Opinions About Egypt

We could really not improve on anything with this tour. The people are great and everyone went out of their way to accommodate us, much more than we ever expected! I would highly recommend Ya'lla Tours for your Egypt adventure. 

We were met at the airport by the Maged and treated fabulously. All through out our tour there were thoughtful things done for us such as a cold bottle of water, asking if we had a need, etc. All unexpected, but a kind and much welcomed change from our Israel tour. 

Maged turned up at unexpected times to be sure we were happy and enjoying ourselves. He is one of the most organized and efficient people we have ever met. In addition, our guides in both Cairo and on the Nile cruise were also thoughtful and efficient. Every detail was in place and communicated well. 

The cruise ship personnel were very nice and accommodating as well. We had a wonderful time. 

Opinions About Israel

Things were not as we thought they would be in Israel. I guess I just read a lot of Bible verses and things about the places we would visit, not looking at what they would actually look like now. Basically there is a place of worship built on every single site, sometimes several on top of each other! Each religion or group of people who conquered an area apparently either knocked down the previous site and/or built their own version over it. There is conflict with every belief system of course. There is no resemblance to the time of Jesus in most situations. That is not the fault of the tour - just how the country is. 

But yes, to me I was stunned we did not visit the church of the wedding! The obvious hours were posted for all of time! Strange. I will definitely mention it in my comment paper to the travel agency. I do not believe I would suggest this company again for Israel. There is poor continuity when there are people added to the group in the middle of the tour and having multiple hotels to pick up people in this crazy traffic is just a joke. It was probably a small distance to travel but one night when we were the last dropped off, it took 45 minutes from the last spot to drop us off (stopped in traffic most of the time). Changing guides... that was unsettling as well. 

Drivers: I have been on few tours but have noted that even on cruise ship tours the driver is there to give a hand to people on and off the bus, had a stool for big steps, or at least the driver is personable or friendly, etc. This was not the case with our driver. He barely ever spoke a word to us. Even with limited English he could have smiled and attempted to be friendly but he wasn't, though I tried several times. I even bought him an apple and he refused it, though at my insistence he did take it eventually. At times the first guide and driver seemed at odds. We even missed seeing a site because the driver apparently went the wrong way and then refused to go back. I am not sure that is accurate but it seems like what happened. More than once the first guide asked  the driver to slow down, he did seem to be driving awfully fast a few times.  

There were times we walked by significant things and did not even pause for a moment to take a photo. In addition, when we visited places neither of our guides gave us a brochure or anything to refer to. Clearly there were places that were numbered and we could have read about it ourselves at our own pace during the free time we had there. I wised up soon and began getting a brochure at each entrance that had them. 

With our new guide Ali: When we got to the Old City we were in the back of the bus. The guide took off when he got out and the first part of the people followed him but the last 7 of us did not even know what direction he went! We stood for a few minutes and then a man in the group said we should go a certain way as most people around were going that particular way. We did, then eventually we saw the guide coming back for us. Ali explained he wanted to get us a good place in line. It would have been nice if he told us that and pointed out the direction we should go, but he did not! This was disturbing and made one wonder if it was necessary to ask more questions about each stop we came to. 

It would be ideal to take a trip like this with a group from your own church. That was our hope of course, but it didn't work out for us. We went now when we could go as we probably will not have the chance again.

Heading Home - Home!!!

At 3am we are up and 4am we are on our way to Cairo Airport. A mere 27 hours later from leaving our hotel we are home!!! Deb and Sam picked us up at the airport. Our bed will feel good tonight!

Day 18 - Cairo

We have relaxed most of the day. We slept about 11-12 hours last night. Yes, I did wake up at 5:30a but went right back to sleep after taking a pain pill and slept on and off until 9a. John has gotten a bit more tired during the day than I have but he has gone on every site other than the one we both skipped. He has no pain and actually, my knee pain isn't too bad and I am thankful of that. Steps are not my friend and believe me, there have been a lot of them! As I said we slept in late. John went down for breakfast, he brought me back a hard boiled egg in case I got hungry before lunch. For lunch we went to the pool restaurant again, I think it is called Citrus. We actually had a BURGER and FRIES! Not quite like home but very large. I skipped the bread part and still couldn't eat all the meat. I think it must have been 1/3 to 1/2 pound, all for approximately US$5! We were so eager to eat it I forgot to take a photo! We planned to swim today in the luxurious pool but it is really too cool for us and the water is not heated. The pools are lovely. The far pool has a waterfall. 

 Our Lunch View

 John's Lemon "Juice" (Lemonade)

John has read and I've worked on this blog most of the day. The internet was up and down. Each time it went down I lost the photos I was uploading. Finally I just did ONE photo at a time and it worked much better but still took most of the day, anyway it is done and I have it.

We are all packed and we will get up at 3am to be picked up at 4am. Our flight is 7:35a but it is 1 hour to the airport and we will go when they tell us to. We will be given a breakfast box to take with us, not sure what is in it but we will eat it, or some of it, when we get to the airport. We are ready to go home, though we have enjoyed this trip tremendously. 

Day 17 - Aswan - Abu Simbel - Cairo

Our cruise is officially over after breakfast. I will say the staff on this cruise are the most helpful, kind, and nice people we have ever met. Being on a smaller ship means fewer choices of foods but the array was more than adequate. Of course one must adapt to a different culture and if you hope for beef being abundantly present, you would be disappointed. The fish and chicken are delicious and well prepared. Food is served really hot as it should be. The A/C is very brisk in our cabin and we had to often turn it down. This was a concern for us as we didn't want to be "hot" so we were not at all disappointed. The interior of the boat is older looking by our standards, but clean and that is what matters to us. This boat has earned 5 stars, which is not really comparable to our 5 stars but never substandard. There is a nice jewelry store onboard with many lovely things. I already have a cartouche or I would have gotten on there. The owner has just beautiful ones he makes them and they are quite unique, available in silver, gold, or a mixture. The other shop carries clothing and other items, even a few thing like shampoo. Clearly the people who work, work very hard to make a living. The Nile River by Luxor and on our cruise was so refreshing. I really can't comment to the actual cleanliness of the river, but people here drink from it. You can see locals dip their cups in the river for a drink. I personally will not do this! As far as the surrounding area near tourist destinations, it is kept up pretty well. As I said on our carriage ride to the more local back streets of Aswan, this is not the case. The point to be made is the Nile Cruise was a very positive experience. I may not say that if I was on a big bus with 30-40 people but having 4 of us with 1 guide, it was quite nice, very personal. Ya'lla has a fabulous staff here in Egypt and they hired guides that met their standards with no problem. We enjoyed the company of out traveling companions David and Brenda from Oregon as well.

After breakfast our pick up time was 7:15a and we were on our way to Aswan airport for our flight to Abu Simbel. Here we parted ways with David and Brenda. They head directly back to Cairo and will visit the museum today and fly home at 2a Saturday morning! It is a quick flight to Abu Simbel, we barely reached altitude and we were descending for our arrival! On our descent I saw the Abu Simbel temple but sadly I could not get my camera our in time to take a photograph. I will need to look for one when I get internet service again it was a breathtaking sight. There are also pyramid shaped mountains but in reality there are no pyramids in upper Egypt (southern Egypt). The pyramids are all in lower Egypt (northern Egypt). On arrival our Ya'lla guide was waiting for us at the door where he took us directly to the bus that would take us to the Temple. It is a short ride, maybe 15 minutes. He got our tickets and took us directly to the temple. Guides are not allowed to take people in and talk inside so he gave us all sorts of information before we went in. He has 8x10 photos to show us what we will see and explain it to us. This temple is different in that it was carved into a mountain of rock, built over a 25 year span and one of the most prodigious feats of engineering in Egypt. The entire complex of temples was moved to its present location 90 feet above its old site to protect it from the rising water of the Nile when the Aswan Dam was built in the early sixties. There is a film and photos to show you how they managed to cut apart this temple and reassemble it above the old site. I'm not sure if I mentioned before that 14 Temples were moved when the dam was built. Of these temples 4 were given to other countries, 1 is in the Met in NYC, I forget where the other went but then 10 were reassembled near their original sites.

Abu Simbel Temples for Ramses II and Nefertiti

Our visit was up and we were taken back to the airport by bus. Within 10 minutes we were boarding and on our way to Cairo with a quick stop in Aswan to  let passengers off and pick up a few. We were there just minutes and didn't even get off the plane. It is just over an hour to Cairo. Maged was waiting for us in his very efficient fashion. He said our flight was early and there is no doubt it was because we left Aswan early. If he were not so efficient we would have been waiting for him. A short walk to the van where cold water was waiting for us then on our way to the hotel. I will say we are exhausted and looking forward to eating dinner and just going to bed. We didn't have lunch but we always carry nuts or something with us to snack on. I have a slight sore throat and I hope it is just from exhaustion but I am popping a lot of On Guard beadlets!

When we arrived at the hotel Maged took care of check in just like he and the other Ya'lla people take care of boarding passes, check in, luggage, everything. We were upgraded to a "Preferred Customer" room, which is in the newer section and quite elaborate. There is a luxurious bed and flat screen TV. We just see a tip of the Pyramids but the room is so posh it is a great trade off. At 6p we went to the pool restaurant to eat the delicious grilled veal chops with sides of rice, French fries, grilled veggies and appetizers of the Sambossek, Hummus, and glass of Egyptian red wine. After that it was off to bed for us. A few minutes to read and I was out. We are looking forward to sleeping in and taking our time to pack and prepare for our flight home on early Sunday morning. 

Day 16 - Aswan - Nile Cruise

Our Morning View from the Boat

Our day began at 6:30a, right after breakfast. We went on a short motor boat ride to the Temple of Philae on the island of Agilka. The temple was dedicated to Isis, sister/wife of Osiris and patroness of the Ptolemaic rule. I can't keep all their gods straight because there are a lot of them! Another beautiful, intricate temple. This one even had a kiosk built by the Roman Emperor, Trajan nearby. As years passed and Christians came, they put their marks on the temples as well, the cross in different styles, and there are also some Christian etchings in some areas.

Temple of Philae

Next we drove to the Aswan High Dam, Egypt’s contemporary example of building on a monumental scale. It is quite something in the fact that if the dam was destroyed all of Egypt would flood within 7 hours. Can you imagine? That is what our guide told us. I will be eager to have the Internet to check some of the things we were told. Later I asked a different guide an he said the area of Alexandra would be fully destroyed. Since most of the inhabitants are along the river, perhaps it is true in life but not in land? Of course there is a military presence and each vehicle is checked. In addition, it is a no-fly zone.

The Dam

Next stop was the granite quarries which supplied the ancient Egyptians with most of the hard stone used in pyramids and temples. Here we got a better idea how the Obelisks were made as we viewed the Unfinished Obelisk at this site. It cracked when they were cutting it out so they abandoned the whole thing.

Unfinished Obelisk

We sailed around Elephantine Island on a felucca, the traditional Egyptian sail boat. Elephantine Island is the largest of the Aswan area islands, and is the site of some of the most ancient remains in Egypt, with artifacts dating to pre-dynastic periods. Elephantine is Greek for Elephant. In ancient times, the island was called Abu or Yabu, which also means elephant. The name may indicate that the island was once a center for the trade of ivory. What a relaxing time. Continue sailing around Kitchner Island (also known as Lord Kitchner’s Botanical Garden, Plant Island, Gizirat al-Nabatat, Plantation Island, or Gizirat al-Bustan). Lord Kitchner moved there after being given the island for his campaigns in the Sudan. He imported plants from around the world to create his famous garden. From the river you have a nice view of the Aga Khan Mausoleum, an elegant pink granite structure built in the late 1950’s. We saw many birds along the way. My camera is not great at getting most of them. This felucca dropped us off right near our boat and we walked back with just enough time freshen up and have lunch.

Felucca

 Kingfisher

We relaxed until 2:30p when John and I booked 2 additional things. 1) Visit to a Nubian farm and 2) A carriage ride on the back streets and "real life" of Aswan. The farm wasn't so interesting but the motor boat ride to it was relaxing, breezy, and enjoyable while we saw a lot more birds. We did feed some baby camels at the farm, saw some captured crocodiles, and a few goats. We had tea and that was about it. When we got off the boat we got directly onto a carriage. It was a fancy carriage. We drove through the back streets seeing shops, fruit stands, women shopping, men visiting, children waving and welcoming us, and a lot of the homes people live it. It is humbling, we have so much and take it for granted. While the area for tourists looks much like any other city, the back streets reveal the real life of the ordinary person. I was pleasantly surprised today to see a couple Plumeria trees!!!

Nubian House

Baby Camels at Nubian Farm

Back Streets 3

Back to the ship, bidding farewell to our wonderful guide George just before dinner. We will miss him tomorrow but we will be well taken care of by the guides we get, I am sure. So after dinner we just worked on packing and went to bed. We have to be ready for pick up at 7:15a tomorrow. Packing is a bit of a challenge because the only things we are supposed to take with us to Abu Simbel is what we will carry around with us for 2 hours. Ugh. Everything fit in one carryon bag that will be checked BUT - the question is, how much will it weight? We shall see in the morning!

Day 15 - Edfu to Aswan - Nile Cruise

Sunrise on the Nile River

Our start time today was 7:30a. We took a horse-drawn carriage to visit the Temple of Horus, the most perfectly preserved of all the Nile Temples. Horus, also known as Haroeris, was the falcon-headed solar war god. It was interesting but we are getting a bit of "Temple Fatigue" - After the carriage ride back we re-boarded had lunch and by then we were sailing to Kom Ombo.

Carriage Ride 

Temple of Horus

We viewed the quarries on each side of the river as we proceeded to Aswan.

We decided we would forego the visit to the temple in Kom Ombo called the Temple of Sobek and rest this afternoon. John might even be less tired than I am but we both took a nap in the afternoon! After dinner we sailed into Aswan and we watched that process take place including the docking. At 9:30p we saw a Nubian show, we will visit a Nubian farm tomorrow along with other things.

Docking in Aswan

Tonight after dinner we had Nubian Night. The Nubians were people who lost most of their land when the Dams were built. They moved of course. We had music and dancing and something that might have been comedy. 

Nubian Night

It was a restful and quiet day. We spent part of the time in our cabin and part of our time enjoying the sun deck. I tried to post the blog but the internet kept dropping off. My phone works pretty well but keeps giving me a message that I don't have a "plan" - which we set up before we left. I tried to call the number they said to call but it said they will not accept a call from my number. I guess we'll sort that out at home. 

Foods

Of note: The temple we missed was the Temple of Sobek a temple for the crocodile-headed god of fertility and creator of the world. The temple stands at a bend in the Nile where, in ancient times, sacred crocodiles basked in the sun on the riverbank. There are no crocks in the Nile River now, they are behind the dam. I'm not sure how they know this but that is what we were told.