Gizeh and the Pyramids

Memphis is the home of a large sphinx carved of Alabaster.

Memphis also houses the colossal sandstone statue of Ramses II.

Sakkarah; the step Pyramid of Zoser, that looks like a layered cake.

A vendor selling water & pop at the pyramids. Ask Ralph about the one who took him for 50 Egyptian pounds......another great story!


The Great Sphinx or the "Father of Terror "- 73 metres in length.

Our new friend Lily (from Calgary) standing on Chephren with the Micerinus Pyramid behind her.

The Cheops Pyramid - with the Pyramid for a Queen in the background.

The second largest Gizeh Pyramid called Chephren. Only a cap of alabaster is left on this Pyramid as the rest have been pilfered.

The sun sets on the Pyramids of Gizeh. Another great day in Egypt.

Cairo's Special Sights

When I think of Cairo it will be with fond memories of riding the camel. It is the most uncomfortable animal ever.

Down the road we "run into" yet another camel. The kids were all yelling "Baksheesh" so the picture cost me.

We started with "Starbuck's lattes; moved to Indian Chai; and now our new love is Egyptian coffee.

The Bazaar in Cairo has everything including the popular water pipes.

Everyone from old to young , men and women, smoke them. It was one of the only things we didn't try.


Everywhere you go you get an interesting perspective of Cairo and the area.

Cairo - City Tour

The Sphinx at the Egyptian Museum. It took us over 2 hours to “quickly” view the two story exhibition. One could spend days.

The Citadel was built in 1246 and is the Mosque of Mohammad - Aly. The fort was used to protect his family.
St. George’s Greek Church had a lovely courtyard where we enjoyed a coffee.

We found the Coptic area, very peaceful with the gorgeous “Hanging Church”. The name was given because of its unusual construction.


Cairo is beautiful in its sandstone color.

Luxor - Egypt

A romantic evening! A horse and carriage ride in Luxor with our new friend.
Luxor Temple in the evening.
Karnak Temple,which was one of our favourites has the largest Obelisk in Egypt. We rented bikes and rode to the temples and museum.
The hypostyle hall. This temple covers 30 hectares and is one of the best preserved.
Medinet Habu - Temple of Ramses III had some of the most beautiful carvings ! We are leaning lots of hieroglyphics!
– Baksheesh! Baksheesh! Baksheesh! (Tip! Tip! Tip!) …is heard continually and if you pay sometimes you are given special privileges like taking a photo in the Luxor Museum!

Valley of the Kings and Queens

Villages near Valley of the Queens and Valley of the Nobles are disappearing or relocated as the government makes arrangements for more excavating.

The natural pyramid outside of Luxor overlooks the Valley of the Kings, Queens, Nobles and Workers.
Excavating of the areas continue as many countries have teams digging all over sights in Egypt. Pottery pieces are placed together like jig-saw puzzles.

Queen Hatshepsut ( dressed like a Pharaoh ) constructed a Funerary Monument for her father,Tutmose I and herself at Deir El-Bahari. This is where the mummification took place.The sarcophaguses are still being found and opened to discover mummies.

Floods of the Nile destroyed the Temple of Amon – Ofis and only the 2 huge, gigantic statues remain. Colossi of Memnon.

Part II Felucca Trip

Captian Sabry : who loved Bob Marely was an awesome Captain.
The farmers were always watching their crops when we arrived ; especially when there were a lot of boats.........
In the end we had a great time with Captain Sabry (Bob 1) far right, Habibi our guide centre and 1st mate Mahmoud(Bob 2) ! I would highly recommend the Felucca over the cruise ship.....
Temple in Kom - Ombo, home of the crocodile god.
Always a stop for tea along the way. Sometimes it was on shore on the way to see a temple.
A stop at the Temple in Edfu - the best preserved Temple in Egypt.

Felucca down the Nile

We had a choice between a Cruise ship or a Felucca. Which one to chose?
Captain "Bob" and crew cooked up great meals for us.
Many sights to see such as a old fashioned water wheel still widely used in Egypt.
The stops on the Islands were always interesting and beautiful. The quiet evenings were often interrupted by voices, dogs, trains, birds, horns, drums, music and prayers from the mosques.
You get to watch the farmer milk his cow; then sit and have tea with him! It was great even with the language barrier. They also grow a lot of melons and other crops on these Islands.
The other Feluccas joined up one evening and a great time was had by all around a big fire, drumming, dancing & singing.

Abu Simbel

Leaving Aswan and traveling down 250 Km through the Nubian desert by convoy. There is not much to see but desert and maybe a mirage or two.
Abu Simbel - The Facade of the Small Temple of Hathor.

Jan is given the key to the Tomb by the security guard.
The Large Temple of Abu Simbel constructed by Rames II
The pronaos with the eight Ostirian pilasters
This was first situated on the banks of the Nile River and would have been immersed by the making of Lake Nasser. It was moved to higher ground, block by block.

Lake Nassar starts at Aswan 250Km to the North and extends down into Sudan 100Km to the South. Security is pretty tight if you were thinking about a 100km trek to Sudan through the desert.