Tag: Cairo

Egypt- The Land of the Pharaohs Day 12 & Day 13

Tuesday, March 26th and 27th, 2019

Today we took our motorcoach back to Cairo.  It was about a two and a half hour drive back to Cairo and to our hotel for the night.  We saw a lot of baked Arabic bread being sold along the streets as we traveled.IMG_9279One last look at the Giza Pyramids as we arrived in Cairo.IMG_5591.JPGSome of the people in our group wanted to purchase some Egyptian cotton items so our guide had our bus driver stop at a cotton store in town called Funky Brothers.  They carried all kinds of cotton items like clothing, scarves, sheets, etc…

Then on to our last hotel stay in Cairo!IMG_0449

Below are a few pictures from the JW Marriott Cairo that we stayed at our last night in Cairo.  It was quite a beautiful resort.

The next morning, Wednesday, March 27th was a very long day as we left for the airport and our long journey home!  There was a lot of security at the airport!IMG_6520

Our flight left Cairo around 9:30 AM (3:30 AM EST) and arrived at JFK in NYC around 3:30 PM.  It was a 12 hour flight.  Our layover in New York was about 4 1/2 hours.  We arrived home close to 11:30 PM.  So it was a 24 hour travel day!  We had so many incredible experiences in Egypt!  This blog only touches part of our adventures in Egypt!

 

 

 

Egypt- The Land of the Pharaohs Day 10

Sunday, March 24th, 2019

This morning we left Cairo for a scenic motorcoach ride to Alexandria which is located on the Mediterranean coast!

IMG_5354 Our guide for Alexandria, Ihab.

When we got to Alexandria, our first stop was the Serapeum and Pompey’s Pillar.

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The remains of the Temple of Serapeum.
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Pompey’s Pillar
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Underground ancient annex library of Alexandria.

After walking around the temple ruins and the artifacts garden, we headed to the Catacomb of Kom El Shoqafa which means “Mound of Shards”.  It was named this because of all of the broken pottery found in the catacombs.  Archeologists believe that family members would bring food and drink with them down into the catacombs in ancient times and they didn’t want to bring the glasses, dishes, etc… home with them so they would shatter them and leave them in the catacomb!

It was asked that visitors do not take any pictures in the Catacomb of Kom El Shoqafa and we respected that request.  It was very interesting to walk down the stone steps which consisted of 3 levels of cut solid rock and the rock-cut tombs.  This Catacomb is considered one of the seven wonders of the middle ages.

We had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean Sea!IMG_5410

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Part of our tour group at the restaurant.

We had a late lunch and by the time we finished it was time to get to our hotel, the Hilton Alexandria, and check in!  Our hotel was located across the street from the Mediterranean sea.

Some of our group had rooms that looked out over the sea.  Our room faced the city but it was a suite so we had plenty of room and a nice balcony!  We wanted to walk over to the Mediterranean and put our feet in the water but it was extremely windy and the waves were really high, so we decided we would head over there tomorrow when the weather was to be much better!

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The view from our hotel room.

Egypt- The Land of the Pharaohs Day 9

Saturday, March 23rd, 2019

Our first stop this morning was a visit to the Giza Pyramids, the last remaining wonder of the ancient world and the Sphinx.

Great Pyramid of Khufu
Egyptologists believe that  Khafre’s father, Pharaoh Khufu, built the Great Pyramid, the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in Giza

There are still ongoing excavations on the Giza Plateau.  Evidence from the finding of a builders’ settlement, shows more evidence that the Giza Pyramids were built not by slaves but a skilled work force.  After exploring the area, we then went to visit the sphinx.

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The Sphinx is a statue made out of limestone.  It is 240 feet long and 66 feet high!  . Egyptologists believe from studying hieroglyphs that when Khafre became Pharaoh, he constructed his own pyramid next to his father’s and even though Khafre’s pyramid is shorter than the Great Pyramid, it is surrounded by a more elaborate complex that includes the Great Sphinx.

We also experienced a camel ride at the Giza plateau!  When getting on the camel make sure you hold on tightly!

After our camel ride, we visited Sakkara (Saqqara).  It is a large burial ground and where pyramid building first started.  We saw the Step pyramid.

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Step Pyramid of Zoser

Pyramid of Unas

Below are pictures of the Temple at the Step Pyramid.

More pictures from the Saqqara Necropolis.

On our way back to our hotel, we stopped by a carpet school. They gave us a demonstration on how they weave the carpets.  This is a trade that is passed down in families.

Dinner was on our own this evening so we ventured out to a Hard Rock Cafe.  Our guide set up an Uber to take us to the restaurant and wait for us and then take us back to our hotel.  Traffic was horrendous and our driver missed the drive so a 20 minute drive took over 45 minutes.  We were concerned about having enough time to eat because most Hard Rock Cafe’s are extremely busy.  Well, when we finally arrived, we were the only customers wanting a table.  The host told us that they couldn’t sell any alcohol!  We were there with another couple so we laughed because we hadn’t ever dined at a Hard Rock that wasn’t extremely busy!

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Our waiter explained that it basically was politics that they couldn’t get their liquor license approved.  We enjoyed our meal and made it back to our hotel without any issues!

Egypt- The Land of the Pharaohs Day 8

Friday, March 22nd, 2019

This morning we visited the temple of Karnak on the east bank of Luxor.  It is a massive temple complex.  Construction began about 4,000 years ago and continued until about 2,000 years ago.  It was an impressive area.IMG_3944

Avenue of Sphinxes
Avenue of Sphinxes

The Temples of Karnak complex is the largest.

Great Temple of Amon
Great Temple of Amon
Great Temple of Amon

After we finished our visit and tour of the Temples of Karnak, we went back to our riverboat to pack and head to the Luxor airport for our flight back to Cairo.  We stayed in the same hotel where our trip began, the Conrad Cairo hotel.  By the time we arrived at our hotel it was time for a late dinner and we relaxed in our hotel room because tomorrow was going to be another busy day.

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The view of the Nile from our hotel room.