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Alexandria
Our last stop in Egypt was Alexandria – and what a different experience this city is! There is much Roman and Greek influence, being on the Mediterranean Sea. A mix of cultures, a crossroads fought over, it’s an intersection of cultures. Alexandria was the second most important important city in the Roman Empire to Rome. It…
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The Citadel – Overlooking the City of 1000 Minarets
We returned to Cairo and visited the Citadel, which we had seen many a time while driving around the city. It was built in 1170 CE to defend against the Crusaders by Saladin (a Kurd). There was a second citadel on Pharaoh’s Island. Other rulers also ruled from the citadel; there are 9 mosques in…
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Luxor
The city today known as Luxor was known as Waset to ancient Egyptians, which is altneratively also known in Greek as Thebes. Arab conquest changed the name to Luxor (from Al-Uqsur). In 1979 it became a UNESCO World Heritage site. Most people lived on the east bank of the river, with the dead and funerary…
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Abu Simbel and Nubia
Aswan High Dam We went over the 2.5 mile dam in the dark on our way south to Abu Simbel, and stopped to see it on our way back. The dam was built between January 9, 1969 and January 15, 1971, creating Lake Nasser. The lake is up to 750 feet deep, 7 miles wide…
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Aswan
The province of Aswan is in southern Egypt and is the third largest province; 4 million people live there and it is 300 miles from north to south. Most are Nubians and also are Muslim. Cities that are included in the province are Kom Ombo, Aswan and Abu Simbel. The Unfinished Obelisk We visited the…
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The Riverboat : Luxor to Edfu and Kom Ombo
The Nile held the first riverboat trip I’ve ever taken. It’s likely not my thing, but I am glad to have tied it once, the preferred method of travel by tourists in this historic area. The disappointing thing for me, which would have been the case of any riverboat I now understand, was that half…
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Luxor Part 2: (More) Mortuary Temples and tombs
We awoke early, long before sunrise… for a hot air balloon ride over Luxor! The process is a lot of waiting.. of course you get there early, but a lot of waiting still. The tourist police give permission to travel to the balloon field and put the balloons in the air (usually based on the…
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Luxor Part 1 – the Valley of the Kings
The next part of our trip involved a plane ride and then my first riverboat trip. We took a plane from Cairo to Luxor. Our guide said that once you check in with an airline in Egypt, the plane won’t leave without you. We made it to our gate early so didn’t test that. Flying…
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Old Cairo
Our last afternoon in Cairo, we took a tour of Old Cairo, where there are lots of historic sites and the Khan el-Khalili Bazaar. The bazaar was our first stop, with lunch at the Naguib Mahfouz Coffee Shop (I am finding out that it’s namesake won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988!) it has…
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The Pyramids of Giza
Giza is the most famous of the places we went, the Great Pyramid of Giza the last remaining of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. We could see the trio of pyramids (or at least the taller two) from the Mena House where we stayed. It didn’t feel hospitable to walk around the area,…