36 replies to this topic

[cmt489]

Okay, so now for the final trip reports.

The last time I posted we had just arrived in Luxor. All I can say is WOW!

We were privileged to be the guests of our friends who own the Meridian Hotel in Luxor. They have done a phenominal job on this hotel and we were pampered to say the least!

We first went to Karnak Temple which takes up 60 acres and took 1500 years to build. Even thousands of years later it is awe inspiring. I can't even imagine what it would have been like in its glory. Following Karnak we went to Luxor Temple which took a mere two hundred years to build. When in use there was a two mile stretch between the two temples which was lined with spinxes. They have uncovered some of them but the rest remain under churches, mosques and the police station so they will likely never be recovered.

The next day we had a very early morning leaving the hotel at 6:00 am to cross the Nile by boat and then boarded a hot air balloon for a ride over Luxor. It was phenominal to see the city from 2000 feet up. Prior to landing we glided over a sugar cane field and then ended up in a plowed farm field. After much interest from the farmer and his family we were then picked up and returned to the hotel. Later that same day we then made our way to the Temple of Deir el Bahari, the temple for the only female pharo, Queen Hatshepsut. This temple has been over 70% restored which is both a good and bad thing. Good since people can appreciate what the temple may have looked like but poor from an archaeological purist point of view. It was also the site of the tourist shootings in 1998. Security is now very high and I highly doubt that a repeat would be possible.

Following the Temple we made our way to the Valley of the Kings. The valley was chosen since it had become apparent that pyramids were becoming too obvious of a target to tomb robbers immediately following the death of the kings. Suffice to say that cremation and/or a simple memorial service was not what the royals had in mind in those days!

That night we had a celebratory dinner in honour of three birthdays and many got to dance with Barney's green cousin. The 5 course meal was the manifestation of excess but what great excess it was!

The next day had no tourinig planned and we wandered through the city of Luxor and the markets. Let's just say that being a tall blonde in those areas definitely attracts its fair share of attention!

That night we went to dinner at a hidden gem of a restaurant on the west bank. The hotel was magical.

The next morning we had yet another early morning flight (seems no one has explained to the Egyptians that it would not hurt anyone to fly past 6:00 am...) and made our way back to Cairo. We proceed straight from the airport to Waddy Dome (sp?), a resort area for Egyptians. We went for a little sail that day and then went for a walk on the beach only to discover that not only do people not want you on their private beaches (they can own the beach there) but that part of the reason is due to the fact that the area used to be riddled with land mines and they have not all been cleared out from unoccupied areas!

The next day it was into the car again to make our way to Alexandria.

[cmt489]

As far as Egyptian cities go, I have to say that Alexandria was by far my favorite. It is located on the Mediteranian and is by far the cleanest and most thought out city in Egypt that we saw. In the summer the beaches are crowded with people enjoying the sun and the water.

While there we had the opportunity to engage in the ultimate of wreck dives. We did two antiquity dives - one over the area of the ancient light house (one of the wonders of the ancient world) and the other over Cleopatria's palace. While advertised by the dive centre, only a limited number of divers can take these dives each year and we were able to be some of those divers. It is absolutely amazing to dive with spinxes, statues and remnants from an ancient wonder. There were also drinking chalaces, pillars and parts of buildings. On the site of Cleopatra's palace there was also a WWII Italian bi-plane that had crashed in the harbour. The pilot's gas mask is still in the plane. Unfortunately, I do not have any of these photos yet as my father's camer got flooded on this dive and the camera was lost. The good news is that the card still has the pictures so I will be able to download these soonl

[cmt489]

Our final day in Cairo was perhaps the most special. We were able to visit the orphanage which was started by our friends' mother in the 1950's following the coup d'etats in 1956. After seeing homeless children with nowhere to go, their mother rented and then bought a villa to create a home for these children. The orphanage now houses up to 450 children at a time from infants to young adults. In fact, the adult children live in separate residences in the orphanage until the time that they marry. They truly do become part of the extended family. The care in this orphanage is amazing. None of these children were wanting for attention, love, food or affection. It was one of the most heart warming experiences that I have ever had.

Following our visit to the orphanage we had our final meal with our friends and then had to say our goodbyes. We made our way to our hotel to clean up for our 3:45 am flight (are you beginning to see a trend with these flight times???) and our return to Canada. Exhausted but happy, we began our journey home...

[scubafanatic]

Thank you for your candid comments on the state of the diving in the Red Sea..... I've heard/read similiar reports elsewhere, ie., Undercurrents Mag. The Red Sea was on my list of 'dream' trips, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to afford to go there, but I appreciate your insight on where not-to-go with respect to the Red Sea, as given the expense of such a trip, it would be devastating to show up there and have such a pricy trip fall well short of expectations....hopefully all the diving pressure that's ruined the northern Red Sea won't be duplicated with everyone now migrating to the southern Red Sea.

Karl

[WreckWench]

I concur with Karl and have been working very hard putting together an intinerary that will avoid the damaged areas and focus on the few remaining ones that are still good. I'm hoping that CMT489 will help us finalize our plans so as to avoid the encounters she had that were less than optimal.

Thank you again Michelle for such a fantastic trip report. I got goose bumps reading most of it!

[cmt489]

You know that I am more than happy to help out as much as I can on the planning for this trip. Also, don't let me forget to give you some really good leads on hotels in Luxor.

[HadesNewGal]

Thanks for the trip report - it brings back good memories from 1986 when I was living in Cairo. The photos from Luxor are amazing. I walked most of ruins there (poor student at the time) and walked over the mountain from Hatshepsut's temple to the Valley of the Kings. Whew. I'm going to have to get out my photo album for a comparison.

If only I had gone to Sharm back then....

sighing
HNG