Upper Egypt

November 29 - Luxor

We flew from Cairo to Luxor where we were picked up at the airport and taken to our home for the next four days: The Royal Lotus Cruise Ship.

Our adventure in Upper Egypt began with meeting our awesome tour group our gorgeous tour guide, Awr. I’m not going to lie, the Egyptians are beautiful people.

Our first stop was Karnak (Temple of Amun). This temple is one of the worst preserved temples in the Nile Valley area, but that doesn’t mean it’s not beautiful. The pillars and statues were breath taking. In the temple is a large statue of a scarab. Awr told us that if we walk around it 3 times we would have good luck and if we walk around it 7 times we would get married. I immediately started off to get some luck. After my 3 laps my mom told me to keep going so I could get married. I resented, but finished my laps anyways.

After Karnak we went to the Luxor Temple (Temple of Mut). Outside this temple was two huge colossi statues and an obelisk. There use to be another obelisk but it was given to France and is now in Paris. The two temples are only a few miles apart and they use to be connected by the Avenue of the Sphinx. Unfortunately, most of the sphinx were destroyed or built over but the city is in the process of uncovering them.

November 30 - Thebes
Across the Nile from Luxor is Thebes. The temples were all built on the east bank and the tombs of the pharaohs are all located on the west bank. This is symbolic of the rising and setting sun. The sun sets in the west and this represents death; hence this is where the kings were buried.After spending the night on our cruise ship we headed out early to Thebes. We crossed the Nile on a motor boat and were met on the other side by our bus. 

Our first stop was the Valley of the Kings. Sorry the pictures are limited because we were not allowed to take pictures inside the tombs. But take my word for it, they are beautiful! There are 63 tombs in the Valley of the Kings that have been discovered and they were digging for more of them while we were there. We were able to go into 5 of the tombs: Ramses IV, Ramses I, Ramses IX, Tutankhamon (we saw his mummy, may he rest in peace), and Ramses VI.

Next, we went to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. She was one of the few women to rule Egypt. She would dress like a man and claim divine right so that no one would question her as a Pharaoh and she is also the only woman to be buried in the Valley of the Kings. My tour guide told me that this Thebes is the best place to buy alabaster so I bought a beautiful vase. The seller wanted 120 Egyptian pounds for it but I got him down to 50 Egyptian pounds (about $10).

After I displayed my amazing bargaining skills we headed over to the Valley of the Queens. This is where the Queens and the children of the Kings were buried. We went into the Tomb of Amen_Knopshef and the Tomb of Queen Titi (wife of Ramses III). The tombs weren’t as impressive as the Valley of the Kings but they were still very elaborate.

On our way back to the ship we drove past The Ramseesum and the Colossi of Memnon.

We were back on the ship for lunch and launched off heading south (up the Nile). On our way to our next stop we went though a lock system. While we were waiting to go into the lock our ship got attacked! Attacked by merchants in row boats, that is! They would row up to our ship and throw things up to us that they wanted us to buy. It was funny to see people bargaining over the side of the large ship.

It was a long day and I really needed a massage… so I got one! : )

The night ended with a huge party. We danced (I won one of the dance competitions), played games (Dad won a potato game), and had a great time!

Islamic Cairo

Egypt is full of more then just ancient temples and pyramids; it is rich with an amazing culture. 90% of the people in Egypt are Muslims and their mosques cover the city.

Friday, November 28, we went to Islamic Cairo to see the Citadel. Inside is the Mohammed Ali Mosque (Blue Mosque) where Mohammed Ail is buried and we also were able to have a great view of the city. 

After visiting the Citadel we drove past the City of the Dead. Here the living live among the dead. The city is so crowded that people are living in and around this huge cemetery in the center of Cairo.

Next, we went to the largest bazaar in the world, Khan al-Khalili. Here we were able to experience more of the Egyptian culture. Working the markets is a skill you need to learn before you come to Egypt. People will try to sell you everything and anything that they can. The trick is knowing exactly what you want and how much you will pay for it. And if you don’t want what they are offering just say “no thanks” and keep moving!

After the market we went to a perfume shop where we tested different kinds of perfumes and oils. The Egyptians pride themselves on making their perfumes only from flowers (no alcohol). We tested many different perfumes and my mom and I both got bottles of Lotus (a flower that grows in Egypt and represents Upper Egypt). We also tested an oil called Sandal Wood that gets hot when you rub it between your hands... I got to experience this first hand when I got a massage on our cruise!

We rounded out the day by going to the Egyptian Museum (back to the Ancient stuff!). This museum is jammed-pack full of artifacts from all over Egypt. It is really unorganized and most of the time the artifacts don’t have descriptions. But hey, it was still fun to see. The best part was seeing all of King Tutankhamun’s grave goods, including his famous 20 lb pure gold Death Mask and his throne. The reason King Tut is so well know is because he’s tomb is the only one to EVER be found that hadn’t been previously looted. Kings Tuts mummy still lies in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings… where we are heading next!

The Last Standing Ancient Wonder of the World

We arrived in Cairo Wednesday (11/26) morning at 10AM and were immediately greeted by our contact that was there to help us through customs. We had no problems. Next we were taken to our hotel, The Mena House, by our amazing driver (who stayed with us through most of the trip) and our trip organizer (we called him Larry King because none of us could remember his name). The Great Pyramid was less then 200 ft from our hotel and we had a great view from our bedroom windows!

Suffering from serious jet-lag, we all napped and rested. Trust me, we wanted our strength for the next day.

We were awoken the next day (11/27) at dawn by a loud call to prayer, which consisted of the prayer leader reading the Koran (or some prayer). The Muslims pray 6 times a day and are alerted to this by the prayer call. One is at dawn, one as dusk, and the other four are throughout the day.

Well, this was the day I’ve been waiting for: we were going to see the Great Pyramid of Giza! And let me tell you, it was totally worth it. We met our tour guide, Tamar, in the lobby at 8 AM and headed up to the pyramids. After Tamar gave us a background on the pyramids we had “free time” to go and explore. We all hiked up into the Great Pyramid of Khufu (the largest one) and into the King’s Chamber where the great pharaoh was buried. The passage was small, steep, and narrow, which is why Dad and Luke didn’t attempt the climb. Being able to climb into the last standing ancient wonder of the world was an experience not to be forgotten.

After taking our pictures and gazing at the Great Pyramid, we walked around the backside of the pyramid and came to the Solar Boat Museum. Inside is one of the oldest wooden boats. The solar boat was discovered in a large trench next to the Great Pyramid and excavated in 1954. A second boat was discovered but remains buried, due to the lack of funding. It’s amazing that the boat was able to be completely reconstructed, since it has been buried under the sand since the death of King Khufu (2566 BC).

We next walked past the Pyramid of Khafre (2nd pyramid) and headed over to a high place where we could overlook the pyramids. My mom really wanted to ride camels and this was the place to do it. So of course, we did! I never realized how huge (and smelly) they were.

The day would not be complete without seeing the Sphinx. We drove down to where the Sphinx (it’s farther away from the pyramids then it seems) and Khafre’s Valley Temple are located.

Next we went to a papyrus shop where we were shown how to make papyrus and how to recognize real papyrus so we are not fooled by the street venders. I got a large papyrus sheet with a painting (hand painted) of Anubis on it with my name.

AND this was all before lunch!

After eating we went to Memphis (one of the capitals of ancient Egypt) where we saw a large colossal limestone statue of Ramses II and the Alabaster Sphnix. Sadly, most of Memphis was destroyed and very little remains of the once great city.

Our last stop of the day was in Saqqara. We saw the Step Pyramid of Djoser and Sneferu’s Bent Pyramid; both of which were predecessors to the Great Pyramid.

Stay tuned...

New York City, The Center of the Universe

I began my journey to the Land of the Pharaohs by first meeting my parents and Luke in New York City. It was a minor detour but I never took my eye off of our true destination… well, maybe for a little bit. New York is a fascinating city!

Once we arrived in NYC (11/22) there was nothing stopping us from setting out into the city that very night. We headed right into Time Square where I couldn’t help but stare with wide eyes. We saw the famous Coca-Cola sign, the M&M and Hershey factory (does that shock you?), and everything else there is to see in Time Square. We ended the night by eating at John’s Pizza where we had real New York Pizza and real New York Cheesecake (the best I’ve ever had).

The next day (11/23) we played it by ear and walked around the city looking for shops and the usual “tourist traps”. 5th Avenue caught our attention and we went to the world famous Saxs… wait, no that doesn’t sound like us… we instead went to the NBA store (now that’s better).

After shopping for Laker stuff (I got PJs) we headed over to St Patrick’s Cathedral, Central Park, Tavern of the Green (where a scene from Ghostbusters was filmed), the Time Warner Building, Trump Tower, Rockefeller Center, The NBC Store (where I bought my F.R.I.E.N.D.S. souvenirs), The New York Public Library (where another famous Ghostbusters scene was shot), and then the Empire State Building. After all of this walking around we headed back to the hotel so we could change before seeing Mama Mia! on Broadway.

I’m sorry to say that it was completely overrated. The story was great and the music was fun but the singing really REALLY disappointed me. Some of the characters, some of the lead characters, didn’t have strong or even very good voices at all. I was shocked. Every time someone ask me if I’ve seen any Broadways I always tell them I’ve seen Les Miserables, Lion King, Phantom, and Wicked but in LA not in NYC. They always respond by telling me that they are way better on Broadway in NYC and that I’ll have to go and compare. I was so shocked at the mediocre performance it was like going to a High School play. What happened here?

After the play we went to The Top of the Rock to get a 360° view of the city. We were going to go the Empire State Building, but apparently all the locals and the “people in the know” go to the Top of the Rock. Nighttime is definitely the time to see the city. I never realized how large it was.

Our final full day (11/24) in NYC was saved for the southern end of the Island. We hopped on the Subway and headed down to Bowling Green (Battery Park) where we were able to catch a ferry to Liberty and Ellis Island. It was cold in NYC but it was even colder out on the river... low 30s?! Maybe?! We took an audio tour of Liberty Island and walked to the top of the observation platform right at the top of the pedestal where Lady Liberty Stands. She is gorgeous!

Next we jumped on the ferry to Ellis Island where we took an audio tour and used the computers to find Peter Neilsons (my great great great….grandfather who came over from Denmark) name. The computer told us he had been there and where exactly to find his name on the plaque (which had a list of all the names of the people that came through Ellis Island) and we found his name! Computers are great, aren’t they?

After freezing to death outside while we were waiting for a ferry, we were able to go back to the city where we walked over to Ground Zero.

We paid our respects to those who were killed in the terrorist attacks of 9-11 and took he Subway back up to Time Square. We couldn’t leave NYC without eating at the world famous Juniors Deli. The sandwiches were HUGE! I probably had a good 3 lbs of turkey on my plate. And the night would not be complete without some good ole’ New York Cheesecake.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008. They day I had been waiting for for almost a year had finally arrived… We were going to Egypt! Leaving New York was hard but I knew we had a great adventure waiting for us on the other side of that horrible 10 hour plane ride.

Life's little dilemmas

I keep telling myself that I don't need to date, I don't need to get married, I don't need to have babies, I need to focus on my life and my job, I am a strong independent woman that doesn't need anyone... But then I find myself crying when the Pampers Diaper commercials come on (true story). 

On Halloween I went on a Haunted train ride with my co-workers (we were stuck in the field and had nothing else to do). The train was full of super cute kids in their little costumes. My favorite was this little guy dressed up like Elvis (don't worry his mom was fine with us taking a picture of him):

We made friends with one little girl (Sierra... I think) that was dressed up like a pirate. She was there with her uncle (he was probably 17) and her little baby sister, Nyah. My co-workers were so cute with the girl. Siera would try to scare the guys and to play along the guys would jump and act scared and then the little girl would laugh and run away. It was too cute! I couldn't help but stare at the precious, sleepy baby. As the train ride went on you could just see her getting more and more tired until eventually she fell asleep in her uncles arms. 

Nyah... thats a cute name : ) Ill have to add it to the list. Yes, I have a list. I've had one since before I could write.