Monday 7th April – Safaga, Egypt

Wow… this has been such an interesting day!!!

The journey to Luxor West Bank would take 3½ hours… approximately 20 coaches left the port together escorted by security guards. This was quite an operation, as side roads were blocked by police to enable our convoy to pass intact. Most of our journey took us through desert and mountains… the guide said that 96% of Egypt is desert.

On the way, we passed Bedouins and their camels. Apparently, these wandering tribesmen officially have no nationality. As we approached Luxor, small tufts of plant life broke up the monotonous sand… then tiny villages appeared, followed by sugar cane fields and an artificial canal which is bled from the Nile to support farming. It was a quaint sight to see people still using donkeys as a means of transport.

Many of the village houses were made of mud bricks with a roof partially covered with what looked like cut pampas grass. The more sturdy, modern houses looked unfinished… this is because a family builds additional floors as and when a son gets married, so he and his new wife can live above the parents (we’ve seen quite a bit of this in the countries we’ve visited, kids sharing the same building as their parents… are they mad!!!).

Views from the coach:

An example of ‘unfinished’ house

This appeared to be the typical way of crossing the small canal

Road block

Crossing the Nile

Our first stop was to the Valley of the Kings… described as a vast city of the dead where to date, 62 magnificent tombs have been discovered (I think there was a 63rd, but no bodies were found in the coffins). Tombs have been carved into the desert rocks and intricately painted with various mineral stone dyes, which have maintained their rich hues, then filled with treasures for use in the afterlife by many dynasties of Pharaohs.

We weren’t able to take photos inside the 2 tombs we visited. If you want an idea of the tombs we saw, go to the following link:

http://www.crystalinks.com/dynasty20.html

What an incredible sight these tombs are… the paintings hinted at what life would have been like back in those days. I traced my finger along some of the 3000+ year old carved graffiti… amazingly the walls were unprotected. Unfortunately the crowd quickly sweeps you towards the exit.

Outside the vast barren sandy coloured rocky landscape looked like a scene from a biblical film.

Tomb entrance

This is one of those places where you need to hire a private guide for a week… everything looks so fascinating that you long to hear the story behind this interesting place.

Anyway… lunch was taken at a hotel right on the banks of the Nile. Ok… I’m going to sound like a real wimp now, but I’m still quite unwell and probably shouldn’t have ventured out today, but I so didn’t want to miss this excursion (btw – I must look up the symptoms of malaria!!!).

The next stop was to the stunning Karnak Temple. This has been built over a period of two millennia by generations of Pharaohs. This 62 acre temple was dedicated to the God Amun. Once again, the sights were breathtaking… it sort of reminded me of walking into Pompeii for the first time, only this is much more ornate. Giant carved pillars are scattered everywhere (23 meters high).

During excavation, they discovered how the early Egyptians built this magnificent temple: Artificial ramps were made so they could move the heavy blocks along and up. The height of the ramps were increased as the walls became higher. Once the blocks had been laid and the ramps were at their highest point, they began the intricate carving and worked their way downwards, lowering the ramps as they went.

As always, the pictures don’t do this wonderful temple any justice.

After a very long day, we reformed the convoy and made our way back to the ship (another 4 hours stuck on the coach!).

Andrew… many thanks for the link to the blog of a fellow passenger. I’ve not seen this couple around the ship. I’m still trying to make sense of what I saw in Chennai and it’s interesting for me to read about the experience of others.

Jack and Brent… now you have tried the Princess Grill, will you ever be able to return to ‘steerage’? I guessed the message was from Brent… the ‘carpe diem’ was a clue! Have a wonderful swim with the dolphins Jack (you didn’t fancy doing that then Brent?). Egypt was baking hot and very dusty!

Mike… this guy is an expert with a steak knife!!! He lectures on his forensic work and has brought some of his presentation slides with him, so I’m looking forward to seeing them. As for camel rides… after the excess calorie intake on the ship, I don’t think one could take my weight!!!

Steve… I’d heard that Jim and Phil had been upgraded… I think there was a noise or something in their old cabin. Lesley is waiting for an invite to view their new suite! Do they add photos to their ‘round robin’ reports?

Scottie… I hear that my house is full of youngsters. Hope you are all having a wonderful time together and that my carpets remain in a pristine condition!!! Please email me regarding pick-up arrangements… ta very much darling… love you loads x

Ian and Gez… Your time on the QV seemed to pass by so quickly (do you agree?). Sounds like you made the most of Dubai… did you ride a camel? Sorry to hear you’ve both picked up the QV virus… I’ve still got it!!! It was wonderful to meet you both and thank you for your kind offer.

James… nice to hear from you. All the best with Cunard Critic:

Rach… the fondue thing… there were strict instructions to ensure that people didn’t eat directly from the fondue forks! I kept my eye on everyone just in case!!! Is it worth reporting dad for felling an oak tree?

Davena and John… Hmmm… was that stray burning log once a part of your oak tree? I think that now you are both so ‘geriatric’, you really should be using a fireguard!!!