Photo Friday

The welcome sign to Dahab, Egypt.  That is Mubarek waving at us in the center...and as of today, he's waving goodbye! Congratulations to the Egyptian people who fought for their freedom! 

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Egypt: Video from Queen Nefertiti's Temple

Queen Nefertiti's Temple at Abu Simbel

Inside the temple...

Egypt: Video from Abu Simbel

Inside King Ramses II's temple at Abu Simbel (shhhh!)

Egypt: Aboard the M.S. Sherry Boat

The best way to see the temples and sites in Southern "Upper" Egypt is on a cruise ship from the Nile.  We booked our Nile cruise with “Thomas Cook” at the advice of our friends Laura and Joe who live in Cairo. Unknowingly we had made reservations with one of the first travel agents ever established in Egypt. Established in the 1880’s Cook Ltd. can be credited with establishing the first commercial infrastructure for Nile cruises.

Ten Films Set in Egypt

List taken from Eyewitness Travel “Top 10 Cairo & The Nile”

Have you seen/read any of these?

1. The Spy Who Loved Me
In this 1977 James Bond adventure the requisite foreign exoticism appears in the scenes at the Pyramids and Karnak temple. The magnificent temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel becomes the fictional field headquarters of M16 containing M’s office, conference rooms, and Q’s laboratory.

Egypt: Dahab

I can see Saudi Arabia from my lounge chair at the hotel pool!  Insane.

That is Saudi Arabia, across the Red Sea from the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt

It is a bit surreal to be here, so near to where all of the fighting and turmoil is.  However, I do feel like I can understand Arab people and culture a little better by being here, seeing the mountains and the desert that they come from.  Everything here in Egypt is so interesting....the juxtaposition between ancient Egyptian history, Biblical history, and current events is blowing my little mind.

I do feel weird and guilty for being at a "resort" on the beach, while there is so much poverty and trash abundant.

Laura and Susannah lounging poolside

Dahab is known for being a world-class snorkeling/diving destination, and it is a welcome divergence to be able to get in the water and cool off, and to not have to be so covered up from the sun and heat.  We went snorkeling today and saw giant clams, lion fish, and amazing coral!

The Red Sea

Egypt: A Brief History of the Pyramids

Starting around the First Dynasty, Egyptians buried their dead in an undeground chamber, and covered it with a mastaba.  A mastaba is a low structure, rectangular in plan, with inward-sloping walls and a flat roof.

a mastaba, source