Egypt Reflections
Returning from one of our trips to the Valley of the Kings at Luxor, we waited on this boat to cross the Nile.
You can just see Luxor Temple in the background through one of the arches.
Jo & I in action at Aswan. In the background is a monstrous tower – totally out of keeping with the surroundings – part of an hotel on the historic Elephantine Island.
This was taken at Luxor Temple at dusk. Anything more iconic than ancient ruins & palm trees in silhouette?
I liked the carpets on the walls of this shop on the main Corniche el Nil on the banks of the Nile at Aswan.
Outside the main tourist haunts in Edfu, this man was smoking a hookah and just watching the world go by…
I have read that certain organisations are discouraging tourists from taking these carriage rides as the horses are not well looked after. This one seems to have his ribs showing. Needless to say we didn’t take any such carriage rides at Edfu or elsewhere.
The Unfinished Obelisk at Aswan. It would have been the world’s tallest obelisk at nearly 42 meters and weighing over 1,000 tons. Unfortunately part way through the initial carving, a flaw was discovered, so for over 3,000 years it has just lain here embarrassingly redundant.
A guide is unflustered by a group of baboons exposing themselves at Luxor Temple.
Smile at the birdie… – at Luxor
A mounted policeman on the Giza plateau with Cairo in the background.
I can’t say that we were enamoured with Cairo, the city itself. There didn’t seem to be any style, character or charm about the city. Most of the buildings in the centre were frankly old, tatty and dirty. The driving in Cairo is diabolical – worse than Delhi.
I liked the water seller
Beyond the Citadel, the one thing that was special was the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. It adjoins Tahrir Square (scene of periodic popular demonstrations). Now this really is a fabulous place with its own special charm! It is overflowing with treasures. There are unopened crates in the corridors and not everything is necessarily well labelled. In other words it has that “earnest-amateur-from-a-bygone-age” feel about it. We loved this museum and visited it twice. The Tutankhamun exhibits were truly spectacular, so much beautiful detailed workmanship. My father visited during WWII when valuable gold exhibits were displayed openly on plain tables & he could pick them up to examine them. He said that there was an armed guard in every room. However he did also say that they were either mostly asleep or high on hashish. & no he didn’t purloin anything! It is difficult to envisage that sort of environment nowadays. A different age then. The museum is being moved to a new purpose built site in Giza. It just won’t be the same.
Unfortunately absolutely no photography inside (forget about any backsheesh).
One of the first exhibits you see as you enter is the Narmer Palette, which is also at about 5,000 years old – one of its oldest treasures. Some comments on it here.
Ann, Jo & me enjoying excellent food on our boat on the Nile. Egypt was a unique experience that we all thoroughly enjoyed.
