Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian and traveller, once wrote of Egypt that 'nowhere are there so many marvelous things... nor in the world besides are to be seen so many things of unspeakable greatness'; he also described Egypt as the 'Jewel of the Nile'.
Since long before the birth of Christ, travellers have been drawn to this country by the images of pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, Luxor and the Nile. The reigns of the pharaohs, Greeks, Romans, Turks, and English have all left their traces and modern Egypt is a combination of these legacies and the influence of Islam and the 21st century.
The sheer scale of Egypt is awe-inspiring. In terms of size, its river, deserts, monuments and modern cities are all without serious rival in the Middle East and Africa. The history represented in major buildings like the pyramids, the written word in hieroglyphic forms and the complex religious philosophies of the ancient past are nowhere so perfectly developed as in Egypt. Egypt's long timeline is encompassing more than 5,000 years of civil government in the downstream lands of the Nile. Various religions touched Egypt and gave new architectures, cities and ways of life to enrich the pharaonic past. And there is a modern Egypt pulsating with vibrant life as 60 million people set about modernization and economic growth in the 21st century. - Clay-brick villages stand next to ruins from the pharaohs' time, surrounded by buildings made of brick, steel and glass. Bedouins live in goatskin tents and farmers till the earth with the simple tools of their ancestors. Some city dwellers are dressed in long gowns (Galabea), while others in blue jeans and Nikes and the traffic competes for a place with donkey carts and free-ranging goats. Contrasts were never so brilliantly etched on an ancient landscape.
In order to get a slight idea of the rich ancient Egyptian history and to visit the thousands-of-years-old temples and remnants of the Pharaohs, Oli and I decided for a-week-long-cruise along the Nile.
Following the program:
Day 1 (Thursday)
Flight Vienna - Luxor (3:10 pm - 8:30 pm)
Embarking on the Magic Life Regent
Day 2 (Friday)
Morning: Temple of Karnak, Temple of Luxor
Noon: Leaving for Edfu, passing the lock of Esna
Evening: Guided Tour on the Ship, Management Presentation
Day 3 (Saturday)
Morning: Horus Temple in Edfu
Noon: Sobek and Haroeris Temple in Kom Ombo
Afterwards leaving for Aswan
Evening: Nubian Night
Day 4 (Sunday)
Morning: Aswan High Dam, Granite Quarries and The Unfinished Obelisk, Philae Temple of Isis on Agilika Island, visiting a perfumery
Afternoon: Visiting a Nubian Village
Evening: Shopping at Aswan Bazaar
Day 5 (Monday)
Early Morning: Abu Simbel
Afternoon: Sailing with a felucca to the Botanical Garden on Kitchener Island
Evening: Galabea Night
Day 6 (Tuesday)
Morning: Leaving for Esna
Noon: Visiting the Khnum Temple in Esna
Afterwards leaving for Luxor.
Afternoon: Information on Country and People
Evening: Candle Light Dinner
Day 7 (Wednesday)
Morning:
Thebes West: Valley of the Queens, Valley of the Kings, Colossi of Memnon, Alabaster Factory
Deir El-Bahari: Hatshepsut Temple
Afternoon: Relaxing
Evening: Belly Dancing and Dervish
Day 8 (Thursday)
Check Out at 9 a.m.
Shopping at Luxor Bazaar
Relaxing on the ship
Flight Luxor - Hurghada - Vienna (6:20 p.m. - 11:05 p.m.)
Click either on a day you're interested in or start with Day 1 and go on chronologically.
Click on the following link to find some more pictures on our ship, cruising along the Nile, evening programmes and people!
I hope you gonna enjoy my pictures and hopefully I'm able to arouse your interest for the ancient Egyptian history and the country itself - it's for sure worth a visit... or even more!
I'm definitely going back to Egypt as there is still a lot more I want to see (Cairo, the pyramids of Giza, Sinai peninsula, etc.). See you there!!!
Egyptian Tourist Authority
Egypt Treasures
The Ancient Egypt Site
Eternal Egypt
Egypt State Information Service
Lonely Planet - Destination Egypt
Magic Life
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