was ready for the day's adventures!

Today was an exciting day to be visiting the Valley of the Kings since it marked 88 years to the date that Howard Carter discovered King Tutankhamen's tomb! Of course, leave it to someone like me to know that fact and Sherif was quick to capitalize on it, making me announce it to the bus via the microphone. The drive to the Valley of the Kings was quite scenic with great views of the Nile, farmland, villages, the mighty hills and cliffs of the valley, and finally Queen Hatshepsut's temple! Unfortunately, on this trip we didn't visit her temple or the Valley of the Queens but those are on my to do list for my next trip to Egypt.

When we arrived at the Valley of the Kings, I was very amazed at the large, steep cliffs and hills of the valley. I was now standing in one of the most important necropolis of the ancient world. Our visit to the Valley of the Kings included three tombs and we had the opportunity to purchase extra tickets, one for the tomb of Ramesses VI and another for Tutankhamen. Upon entering the valley, we boarded a tram that took us from the front gate to the tombs; Egyptians really love their trams. After the uneventful ride, Sherif gave us a brief history lesson and then took off power walking up the hill to our first tomb. Today was not only the hottest day of our tour (97 F/36 C), it was also the day that we got the biggest workout. The first tomb on our list was that of Thutmose III (aka Thutmosis III), a pharaoh who conquered almost 350 cities during his reign thus being called "The Napoleon of Egypt". Thutmose III was also the son of the famous Queen Hatshepsut.  His tomb is set high in the cliff so you need to climb some 200 plus steps to reach the entrance. What makes this tomb unique is that it was trapped ala Indiana Jones style to deter tomb robbers who were in search of buried treasure. The tomb was very interesting; the walls were covered with depictions of the underworld and with inscriptions from the Book of the Dead. On two of the pillars, that were not completed, you could see the red grid lines that Egyptians used as a guide when painting and chiseling. The next two tombs, those of Ramesses III and Ramesses IV, were very simple and really didn't have that much in terms of paintings and inscriptions. One thing that did make the tomb of Ramesses III interesting is that when the workers were digging the shaft, they came across the tomb of Amenemesses so they had to change the direction of the tunnel and work around the existing tomb.

After visiting those three tombs, it was time to visit the tomb I was most looking forward to, that of Ramesses VI!!! Along with Seti I's tomb, Ramesses VI's is one of the most impressive at the Valley of the Kings because of the massive amount of paintings found inside including the famous vaulted ceiling painted with images of the night sky and the goddess Nut (pronounced newt). The tomb is basic in terms of structure but the amount of paintings and the details found in such paintings is quite overwhelming. The paintings depict stories from the Book of Gates, Book of Caverns, Book of the Dead, Book of the Earth, and a few other Ancient Egyptian texts.  Another great thing about this tomb is that since it is an additional charge (35 LE/$6), few people visit so you can walk inside the tomb at your own pace without the hassles that come with hoards of tourists. Upon finishing my visit to Ramesses VI's tomb, I was off to see Tutankhamen's. This tomb also was an extra charge (100 LE/$17.30) but being Tutankhamen's it was packed! The tomb is the smallest in the Valley of the Kings since he died very young and there was no time to build a proper tomb. Despite being small, the size is impressive once you see the amount of items that were buried with the pharaoh (you can view the majority of the items at the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities in Cairo). Tutankhamen was buried inside four gold sarcophagi that in turn were placed in four giant wooden boxes; the four wooden boxes and the three outer sarcophagi are in the museum, the inner sarcophagus can be found in the tomb. Another interesting thing, one of the reasons why so many visit Tutankhamen's tomb, is that his mummy is on display, the only mummy displayed at the Valley of the Kings. All other mummies are in display at the museum in Cairo or in the basement of the museum awaiting identification. I'm glad I visited both tombs but I honestly preferred Ramesses VI's tomb; I actually wouldn't mind paying the extra fee to visit the tomb once again.

Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures inside the tombs but I will post a few images from Google's image gallery.

Between the visits to the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Karnak, we stopped to see the Colossi of Memnon. These statues are 60 ft tall and represent the great Amenhotep III. The statues guarded his mortuary temple which no longer stands since it was destroyed by the yearly Nile inundations. There are current excavations going on looking for the remains of the temple.

Now it was time to visit the Temple of Karnak, not only Egypt's largest temple but the largest ancient religious site in the world. This temple is very, very impressive so Shane and I were not happy that we really didn't have much time to walk around. After a 30 minute guided tour with Sherif, we only had 30 minutes of free time which is definitely not enough. You need a good two hours to really appreciate this magnificent temple! Unlike other temples in Egypt, this one wasn't dedicated to just one god or built to memorialize just one pharaoh. The construction of the Temple of Karnak started during the Middle Kingdom and then, each pharaoh until the Ptolemaic period added to it. The most impressive portion of the temple is the Great Hypostyle Hall which consists of 134 gigantic columns, 12 columns have a height of 68.8ft (21 meters) while the rest measure 32.8 ft (10 meters). Seti I started the construction of the Great Hypostyle Hall and it was completed by his son Ramesses II. Portions of the roof still contain traces of color and one can only imagine how the Temple of Karnak must have looked with each column brightly colored in red, blue, white, green, and yellow pigments. Another interesting site at the temple are the two remaining obelisk, one being the pink granite obelisk pertaining to Queen Hatshepsut. This obelisk is currently the tallest surviving ancient obelisk on Earth and it is also one of the best preserved. When Queen Hatshepsut died, her son Thutmose III ordered that her obelisk be covered in stone hence preserving the structure. (There was a lot of drama between Hatshepsut and her son. When Hatshepsut's husband, Thutmose II, passed away she assumed the throne and left her son to be co-regent for a little over two decades. Until recently, when her mummy was identified, it had long been rumored and believed that Thutmose III had murdered his mother. Thutmose III and his son Amenhotep II went to great length to remove evidence of Hatshepsut from the temples of Egypt.)

Funny aside: At the Temple of Karnak, there is a giant stone scarab and you are suppose to walk around it 7 times making a wish at the end of each lap. So yes, my tour mates and I had fun walking laps around the giant beetle making wishes. I'm still waiting for those wishes to come true!!!

Once we wrapped up our site seeing in Luxor, we visited a local restaurant for lunch. Elisa, Sarah, and I opted not to eat so we sat together in a separate table. My stomach was still acting funny so I really didn't wish to spend money on a full meal when all I was going to be able to eat was the pita bread. Either way, a basket of pita bread was brought to our table so I stuffed myself with that for free!

After lunch, we returned to the cruise where we had the option of either staying and relaxing or doing the West Village tour. Once again, I wasn't going to miss out on anything so I went on the tour. Those doing the West Village tour boarded this motor boat to cross the Nile which can be best described as a journey getting high on boat exhaust. By this point, I had ridden on several boats but this was by far the worst. I did have the opportunity to get some great pictures of the Temple of Luxor in the distance and pictures of sailboats on the Nile. Once we finished crossing, it was off to our next mode of transportation: camel, donkey, or donkey cart. Shane, Angele, and I picked the donkey cart and that turned out to be the adventure of a life time!!! I was sitting in the front, Shane in the middle, and Angele in the back. Our donkey cart driver handed over the reins and told me to "drive the donkey". It wasn't too bad until our guide decided to hop off and go to the store leaving me in charge of the donkey cart!!! At this point my donkey decided to be a total ass (pun intended) and started trotting all over the place. I tried turning the donkey so it will go straight but instead it made it sharp right cutting off a motorcycle and almost knocking over the driver. Again, I tried turning the donkey but now it was headed towards a ditch that led to a canal. At this point, Shane and I were both trying to get the donkey to stop but it was just having too much fun. Finally, the guide returned and offered us some of the chocolates he had purchased at the store. By this point, I had enough of donkey driving so I switched with Shane and let him drive. All the while, Angele was in the back just grateful she survived!!!

Now that our donkey was under control, Shane, Angele, and I were able to sit back and enjoy the scenery. We were now passing through this village where we got to see first hand how people in Egypt lived. The roads were not paved and houses were very rundown. Quite a few were not painted and some were missing windows and doors. Others, on the other hand, were very nice with fresh paint and some landscaping. There were a lot of children playing in the streets and when they saw us they would wave and smile. Our donkey ride ended at the house of one of the locals. This guy was a lawyer but had to work two jobs to make ends meet and his house was rather run down. He spoke to us for a few minutes regarding life in Luxor and about family life in Egypt; then we had the opportunity to walk around the house. The house had a stone oven where bread was made every morning, a small kitchen, two bedrooms, and a backyard with some chickens. I took pictures of the kitchen and of the oven but for privacy reasons, I did not take pictures of the bedrooms. Walking through that house really gave you a sense of appreciation of everything we own and everything we take for granted. While Egyptians seem to be happy and content, poverty is very prevalent throughout the country especially in the rural villages. Afterwards, we walked through the village on our way back to the boat. Again, we got an up close look at the homes and how people live. And at times, someone will step in a giant pile of poop (camel, donkey, goat, sheep, dog, etc) since the roads were not paved and animals walked all over the place. We did see a lot of sheep, dogs, donkeys, and camels on this trip! When we boarded the boat, I took the opportunity to take some last pictures of the Nile and Luxor and to reflect on everything I had experienced the last couple of days. I couldn't believe it was already Thursday, almost the end of my trip!

When we finished crossing the Nile, we boarded our cruise for the final time to grab our luggages since tonight we will be heading to Cairo on the overnight train. On the way to the train station, we stopped at a local grocery store were we had the opportunity to buy food and snacks since once again we were warned not to eat the dinner on the train. I purchased a coke, almonds (brand name was Camel), and M&Ms, all very nutritious. After our shopping, we headed to the train station and then unto the train. Lisa and I were assigned Car 5, cabin 17/18. The only difference I noticed was this time around the fleece blankets were blue instead of red (yes, I tend to remember small details like that!). Lisa went to bed at around 8:30pm and by 9:30pm I was also in bed. There will be no club car party for me because I was beyond exhausted and just wanted to sleep! I think all those sleepless nights were finally catching up to me because throughout the day, I kept nodding off while on the bus and boat. Then at around 10pm, Angele knocked on my door wondering why I was not in the club car. I decided to go to the club car for a few to see what was happening but after 10 minutes, I went back to bed. I was sound a sleep for a while until the train braked and I fell off the bed. Thank God I was in the bottom bunk and after that experience, I slept closer to the wall because apparently, I was sleeping way to close to the edge. My 6th night in Egypt had come to an end.

Temple of Queen Hatshepsut 

Valley of the Kings

Colossi of Memnon

Entrance of the Temple of Karnak

Column at the Temple of Karnak

The Great Hypostyle Column Hall at the Temple of Karnak

Section of a roof at the Temple of Karnak

The Great Hypostyle Column Hall at the Temple of Karnak

The good luck scarab beetle.

Queen Hatshepsut's pink granite obelisk

Temple of Luxor in the distance

Riding through the West Village

Banana trees in the village's farms

The infamous donkey, yes it'll stop every 2 mins to eat

Homes in the village

Stone oven in the house we visited

The home's kitchen

Families will paint their homes as such when going to Mecca

More homes in the village

IMAGE COURTESY OF TOUR EGYPT'S WEBSITE: TOMB OF RAMESSES VI

Beautiful Temples and Spinning Rooms

Wednesday, November 3rd. Of all the days on the trip, this was probably the worst because I was feeling really, really bad. Luckily, the day just consisted of two sites and a papyrus museum.

The day started out like so many before, with a 6:30am wake up call. I decided to skip breakfast so I can sleep in a bit but either way I knew I was not going to be able to handle food. As I was getting ready, I was feeling really nausea but there was no way I was going to miss the Temple of Horus!!! I had been looking forward to this temple since I LOVE the story of Horus; a beautiful story of love, heartbreak, and creation from his parents Osiris and Isis and the story of betrayal, murder, and revenge courtesy of his jealous uncle Set. The story isn't the only impressive part of the Temple of Horus, said temple is the best preserved in Egypt and has massive amounts of inscriptions written on its tall walls. The temple was a short drive from the boat and the morning was beautiful, clear skies and a cool breeze. We arrived as the temple was about to open and there were already massive hoards of tourists waiting at the front gate. After Shane and I pushed our way through the turnstiles and security, we caught our first glimpses of the amazing temple. The entrance walls were almost completely intact as were the inscriptions and the mud/brick wall surrounding the temple still had evidence of where the workers used to live. As we walked through the temple, I was amazed at all the details and all the stories found on the walls: the story of how the priests will march through the temple and to the entrance with an ark holding a statue of the god Horus so commoners can see and praise him, the story of how the goddess Nut (pronounced like newt) was believed to swallow the sun at night and then give birth to it at sunrise, the story of the murder of Osiris and how Isis brought him back to life, the story of how Horus avenged his father's death, and so many other fascinating stories. I could have easily spent two to three hours in this amazing temple!! The tour Sherif gave us was very interesting and Shane and I felt like we got a lot out of it. Of course, certain parts of the creation story of Horus weren't exactly suitable for children under the age of 13 but we all got a good laugh at the side comments Sherif would say while recounting the story. After the tour, we had about 30 minutes of free time to walk around the temple and take a few pictures. Again, I wish I could have spent at least an hour more!

Afterwards, we were off to the boat for an afternoon of relaxing and lunch! When we boarded the boat, I made a beeline for my room to get some rest to see if additional sleep will help me feel better. I can't even begin to describe how comfortable those beds were!! I slept for about three hours when I woke up feeling really sick (more sick than before) and a tad disoriented. I was rather hot but the AC was blasting. Nothing worse than being sick on a trip and 6000 miles from home. :( I took a cold shower and got ready for lunch; I needed to try to eat something because my empty stomach was not helping me feel better. Then I realized we were moving through the Esna Locks (similar to the Panama Canal but 100 times smaller). I walked to my window and started taking pictures of the locks since I honestly did not feel like going to the top deck even though the pictures would have been a tad more interesting. After taking a few pictures I made my way to the restaurant for my last lunch on the boat. I grabbed some rice and bread figuring that was bland enough but alas, that didn't work. I was able to keep my food down but I was feeling more nausea than ever. I decided to return to my room and not move from there until it was time to go the papyrus museum and the Temple of Luxor . My roommate Lisa then offered me a protein shake and that helped fill up my stomach a bit more.

At about 6pm, it was time to head out to the papyrus museum and the Temple of Luxor. From the moment I booked my trip, the one souvenir I definitely wanted to purchase was a papyrus painting (or two) so I was very much looking forward to this evening. Despite being extremely nausea and rather dizzy, there was no way I was going to miss going to the museum. We meet in the lobby and start walking towards the dock. This was always the fun part. Since dock space along the Nile is limited and there are so many cruise ships, they line up one next to the other, usually four or five in a row. For some reason, our boat was always the last one so we would need to walk through the lobby of three to four other boats before reaching the dock. After reaching the dock, we climbed up some stairs and boarded our bus.

When we arrived at the museum, I was amazed at the selection! We walked towards the back of the museum/store where this guy gave us a great demonstration on papyrus 101: intro on the papyrus plant, the history of papyrus paper making, how to make papyrus paper, the difference between the light and dark style papers, and how to determine if papyrus paper is authentic. I greatly enjoyed the demonstration and liked the opportunity to hold a papyrus plant. It is amazingly light and soft! After the demonstration, we were free to browse the selection of paintings without the hassle of annoying sales people. As I was walking along, there was one painting I completely fell in love with. It is a very beautiful, colorful painting of Ramsesses II offering the goddess Hathor some lotus flowers. The goddess Hathor is the goddess who personified the principles of love, beauty, music, motherhood and joy in Ancient Egypt. Along with that painting, I purchased another one that is a map of Egypt and it shows a few of the main historical site. All together, I spent 660 Egyptian pounds which translates to roughly $115. Both paintings are amazing and are authentic, wonderful reminders of such a great trip!! Quite a few of my tour mates purchased papyrus paintings and I'm sure there were some that spent more than me.

Once we finished at the museum, we headed to the Temple of Luxor. By this point, I honestly just wanted to go back to the boat; I had gotten my papyrus paintings and I wasn't feeling well at all. When we arrived at the temple, we were the only people there so I definitely wasn't going to stay by myself on the bus. I walked to the temple with my tour mates and after taking a couple of pictures, I decided to sit on the floor while Sherif was giving his history lesson. Words cannot describe how bad I was feeling! But here are some interesting facts on the temple: The temple was appropriated by Tuthmosis III, Hatshepsut built the chapels that are still seen today, the main part of the temple, the colonnade and the sun court, were built by Amenhotep III, and then Ramesses II built the entrance pylon and the two obelisks. There wasn't a temple or site that Ramesses II did not add to; he loved to make his mark where ever he could. At the entrance of the temple, only one obelisk is seen because the other was given to the French as a gift. In return, the French gave the Egyptians a clock tower that really never worked (clock tower now found at the Citadel, pictures in a later blog). Another interesting fact regarding the temple is that it was buried for thousands of years and as such, a city was built on top of it. One of the structures of the city, a mosque, can still be seen atop of the temple and it can not be demolished because it is now a tomb. Also, some of the statues are missing their heads because despite the temple being buried by sand, a few heads were sticking out and people obviously did not want a statue head in the middle of their living room. And a final interesting fact is the Avenue of the Sphinxes. This "avenue" consists of hundreds of Sphinx statues that cover a distance of almost 2 miles stretching from the Temple of Luxor to the Karnak Temple. The local government at Luxor is currently relocating residents and knocking down homes and buildings in a major excavation project to find the rest of the avenue. Earlier this year, they dug up a major section of the avenue and found a lot of the statues in good condition. After the history lesson, it was then time for the walking tour. For the first 10 minutes, I was some what focused and I was understanding Sherif and taking pictures with a purpose. After that, everything was a blur. I was just dragging myself along, standing in the back of the group, and I can't figure out some of the pictures I took. It was obvious I was out of it because 99% of the pictures I took on the trip had a reason and story behind them. These that I took at the Temple of Luxor are completely random. I was so glad this was a short trip and we soon were on the bus and heading back to the boat. On the boat, I went to dinner to eat something but right after dinner I ran to bed in the hopes I will wake up feeling better!

Entrance to the Temple of Horus

Ark where the priests will place the statue of Horus

The priests (high priest in the middle) carrying the ark to the waiting crowds

The pharaoh receiving the blessings of both Upper and Lower Egypt

The story of Horus that covers many of the walls in the temple

Horus riding his uncle Set (who is drawn as a hippo) in victory

Wall that encloses the temple

Front of the Temple of Horus

Esna Locks

Bread Sculptures on the cruise

View from my room

Entrance of the Temple of Luxor

Avenue of the Sphinx

Great entrance hall