Egypt and Jordan

24 Nov to Sat 8 Dec 07 - We met up with Max, Ad and Katherine in Cairo for the start of our Egypt and Jordan tour with Traveltalk. Day One was definitely an icon-filled day - we saw the famous ancient wonders (Pyramids of Giza), the first step pyramid built by Imhotep and the Sphinx. Riding a camel across the Sahara Desert was a highlight for me. Our tour guide, Sam, also took us to an Egyptian parfumery where flower essences were used to make perfume oils which were then used by the big name perfume houses (eg. Chanel, Issey Miyake and Kenzo) for their base essences.



ASWAN - We took an overnight train from Cairo to Aswan and checked in at the new Cataract Hotel. The old Cataract Hotel next door was much nicer and was where Agatha Christie wrote "Death on the Nile". At Aswan, we saw the Philae Temple, the High Dam and the unfinished obelisk. Haggling at the Aswan markets was pretty fun to watch (Max and I were too chicken to do it so we watched Ad and Katherine in action). Also had a go at sheesha-ing which didn't do much for me since I only had one puff. Highlight for me was seeing the Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel. We woke up at 3am to follow the bus convoy (for safety reasons) on a 2 hour bus trip to Abu Simbel.



KOM OMBO - In the morning before we set off for Kom Ombo, Sam organised for our Nile cruiser group to experience a traditional felucca ride for an hour. We weren't brave enough to sail for 3 days on a felucca without a toilet and shower hence we chose to sail the Nile on a cruiseboat instead. After the felucca ride, our cruiser sailed north toweards the Kom Ombo Temple. The night view was spectacular. We saw a mummified croc at the Temple. The night was finished off with an Egyptian theme party. We tried to look as Egyptian as we could. Garry and I were asked to participate in a mummifying competition. Those of you who know us well will know that Garry does all the gift wrapping at home, so when I was asked to wrap Garry up in toilet paper, the end result was not a pretty sight!



EDFU - We went on a horse drawn carriage to the Edfu Temple. After the Temple visit, we sailed on the Nile towards Luxor and through the Esna Lock. We arrived in Luxor in the evening and went to see the Luxor Temple built by Pharaoh Amenhotep III.



VALLEY OF THE KINGS AND KARNAK - We experienced our first hot air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings and watched the sunrise from the balloon. After the ride, we visited the Valley of the Kings to see the tombs of pharoahs including the famous tomb of Tutankhamen then followed by the tombs of Egyptian workers. We also saw the Temple of Hatshepsut (the only queen ever to rule Egypt) and Karnak Temple.



DAHAB AND MOUNT SINAI - 3 days in Dahab was nice and relaxing. Ad told us that the Blue Hole was one of the top diving spots in the world. Max and I experienced our first introductory scuba dive. Thinking back, it was pretty hilarious. We were both taking so long to master the basic skills that in the end, the instructor gave up, told us to keep breathing and started pulling us into the sea. Snorkelling at the Blue Hole was great too, the reef was close to shore and we didn't have to swim out too far to see the amazing fish and coral. Another highlight was climbing Mt Sinai, allegedly climbed by Moses. We started the climb at about midnight and only got to the peak at about 6am. Ad & Garry opted for camels halfway up which was a smart thing to do. Max and I struggled the whole up, it didn't help too when my torch died halfway. But we managed to get to the top in time for sunrise! Of course, we had to make our way down the rocky terrain too. We visited St Catherine's Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai and saw the rose bush which was believed to be Moses' burning bush in the bible.



JORDAN - We cruised from Taba in Egypt to Aqaba, Jordan. First stop in Jordan was the Wadi Rum desert. Our first night was spent in a Bedouin (desert dwelling Arab nomads) tent and we tasted Bedouin style cooking (meat and potatoes cooked in a ground oven made of a steel barrel) at the camp. To minimise contact with the desert dirt, poor Garry slept in his day attire - jeans and jacket all zipped up with his hood fastened tightly over his head. Highlight for me was riding in an old beaten up Toyota Ute across the Wadi Rum desert and our Bedouin driver amusing us with his funny songs.

Second stop in Jordan was the ancient city of Petra, recently listed as one of the new 7 wonders of the world. It is an archaeological site famous for its rock cut architecture and where excavations are still currently being conducted to uncover more ancient buildings. According to Arab tradition, Petra is the spot where Moses struck a rock with his staff and water came forth. For those of you who are Indiana Jones fans will recognise the site featured in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Third stop in Jordan was Karak Castle (an old fortified town and castle referred to in the Bible as the fortress of Kir Heres 29 centuries ago). After the Castle visit, we were taken to the Dead Sea (the world's second saltiest body of water). We had fun floating in the Dead Sea and covering ourselves with the natural Dead Sea mud.



The last day of our tour was spent in Cairo. We visited the Egyptian Museum where we saw the artefacts from the Tomb of Tutankhamen and the mummified bodies of several pharoahs, including that of the most powerful pharoah in Egypt, Ramses II.