NOTE: this topic is not a detailed journal of our tour in 1999. It is simply the aggregation of a number of messages posted by me in response to specific questions asked on this BB. I may add to it from time to time as other questions are asked. The included pictures are not mine but are included in this topic to illustrate some of the places that we liked very much during our all-too-short tour.

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NOTE: the current tour includes an overnight side trip by boat from Luxor to Dendara where you will visit the Temple of Hathor, which is said by many to be one of the best, if not the best, preserved temple in all Egypt.

Unfortunately, some time before our tour, Insight had to remove the side trip to Dendara because of the threat of terrorist action in that area at that time.

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In planning our tour, we carefully researched the climate patterns of Egypt and chose March because I wanted to celebrate my wife's 50th birthday on the Nile and Egypt was still reasonably cool at that time of year. [As it turned out she forbade me from telling anyone on the cruise boat about her birthday but forgot about our excellent TD (Mohammed Abdel Aal) who arranged safekeeping of our passports whilst we were on the boat and he organised the surprise party!] After Egypt, we were also travelling on to Spain to join an Insight Treasures of Spain, Portugal & Morocco tour so we wanted to go to Spain as late as possible in the Spring to gain warmer weather.

[Here are the climate details for Cairo, Aswan, Alexandria and Luxor.]

Our doctor told us that malaria would not be a problem in the tourist areas like Cairo, Luxor and Aswan but we had Hep A and typhoid shots and he checked that our tetanus shots were up to date.

We also checked out specific advice on Egypt and general travel advice issued by the Australian DFAT because of concerns about security in Egypt but we never had any problems or felt unsafe in country.

Another useful internet advisory was The Travel Doctor and particularly the entry form where specific advice was available on any country that you enter into the form. Of particular relevance was their Fact Sheet on "Eating and drinking safely overseas".

We cautiously chose to obtain our Egyptian visas in Australia before leaving because we didn't want to have to sort out the purchase of these late at night on arrival in Cairo.

We travelled QANTAS to London arriving early morning and left London for Cairo on BA at about 4:00pm. Fortunately, my QANTAS Club membership provided access to the BA Club area all day where we could shower and relax. Overall, it was a very long journey and we chose this route mainly to earn FF points.

If FF points are not of concern to you, I would strongly recommend travelling by the most direct route.

We arrived in Cairo around about midnight. A Tour Company representative was waiting for us inside the arrival area and he somehow managed to get us through customs/immigration in no time at all. The drive to hotel in a minibus was interesting because most vehicles on the road were not using their headlights.

We were in our room in the Semiramis InterContinental Hotel at about 1:30am.



We had arrived one day prior to the tour start and on our first morning in Cairo, a local tour company representative arranged for us to take an Optional visit to the Pharaonic Village and escorted us throughout. That afternoon, we walked the fairly short distance from our hotel to the Cairo Museum by ourselves, and had our first experience of Cairo traffic!!! Somehow we managed to acquire a guide (Moses) in the museum (he actually chose us) and he gave us a pretty good tour in return for a reasonable fee.

We met the TD next morning. The original number of participants was 12 but 3 couples had cancelled the day before the tour started.

Back then, although Insight had a Manager in Cairo, the tours, all transfers and the Nile cruise were totally conducted by Spring Tours, an Egyptian company (I suspect that the use of an Egyptian company may be a legal requirement in that country). In spite of there only being 6 of us in the group, Insight allowed us to be fully escorted. Our group comprised two couples plus a spritely lady in her early 70s from Perth and a lady (probably late 60s) from South Africa.

We travelled to the airport for our flight to Luxor and on arrival, we transferred to our cruise boat, the Giselle. The cabins on the boat were very comfortable with a good view out the side. We spent a great deal of time on the top deck while cruising but the pool was not much bigger than a child's wading pool. The food on the boat throughout the cruise was excellent. None of us had any tummy upset problems. All of the staff on the boat performed their roles exceptionally well.



We had booked the optional to Abu Simbel and this was something we would highly recommend.

Our TD (Mohammed) looked after us very well and ensured that every part of the tour went as it should. Our only frustration was with the limited time our itinerary allowed to do so many things. (This was not unexpected.) We regret not staying a day or two longer in Egypt and taking an optional tour up to Alexandria but we had to fly on to Madrid to start an Insight Treasures of Spain, Portugal & Morocco tour.

Visits whilst on the cruise were morning (Temple of Horus at Edfu) or afternoon (Kom Ombo) and at these times of day, the weather was pleasant. In Aswan, we toured the Aswan High Dam and granite quarry in an airconditioned coach and motorboated out to the Philae Temple. Mid-afternoon, we sailed in a felucca around Kitchener's Island and the weather presented no difficulties. We flew down to Abu Simbel from Aswan and it's true to say that the temperature was fairly hot but there was relief inside the temples and the artificial hill. Arriving back in Aswan, we were caught up in a major traffic gridlock for an hour or so (Mrs Clinton was in town to meet Mrs Mubarak) and we welcomed the bus airconditioning.

Back in Luxor, we left our boat at about 7:00am to visit the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Deir el Bahari (Queen Hatshepsut's mortuary temple), Colossi of Memnon and Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu and a few other sites and were back at the boat for lunch. At the suggestion of the TD, we then went to the Luxor Museum. I returned to the boat and my wife and the lady from WA then hired a horse and carriage and spent the afternoon touring the city.



Our visits to the Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple were both late afternoon to avoid the heat. We also went to an evening sound and light show at the Karnak Temple and the evening became fairly cool.

Temperatures during our tour of Cairo and time at the Giza Plateau, Memphis and Saqqara were also fairly mild.

Perhaps the hottest part of the tour was on the deck of the boat each day but this was not a problem because you could go in the plunge pool, go under the awnings or go inside to the airconditioned areas (a couple of G&Ts and then back into the sun again).

Here is a guide to shopping in Egypt. During the course of our tour, we were taken to, or passed by:

• a jewellery store in Luxor,
  
• an alabaster workshop on the West Bank in Luxor,
  
• a papyrus shop in Aswan,
  
• a carpet factory to the west of Cairo, near Giza,
  
• the shop on the Giselle which had a range of jewellery and clothing, and,
  
• street stalls in Edfu and Kom Ombo that were selling clothing, particularly items suitable for the Gallabea night on the boat.

Here are some Egyptian links that may be of interest:

• Sightseeing with Google Satellite Maps: Egypt
  
• Theban Mapping project
  
• Egyptian Museum (Cairo): photo tour
  
• Egyptian Museum (Cairo): collection
  
• The Giza Mapping Project
  
• Khufu ship
  
• Luxor Museum
  
• Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities
  
• Cairo Tower
  
• Egypt Photo Gallery
  
• Canon Digital Photo Library - Egypt
  
• Colour Tour of Egypt
  
• Egypt Tourism Net
  
• Ancient Egypt - Guardians Net
  
• The Ancient Egypt Site
  
• The Plateau - website of Dr Zawi Hawass
  
• Tour Egypt
  
• Travel Library - Egypt
  
• World Wide Ancient Egypt
  
• Medinet Habu
  
• Nubia Museum, Aswan
  
• Egypt a Perspective
  
• Eternal Egypt
  
• National Geographic Egypt Articles and Maps
  
• The Egypt Archive
  
• Aswan and Nubia, from Idfu to Abu Simbel - Sites
  
• Wikipedia: Ancient Egypt
  
• Egyptian State information Service
  
• Grand Egyptian Museum
  
• Temple of Philae in Aswan (dedicated to Isis) [click here for image]
  
• Unfinished Obelisk in Aswan [click here for image]

...the eye of Horus

We always try to "read ourselves" into a tour before leaving and for this one I read Egypt by Vivian Davies and Renée Friedman (sold as Egypt Uncovered in North America). It was shown as a five part series on SBS back then.

Over the years since our tour, I have purchased the following books on Egypt for my home library:

1. The Valley of the Kings: The Tombs and the Funerary of Thebes West
   
2. Treasures From the Egyptian Museum in Cairo
   
3. Ramesses II
   
4. Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt
   

I would recommend any or all of these books as pre-reading before visiting Egypt but they're not cheap so look for them in your local library.

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Here are links to some hi-res satellite images of places in Egypt:

• Pyramids
  
• Pyramids
  
• Pyramids
  
• Aswan High Dam
  
• Abu Simbel
  
• Sightseeing with Google Satellite Maps: Egypt

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Here's a story from the Google Earth blog that may be of interest to past and future travellers to Egypt who use Google Earth:

quote:

Abu Simbel Statues of Pharaoh Ramsses in 3D in Google Earth
The archaeological site of Abu Simbel in southern Egypt is home to the fabulous twin temples built during the era of Pharaoh Ramsses II which include four 20 meter statues of the Pharaoh. The temples and statues were carefully moved by antiquities experts 60 meters up the mountainside in the 1960s out of necessity due to the building of the Aswan Dam which formed Lake Nasser. Read more about Abu Simbel at Wikipedia. One of the Google Earth Community members, 'pmaxfield2' recently posted a 3D model of the statues and temple. Check out the model in Google Earth 4. He even used photos of the statues and the new feature in SketchUp 6 (the free 3D modeling tool from Google) called Photo Match to add realistic textures to the model. Viewing this model in Google Earth gave me a new perspective on this site and encouraged me to learn more about it. Great work pmaxfield2!

If you are viewing this site in Google Earth, it is worthwhile turning on the "Geographic Web" in the Layers menu for a large collection of photos and other information.

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[This topic has been patched together from several messages that I contributed to another topic and I will continue to enhance it as time permits.]

Phil

This message has been edited. Last edited by: phil,

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Phil: I am once again benefitting from your knowledge! we are doing Splendors of Egypt in April '10 and loved your report! thanks for the info!

I'm glad you found the information useful, brooklyn. It is a wonderful tour and April will be a good time to do it. Will your Mom travel with you on this tour?

phil

Yep. at 82! she is still doing good though, and the slower pace of being on a cruise and not packing every night might be nice.