King Tut, Cleopatra, Indiana Jones....now us.

Feb. 25: Part 2 Our interesting morning excursion got us back to the ship before lunch. In the late afternoon, we departed for a second excursion to another ancient Egyptian site, the Temple of Luxor, not far from the Nile River. Luxor Temple Akram, the Egyptologist/guide for our group (He named our group of 22 ‘Ramses') had us meet a little later than the other groups to lessen the crowds and also to let us see the temple after sunset. Ramses the Great The temple contained many statues and cartouches of Ramses the Great, even though he was not the builder. Under his orders, he modified the temple built by one of his predecessors erasing that ruler's name and adding his own, carvings of his battles, and numerous statues from life sized to gigantic. The walls of the interior temple rooms also included images and stories of  Alexander the Great, who may have had Egypt under his control. He was shown to be communicating with one of the powerful Egypt...

Feb. 25 After our short sleep and early wake up yesterday, we slept well  last night. The River Tosca is a comfortable ship with the ambiance of times past with dark wood panelled walls, burgundy carpets, and interesting pieces of art and artisan works. Classic and opulent would arguably describe her well. We were up before 6 am for a quick breakfast and 7 am departure to the Dendeara Temple, one of the best preserved. It was built by the Ptolemys probably in the 1st or 2nd century BC, so it is not nearly as old as some other sites. Cleopatra (who Akram our guide refers to as Elizabeth Taylor) was the last of the Ptolemy rulers of Egypt. She is pictured on the sass of the Temple presenting her son Caesarion    (from her relationship with Julius Caesar) as the new ruler. Entrance to the Temple Carvings near the Main Entrance The Temple is dedicated to the female god Hat-Hor, the god of love and childbirth. Her image is frequently displayed insid...

Monday Feb. 24 We had to wake up dark and early today. After a quick breakfast - and thanks to the hotel staff for opening the breakfast restaurant early to accommodate our departure time - we were off to the Cairo airport and our 1 hour flight to Luxor.  The staterooms on board the ship would not be ready when we landed, so we visited the Temple of Karnak nearby. This is a fantastic, massive temple complex built here by Ramses II, one of the great pharaohs of Egypt.  The weather was perfect. Lots of people were there, but with a little patience, some interesting photo ops emerged. After a couple hours at the temple, we drove the short distance to the River Tosca, our floating home for the next week as we cruise the Nile River and visit historic sites along the way. In Karnak, about 60% of what is now standing has been restored and reconstructed. At places, big cranes are installed to move stones that had fallen or newly cut stones where needed...

Sunday, Feb. 23   Day 2 in Cairo began with a bus ride through the chaos that is locally known as light traffic to the Citadel built on the central height of land in the city. The construction was done under Salah Ad Din, one of the principal leaders during the Crusades. The massive wall and some of the interior buildings were constructed from the smooth facing stones taken from the pyramids. Why cut new ones when there is a readily available source of materials close by? The Alabaster Mosque within the walls of the Salah Ad Din Citadel Within the Citadel walls is the Alabaster Mosque, one of the largest in Cairo. No prayers were going on so, after donning shoe covers, we entered with our guide Akram. Within the mosque central area is the burial place of Muhammad Ali who, although he was not born in the country, is considered as the founder of modern Egypt. He also had a home in the citadel. Following our visit to this site, we stopped for lunch and then ...

Saturday, Feb. 22. Another early start and 6:30 am departure from our Amman hotel got us to the airport plenty of time before our 9:35 Egypt Air flight to Cairo. Everyone and their luggage made it to Egypt. This was the first time we have been on the African continent. The tour rep met us at the Cairo airport and got us on the bus to our downtown hotel. We have a good friend who happens to be visiting Cairo and our schedules overlap by a couple days. We made arrangements to meet up and spent a great afternoon in old Cairo. Nabil knows the back alleys and narrow streets well. He was born in Egypt, speaks Arabic, and visits once or twice a year. We got into some places that few get to see because Nabil speaks Arabic and came armed with a bag full of little ‘thank you’ gifts for people who could help with our special access. Visiting a major mosque and school with Nabil. Head cover and attire for women are strictly enforced as you can see. M ‘Pencil’ style minaret Win...

Friday, Feb. 21. Departing Wadi Rum yesterday after lunch, we drove south to Aqaba, the only port city in Jordan, situated on the Gulf of Aqaba, a part of the Red Sea. From our hotel room, we could see the hills of Israel across the narrow gulf. After checking into the hotel, we got a map from the concierge and headed out for an exploratory walk, staying along the waterfront for a while, then turning into the old downtown area where we visited the local spice market with all sorts of interesting stores selling whole skinned goats, complete with heads and horns, fresh fish, house wears, and spices. The Lobby at our Aqaba Hotel We spoke for some time with a shopkeeper who had a vast array of spices and herbs on display. Like Salah, he was also a Bedouin and, as is the custom, offered us tea when he found out we were from Canada. He showed us the process of grinding and mixing spices using both a brass mortar and pestil and also an electric grinder. One blend he sold had 33 diffe...