Egypt is a remarkable country. A giant dessert with the beautiful river Nile cutting through it’s centre, bringing life to it’s banks.
Landing in Cairo late on Friday, I managed to get to my bed for around 12:30am. Having arrived early for the tour, I was given an extra day trip starting at 5.30am, being taken to the famous city of Alexandria. Here I witnessed an old fort that was built where they believe the ancient lighthouse once stood.
The tour properly began on Sunday. Today I was given a lie in, and was out of the hotel for 8am. Our first stop was at the Cairo Museum of Antiquities. A building full of artefacts from thousands of years ago.
Here I witnessed the most famous artefact in history. The death mask of Tutankhamen – a priceless golden headpiece – it was stunning. A room dedicated to the young king has this as the centre piece, with two of his smaller coffins and other trinkets from his past – such as his favourite dagger, with which the blade was made from iron from a meteorite!
After the museum we took a short trip to the famous pyramids of Giza. After climbing on them we were given a camel tour around so we could fully appreciate these giant ancient buildings. Next, fat old me squeezed myself inside the centre pyramid and made my way to the tomb inside. It was very cool. Next we popped down the road to visit the famous Sphinx and take a few more pictures
After an overnight train we spent the day relaxing on a cruise ship and visiting some markets.
At 3am the next day took a 3 hour coach to the temple Abu Simbel, in honour of the great Pharoh Ramses II. This giant temple was carved into a mountain with the most beautiful artwork inside. The outside statues were gigantic, I stood next to the fallen head of one of the statues and it was far taller than me.
We visited the temples of Kom Ombo and Luxor. The former worshipping Horus and some crocodile god (they had mummified crocodiles!) and the other temple being built by several pharohs. At Luxor we saw one of the best preserved obelisks around!.
Another busy day entailed as we took an early morning balloon ride before visiting the valley of the kings. After seeing some grand tombs, I visited King Tut’s burial chamber. A tiny tomb compared to his fellow Pharohs, here I saw his remains and the giant gold coffin. Soon this tomb will be closed to the public – it was amazing.
Next we visited the temple of Queen Hatshepsut. She reigned for twenty years – no other queen even came close to such a reign in a period where only men could be pharoh.
Finally we visited Karnak – the biggest temple in Egypt. Built over centuries, this temple was mind boggling. The size and art was just beautiful. It was a perfect way to end a magical tour of the ancient civilisation of Egypt. Following this we enjoyed a quick trip to Hurghada for a boat party before returning to Cairo where I sadly returned to the UK.
Alex on Tour 