Travelogue - Egypt (November 1999)

It's been a while since I've written one of my
travelogues, and my vacation in Egypt last week with
a couple other AA colleagues merits a review, so here
it goes...

Our adventure started out on an Egyptair flight,
nonstop from Paris to Luxor. The 5-hour flight went
smoothly aboard the Boeing 747-300, and was made
nicer by the Egyptair Paris station manager bumping us up
to the First Class seats in the nose of the jumbo jet.
I was still tired from our transatlantic flight, so I
slept most of the way to Egypt.

Arrival in Luxor was a culture shock, as 150-200
people queued up for passport control - done on
Egyptian time (i.e. slowly!) Of course, no one told
you that you had to first buy your entry visa stamps
for USD$15 and then proceed through passport control.
It was left to your own intuition to figure that out.

We took a short cab ride to our Sheraton Hotel boat
and embarked on our 3-day Nile Cruise. The 70-room
boat was nice, and had all the amenities you could
need, including a doctor (for those nasty bouts with
King Tut's revenge!). We wound up with a triple
suite, and had plenty of room between the three of us.

Meals were included (buffet style) and there was a
nice sun deck on the top level, complete with on-deck
pool for a refreshing afternoon dip. Not bad for
$120/night/person! We overnighted dockside in Luxor.

Sunday morning we visited Karnak temple, just north of
town. The impressive, well-preserved, ancient temple
was covered in hieroglyphics, recanting the ancient
tales of Pharoahic conquests, glories and deification
ceremonies. Especially impressive was the hall of
columns and two obelisks. Some of the hieroglyphics
retained shades of their once vibrant reds, oranges,
blues and greens - even after 2,000-3,000 years of
constant basking in the presence of Sun-God Ra. (p.s.
I, myself, worshiped Ra for a couple of days and have
a nice, golden "King Tut" tan to show for it!) Next
we visited Luxor Temple and stood, amazed, at the
architectural mastery of this age-defying structure.

That afternoon we set sail upstream to broaden our
exposure to the ancient mysteries of Egypt.

On Monday, we visited two temples - one at Edfu,
dedicated to Horus, the Falcon God of protection).
This temple was fascinating due to how well-
preserved it has been through the ages. Part of the structure
had been buried in sand for centuries, effectively
preserving and protecting the intricate hieroglyphic
artwork. One highlight was taking a Caleche, or
horse-drawn carriage, between the boat and Edfu
temple. It felt like we stepped back in time, as
Caleches easily outnumbered cars in this small town
by a 5 to 1 ratio. By sunset we cruised further
southward to Kom Ombo. This riverside temple offered
some interesting hieroglyphics mocking the Egyptian's
Greek oppressors. Additionally, there was a spectacular sunset from the temple - westward across the Nile - the sun quickly being swallowed into a
sea of Saharan sand.

Tuesday we got up early in Aswan to disembark the boat
and catch our 30-minute flight from Aswan to Abu Simbel,
on the southern Egyptian border with Sudan.
This ancient monument features four towering, seated
statues of ancient Pharaohs guarding
hieroglyphic-adorned tombs. The sheer size and
majesty of the statues was incredible, but even more
interesting is the fact that this temple has been
moved from its original location to higher ground -
to make way for Lake Nasser (created by the opening of
the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s). 1 1/2-hour ground
time was sufficient to see Abu Simbel (a short,
3-minute complimentary bus ride from the airport
terminal). Upon return to Aswan we visited Philae
temple - an island just behind the Old Aswan Dam
which featured the Temple of Isis, among other ancient
ruins. We returned to Luxor by plane that afternoon
and settled in for a 2-night stay at the Luxor
Sheraton Resort.

Wednesday began early as we struck out to discover
the western Nile shores of Luxor. We proceeded to the
Valley of the Kings, and explored three ancient tombs
covered in hieroglyphics. Next was the Valley of the
Queens and the incredible Tomb of Nefertari. This
tomb is, perhaps, the best preserved of the area,
and the vibrant, colorful display of hieroglyphics
beautifully adorned the walls. Wednesday afternoon
was spent relaxing, pool side, back at the Sheraton.

Thursday we flew to Cairo and spent the afternoon
visiting the Egyptian Museum. The highlight there
was the incredible collection from King Tut's tomb.
Especially incredible was the world-famous golden
burial head mask, housed safely under glass. The
rest of the museum is a dizzying array of Egyptian
artifacts. Its the kind of place where you can
spend either two hours or two days, depending on how
in-depth you wish to discover it. Thursday night we
went to Giza, 20-25 minutes southwest of Cairo, to
watch the Laser/light show at the pyramids. It's
obviously tourist-oriented, but provided an
interesting nighttime perspective on the massive
monuments. The Sphinx was illuminated and served as
narrator during the 50-minute show.

On Friday morning we returned to Giza, this time to
discover it "Egyptian-style". Our desert caravan of
two camels and four horses (complete with local
guides) roamed the dunes to the south and west of
the great pyramids for a couple of hours. We stopped a
few times to take photos at prime spots.

I'd like to take a moment here to elaborate on the
camel. This single-humped Egyptian "ship of the
desert" is a smelly, cantankerous beast that is
given to batting its thick eyelashes, chewing its nasty,
green-colored cud and spitting at those whom it
dislikes. Further, the camel mount is akin to a
combination mechanical bull ride and lesson in some
tantric sexual technique as the beast first raises
its hind quarters, lunging its rider forward,
immediately followed by a jolting raise of the front quarters,
ricocheting the harried rider backwards. All this
while the ungodly beast burps, farts, hisses and
makes disgusting gurgling noises emitted from deep within
its body! The dismount is no less a harrowing
experience as the camel does a 3-point "plant" by
first kneeling forward, then bringing down its hind
quarters and finally sliding into a semi-comfortable
"rest" position. Having said all of this, there is
no better way to truly experience the pyramids than by
camel. It's an essential part of the whole Egyptian
experience. Just remember to hold on and lean
backwards during the mount/dismount!

On Saturday we went our separate ways and returned
home via Europe.

In summary, Egypt is a wonderful country to visit.
Its rich and colorful history is fascinating. It is not
a particularly "easy" trip, as visiting the temples,
tombs and pyramids under the relentless Egyptian sun
tires you quickly. We found it best to plan 1/2-day
sightseeing tours (7am-12pm or 8am to 1pm), followed
by lunch and a leisurely afternoon/evening. We
covered the entire length of Egypt, from Cairo, near
the mouth of the Nile river to Abu Simbel, nearly
600 miles to the South, right near the Sudanese border.
The highlights were undoubtedly the temples and
tombs of Luxor as well as the pyramids. Cairo is a huge,
sprawling metropolis with SEVERE pollution problems.

It makes LA's smoggy days look like a bright sunny
day in the country! Get in and get out as quickly as
possible. Two days in Cairo is more than enough.
Abu Simbel was impressive, but to be honest, I question
if it's worth the time and logistical effort it takes
to visit the monument. Those traveling on a limited
schedule can better spend their time exploring Luxor.

The Nile cruise was wonderful and I would wholeheartedly recommend it as an essential part of the Egyptian experience. 3-, 4- and 7-day cruises run
between Luxor and Aswan, and are provided by numerous
operators. The journey is smooth and comfortable -
you hardly feel you're moving on the water. October
through April is high season in Egypt, as these are
the cooler months of the year. As it was, highs
reached 90-95 in Aswan and Abu Simbel. Nights in
Cairo were cool and a jacket/sweater was necessary.
The only addition that would have made our trip
perfect was an extra 2-3 days to spend at Hurghada
or Sharm Al Sheik - to relax at the Red Sea and enjoy
some incredible scuba diving. That would have been
a great way to end the vacation.

So, pack your camel and head out on your own Indiana
Jones-style adventure in Egypt!

Happy Travels!

Mark