An afternoon walking around Khan el-Khalili, a souk in the Islamic district of Cairo. The bazaar had colorful spices, hookahs and faces every which way you looked. My favorite was the men carrying bread on their heads, sometimes on bikes!…
We had a two day respite between the cruise down the Nile and our flight to Tanzania, so our first day in Cairo was spent on a whirlwind tour to see all of the churches and mosques we could find.…
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest monument on the list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is also the only one left standing. It is a marvel of human engineering and construction, and its sheer…
The Temple was dedicated to the goddess Isis, the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus. These three characters dominate ancient Egyptian culture and their story possesses all the drama of a Shakespearian tragedy. The god Osiris is murdered and…
The temple at Kom Ombo is about 30 miles north of Aswan and was built during the Graeco-Roman period (332 BC AD 395). There was an earlier structure from the 18th dynasty but little remains. The temple is unique because…
The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut is uniquely different from all of the other temples in the region in its design and decoration. Most other temples were built with sandstone, but Hatshepsut’s temple is made with limestone. The architect who built the temple, Senimut, was thought to have been inspired by a nearby temple designed by Neb-Hept-Re, a sanctuary to the god Amun-Ra.
After a short afternoon sail and a delicious lunch on board the Sonesta Nile Goddess, we had our first outing to the Temple of Karnak. A brief history: construction at Karnak started 4,000 years ago and continued for about 2,000 years until the Romans took control of Egypt. In those 2,000 years, every ruler who worked at Karnak left some kind of architectural structure as part of their legacy. The entire site morphed significantly over the 2,000 years as temples, chapels and pylons were constantly being built and torn down at the whim of each new ruler. It is estimated that 30 pharaohs contributed to the site, which is how it came to be so large and diverse in construction.
All aboard the Sonesta Nile Goddess for a four night, five day cruise down the Nile River from Luxor to Aswan! The deluxe accommodations on board feature panoramic views from your bedroom, a full size bathtub with showerhead, in-room minibar, air conditioning, an outdoor pool on the sun deck and wireless internet connection. Included in the daily rate is a large breakfast and lunch buffet, as well as a la carte dinners. Evening entertainment includes a belly dance show, a quirky fun Galabya party and a Nubian Folkloric show.
