Egypt

It’s one of the most exotic and historical ancient places in the world.  Egypt is known as the land of the pharaohs and also as the gift of the Nile because without the Nile river there would be no Egypt.  Egyptian civilization has lasted for over 3,000 years starting in 3100BC (that is before the Persians and the Greeks) all the way to 31BC when the Romans annexed the kingdom of Egypt and made it a province of its growing empire.  The capital is Cairo, a massive city nestled right next to the Nile river.  Here are the top 5 Egypt sightseeing activities:

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The Pyramids at Giza & the Sphinx

This is one of the most popular Egypt attractions.  The Pyramids are 4,500 years old and are made up of over 2.5 million stones.  The Great Pyramid is the only surviving wonder from the 7 wonders of the ancient world.  Each individual stone can weight several tons (that’s a few elephants put together!).  The Great Pyramid was the highest structure in the world until the Eifel Tower was built in the late 19^th century.  The Sphinx has a head of a human and the body of a lion.  Originally carved out sandstone, its age has not been determined.

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Karnak at Luxor

Karnak is the temple complex of the ancient Egyptian Religion.  Anyone would be immensely impressed with the size of the columns.  As you look around you can imagine the priests walking down the ornate and carved columns.  Truly a site to see.

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Abu-Simbel & Aswan Dam

In Abu-Simbel Egypt you can few the four giant statues of Ramses II.  The statues themselves are carved into the mountainside.  On April 21^st, Ramses birthday, the sunlight shines through the temple to a statue of Ramses.  Due to Aswan Dam, the temple was relocated piece by piece to higher ground to avoid the rising flood waters.  Rather than being carved in the mountain the new temple was actually built (being on of the top things to do in Egypt, many people dont realize it was actually rebuilt).  The Aswan Dam was financed by the Russians and allows the irrigation of large swaths of dessert that line the River.

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The Valley of Kings & Hatshepsut Temple

The Valley of Kings is where the majority of Egypt’s pharaohs are buried.  You can view numerous underground wall paintings that will set your imagination alive.  For a small extra fee you can enter the tomb of King Tut, the only pharaoh still buried in the valley (the rest of the pharaoh’s can be found at the museum in Cario).  Nearby you can also visit the temple complex of Queen Hatshepsut.  Although the gardens have been reclaimed by the dessert the entire temple complex remains.  Make sure you where “im a tourist shirt” so you can be picked out by hoards of aggressive salesmen that will sell you cheap souvenirs.

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Suez Canal Area

Here you can see the most important canal in the world built in 1869 by financiers from Britian and France.  Trips from Europe to the Far East were greatly shortened after the construction of the canal.  Since the canal empties into the Red Sea you can visit beautiful beaches and even go diving nearby!  Snorkeling is also extremely popular in Egypt since it has miles of great coastline available.  There are day tours on the Suez Canal which provide a great panoramic views of Egypt as well.

Check out our Top 5 section for more things to do around the world!

Ahhh Egypt, the land of the pharaohs.  Unique in its own right, no land is as mysterious and ancient as Egypt.  From the prowess of the Roman Empire or the determination of the British Empire, nothing compares to the longevity of the Egyptians.  Their civilization lasted for 3,000 years.  Till this day there are still significant finds throughout all of Egypt.  One thing you may not have known is that Egypt is situated in the middle of the desert (I know it surprised me too) and boy does it get hot.

Temple at Abu Simbel

After seeing all the highlights in and around Cairo we needed to continue on to the rest of the country.  On to Abu-Simbel Egypt!  We booked a flight with Egyptian airlines specifically because we love the fresh reminiscent smell of body odor from bodies that have not taken showers for days (actually it was the only flight available).  I kid you not, no one was wearing deodorant.  When we got to Abu-Simbel Egypt we didn’t have the luxury of stepping off the plane into a freshly air conditioned room with a compelling aroma of fried food and carbonated beverages.  No, we were greeted with the kindness and compassion of 104 degree heat (40 degrees Celsius) and that’s when it happened.

"The aiport" at Abu Simbel

We get off the plane and breathed in the magnificence of Egypt.  Just realizing at that moment, how lucky we were to be able to see all of this history.  Once we started to walk the ground felt sticky.  At first we just thought it may be gum or perhaps a bird’s gift to the world.  We kept walking and something still wasn’t right there couldn’t possibly be that many birds in Abu-Simbel.  As we investigated further we realized that our sneakers were actually melting on the tarmac.  We shouted to each other “QUICK! TO THE BUILDING!”.

The remnant of the carry-on wheel

With our carry-on luggage rolling as fierce as the run of the bulls in Spain, we were about halfway there when we realized it was getting harder and harder to run.  We look down and the wheels of our luggage had become degraded.  It’s similar to when you take a test in school and you have the upmost confidence that you received a perfect grade only to realize later that you were given a failing grade.  Our luggage wheels were degraded to nubs.  At least this time everyone didn’t see my underwear! We were literally dragging our luggage on the pavement.  Quite the inconvenience at the time but we can now look back and laugh at the case of the melting luggage at Abu-Simbel Egypt.

Egypt Travel Advice:  You have to go to Abu-Simbel!  Just make sure its coldest time of the year (which happens to be almost never).

WanderingTrader