May 20 Safaga, Egypt Part 1


We left the ship at 6:30 am. Over 400 passengers were going to be taking this particular excursion. The main features for the first 2 hours, were sand, guard posts, and speed bumps. 
We were given a bag of snacks, and we headed due east, towards the Nile River.

I lost count of the number of times we had to stop before being waived through by the police. First the bus had to roll over several speed bumps to ensure that it slowed down sufficiently, and then a few seconds nodding at the police and we were warned, not to take any pictures of police or military.  There were rifle barrels sticking out of the towers, but I don't know whether the towers were manned or unmanned. Or whether the guns were even real.
The police were not that evident in the cities  but they were there for every crossing in every village.
 As soon as we entered the Nile Valley, there was an explosion of green.
And many cruise boats plying the Nile.
Horses and donkeys at times, seemed to be the prevalent mode of transportation used.
But when we saw parked cars, it was not unusual to see them completely covered up.

The Valley of the  Kings lies within these mountains.
and now entering the valley...
We were given access to 3 tombs of our choosing and one optional. There have been 63 discovered tombs (so far) and all were looted except for the last one that was discovered in the 1920s, the tomb of Tutankhumen, whose treasure is now safely in a museum.
Sizes of the tombs vary greatly. The largest one would be 700 ft. long. Many have multiple chambers. And the colors are dazzling.
It was only once the Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799 (now proudly displayed in the British Museum), that the key to translating the hieroglyphics became available. On the stone, there was a decree that was written in hieroglyphics, in a priest's language, and also in Greek. 3 lines all saying the same thing allowing for someone to break the code of the Egyptian language.



Popular posts from this blog

Short News Day, but Long Drive June 8

Image
Didn't meet anybody today, that we're haven't seen before. We didn't even see any moose. So instead, revisiting one of yesterday's moose (video previously unseen). https://photos.app.goo.gl/ DzXcyVVjjo345u9w6 .  Thank you for the indulgence. Not our quickest start in the morning but we finally pushed off at 9:30. Headed back south via the west coast and was keeping a keen eye open for whale spouts, but instead, only saw one small lost iceberg (not usually found outside iceberg alley).  At some point, also saw a boat in the distance, sticking up behind some trees. Knew that it was neither a fishing point nor a cruise ship, and had to get a closer look. And of course, it was the ferry, leaving for Labrador.  We had stopped at the ferry dock, during our north bound trip, but the ferry wasn't  there at the time. This time we caught it just as it was closing up and leaving. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ xUSKR4UgCJD48km8A Later on, we took a side ...
Read more

Tokyo april12

Image
Left on time . We arrived at the airport with loads of time to spare. I like when there's no pressure to get through security. No long line ups . Security was suspicious of my ankles (are they becoming too thick?) And made me giggle as they tickled them and then made me hop and skip (at my age!) to check my heels . Plane started to roll at 1:20. The safety talk was incorporated into Canadian travel videos (very cute). Oh, shit we fly over Russia! TMI? First bathroom run at 3Pm. Happy to report bathroom was still clean. In fact, the bathrooms never came close to reaching the disgusting levels we had encountered on other flights. How come I became less sleepy after a bottle of wine than before drinking? Wolfed down lunch. Either it was good or I was THAT ravenous. I picked the beef dish because it was supposed to come with potatoes, but I got rice. No matter....I was so hungry that later on, when they delivered a tuna fish roll for a snack, I ate that too (...
Read more

May 28 Piraeus (Athens)

Image
We arrived at Piraeus, and the end of our cruise, (final stats for second cruise) and without too much ado, we left the ship, having signed up for one last excursion, that would take us and our luggage, into Athens. Disembarkation is always early morning, and it was unlikely that our hotel would receive us until later. Also, had a few dollars left to spend in On Board Credits and was looking forward to climbing up to the Parthenon, one more time. Quick drive through what appeared to be a fairly prosperous city and then onto Athens. This was the Reader's Digest Condensed version of a tour.  Besides the Parthenon, there was only one additional stop, at a stadium, built in 330 BC. The only stadium in the world built completely out of marble. The first modern Olympics games were held here in 1896. A Roman marble throne from the head of the stadium is kept in the British Museum (will look for it the next time I'm there). The heart of Pierre de Co...
Read more