Cairo: Pyramids, Egyptian Museum and Khal el Khalili

I travelled to Cairo by night train and had a compartment for myself - it arrived quite late, so I did not had to wait too long for early check-in at the Le Meridien.

Watania Sleep Train

From my balcony I had a great view of the pyramids, nonetheless in the afternoon I took a closer look at them and Sphinx.

View from my balcony

Three pyramids and 

a Sphinx

In the evening, I visited an old AIESEC friend - Lina and I worked at the International Congress 2005 in India together.

Last day in Cairo started with a big and fantastic breakfast on my balcony before I took a cab and the metro to the Egyptian museum.

tasty breakfast

There were a lot of artifacts, statues and mummies in the museum - also sometimes it looked more cluttered and forgotten in a corner than well curated.

Egyptian Museum - outside

Egyptian Museum - inside

Death mask

From the museum to the quietness of the Al-Azhar Mosque it was just a cab ride.

Al-Azhar 

Al-Azhar - court yard

Across from the mosque starts the Khan al-Khalili market and I had some food with other AIESECers there and then went up and down the market to shop for earrings and a lamp.

Khan al-Khalili

lamps

more lamps

Luxor

Sightseeing in Luxor meant even more temples, tombs and statues then any other place so far.

My guide picked me up at the ship and we headed over the bridge to the west bank where all the tombs and memorial temples are situated.

Colossi of Memnon

The first major temple we visited was the Memorial Temple of Queen Hatshepsut - the female pharaoh. The temple was carved on several levels in the mountain limestone cliff.

Queen Hatshepsut's Temple

colorful paintings inside

The next stop was the Valley of the Kings - where so far 63 tombs of pharaohs have been found. Not all of them are open and each tourist is allowed to enter only 3. The tombs have been robbed long time ago, floods did further damage and the biggest threat today are the tourists.

Tutankhamun was not a great pharaoh - ruling only nine years without any big victories and magnificent buildings. Even his tomb is not a very impressive one. What made it special at discovery was that it was nearly intact and that treasure hunters did not clear it out.

Valley of the Kings

Paintings inside the tombs

Sarkophag

scarab - another Egyptian symbol

We returned to the east bank and I had pigeon for lunch - not a very big feast.

pigeon lunch

View from the restaurant on Luxor Temple

In the afternoon, we visited two more temples - Karnak and Luxor Temple. As it was baking hot I was thankful to spend my remaining hours at the relaxing Steigenberger Hotel watching the waters of the Nile pass by and the sun to set.

Karnak Temple

Statue of Ramses II

Obelisk - one that remained in Egypt

Luxor Temple

Statue of Ramses II

Steigenberger Hotel

Sunset on Nile at Steigenberger

I left Luxor by night train to Cairo for the last part of my Egyptian adventure.

Nile Cruise

Most Nile Cruises are offered for 3 nights or more and as my time was limited I looked for a shorter option. As I learned on the cruise ship, the actual cruise only takes a day and all nights are either spent in Assuan or Luxor and then you do the day trips from the ship instead of from a hotel. 

View from the ship on the Nile

We started around 4-5 o’clock in the morning and arrived in Kom Ombo at eight. There, the guides for the different groups on our ship waited for us and explained us the temple dedicated to the local  crocodile god Sobete and Horus the Elder and the hieroglyphics talking about medicine and operations. Next to the temple is a darkened room where the mummified crocodiles are showcased. 

Kom Ombo

Back to the ship, we were greeted by hot wet towels and a mint tea and we continued the cruise. Most passengers spent the time on deck in the little pool or in the shadow. 

Pool on the ship

At lunch time we arrived in Edfu and headed out on horse carriages after we had filled our stomachs. A different array of guides waited for us and told us about the temple that had been used by varied religious groups through the centuries and millennia. 

Edfu temple

outer walls

The temple was dedicated to Horus, the son of Osiris and Hathor. Inside the temple there is a replica of the barque that was used to carry a golden Horus statue in processions. The original is today in the Louvre.

Horus guarding the entrance

Ancient Wifi symbol:-) 

From Edfu, we started on the last part of the cruise to Luxor passing by dessert lands and small oasis.

Around 6 o'clock in the evening we reached the locks of Esna where the ship was lowered to continue the downstream journey. In the meantime, vendors offered us towels, blankets and dresses - they tossed them high on to the ship for us to take a closer look and decide if we want to buy them. We threw them back if we did not want. Of course, some ended up in the river and had to be fished out.

Locks of Esna

Esna

Sunset on Nile

Late in the evening, we arrived in Luxor and there I saw how big the Nile Cruise industry really was and how much business was lacking. There are about 240 cruise ships like mine and only 30 operating in summer when it's low season. Probably double work in the high season. In Luxor, the ships were parked in rows of 2-5 ships and also we had to cross another ship to leave ours.

two ships moored next to each other

ships by night

Assuan

My second day on Pyramisa Island started more relaxed with a round in the Pool and breakfast. Afterwards I headed with my guide for the day tour of Assuan. First, we went to the high dam that was built decades ago on the Nile river to regulate it and control floods. 

Nile - upstream 

Nile - downstream

Downstream from the dam the Nile looks a bit like a lake and there we visited the Philae temple. The temple is another example of the saved buildings from the Nile. It’s original site is an island some hundred meters away that is now below the water. 

Philae Temple

The temple is dedicated to Isis and marks the place where the leg of her dead husband fell down to earth. To get there we hired a boat and covered the short distance. This was the first time I got the big explanation of the Egyptian gods and goddesses and the 30 dynasties in the Old, Middle and New Kingdom.

After lunch in the little café we returned to the parking lot and all vendors were gone to attend prayer. 

On the way back into the city, we stopped at a Papyrus „Museum“ aka shop and I got an intro on how it is made. Besides the touristy name cartouches, there are also paintings by local artists that are very nice. 

Getting my name on a cartouche

Afterwards you checked in on my ship for the Nile cruise - the Blue Shadow - and when I learned that we would leave only early morning, I left to explore the city: a church, the market and a spice shop. 

Later I met another AIESEC alumna for a boat ride at sunset. I had dinner on the cruise ship and called it a night.