Dipping my toe back in the Nile

[RooFlyer]

Then, the Pyramid of Khafre. Not as tall as the Pyramid of Khfu, but appears to be, as its built a bit higher up the hill. More interesting, I think, as it still has some of the smooth facing stone at the top. Built c2550BC











The m3ain pyramids, from left, Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure, with pyramids of queens to the right.



Bleeding Lawrence of Arabis sailed past, didn't he? There were dozens and dozens of camels for riding - one mob approved of by Intrepid and the Canadians took rides.

 

[RooFlyer]

Some shots from 1994. My work colleague wanted to get some shots of the pyramids at dawn, so we got a 'fixer' who let us in a gap in the site wall and led us into the desert-part to the east. These are scans of the (deteriorated) 35mm slides











Coptic graveyard, with the 'solar boat' at the base of the pyramid (now in new museum)

 

[RooFlyer]

And, of course, the Sphinx. Carved from bedrock, limestone blocks now fill out the shape again. Created during the reign of Khafre c2550BC.

Some of the original colours still visible on the head.

iPhone:



New Canon camera.










Lion's tail



1994

 

[VPS]

Met up with my tour group last night; 6 Aussies and 6 Canadians. One Canuk couple from Calgary - my second home and hubby works in the fraccing industry - so a lot in common. Even knew a couple of people I used to deal with. Range of ages from 22 to 80.

This morning, it was the Pyramids; lovely day, but air quality less then yesterday. I'm not going to give history etc (whew, I hear ...), just some pics of the tour and hopefully some of interest.

The 'Great Pyramid' of Khufu, built over 27 years in abt 2600 BC. Its a nice pile - 2.3 million blocks - of limestone!

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The 'Solar boat' that used to lie along one edge is gone, to the new Museum.

Paid an extra A$27 to go into the burial chamber; highly recommended unless yo are claustrophobic - or very unfit. Its warm to hot and a lot of steep climbing.

Entry and exit thought a 'modern' robbers adit. The constructed entry is above this.

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Walk along a rough tunnel for a bit

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Then up the first incline, a bit tight. People coming down have to pass you ...

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Then up a much longer incline, the Grand Gallery Again, two ways.

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Then a 10m crawl or very low stoop to the burial chamber. Hard to avoid getting people in the pic

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I got a fair way in but the heat and smell was overpowering and a woman up ahead had fainted and they literally slid her down the steps so I turned back

Bringing back great memories though. Enjoy

 

[RooFlyer]

I got a fair way in but the heat and smell was overpowering and a woman up ahead had fainted and they literally slid her down the steps so I turned back

Bringing back great memories though. Enjoy

No smell today beyond general mustiness.

One lady was freaking out on one of the intermediate rest points, as she needed to get out and the people just kept coming up the narrow passage-way. It took some Aussies to just barge their way down, feet first past the up & comers, and allow her to escape.

 

[RooFlyer]

We then drove into the city (40 mins) in our minibus and stopped at a place for a 'typical' lunch. Beef shawerma for me, made by this gent



Then on to the Egyptian museum. I was a bit worried about this, as I thought much would have already been moved to the new Museum, including the Tutankhamun stuff but although much had been moved, it had been replaced with other great exhibits which usually aren't on display. And as it was the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun, there was much more of that than usual

I won't try to explain the ages etc of the following, just selected a range of amazing looking stuff..

The well-known museum entrance.









Not all the exhibits were behind glass ..

 

[RooFlyer]

Roman Emperor Galerius - the purple coloured porphyry was very imperial.



Geese, c2600BC



King Khafre, protected by falcon-god Horus.









Thought to be Nefertiti, but very unusual portrayal.

 

[RooFlyer]

Strewth. I'm usually pretty busy on my trips overseas, but the pace of this tour has been very hectic!! 5am or 6am starts on numerous days.

Back to the old Egyptian museum. Its 100 years since the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, so the museum has more stuff on display than usual.

Alabaster Canoptic jars (where they put the organs)



Throne, gilt













The best stuff is in a separate room, with strict no photos, but here are the photos I took in 1994

 

[RooFlyer]

One thing not before shown in the museum, at least not commonly is this silver coffin:



Next day, it was a 5am hotel departure for a 7:30 departure for Aswan; a 70 min flight on Nile Air, a private 'full service' airline.

Security checks:
* Bags, carry-on though x-ray at terminal entrance, with pat-down
* Carry-on through the x-ray after check-in, with pat-down
* Carry-on, with pat down. belt, shoes, EVERYTHING through the x-ray, before departure lounge, with pat-down

Sigh . Not in my control.



The bird. A320



Sigh





looks interesting



Inedible. Some sort of thin cheese spread smeared on the roll.

 

[RooFlyer]

Aswan airport is a neat job, looks very well kept and efficient.



Approaching the Aswan Low Dam; from Wikipedia:

The Aswan Low Dam or Old Aswan Dam is a gravity masonry buttress dam on the Nile River in Aswan, Egypt. The dam was built at the former first cataract of the Nile, and is located about 1000 km up-river and 690 km (direct distance) south-southeast of Cairo. When initially constructed between 1899 and 1902, nothing of its scale had ever been attempted; on completion, it was the largest masonry dam in the world. The dam was designed to provide storage of annual floodwater and augment dry season flows to support greater irrigation development and population growth in the lower Nile. The dam, originally limited in height by conservation concerns, worked as designed, but provided inadequate storage capacity for planned development and was raised twice, between 1907 and 1912 and again in 1929–1933. These heightenings still did not meet irrigation demands and in 1946 it was nearly over-topped in an effort to maximize pool elevation. This led to the investigation and construction of the Aswan High Dam 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) upstream

Its evident that the main industry of the area is electricity. Dozens of HV transmission wires heading north. Heavy security at the dam





The much larger Aswan high Dam is upstream of here.




The bridge is reduced to one lane for some months every year for dam maintenance, so, together with security concerns, they are building an alternative crossing. Very slowly.



We went immediately to a dock for a short boat ride to Philae Island and temple. The dock, typical of Egypt was a bunfight. Intrepid insist on life jackets being worn, a good precaution given the state of many of the boats.



We literally barged and pushed our way out through the press of boats around us.

 

[RooFlyer]

Philae temple was partially and variably submerged behind the Aswan Low dam from its completion in 1902 and like its better known sibling Abu Simbel was saved by a UNESCO effort in the 1960s when a coffer dam was built around it, and it was dismantled and reconstructed on a nearby island.



The temple was built around 550-650 BC, during the 'Kushite' or Nubian period of Pharaonic rule - the 'Black Pharos', whose homeland was in northern Sudan. But they rules the entire Nile river valley. This area is still home to the Nubians.









The temples were occupied by coptic Christians at some point. Also the Romans etc etc

 

[RooFlyer]

We then went for a sunset felucca ride on the Nile, with drinks, which was a magnificent experience. Quite a big vessel, could easily take 20, but we were only 12.



This kid came desperately paddling out and against the current to say hello





Wikipedia: The Cataract Hotel (now a Sofitel) was built in 1899 by Thomas Cook to house European travellers to Assouan (as Aswan was then known). Its guests have included Tsar Nicholas II, Winston Churchill, Howard Carter, Margaret Thatcher, Jimmy Carter, François Mitterrand, Princess Diana, Queen Noor and Agatha Christie, who set portions of her novel Death on the Nile at the hotel.



Showing the 'new' wing, built in the 1960s.







Our very cheerful skipper, who mostly steered the tiller with his foot.

 

[RooFlyer]

Actually, let me back up a bit, back to Philae and introduce you to our guide, Mohamad. Although his accent was a bit strong to follow sometimes, he was excellent. Always understanding and accommodating, and always got us to where we needed to be on time. Each day required getting at least 4 and sometimes 6 or 8 minibus transfers to arrive at the right spot and time, (often with thick traffic to contend with), the tickets, and then lead us around sometimes crowded sites and tell us the stories.



And he did that always without shouting, unlike 90% of the other guides who seemed to be speaking or shouting over the top of each other. Many of the monuments on this trip were VERY crowded and it took some skill to dart into a particular temple when it was relatively 'clear'.







I mentioned that Coptic Christians had occupied the temple for some time., They happily started removing the Egyptian carvings!!



Afterwards, we went to an aromatherapy place and saw some glassblowing and then ried a number of scents and oils. @JohnM , I bought some Sandalwood oil.

 

[RooFlyer]

Back to the evening. The felucca dropped us off at a Nubian 'village', on Elephantine Island, where we were to have dinner at a local's house. I'm not wild about these types of experiences, but there you go.

The village



Of course there was a bazaar to navigate, and some of the Canadians decided to have a good old shop.# Abt 20 mins.



A spice shop



Eventually were were led through the (rather smelly) streets of the village to our host's place.





Then above wasn't it - rather a cinder block place, very neat & tidy.

Our dining room tonight



Hibiscus drink, which we got most meals



Dad held forth at the table, while mum & her mum produced from the kitchen. It was really good



After dinner, we got told - at great length - about the couple's courtship and wedding, where they had lived etc etc. One of the Canadians seemed interested in the minutest detail of their lives and extended the evening by quite a bit.

Then, as were were about the rise & leave, their 4 sons came in and got everyone 'dancing'



Singing ....



Cute, but I thought it got pretty tedious in the end. Mine would have been a minority view. Back to the cruise vessel, which we had boarded earlier.

# I mentioned that there were 6 Aussies and 6 Canadians in the group. The Canadians were mostly rather unworldly & poorly travelled outside the Caribbean, USA and England. One couple went to get an Uber from the Cairo hotel to a restaurant, about 10 mins drive away, but got talked into using the expensive 'hotel taxi', the driver of such got them to agree to stop at a 'linen factory', and alabaster joint "best prices!!"etc One of the other Canadian ladies other times bought little Pyramids and heaps of other junk.

 

[RooFlyer]

The cruise ship. Now this was a mixed bag. At first it looked wonderful. I was in room 221, at the end of the corridor on the lower accommodation deck 2 (1 was the dining room and low-cost accomm, 2 was accom, Mezz was accom and shops, 3 was lounges and some accom and 4 was the sundeck.

The curtains were drawn because we were parked up against another cruiser. Usually stacked 2 or 4 deep at the wharves when we tied up. Just walk through the lobbies of the inside vessels to get to the shore.







So far, so good. Because we couldn't actually see our vessel from the boarding point, I thought I was in the bow. Very happy. Soon, I realised I was in the stern when the sound of a generator pierced the cabin. Readers of my TRs may recall that I'm very light sleeper and sensitive to noise. This wasn't good - I was right over the engines.

I tried to gauge how bad it would be and decided that the generator when berthed was bad, and the engines would be a shocker. I went in search of our guide and was surprised to find 2 others from our group with the same mission. Another couple would complain greatly after the first night. The lady went to the boat reception in her pyjamas at 3am to plead for some respite from the noise!! No luck, no cabins to move, we were stuck with it. Seven very unhappy pax and a couple of others less concerned, but still had a noise.

Rest of the ship.

Lounge and bar areas on L4 were very nice. I told the concierge that if I couldn't sleep with the noise, I'd simply decamp to one of the counches.







L4 sundeck, with small and pretty shallow pool. It got used the first afternoon, but not after that, as far as I could see.







That's our boat on the outside, from the felucca

 

[RooFlyer]

That night, the Movenpick hotel got lit up





The other shore with tombs illuminated and a temple at the top.



We stayed berthed at Aswan the first night, and sleep was bad. My ear plugs and the air con got rid of most of the nose, but I still got vibration from the generator. None of the others brought ear plugs.

 

[RooFlyer]

The next day would be one of the most hectic I've done travelling.

Up at 4:15 am, quick brekkie and then in a car to Aswan airport for a 7:30 am flight, 45 mins to Abu Simbel. When looking at the tour, this was mentioned as an 'option' along with many others and I completely overlooked it. When the tour leader asked 2 days ago if there were any more than the one taker who had already booked it, at US$380 (for return flights and 2 hrs at the monument), I jumped at it - but no-one else did, to my astonishment. In the original itinerary, Intrepid listed thia at abt US$650, which is what the other person paid (via a travel agent). She queried it!!!

Who hasn't heard of Abu Simbel? I've known about it since I was a young kid - the Egyptian monument carved up and moved in the 1960s block by block up a ridge to escape the rising waters of Lake Nasser behind the Aswan High Dam. This image from the Wikipedia article linked above, shows the monuments in their original and relocated positions.



The hills that the monuments are now in are artificial - concrete arches hold up stone and rubble to create the illusion of bedrock.



About 30 min drive to ASW, so we arrived in plenty of time, for the usual multiple security screenings and pat-downs. And the security screeners sometimes even watched the screen as our stuff went through!! ASW is a nice well laid out airport



EgyptAir A220, with 2-3 seating (and a small J cabin); USB at every seat and (very slow) wi0fi.



And ... last row.





We more-or-less flew down Lake Nasser - its enormous; one of the largest artificial impoundments in the world. Wikipedia tells us its 479 km long and 16 km across at its widest point. It covers a total surface area of 5,250 sq km and has a storage capacity of some 132 cubic km of water.









It reminded me a lot of the Kimberly coast, but with more sand. It hosts crocodiles and lots of fish.

The impoundment stretches into northern Sudan, who call their bit Lake Nubia. Now, the Sudanese are proposing to build their own dam, and negotiations with Egypt as to the flow out of it have been going on for years.

 

[RooFlyer]

Our helper at ASW got us seats on the LH side of the plane, which he said would get us a view of the monument, and he was right





We were met in the arrivals hall by our local guide, and a driver. All these guide and driver meet-ups worked flawlessly, throughout the tour. ABS again is a neat little airport abd Abu Simbel township is similarly neat and compact. Only abt a 10 min drive to the monument car park (top of the upper pic). Out flight was 30 mins late getting in, and the convoy from Aswan had beaten us but still, the crowds were thinner than anywhere else we went on the tour (but still pretty dense in the galleries).

Our guide and the other pax- we were striding out to make up time!!



The back of the monument - the artificial hill.



And you duck around the side, with Lake Nasser in the distance:

 

[VPS]

Glad you made it out there - it really is an amazing site. Egypt Air have updated their planes since 1989 when they were still Fokker Friendships and very daggy at that

Thanks for bringing back all those memories

 

[RooFlyer]

The front of the main monument - 4 statues of Ramses II; from Wikipedia:

Ramesses II meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; c.1303–1213 BC, commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom, itself the most powerful period of Ancient Egypt.



Various wives and children carved amongst his feet and legs.





The monument has a lot more to it than I was expecting - there are many galleries behind the façade covered with intricate and detailed hieroglyphics. Just some samples here.