Giza pyramids
Half animal half human: me or the sphinx?
Ottoman Cemetary wanted to share in the prestige of the Ancient Egyptian Cemetary.
Inside the great Pyramid... photos not permitted inside... narrow tunnel leads up to the tomb chamber with a few blocked traps along the way.
Atrocious: garbage everywhere. Arab Egyptians don't tend to these monuments of mankind... "holy" pilgrimage sites for the religion of tourism are neglected-- littered with toilet paper, empty bottles, wrappers, etc... and it the garbage stinks too!
The "Antiquities Office"... this is all they could muster for the great pyramids of Egypt? A shabby little hole in the ground.
Sunset over the pyramids
Despite the bad conditions all around, the sphinx's gaze is still mesmerizing and mysterious. Ancient stoic pride.
A camel free to do his business on the sidewalk in Giza
Inside the deluxe Sleeper train
Hike up to the Nobles' Tombs in Aswan
Inside one of the Aswan tombs
Dilapidated archeological dig at Nobles' Tombs in Aswan. Baskets are full of Human bones!
Deadly pit to punish potential tomb robbers like myself
Nile river, at the top of the desert cliff on the East Bank, across the river from Aswan, above the Nobles' Tombs, looking south.
Inside the Noble's Tombs at Aswan
In Aswan, an entire island is a botanical garden... I spent Tu Bishvat there.
Kapok Tree on Aswan's Botanical Garden Island
My Felucca
I couldn't bring myself to do the titanic pose...
Felucca (sail boat) at Elephantine Island. Rocks look like elephants? Maybe also a center for ivory trade.
My two Felucca guides.
Muddy maze that is the Nubian Village
Real (dead) crocodile at the Nubian village on Elephantine Island.
Mud bricks out to dry in the Nubian Village at Elephantine Island in Aswan.
Mud bricks stacked.
View from the window for 5 hours each way- hundreds of miles of nothingness on the road to the Baharriya Oasis from Cairo.
Abu Simbel I came on a local bus as opposed to the tourist convoys-- and had the entire site practically to myself.
Ramses II Close up at Abu Simbel
Proud Pharaoh humbling himself, kneeling below the Gods, before his own deification.
With the slaves at Abu Simbel
The Egyptians were ruthless and proud of it. Here, Pharoe prepares to decapitate a Hittite captive while his queen watches in admiration. This scene is repeated often throughout the temples and tombs.
Abu Simbel from atop the fake mountain. This whole hill was moved to protect it from back floods caused by Aswan Dam. But apparently I wasn't supposed to go here to the top-- the guards yelled and pushed and made a show to scare into paying them something but it didn't work.
In that small van, smaller than a Sienna, they squeezed 15 Egyptians and 1 Israeli.
Simple lunch: Bread with cheese or Halwa with pickled veggies.
Arab bathrooms: no toilet seat and no toilet paper. How do they live???
Nile Cruise ships. Luxurious but you're stuck with the groups' pace and the tour guide's decisions.
Stone roof beams. Color is original to the ancients- not repainted.
Purification pool at Edfu Temple
Hitite Slaves' faces hatefully bashed in at Kom Ombu
Poor slave. Ouch.
I tried to avoid these tourists hordes at all times, but sometimes they were inevitable. Arriving in bus convoys escorted by police, or deboarding massive cruise ships, you can smell these hosts of retired Koreans, Germans, and French. They reek of old-lady perfume mixed with sun screen and deodorant, and follow an umbrella-wielding leader like lemmings. They obstruct vision, create lines, interfere in photos... but everyone wants to say that they saw the wonders of Egypt...
Kom Ombu temple
Behind the temple at Edfu- giant carvings
Ceiling of Edfu temple (I think... starting to lose track of temples!)
Massive columns
The corridors of Kom Ombu Temple
The inner sanctum at the Edfu temple-- the holy of holies.
Temple of Horus at Edfu.
The van went over a bump and the curtain fell down to reveal a broken rear window, with the wiper hanging loose.
An army of tourist carriages arrives from a cruise ship or something... Luxor (tourist Mecca)
Obelisk at Luxor. Its twin brother is in Paris.
Row of Sphinxes at Luxor Temple
Sunset on the nile, Luxor, with mosque and palm trees in the horizon.
Illegal photo from the mummification museum in Luxor.
Luxor Temple at night
The backpackers' hostel where I stayed. Reasonably clean beds, free internet, breakfast, unsteady hot water, private bathroom, all for 25 Egyptian Pounds (barely $5!)
On the roof of the Nubian Oasis Hotel
Irrigation along the nile- sugar cane, date palms, and vegetables- fertile well-watered farm land in contrast to the arid mountains beyond.
Fascinating diagram showing underground tunnels in the valley of the kings.
Two cool Canadian cats I met, joined me in the shortcut from the Valley of the Kings to Queen Hatshepsut's Temple
Above Hatshepsut's Temple
Queen Hatshepsut temple flooded with tourists
Queen Hatshepsut statue in her temple. She put on a fake beard and wore men's clothing and crown. The people of Egypt resented having a female ruler... maybe Hillary Clinton should also try a fake beard.
At Hatshepsut's temple, workers carrying the Obelisk
Our guide in Thebes, Marwa.
This genial man was originally my roommate on the sleeper train. I subsequently bumped into him several times throughout my tour as we both worked our way up the Nile. He was into meditation, and was interesting but funny to talk to.
Very smooth warm black stone, original to antiquity.
Karnak Temple, Luxor.
This is bad-- I bribed a policeman and he went to far and even urged me to go sit there and take photo. This was at Karnak after the site closed!
Flare of the palm tree echoed in the ancient pillars
Sunrise through the ubiquitous palms from the sleeping train
In an ghetto underground tunnel on the way
Muhammad Ali Mosque Window
Cairo traffic.
This clock was a gift from France in exchange for the Obelisk. It was broken upon delivery and was never fixed!
Mohammed Ali Mosque
Sheik Suleman Pasha mosque.
The Citadel, Cairo
Cairo typical crowded intersection
Simple dinner: Pita, egg, cucumber, tomato, and cheese. I don't ask for anything more.
Hot springs at Baharriya. The hut behind houses the water pump which also serves as changing room.
I went for a walk away from the oasis after my guides bailed out. Ran into an unlucky donkey.
Climbed a rocky hill near the Baharriya Oasis in the Western Desert.
Desert plant at night, near Baharriya oasis
Crystal Mountain arches
Mushroom and Chicken in the White Desert
Rocky denizens of the otherwordly White Desert
Kind looks like Horus doesn't it? Or have I been to too many temples?
Camels- now used mostly for tourism.
In an Arab airport: strange to see destinations such as Tripoli, Khartoum, Sanaa (Yemen), Damascus. Scary.
