This was my second trip to Egypt. My first trip was in 2001 and I only stayed a few days. I am very glad I came back. First of all the people of Egypt are incredibly friendly. It was a joy to talk to them, and to learn about their culture and country. Luckily, we… Read More My thoughts on Egypt

Today we explored the Islamic heritage of Cairo. Islam came to Egypt and 641CE. Islam spread quickly because people were given the choice of conversion or serving in the army. The Ottomans arrived in 1514 CE. We visited a number of mosques and concluded our visit on El-Moez Street, the most important street of Islamic… Read More Exploring old Cairo

Today we flew back to Cairo for the remaining part of our tour. Upon arrival we went to an area called Masr Al-Qadima or old Cairo. This area has been a strong hold of Christianity since the Roman period and is known colloquially as Coptic Cairo. We visited two churches. We then visited Ben Ezra… Read More Back to Cairo

In Luxor, we spent two nights in the Pavilion Winter Luxor Hotel which is part of a historic British colonial era, five star luxury resort located on the river Nile. Agatha Christie wrote the Death on the Nile while staying at the hotel. Before breakfast three of us took a balloon ride over the valley… Read More 3rd Day in Luxor

The valley of the kings on the West Bank of the Nile has been the home to royal burial since 2100 BCE, but it was the pharaoh‘s of the new kingdom, 1550-1069 BCE, who began to construct elaborate tombs to reflect their newfound power and prosperity after the reunification of Egypt under Theban rule. The… Read More 2nd Day in Luxor

During the morning of our first day in Luxor, we visited the temple of queen Hatshepsut and the Valley of the Queens. Hatshepsut was the great royal wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II and served as the fifth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. She initially reigned as a regent for Thutmose III but assumed… Read More 1st Day in Luxor

The first temple we visited, was the well preserved Kom Ombo Temple. Built during the Ptolemaic dynasty in the second century BCE, this temple is highly unusual, because of its symmetrical, double design. All the rooms of the temple are duplicated, mirrored among the building’s main access. The southern half of the building was dedicated… Read More On our way to Luxor aboard the MS Royale

The Aswan dam, built in the 1960s, contains 18 times more material than that used to build the great pyramid and provides electricity and irrigation for the whole of Egypt. Currently because of the increase in population, the dam only provides about 10% of the electricity needed by Egypt. After driving over the dam, we… Read More At Aswan dam. Here we get to switch ships.

This morning we took the tender ashore to explore Wadi El Sebou also known as the Valley of the Lions. We visited three structures. Among the most prominent structure in this archaeological complex is the 19th dynasty temple, built by Ramses II dedicated to the god Amun and Ra-Horakhty. This temple was moved 4 km… Read More 2nd Day on MS Omar El Khayam