Egypt Guided Tour - Memphis, Giza (Dec 2004)

After breakfast and a pre-tour briefing, we started our "Wonders of Egypt" tour with a sightseeing trip to Memphis, the capital of the Old Kingdom. We saw a colossal statue of Rameses II and a great alabaster sphinx. We then made a short photo-stop at Sakkara, to see the Step Pyramid of Zoser I.

Our next stop was Giza, to see the famous Sphinx and magnificent Giza Pyramids. Here, we got to climb up and walk alongside one of the Pyramids, as well as climb in to see the inside of another one of these historical creations. At night, we returned for a magical "Sound and Light Show" which illustrated the ancient history of Giza (in English).

Clockwise from top-left: The statue of Rameses II, the alabaster sphinx, the famous Sphinx and Great Pyramid (copyrighted by me, because you need to be at a certain location to take this photo), the Sakkara Step Pyramid, another view of the Sphinx, a lighted Pyramid, ticket to the Giza Pyramids "Sound and Light Show", a lighted Sphinx.

Centre: A picture of the 3 Pyramids of Giza (also copyrighted by me).

Egypt Guided Tour - Luxor and Karnak (Dec 2004)

We took a morning internal flight from Cairo to Luxor. We were brought to a cruise boat in private moorings near the edge of the town. After we have "checked in" and left our luggages in our cabins, we had lunch on board. We then alighted to visit the Luxor Temple (below).

Luxor Temple (middle row, 2nd pic): You need to take this picture from an angle so it seemed like the branches are growing out of its head. :-)


Next we visited the Karnak Temple, constructed over a time period of 1500 years.

(bottom row, 2nd pic): It's hard to resist taking a picture of the "bunny" photo. :-)

At night, we returned to walk through the Avenue of Sphinxes, as we were introduced to a complimentary "Sound and Light Show". We strolled through the Karnak Temple one more time.

Egypt Guided Tour - Hatshepsut and Valley of Kings (Dec 2004)

This morning, after breakfast on board the ship, we alighted to have a photo-stop on the West bank of the Nile for a photo of the towering Colossi of Memnon. These 2 seated figures are the only remains of the Amon-Ofis III mortuary temple.

We next visited the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, which blended into the cliff face above. This temple was also known as the Temple of Deir El-Bahri ("Temple of the Northern monastery" in arabic).

We next dropped by the Valley of the Kings, which is the burial place of many New Kingdom Pharaohs, including King Tutankhamon. Our ticket granted us access to 3 tombs (except for that of King Tut's).

Egypt Guided Tour - Edfu and Kom Ombo (Dec 2004)

In the morning, we visited the Temple of Horus (Falcon God) in Edfu. We then spent the rest of the day cruising until we reached Kom Ombo.
We stepped foot into the Temple of Sorbek (Crocodile God) and saw mummified remains of many small crocodiles.

On our final night on board the ship, we were treated to an Egyptian Galabea Party and Dinner. We arrived at our ship's final destination, Aswan, the next morning.

Egypt Guided Tour - Nubian Village, Aswan (Dec 2004)

At Aswan, we took an optional tour to sail to a colourful Nubian Village. We bought some nice souvenirs there.

Egypt Guided Tour - Aswan (Dec 2004)

We took a motor-boat ride to the Temple of Isis, which is on the island of Philae on the river Nile.

(bottom row) We saw some Egyptian children, a building and noted how crowded the tourist boats could be.

We later sailed in a traditional felucca in the Nile river, around Aswan's Botanical Gardens.

Egypt Guided Tour - Abu Simbel, Aswan (Dec 2004)

(Top row) The next day, we took the optional early-morning excursion to visit the magnificent Abu Simbel temples in Aswan. It was well-worth the time and money. I felt like Indiana Jones when I entered the temples. :-)

(Bottom row) In Aswan, we saw an unfinished obelisk in an ancient Granite Quarry (left). We also passed by the Aswan High Dam (right).

We took the afternoon flight back to Cairo.

Egypt Guided Tour - Cairo (Dec 2004)

Back in Cairo, we visited the famous Egyptian Museum. We saw many Egyptian artefacts, including some of King Tutankhamun's treasures. The museum was so big it would take days to see each and every exhibit in the museum.

Egypt - The Great Pyramid of Cheops (Dec 2004)

Best of Egypt (Dec 2004)

It could take another few months to compile the historical sites of Egypt, so here is my collage of the "Best of Egypt" for now.. :-)

Top row (1st 2 pics) are the temples of Abu Simbel, 3rd pic is the cruise down the Nile River.

Middle row: We saw the Colossi Of Memnon (1st pic), the Giza Pyramids and the famous Sphinx (middle pic) and the less famous Step Pyramid (3rd pic). I was glad we visited the Giza Pyramids and Sphinx before watching it in the movies 'Jumper',
'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' and 'G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra'.


Bottom row: We dropped by the Valley of the Kings to explore the Tomb of King Tut (1st pic). We also visited the Karnak Temple (middle pic) and came across an alabaster shop selling souvenirs of an Egyptian goddess (3rd pic).