Egypt Odessy
I fell in love with Ancient Egyptian art in college, so it been a long held dream of mine to visit and last year I made it a reality. As much as I enjoy crafting my own itinerary, for this trip I chose to go with a curated group trip through Goway Travels.
I flew 10+ hours from JFK to Doha, then Cairo, where I was greeted by the tour concierge, he was a dream, he handled the luggage and whisked me through customs in less than 15min.
Giza, Cairo
My first day in Egypt was an early one. I met up my small group of 8 travelers and we set off t tour the Pyramids of Giza. There’s nothing more magical than watching as the peaks of the three pyramids rise on the horizon as you drive along the dusty, palm lined highway. Upon arrival our guide gave us a brief history of the pyramids and the Pharoah who built them, we had the opportunity to make the climb inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu and I definitely wanted to check that off my list. Now be warned, this is not for the faint of heart, it was a comfortable 80degree morning when we arrived but the temperatures inside the pyramid is intensified. It’s tight and not the most comfortable, as you make your way up the wooden ramps lining the path, other visitors are attempting to exist, so after the occasional awkward side turn I made it to the burial chamber, where it’s even hotter. There are no hieroglyphs or a sarcophagus to view but it does give you a firsthand experience of what it would’ve been like to work inside the pyramid.
Luxor
On day 2, we flew from Cairo to Luxor, leaving behind the the bustling, noisy streets of Cairo, for the lush and green city of Luxor. It is such a different vibe here, almost suburban, the air is cleaner and streets are less congested. I was anticipating the next 5 days days cruising up the Nile while visiting ancient tombs and temples.
Another early day, but if you want to beat the crowds and noon-day heat, sacrifices must be made. The tombs were a wonder, walls covered in hieroglyphs with color so vivid they could have been applied yesterday. To think that these amazing works are over 3000 years old! I was definitely in my element , this took my right back to Art History Class at F.I.T.
Temple of Horus - at the entrance of the temple you are greeted by two awe inspiring granite statues of Horus, depicted as a falcon. The temple is beautifully preserved and quite extensive inside. This also another immensely popular site and quite crowded when we arrived, so go early if you can. I loved being able to walk around outside the entire temple as well, which is also covered in hieroglyphs depicting scenes from Egyptian mythology.
In Egyptian mythology, the city of Edfu was the site of the epic battle between Horus and his uncle Seth.
From Edfu, we sailed up to Nile to Kom Ombo to visit the Temple of Sobek - the temple at sunset is a stunner, in spite of being badly damaged I found it to be simply enchanting at sunset, bathed in golden light it was almost ethereal. This temple is unique in that it is dedicated to two gods, Haroeris ( Horus the Elder) and Sobek. There’s also a vey unique Crocodile Museum onsite with large mummified crocodiles and eggs, definitely unexpected but intriguing. We walked from our ship to the temple and I will tell you that the street peddlers, both adults an children and pretty persistent. It is the culture but it can be a bit much for some. Pro tip, just don’t engage.
Aswan (Land of Gold)
The final leg of our tour took us to the Temple of Philae and the Aswan Dam.
The Temple of Philae, a UNESCO Heritage site, was dismantled and moved to it’s present location on Agilikia Island after facing flooding when Aswan dam was constructed. Travel to the temple requires a short boat ride from the Marina Philae Temple, across the Blue Nile. I see why Egyptian refer to it as the Blue Nile, t the waters in the north are truly a shimmering navy blue, it’s absolutely stunning!
The Temple of Philae is dedicated to the goddess Hathor, and is one of the last places that the Egyptian religion survived after the influx of Christianity. The temple complex is a mixture of temples, shrines and sanctuaries. I really enjoyed my time here, taking in the views from this little oasis while exploring the shrines. It’s truly amazing to be able to see ancient history up close, there is nothing to compare with this experience.
Fun Fact: The island is also home to lots of cats, so the cat lover in me got a kick out of that!
The Aswan Dam was the very last stop on this world wind tour, an amazing feet of engineering, which controls the annual flooding of the Nile and provided irrigation for farming and fishing and the reclamation in areas of the surrounding desert.
Cairo
After a short 1.5 hr flight we were back in Cairo to spend our last 2 days. I took the opportunity for a private tour of the soon to be opened Grand Egyptian Museum; more to come on this in my next entry.
Summary:
Was it worth it to book a guided tour, absolutely. No worrying about the logistics, transport, entry fees or security. This is 100% percent worth my peace of mind for a trip of a lifetime!
