The stone formations and colors were astonishing as we wound our way down to the ancient Nabatean city. Coming around the last bend of the Siq, we were greeted with the awesome site of the Treasury, a two-story, pink structure carved into the wall of the sandstone - breath-taking! We continued to slowly stroll through the ancient city, looking at the tombs, amphitheater, and caves, and the people watching was almost as amazing as the stone!
June 4
Today we made the 3-1/2 hour trip from Petra to Amman, with stops in Madaba and Mt. Nebo. Our trip followed Moses' journey over 3,500 years ago, from the Kingdom of Edom, where Petra is located, to the Kingdom of Moab.
We had to take a detour because the main road was being cleared of rocks so we ended up traveling the same route as the Ottoman Turks took. We saw the narrow gauge railroad used by the Turks during World War I, which Basel told us "Awrence" of Arabia blew up (that's just how they pronounced it in the movie!).
At our rest stop, Peggy bought a Jordanian cookbook, so we joked with Basel that once Peggy moves back to Seattle, he should come for a home-cooked Jordanian meal. He said he'd bring his whole tribe - about 5,000 folks!
At the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George's in Madaba we saw the famous mosaic of a map of the Mideast, with a detailed section on Jerusalem showing the ancient Cardo, the Roman road. We also met two of Basel's cousins, one in the Tourist Police and the other in the special forces police, charged with protecting the site.
From Madaba, we journeyed to Mt. Nebo, the traditional site that Moses reached on his journey from Egypt, and from which he could see into the Promised Land. The Franciscans bought the land from the Bedouins in 1933 and built a church on the site. In the small interpretive center my favorite photo was a group shot of the Bedouins and the Franciscans when the land changed hands; the priests in the front row are holding hands with the Bedouins, a very typical Middle Eastern gesture. Connie
Egypt
June 5
Abu Simbel Egypt |
A very early (3 a.m.) start to a long day. After flying from Cairo to Aswan to Abu Simbel, we drove to the Temples of Ramses II and the goddess Hathor (and Ramses' favorite wife, Nefertari). The Ramses Temple was huge, having at least eight interior rooms, with the largest 33 feet high and the smallest 7 feet high. The interior walls were decorated everywhere with scenes and hieroglyphics. The Hathor Temple was similar but on a smaller scale.
Back in Aswan, we toured the Aswan High Dam and visited the Temple of Philae, located on an island between the two dams. We rode a small ferry boat out to the island. The temple was very impressive and the carvings and decorations were beautiful.
We were happy to get to the ship and cool off finally after a very hot day. Bob
June 6
It's Sunday - and we have had lots of Sun! We slept late and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. Then we watched the world go by from the ship's sundeck and snapped photos of life along the River Nile.
The ship docked at Edfu and we disembarked for a short bus ride to the Temple of Horus. When we arrived at the temple, we heard chanting over a loudspeaker. Our guide explained that it was sections of the Koran being chanted for a funeral. It provided a mystical sound to our experience of the magnificent temple.
Janet and Connie walk like Egyptians |
This evening we donned our finest Egyptian attire - bought or rented from the gift shop on board - and enjoyed an Egyptian-themed dinner. Everything was delicious, as usual.
Janet
June 7
Our alarm went off at 4:45 a.m. and we crawled out of bed like a couple of zombies. My only redeeming thought was that by beginning our touring day at 6 a.m., we would beat the heat, expected to be over 110 degrees!
As we drove to the Valley of the Kings, Hessam, our guide, gave a brief lecture about the tombs of the pharaohs. There are 223 pyramids in Egypt and each one is the tomb for only one or sometimes two people. Because the pyramids were obvious targets for tomb robbers, the Pharaoh Thutmose I had built the first tomb inside the limestone hills of what we now call the Valley of the Kings in about 1500 BC. So far 62 tombs have been discovered but all have been robbed of their treasure except for King Tut's tomb.
At the Valley of the Kings, we saw three tombs, and Connie and I also visited the tomb of King Tut. In one tomb it was a short walk down stairs and ramps to the burial chamber. The walls of the passage were decorated with a solar disk flanked by the goddess Maat. The burial chamber ceiling was only chiseled out and not decorated, but the sarcophagus had a winged design.
Temple of Queen Hapshepsut, Luxor |
We left the Valley of the Kings and traveled to the temple of Queen Hatshepsut, which felt very modern. Leave it to the only woman pharaoh to design an elegant and timeless temple.
Afternoon free!!! Evening Sound and Light Show at the Temple of Karnak - hot as Hades but I enjoyed the storytelling. The frosting on the cake: belly dancing back on the ship (and a whirling dervish). Cynthia
June 8
Sphinx at Memphis |
Today we toured the temples of Karnak and Luxor. Since we were at Karnak last night, we had a sense of the place when we arrived there today. But last night in the dark, with sporadic lights and eerie narration, the temple felt haunted. Today, it was no longer haunted but just as impressive. Sphinxes were everywhere: an avenue of them lined the entrance and inside the temple were more. Most were ram-headed with lion bodies. These were the great protectors of the temple.
The dry heat started to get to Cynthia today (did I hear it hit 120 degrees?!) so she donned her exotic Frito-Bandito outfit: a damp hanky covering her mouth and nose! I just kept whining for an icy cold Diet Coke! Connie
June 9
We started our day at the Memphis Museum, similar to a sculpture garden since it is mostly outdoors. We took in the 800-ton statue of Ramses II and the alabaster sphinx as the highlights. Our wonderful guide, Sayed, read hieroglyphics to us off a sarcophagus. Then it was on to Saqqara to see the Step Pyramid of Djoser.
Today we have our own private security guard. None of us can figure out why we need him, but he's nice to look at and seems to take his job seriously.
At the Great Pyramids of Giza we all climbed a very little way up the Pyramid of Khufu - a nice photo op. Sayed is very obliging about taking our group photos and even setting up what he calls "silly photos." After seeing all the pyramids and the giant Sphinx, we made a stop for coffee at the Mena House Hotel - where kings and presidents stay. Janet
June 10
We started our day in Cairo in the Old City, where we visited the Church of St. Sergius and St. Baccuo - supposedly one of the places where the Holy Family took refuge while fleeing King Herod's dictate to kill baby boys. Today, it's a beautiful Greek Orthodox Church. We also visited the Ben Ezra Synagogue.
At the Egyptian Antiquities Museum, Sayed gave us a quick tour of some of the museum's treasures. He said it would take a month at least to see it all. The plunder from King Tut's tomb is amazing, and thankfully air-conditioned, since most of the museum is not. We fought the traffic through downtown Cairo to the Khan el-Khalili Bazaar where we enjoyed tea and Turkish coffee in El Fishawy - a famous Cairo coffeehouse.
Cynthia, Connie, Janet and Bob cruise the Nile |
On the way back to the hotel, Sayed pointed out the City of the Dead, where squatters live side by side with the tombs; the Citadel of Saladin; Mohammed Ali Mosque; and the Golden Island, where he says Christians and Muslims live together in peace - a nice thought to end our day in Cairo and our journey through Egypt. Janet
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Cynthia and Connie
BookLover's Travel
