The Travel Bug: Wonders of Egypt #12/12 (Red Sea Snorkelling)

For the last of the Wonders of Egypt photo series, have decided to do a snorkelling special!

*Shinta and I were in 2 minds over whether to snorkel when at Hurghada. Just off the coast of our resort there are a lot of dead reefs, so to see nice ones you would have to take a boat out. We didn't take the full day snorkelling trip to Gifu island (which probably would have had better snorkelling), but went for the 3h glass bottom boat + sunset on sand dune instead.

The good thing about a glass bottom boat is that even non-swimmers can go for it. Viewing through the glass bottom wasn't a large part of trip, since obviously most of us were there to snorkel really. There are some pretty shots however, that can be taken even through the (dirty & wet) glass, as shown in the photos above and below.

There were quite a lot of clams lying around...

As well as sea urchins. Was a little afraid of them because the waters were quite shallow and we were snorkelling over the reef without wearing flippers. Definately wouldn't want to step on them!

There weren't many fish, just 4 to 5 varieties and in small groups, but those that were there were pretty friendly.

After the Maldives, the coral here was pretty disappointing. Not very colourful and only a few types. A lot of the coral was also kind of languishing, probably an effect of the pollution and abuse?

Still we managed to get in a few good shots before we got tired and decided to lounge on the boat instead.

So that's all for the pretty pictures of Egypt...!

The Travel Bug: Wonders of Egypt #11/12 (Desert Safari)

*Shinta and I were quite keen to try out the Dune Buggies, so we decided to sign up for the Desert Safari in Hurghada which included a 1h ride out in the sands, followed by a visit to a Bedouin camp and then riding back at night for another hour.

We absolutely loved driving our own Dune Buggies! Imagine something like a motorbike but with 4 wheels so that you don't have to worry about balancing. And since we're out in the desert, there's no road that you have to follow, you don't have to worry about hitting anything, its just enjoying the super bumpy ride and the thrill of the roar of the engines!

The Bedouin are are suppoed to be tribes that wander the desert in search of water. But these have effectively been bribed by the government with provision of resourses, so that they stay put to form a tourist attraction / theme park kind of thing.

Once we arrived at the camp, it was a mix of viewing some of the daily activities and crafts the Bedouin tribe engage in. Bread making was one such item...

A lot of the times it was set up such that visitors were "able" to purchase items that the Bendouin tribe had made. Weaved bags were one of the items I was more tempted to buy.

Basically the threads are sorted out and laid out before weaving commences. The loom needs 2 people to operate, to select the correct layer threads to appear as the design and to push these tightly against each other to form the cloth.

This guy was really skilful in making scenaries in sandbottles. It seemed fast and simple to make, but I'm sure they're a lot harder than it looked.

One thing we absolutely hated about the place was the "zoo". Basically they brought in random animals in to form a collection. It was very very sad to see them housed in very very horrible conditions. Small cages, dark and damp conditions, solitary cells.

Some of the more "fun" activities for us included a 2min Camel Ride round a bend and back...

We also paired up to try the spider buggy.

The only thing I liked about the Bendouin Camp visit, was being able to see the beautiful sunset...

The colours in the desert are really more beautiful than anywhere else.

Most of the Russians in the group tried out the Sheesha (water pipe). Luckily *Shinta didn't feel any inclination to try!

After that it was back onto the Dune Buggy for an hour drive back home. The plains were absolutely dark and there was only the headlight on the buggy to light the way back, as well as the stars in the sky above.

To be continued...

The Travel Bug: Wonders of Egypt #10/12 (Red Sea)

It's approximately a 5 hour drive from Luxor to Hurghada. Contrary to what we had read online, there didn't seem to be any need for a convoy or police protection. The road was well maintained with a reasonable amount of traffic in both directions, and a nice pit-stop (tourist trap!) along the way.

For most of the journey, there was nothing much in between Luxor and Hurghada except the desert. My impression of the desert is of large mostly flat sandy plains, but along the way on both sides of the road were these amazing rock formations that I didn't expect to see.

Apparently the desert on the right side (East) of the Nile River is where the rocky formations can be found, while the left side (West) is known for the very fine sand and flat plains more commonly depicted in movies.

The view changed as we approached the Red Sea, where the coastline is dominated by self-contained beach resorts.

Main activity to do there? Laze by the beach...

You can also take a glass bottom boat out to go snorkelling, combined with a trip to a sand bank to watch the setting sun.

Chilling out while watching the sunset...

To be continued...

The Travel Bug: Wonders of Egypt #9/12 (Luxor - Others)

We arrived in Luxor after passing through the Esna Lock. That's the gate that allows vessels move from the higher water level down to the lower level downstream.

Colossi of Memnon & Valley of Kings

On the West Bank (left side of the Nile, symbolises area of the afterlife) lie the Colossi of Memnon and the Valley of Kings. Of the Colossi, nothing remains except these 2 sitting statues of Amenhotep II. It's quite impressive to see them just standing there with nothing else around. The Egyptian government is supposedly restoring some of the temple ruins at the back, but judging from the way it looked its going to be a long time before its completed.

The Valley of Kings started because the land was too rocky to create the usual pyramid style tomb which requires flat land. Therefore they began building their tombs in the limestone hills of Thebes. The location was known only to the reigning King, the tomb architect and the Priests. Those working on the tomb were blindfolded and brought to the location without actually knowing where it is. Unfortunately most of the tombs were robbed (with the exception of King Tut's) and the remaining treasures have largely been brought to the Egyptian Museum. At any one time, about 9 tombs are open to visitors, although many may choose a 3 ticket option instead. Photographs are not allowed inside, probably to protect the beautiful paintings along the walls. Some looked like they had just been painted yesterday.

Hapchetsut

The Temple of Hatshepsut was built into the cliff by the last Egyptian Queen Hapchetsut (Cleopatra was not Egyptian).

In order to get power, she apparently married the young rightful ruler Thutmose III whom she locked up. He later escaped, came to power and destroyed much of the insides of the temple.

To gain acceptance by the people, she apparently dressed as a male.

Luxor Temple

The original entrance of the small Luxor Temple on the East Bank is not used because the area is difficult to access by tourists. Hence a new one was "created. 2 Obelisks used to stand there, but one has been given to France. Apparently the second one was also "promised" to them, but so far they have avoided having to give it over.

The larger statues looked really lovely lit up at night.

Christians also occupied the temple before. Unfortunately the photograph below is really blurry, but if you look carefully, you can see the remnants of paintings of a Christian scene below on the left.

Closed Papryus were used as the capital of the pillars, in contrast with the more common Open ones.

There were not many smaller statues left inside, these are some of the few.

To be continued...

The Travel Bug: Wonders of Egypt #8/12 (Luxor - Karnak)

The Temple of Karnak is actually a complex made up of smaller temples. The ruins are huge and in amazingly good condition.

The Avenue of Sphinx with Ram heads lining the entrance. These used to extend all the way to Luxor Temple about 2 miles away.

There were originally 4 obelisks in the Obelisk Court, but only 2 remain standing.

One of the fallen Obelisks remains in the premises...

...near the sacred lake that was used for purification.

Near the lake also stands a scarab statue, symbol of the Sun god. According to the guide, if you walk around the scarab 7 times it will bring you good luck.

In one of the back temple areas, a lot of the red and blue colours can still be seen on the ceilings.

Christians used to occupy part of the temple, and some of the relics left by them still remain.

In the Hypostyle Hall stand a 134 columns all with beautiful carvings on them. We loved wandering around the pillars and admiring the way the late afternoon sun shone through them.

As always, don't forget to look up where a lot of the carvings and colours still remain.

To be continued...

The Travel Bug: Wonders of Egypt #7/12 (Edfu)

Unlike Kom Ombo which is just next to the river, Edfu temple which was built for Horus is located a 10min horse carriage ride inland from the dock.

As usual, one main entrance to the temple symbolising the Nile. There are 3 uses for the "holes" that can be observed from the facade. Some were used for flags, some were cut by those occupying the temple after it was abandoned to let light in.

The last use was by the priests to "imitate" the voice of the gods to the people. From the picture below you can see how it is actually much larger on the inside. This creates a distortion and amplification effect when they spoke through it.

More carvings at the entrance of the temple.

According to our guide, after the temple was abandoned, it was used by Christians who had fled to avoid persecution as living quarters. The ceilings became black due to cooking inside the temple, and when it was apparent that the drawings underneath had been destroyed, the Egyptian government left the black colour as it is.

Holy of holies with the altar.

More amzing carvings...

covering the walls of each and every room...

and the corridors...

even the outside corridors...

There was a whole series on the walls telling the story of Horus' battle with Osiris. Seth (the evil one) was jealous of how people loved and praised his brother Osiris, and killed him by tricking him into entering a chest and trapping him there. Isis his wife (and sister...) brought up their son Horus who set out to revenge his father. Seth as depicted by a hippopotamus was eventually captured as shown below.

Carvings below show the numerical system in hieroglyphics. The little figure on the left with arms lifted up is the symbol for "million", while the 3 things next to it each represent 100,000 etc

To be continued...