Egypt 2002
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In the spring of 2002 I went to Egypt with
Ilona. Our hotel was located at walking distance from the pyramids. The
interesting thing is that the pyramids are built on a plateau which is a bit higher
than the surrounding area. It was impressive to be back but since the last
time I visited, the area is much more built up and touristy. |
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The Egyptian Museum in Cairo must be one of
the most interesting museums in the world. It’s collection is too large for
the building that houses it and it seems that every square centimeter of the
museum is filled with ancient Egyptian artifacts. The most striking parts of the
collection to me are the many items from the small tomb of Tutankhamen and
the mummies of the old pharaoh’s. I
can spend hours and hours exploring this museum without ever being bored. |
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From Cairo we went South. With an intermediate step in Hurgada we drove
al the way down to Aswan, where the famous high dam in the Nile was built. In
Aswan we made an excursion to the dam and to the Philea temple which were
moved to prevent them from flooding when Lake Nasser behind the dam filled
up. The next three days we spent peacefully on a ship, floating down stream
and visiting some ancient sites along the way. Every night we had a beautiful
sunset on a river fringed with palm trees with yellow and red clouds in the
sky and the dessert never far away. |
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The end of the voyage was Luxor, the starting point for trips to the
valley of the kings. As we arrived in Luxor in the evening, the temple
complexes of both Luxor and nearby Karnak were
already closed. The Karnak temple complex is one of the largest and nicest in
the whole of Egypt. Fortunately we able to get tickets for the sound and
light show, which was a bit bombastic but offered a nice opportunity to see
the temple. The next day we crossed the Nile and visited to Valley of the
Kings. On the way there we stopped at the Colossi of Memnon. |
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One of the highlights of this trip without any doubt was the visit to
the Valley of the Kings, the burial place for a large number of
Pharaoh’s. The surrounding area is dry, rocky and barren but once you enter
into the tombs you are in an other world. Most of the artwork is over 2000
years old but some of it looks like it was painted just a few years ago. Most paintings show scenes from the Egyptian afterlife. |
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One of the bigger temples on the West Bank is the Temple of Hatshepsut. It was built
in the rock face and was the last temple we visited. On our way back to Cairo
we made an other stop in Hurgada to relax a bit on the Red Sea. |
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Before flying home we had a few more things to see in and around Cairo.
First of all the step pyramid at Sakkara, the oldest pyramid in Egypt. Then
we visited the busy bazaar in the centre of the city as a farewell for Cairo
and Egypt. |
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