Maxa s-salaama, Egypt... Till Next Time!

The huge terrace outside our suite at the Nile Hilton in Cairo, on our last night of my first visit to Bob in Egypt. During our trip, we stayed here twice, once at a very luxurious Marriott in Cairo, and at the Old Winter Palace in Luxor. Of the three hotels, the personalized hotel service and the food in the restaurants at the Nile Hilton were far superior to the other two hotels... just in case you're thinking of hopping over to Cairo for a visit!


















A riverboat casino on the Nile!

















Such a roomy suite! It was even nicer than the one we had at this same hotel during the first portion of our trip.

















Opulent and richly appointed





































Too bad I didn't get to sleep there! Bob did, though...

Enjoying The Last Day

November 8 was our last full day in Luxor. I can't tell you how different, and how much more enjoyable, it was from Cairo. We shopped, walked the waterfront, and simply relaxed and enjoyed the ambience of Luxor before catching our flight back to Cairo that evening. Late that same night, actually at 4 AM on November 9, I caught my flight out of Cairo to head back to the U.S.

The feluccas waiting for customers.

A great Egyptian waterfront restaurant where we enjoyed a fabulous lunch!


Nile River cruise ships at the dock.
















The median in the roadway in front of our hotel.















The Old Winter Palace Hotel...















And a buggy traffic jam!!!

The Temple of Karnak & Temple of Luxor

After spending the morning across the river at the Valleys of the Kings and Queens, and going back to our hotel for a recuperative lunch, we toured the Great Temple of Karnak and the Temple of Luxor in the afternoon. We had seen the awesome sound & light show at Karnak the previous night, but I wasn't prepared for how immense the complex is in the daytime... over 80 acres!




















The entrance is lined on both sides with these sphinxes.















Dozens of "tame" stray dogs live at the temple. I just had to take a photo of these puppies... their mom was foraging for food, and there they were, right out in the open amongst all the tourists!















Ramses II was the longest-reigning pharoah in Egyptian history, ruling for 67 years. He had statues of himself erected all over Luxor, and there are more statues of him than any other pharoah. Many of his statues show him with his most beloved queen, Nefertari, standing underneath his legs (!)




















An example of one of the hundreds of huge columns in the temple.




















And us just enjoying the experience and each other...




















The entrance to the Temple of Luxor (there's Ramses again).















And Pharoah Bob with his beloved Queen Jan!




















Examples of some of the hieroglyphics, carvings and columns at the Temple.

Bob with our fun and knowledgible guide, Emad. Thanks, Emad, for a fabulous day of touring the tombs and temples of Luxor!

Mem and Non

These collossi are just off the bridge highway on the east bank of the Nile, on the way to the Valley of the Kings. Who erected them, and how? Did they guard the route where the funeral processions passed on the way to the burial places of the kings and queens of Egypt? It is said that when the wind blows, the Collossi sing. They are known as Memnon, or Mem and Non. With Bob standing at the base of one of the statues, you get a perspective of just how immense they are!

The Alabaster Factory (aka "Tourist Trap")

Surprise, surprise, our guide escorted us to an alabaster factory that just happened to be located in a small village right outside the Valley of the Kings. We did watch them carve alabaster vases by hand, and were assured that the prices here were fair and the products superior...

Naturally, following a demonstration of the primitive techniques handed down through the generations, we were invited into the factory's "little shop!"















Where Bob proceeded with his FAVORITE activity in the Arab world, haggling over the best deal for all the cool stuff we bought!

Valley of the Kings/Queens

The Valley of the Kings... we did get to go into King Tut's tomb, just two days after Egypt placed his unwrapped mummy in a hermetically sealed vault with a plexiglass top. We saw Tut's treasure in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo before we traveled to Luxor. Photography was not allowed in the museum, nor in any of the tombs. We went into several other tombs, including Seti II, Ramses II and Amenhotep. The hieroglyphics inside the tombs was unbelievable... the colors still strong and the carvings sharp after 3,000+ years!




























































































Jan at the entrance to the tomb of Seti II with our guide, Emad.




Following our tour of the Valley of the Kings, we visited the Queens. The large temple in the background is the temple of Queen Hatshepsut, who ruled Egypt for 27 years as a man! Our guide informed us that "Hatshepsut" is pronounced like "Hat, Shep Suit!"

On the River Nile

Our first afternoon in Luxor, we took a sunset cruise on a felucca. Our captain's name was "Moses" and his boat is called the "Nice" boat. We caught some excellent images of both sides of the river... the East Bank, where we stayed, and the West Bank, where the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens are located. We also caught some great photos of local fauna, and Egyptians going about their daily tasks.