‘Walking The Nile”

Levison Wood "Walking The Nile"If you watched last night’s initial episode of Channel 4’s “Walking The Nile” you’ll know now that amazingly the Nile begins as a tiny trickle in upper Rwanda.

In fact it’s so insignificant that it’s almost impossible to believe that the mighty River Nile, the world’s longest river starts that way.

Of course it’s not long before the tiny trickle becomes a substantial and fast flowing body of water but it was fascinating to see “Levison Wood” start his trek at the very source. Continue reading “‘Walking The Nile””

Visiting Cairo – Day 2 – continued even more!!

Visiting Cairo

Approaching Tahir Square Cairo

As we reached Tahir Square it felt strange to actually be driving around a location that had witnessed really world-changing events. Certainly for the Egyptian people but also it was a catalyst for change in other countries.

Of course we had watched the events unfold on TV but now we were here it was different. Probably because you realised that the square is normally just a very busy, central hub of Cairo city centre and of course it looks totally different. There were cars everywhere and people going around their daily business. You also saw that there were nearby businesses, shops, hotels and apartments that must all have been very heavily affected during the months of the Revolution.

We drove to the other side of the square and our driver pulled over to allow us to jump out near to the entrance to the Egyptian Museum. Continue reading “Visiting Cairo – Day 2 – continued even more!!”

Visiting Cairo – Day 2

Visiting Cairo – Day 2

After a quick, but tasty, breakfast at the Movenpick Pyramids Hotel, it was off straight away to visit the Pyramids and The Sphinx. We have done this before but how can you not be excited about revisiting one of the remaining Wonders of the World?

As it was a Saturday there were lots of Egyptian school children. You forget when you are a visitor to Egypt that many of their citizens will not have visited the Pyramids for various reasons but school children particularly look forward to their first visit to one of their country’s most important heritage sites. As they were on school-trips it was obvious that their teachers had told them all about the trip and what to expect. Including the fact that they would see lots of visitors from overseas.

Well, there are still fewer overseas visitors than would have been there prior to the Revolution, so we found ourselves quite the focus of the schoolchildren’s excitement and found that we were being photographed for school projects as much as they were photographing the Pyramids!

Here’s the proof:

The Pyramids Nov 2012. School children photographing us! The Great Pyramid. School children photograph us.

Last time we visited Barbara actually entered the Great Pyramid and followed the corridor down to the burial chamber but, having done it before, she decided against it on this occasion. However we both climbed up to the entrance to the Great Pyramid so we could photograph each other. Continue reading “Visiting Cairo – Day 2”

Visiting Aswan

Visiting Aswan

Movenpick Aswan Hotel - Located in the Nile

Because we’d been so busy it was hard to believe that we were only on Day 3 of our visit to Egypt.

Days one and two were in Luxor and now we were down in the beautiful city of Aswan staying at the uniquely located Movenpick Aswan Hotel.

One thing that was immediately noticeable was that it felt even warmer than Luxor. It was mid November and we were enjoying day time temperatures of around 28-29 degrees!. It was hot! Fantastic.

In fact it was lovely in the evenings too. Certainly warm enough to just be sitting at pavement cafes in just a t-shirt and light cardigan. Not something we’re used to in the UK even in the summer and here it was November. Just 5 hours away from the UK and the weather could not have been more different.

We were greeted warmly by the friendly management and staff at the Movenpick Aswan Hotel after taking the water-taxi to reach the hotel. Our bags were boarded onto the boat and we didnt’ see them until we reached our rooms. Continue reading “Visiting Aswan”

Driving from Luxor to Aswan – Part 2

Driving from Luxor to Aswan – Part 2

Nile Cruises 4u - Kom Ombo Temple at night

After driving for about two and a half hours we reached Kom Ombo Temple. Normally when you visit Kom Ombo you do so after sailing down the Nile until you reach the Temple and you disembark and approach the Temple by foot. On previous occasions we reached Kom Ombo in the early evening and made the visit just as the sun was going down. As the Temple is beautifully lit it’s a breathtaking site as you look at it from your ship. You then walk through the streets, climbing gently upwards until you reach the Temple entrance.

On this occasion, because we were coming in from the road rather than the river we came to the Temple from the rear, parked and then walked around to the entrance. It was at that point that we recognised where we were as we saw the view down over the streets to the river bank where our Nile cruise ship would have berthed.

It was around 12 noon when we entered the Temple and it was very quiet, which gave us the opportunity to take our time and we could really enjoy Emad’s knowledgable descriptions of the architecture of the Temple, the meanings of the wonderful hieroglyphics and the story behind the original construction of the Temple.

It truly is a breathtaking place and it’s hard, as always in Egypt, to try and envisage just how the Ancient Egyptians could physically construct such massive building with the tools that they had at the time.

Since our last visit the Temple authorities have opened up the Crocodile Museum, which explains the relevance and importance of the crocodile in the history of the Temple. It’s very much a state of the art feature and adds even more to the enjoyment of  a visit to Kom Ombo.

If you are taking a Nile cruise I really think you will find Kom Ombo Temple one of the highlights of your trip.

From Kom Ombo we then drove the relatively short distance to Aswan where we were to stay at the Movenpick Aswan Hotel. Continue reading “Driving from Luxor to Aswan – Part 2”