Glorious Egypt

One of our ‘must-visit’ countries while residing in the UK is Egypt. This country has since been crossed out of the list; we made a trip to the Land of the Pharaohs in mid January 2007 and what an awe-inspiring trip that was!

After arguing on just about everything from the right dates to take our holidays (it’s crazy trying to sync each other’s work commitments I tell ya) to the choice of hotels, we finally compromised on a one-week flight and hotel package to Luxor.

IK lugged the heavy rucksack all the way to Gatwick only to find our flight to Luxor had been delayed by an hour or so. We arrived late in the evening and we already had tour operators waiting on us to take us to the Sofitel Karnak. We were forewarned by friends to opt for nothing less than a five star; as they may be a bit iffy due to the less developed state and conditions of the country.

Suffice to say the resort like hotel was more than what we had expected; it was located by the beautiful Nile with a lovely big pool, a few good restaurants that served scrumptious food (my personal favourite was the tasty grilled chicken concoctions; their marinade was simply yummy), a stunning view of the West Bank across the river and majestic palm trees strewn across the gardens and grounds.

The representative from the travel agent, Ismail, filled us in with details of excursions that were provided by their company right after our first breakfast at the hotel. There were various excursions that caught our attention but with time limitation and a budget, we had to be selective with our choices. This was how our final itinerary looked like (I was excited beyond belief!):

Day 2
Colossi Memnon
Valley of Kings and Queens at West Bank
Temple of Queen Hatchepsut
Alabaster marble factory

Day 3
Karnak Temple
Luxor Temple
Government Certified Papyrus Shop
Luxor Museum

Day 4
Hot Air Balloon at the West Bank
Karnak Light and Sound Show

Day 5
Day trip to Cairo
Giza and Sphinx
Mohammad Ali mosque at the Citadel
Egyptian Museum

Day 6
Nile cruise
Denderra Temple

Day 7
Home-bound

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For the rest of our Day 1, it was free and easy. We opted to check the town on our own. Luxor is a lovely little town by the Nile with many feluccas, cruise ships and boats docked by its bank. We wandered around aimlessly (IK had no map to navigate with) and this is where we met Mustapha and his horse Cinderella. After much persuasion we eventually took a ride in his carriage and ended up buying papyrus paintings at a shop of Mustapha’s recommendation. IK outdid me with his spending here; IK and his lavish indulgence!

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My personal favourites are (in no particular order):

1. The Valley of Kings

We were provided with a guide; an elderly Egyptologist named Muhammad. We had the opportunity of visiting three tombs recommended by Muhammad – Rameses the Great, Ramses IV and errr (Oh my god I cannot for the life of me remember the third chamber we entered!). Being the second-longest reigning king and the greatest pharaoh during the 19th dynasty, Rameses the Great’s burial chamber was very long and deep in and had well-preserved hieroglyphs on the wall and ceiling of this magnificent chamber. Regrettably we were not allowed to snap any photos so I only have my (bad) memory to rely on. Overall, what struck me as most amazing was the ancient Egyptians’ strong belief in the afterlife and how important it was for them to prepare for it. IK summed it nicely; he said something along the lines of ‘they certainly got something right’. Yes, they obviously did. Valley of Kings was absolutely remarkable; the enormity and vastness of the orange-tinged (seen from a distance) mountains and valleys are just simply incredible.

2. Karnak Temple

The temple of Amun-Re, Karnak is the largest ancient religious site in the world and is known as an ‘open-air’ museum. Karnak’s significant size results from its development over many hundreds of years and over many different pharaohs’ reigns who each left behind various types of hieroglyphs depicted on its gigantic pillars in the Hypostyle Hall (about 132 pillars in total, refer to pic below). The ancient Egyptians were an amazing lot. It is difficult to imagine how they were able to build something as colossal as these over 4,000 years ago with the lack of technology and had managed to keep it so well-preserved to last the sands of time. I am in awe of these ancient people.

3. Hot Air Balloon

It was such an enjoyable ride and the view from 2,000 feet was simply breathtaking; needless to say, I was left gob-smacked! My limited vocabulary would not do justice to the view; let the photos below do the talking.

4. Pyramids of Giza

As we reached the pyramid grounds, our Cairo guide briefed us on each of the pyramids’ history and background and then off we went to view Chephren, Cheops and Mykerenos close-up, top to bottom, left to right and all around. One of the attractions is to enter Chepren for a view of one of its chamber. IK took this lifetime opportunity while I waited outside with Bob and Chris, as I suffer from claustrophobia. Boo me. IK came out panting; he rushed because he didn’t want to leave me alone too long (bless his cotton socks). Although I did not get to view the inside and can only imagine what it must be like, I was not too gutted as the pyramids (externally) are truly amazing, standing majestically over the horizon. A wonder of the world indeedy!

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Just because I did not highlight the other attractions individually does not mean they were less interesting/less amazing/less impressive. I wouldn’t want to make this post too elaborate for fear of losing my one and only reader mid-way although I think he already has given up!

Any complaints? Fortunately the two gripes I do have of this country are nothing too dismal. I believe they may have resulted from poverty. First is the way their local vendors insist that you buy something from the shops/ride their feluccas/horse carriage. We could not walk into a shop without feeling guilty for not leaving with a purchase or not wanting a boat ride to the Banana Islands! It affected us so bad that we avoided shopping altogether during this trip. Mumsy was upset I didn’t bring home a carpet for her. Haha.

The other gripe of mine is the state of the horses and donkeys that are used widely as a mode of transportation for the locals. It was very heartbreaking to see some of these animals looking rather undernourished and not cared for. My only hope is that their owners do feed them (enough) and not treat them too harshly.

I don’t think I have given Egypt a comprehensive review (not that I can really!) as there are a thousand and one mosques, pyramids, temples and museums I have yet to see. This is merely my personal encounters and experiences and I hope to go back to Egypt one day to visit the famed temple of Abu Simbel.