Hatshepsut, the Female Pharaoh

Hatshepsut lived from 1508-1458 BC. Egypt prospered during her peaceful twenty-two year reign. She was a prolific builder; many of her projects, including additions to Karnak temple and an abundance of statuary, future rulers claimed to be their own - hmmph, just like man. Although there were other female pharaohs, she was certainly the most successful. Her temple is a magnificent piece of architecture.

Hatshepsut's Striking Mortuary Temple surrounded by a spectacular ridge.

The goddess Nekhbet, guardian of Upper Egypt, in form of a vulture carrying a protective amulet.

Still beautiful reliefs.

The female ruler depicted as Osiris with a pharaonic beard.

A typical tourist.

View from the top of the temple. The Valley of the Kings lies on the other side of this ridge.

Hatshepsut built many obelisks. Unfortunately this one cracked during construction and has sat unfinished in this Aswan granite quarry for three and half thousand years.

Ships of the Desert

About eight of us from the tour group woke up early one morning for a desert camel ride. We journeyed for about 40 minutes to the remnants of a monastery.

Camels for the most part are rather docile animals, and, contrary to popular opinion, do not spit at people. I quite liked Omar the camel and his handler Saleem.

Once we arrived at our destination we were greeted by our guide who I swear could open in Vegas. Hilarious! Yala, yala habibi.

Into the desert we go.

Our charming host.

Framing the subject.

On my camel Omar. That's the monastery in the background.

Omar and his handler

The monastery

Up, up and Away...

When I booked this tour, one of the options was hot air ballooning. I have a fear of heights and assumed getting into an oversized wicker basket hanging from a balloon 1500 feet in the air would be terrifying. Not so - it's very gentle. The scenery over Luxor was breathtaking.

Just before we took off. I may look relaxed but I'm real nervous. We just completed the "bend your knees" drill. Essentially if we have a hard landing this exercise will save us from knee damage. Lucky us we had a smooth landing.

Hatshepsut's Temple - very impressive

Sugarcane - it looks like a carpet from up here.

Our balloon

Assorted tombs

The Ramesseum, dedicated to Ramses II, from the balloon. Maybe it's just me, but it seems RII insisted on littering the countryside with temples and statues dedicated to himself.

Abydos & Dendera Temples

Abydos was the equivalent of Mecca to the ancient Egyptians. Every citizen wanted to visit this sacred city; if that wasn't possible during their lifetime at least be buried in it's proximity. This was the first intact temple we toured and I was truly impressed. It was built in 1300BC by Seti 1 and his son Ramses II.






Hathor temple was one of my favorite temples. Hathor is the goddess of love, motherhood and joy. Many of the temples were turned into churches and because of this the faces of the Egyptian deities were chipped away. Half of the temple has been restored, which revealed the beautiful colors. The temple must have been a vision in its day.

Unfortunately Hather's face has been chipped away but you can see her cow ears and her headdress. I like to call these the CowGirl Capitols.

This photograph is somewhat out of focus, but I'm sure you can make out the "Bird People". The ancient Egyptians believed the individual's personality turned into this creature after death, which was referred to as the Ba. The Ba was unique to every person.

On the flipside, the Ka was the life force and was the same for everyone. Once the Ba and Ka united, it became the Akh. The Akh is the form the deceased took in the afterlife. Having said that, and with no disrespect meant to the Ancient Egyptians, I think the Ba is kind of goofy looking but rather endearing at the same time.

Parts of the temple were poorly lit so I pointed my flashlight at the wall and this is the result.

Here is a good example of what the temple looked like before cleaning. People lived and of course cooked in the temples which left soot-stained interiors. No doubt cleaning the temples is a long, painstaking and expensive job.

Egyptian Museum, Markets and more Pyramids

It’s a dark and stormy night in Cairo. I’ve spent the past few days visiting the sites. The tour started today; we have an Egyptologist accompanying us and he is giving lectures and assignments. Essentially I’ve gone to Egypt school.

Mostly my fellow travelers are 40+. We're half North Americans and the rest are Brits. Surprisingly there's no Australians.

Without exception every tourist destination (including this hotel) has airport level security. One and all is passed through a metal detector, and the ubiquitous guards are armed with machine guns. Tomorrow we leave Cairo, and the tour director informed us we will have a police escort through the Western Desert.

Coptic Cairo
Hanging Church
A small percentage of Egyptians are Christian. This church is built on the remains of a Roman tower. This place of worship isn’t actually hanging from the tower it’s sitting on top. Although part of the tower has been dismantled, it is obvious this structure was built to last. Vancouver builders may want to take note.

It is said that Jesus and his folks stayed in this location for three months; the family roamed Egypt for three years.

The Roman Tower

Church Interior

Newer Mosaics in Church Courtyard

The Hanging Church

Islamic Cairo
Mohammad Ali Mosque
Although slightly tarnished, this mosque covered with alibaster is worth a visit. This mosque is approximately 200 years old; it overlooks the city.









Khan El Khalili Market
This 600 years old market or souq is bursting with Middle East trinkets; each merchant’s main goal in life is to extract as many tourist dollars as possible. Although a bit of an assault on the senses – I thought it was fun. Did manage to bargain a scarf down to $10 from $30. It felt like a deal!








Tutankamen exhibit and worth the price of admission.



The Pyramids
Over the three weeks I was in Egypt I visited the Giza plateau three times. My first visit a pest named Ali followed me around for an hour trying to convince me to ride his camel. These guys will not take no for an answer. Don’t make the same mistake I did….just ignore them. Arrrgh….

To get away from the "vermin" I entered the interior of the Great Pyramid. You must navigate a steep 100-foot tunnel before getting to a much roomier corridor. Everything, in the tomb, of course, was removed long ago. Apparently, many of the thefts were inside jobs. I was surprised to find absolutely no interior decoration; the elaborate painting and carving came later in the tombs and temples.

When on tour we visited the Pharaoh’s Boat Museum located next to Khufu the largest pyramid. The 3000-year-old boat was designed to carry the Pharoah to the afterlife. I finally saw the Sphinx, which is not next to the pyramids like it looks in pictures, it's located down a hill.

When I returned to Cairo after the tour I went horseback riding around Giza, and the desert beyond. Quite enjoyed the ride but three hours on Sheba was probably over my limit - ouch!

The Tour

This is our route.