Almost completely buried in the desert sands when French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette stumbled across the site in 1860, the temple at Edfu had been completely consumed by the village. The roof of the sanctuary area was covered in mud-brick houses, exposed parts of the temple were filled with stables and storehouses, and the inner chambers … Continue reading Exploring Edfu Temple
Dedicated both to the crocodile god Sobek, and Haroeris the falcon headed god, the Temple of Kom Ombo lies directly on a prominent bend in the Nile, a fertile place where sacred crocodiles would once gather and sunbathe on the riverbanks during the times of the ancient Egyptians. Originally commissioned by Ptolemy VI, most of … Continue reading Kom Ombo Temple
“‘This is grand,’ he said as he too leaned on the rail. ‘I’m really looking forward to this trip, aren’t you Linnet? It feels somehow, so much less touristy – as though we are really going into the heart of Egypt.’ His wife responded quickly: ‘I know. It’s so much – wilder, somehow’ Her hand … Continue reading Sailing Down The Nile On The Steam Ship Sudan
“Simon and Linnet Doyle set off on their expedition to Philae about eleven o’clock the following morning. Jacqueline de Bellefort, sitting on the hotel balcony, watched them set off in the picturesque sailing boat.” Agatha ChristieDeath On The Nile Dedicated to the goddess Isis, the temple on Philae island was one of the very last … Continue reading Discovering Philae Temple
“They came to a halt. The guide proceeded to instruct them on the subject of the temple built by the great Rameses. The four colossi of Rameses himself, one pair on each side of the entrance, hewn out of the living rock, looked down on the little straggling party of tourists.” Agatha ChristieDeath On The … Continue reading The Temples At Abu Simbel
High above the clifftops opposite modern-day Aswan, lie some of the oldest tombs in all of Egypt. With the majority of the tombs dating from the Old & Middle kingdoms, the site features some of the best-preserved tomb paintings from this period that you will probably see on your trip outside of a museum. And, … Continue reading Exploring The Tombs Of The Nobles In Aswan
The felucca is a traditional Egyptian sailboat which, over the centuries and despite the modern world slowly creeping in, has remained one of the primary means of transportation for the Egyptian people on and across the Nile to this day. Rarely outfitted with any form of engine, the felucca instead relies entirely on the Nile’s … Continue reading Sailing In A Felucca On The Nile In Aswan
There are hotels, and then there is the Old Cataract… It was nearing the end of the 18th century and Thomas Cook & Son had a problem. Their problem, oddly enough, was that their Nile steam ship enterprise was doing just a little too well and their guests didn’t want to go home. More and … Continue reading The Old Cataract Hotel
I read A LOT of conflicting reports from people on their experiences taking the overnight sleeper train from Giza/Cairo to Aswan. So this was probably the one peice of our trip I was most nervous about. Turns out the most stressful part of the whole adventure would be communicating with our uber driver that we … Continue reading Taking The Night Train From Giza To Aswan
Cairo, in comparison to the other truly ancient parts of Egypt, is actually a much more modern city, founded around 969 AD. (sooo modern lol) However, the area known as Coptic Cairo, the locals just call it Old Cairo, predates the founding of modern Cairo by several centuries and is one of the oldest parts … Continue reading Coptic Cairo
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