Egypt Sept 12-20 / 2010 ~ Bangor -> JFK -> Cairo -> Aswan -> Luxor -> Cairo -> JFK -> Bangor
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Egypt Fam Sept 13-20, 2010 ~ A Trip Of A Lifetime with STI Travel
Sept 13 Flying BGR - LGA - shuttle bus to JFK - CAI Sept 14 arrival CAI and overnight at Sonesta Hotel Sept 15 - 18 Flying CAI - Aswan to catch river cruise for 3 nights (sailed Aswan to Luxor) Sept 18 - 19 Flying Luxor to CAI and overnight 2 nights at JW Marriott in CAI Sept 20 Flying CAI - JFK - taxi to LGA - BGR
All in all it was a great trip and I am so glad to have gone and would recommend it to clients. As a FAM, not so much. Truly, it was only the hotel inspections that made it difficult. The tour was WAY too busy, 14-16 hour days (everyday) and no down time to recover at all. Before we left I was told we would have 6 hotel inspections....we had 13...totally brutal. We were all walking zombies by the end of it. Half the group missed the last day of the tour all together (including me). Here's my recap, the good, the bad & the ugly:
11.5 hour flight from NY to Cairo and back with Egyptair. Egyptair should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. Terrible food, filthy plane etc. The biggest thing tough was that they didn't freshen up the toilets or add toilet paper once...thank GOD I had wet wipes. I would not recommend Egyptair to anyone.
Food in Egypt generally is not the best. Their water is not clean so you can't drink it or brush your teeth with it. The only fruit and veggies you can safely eat are those that you can peel...anything else would have been washed by their water. TIP: No matter how good the salad buffett at the Ramses Hilton looks....do not eat it!! Lesson learned for me! All we ate the whole time was pasta, potatoes, bread, chicken and fish. The cows are VERY skinny so the beef was tough. Andrew lost 10 pounds and I lost 6!
Saw a lot of amazing history. Every tomb / temple or interesting thing on the Discovery Channel, we saw it. We had an unbelievably knowledgeable and charming Egyptologist (Ihab Wagdy) (Sakkara Tours) with us the whole time...like a walking history book...he's written for National Geographic and everything. To have him explaining everything as we went along was truly priceless. I would not want to do Egypt again without him.
Loved the 3 days on the river cruise on the M/S Mojito...despite what we were floating through. The Nile River is absolutely filthy and polluted. Saw a dead horse floating in there for god's sake. It's interesting because the Egyptians refer to The Nile as their "life"....how they could let it get that polluted is beyond me. 75 staterooms, all oceanview with french balconies. Clean ship, friendly staff. The riverbank is amazinginly green and lush...the contrast of the desert in the background is truly breathtaking.
Temples & Tombs etc visited:
Aswan High Dam - situated across The Nile River in Aswan. Built to increase economic production by regulating the annual river flooding and providing storage of water for agriculture and to generate hydroelectricity.
Temple of Philae - On an island in the Nile River so visited via crazy little motorboat. It was quite the scene w/ probably 20 boats all trying to get into about 10 parking spots, all fighting to get there 1st...we were having a hard time getting out! But it was hilarious, that's for sure. The Philae complex was dismantled and relocated to a nearby island in connection to the UNESCO project started because of the construction of the High Dam, after being partly flooded by the first Aswan Dam for half a century. Used as a garrison / barracks.
Unfinished Obelisk - Construction began from one massive piece of granite....a large crack caused them to abandon construction. Unfinished but VERY important to Egyptologists - they learned a lot about how ancient Egyptians built their structures...if not for this unfinished obelisk, a lot would still be unknown.
Kom Ombo Temple - Double Temple (unusual). Courts, halls, sanctuaries and rooms duplicated for two sets of gods (Sobek - crocodile god / god of fertility and creator of the world and Haroeris - also known as Horus the elder).
Edfu Temple (Temple of Horus) - Considered the best-preserved cult temple in Egypt. This is partly because it was built later than most (in the Ptolemaic era from 237 to 57 BC).
Valley of the Queens - Wives and young children of Pharaohs were buried here. You're not allowed to take your camera in so I copied this photo online.
Funerary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut - "Foremost of Noble Ladies". Thisis the one I wanted to see the most...She is generally regarded by Egyptologists as one of the most successful pharaohs, reigning longer than any other woman (22 years). She disguised herself as a man. Buried with the full honors of a pharaoh.
Colossi of Memnon - Two massive stone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. For the past 3400 years they have stood in the Theban necropolis, across the Nile River from the modern city of Luxor. Valley of The Kings - For a period of nearly 500 years tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom (including King Tuts tomb which was found in 1922). You're not allowed to take your camera in so I copied this photo online. This is all under the earth! Pretty amazing!
Karnak Temple - "The Most Sacred of Places". Massive 2.4 km2 religious site. This huge complex was built over a 13 HUNDRED YEAR period.
Luxor Temple - we were there at dusk when there was a "call to prayer" going on at the active monestary there...a truly magical and eerie experience. The "southern sanctuary", the temple was dedicated to the Theban Triad of Amun, Mut, and Chons.
Giza Pyramids - Constructed over a 20 year period, the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one to remain largely intact. It is believed the pyramid was built as a tomb for fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu.
Egyptian Museum of Antiquities - Extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, most on display, the remainder in storerooms. There are 9 mummies displayed. (One of them is the newly discovered mummy of .Queen Hatshepsut). Also where all King Tut's Tomb contents are today.
Khan El Khalili (Bazaar) - largest outdoor market in the world (full of junk though if you ask me).
Alabaster Stone Shop - barter your way to some really beautiful pieces.
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