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 | Egypt Things To Do | Tips 1 - 10 of 2048 |  |
 Crusing the Nile, calm ancient
waters by jumpingnorman
When you cruise on it, it feels so quiet but you can just feel the power of its history. Maybe I just read Egyptian books too much, but I feel like the Nile is alive! Anyway, the best way to see as much monuments as possible in a short time is through cruising this great river. The boats are not humongous cruise lines, but just small sized boats, very cozy, and it's sometimes nice how they "park" them side by side on the water and you can go from one boat to the other.
Some people do elect to ride the feluccas which are simple sailing boats with a small amount of passengers (minimum of six, and max of 8). Prices are likewise cheaper and most felucca trips begin at Aswan, from where you can go to Kom Ombo, Edfu, Esna or Luxor. But rememebrer that they also charge police registration and the cost of food supplies.And choose reputable captains as there have been reports of some captains abusing some women travellers. Leave a Comment
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 by TheWanderingCamel
Posted by leyle Leave a Comment Address: Any small beauty parlour - not a hotel one
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 Sunset at the Pyramids! Just
Unforgettable! by matt10gonzalez
It’s the biggest city in Africa! It’s chaotic, it’s hectic, it’s noisy, it’s a male city, it’s exotic, it’s interesting, it’s a city that sleeps during the day and parties at night, it’s lots of fun and it’s the perfect place to get road kill! Love it or hate it, you can’t avoid Cairo, the Middle East version of New York. (Which is probably true- You might just land here! And it's also more Middle Eastern than African too.)
TOP TEN THINGS TO DO:
1. Play Lawrence and Arabia! Do a Camel/Horse Adventure for hours at sunset! (4 PM-7 PM) Just riding with the late sunset winds along with the pinkish red sunset and the pyramids turning red is an experience you'll never forget!
2. Go amok with the smells, the odors, the crowds, the colors, the antiques, souvenirs in the super crowded labyrinth of Khan al-Khalili!
3. Just eating the Koshari- it's cheap and a unique HOT culinary experience!
4. Go star struck with the mummies and gold in the Egyptian Museum! Yes! Even if you hate museums, this museum is still worth it- especially the Tutukhamen room, his mask, caskets and his jewels are all in tact and it's full of real pure gold!
5. Crossing the streets of Cairo! True! It's already an adventure!
6. Taking the subway to Heliopolis, or any suburds- you'll truly be stared at and you'll feel like a superstar!
7. Visiting Coptic Cairo, it's a clean and quiet labyrinth where (For Christian believers) Jesus Christ was said to be staying when he was living in Egypt.
8. Just strolling around Talaat Harb (A good location) at 1 in the morning! Just look at how busy the city still is! Just look at how full the Mc. Donalds is, how everyone is still busy shopping, looking at all the thousands of shoes for sale. It's like a carnival!
9. Just relax at the Restaurant Bon Appetite by the American University, it's a relaxing place with cheap (8 LE for chicken Parmigian) and good international food and just interact with the people!
10. Take an afternoon nap! Relax! Move slow! Isn't that what the locals do here? Directions: Cairo is the capital of Egypt, and the biggest city in Africa- though it's much more Middle Eastern in terms of character.
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 Colossi of Memnon on
Luxor’s West Bank, Egypt by jumpingnorman,
1 more photos
My guide asked if I wanted to go down from the car, and of course I said, “Hell, yeah!”. I’ve seen these in pictures so many times, nothing would stop me from being close to them!
These are believed to have been built by Amenhotep III as part of his funerary temple, little of which has remained (although it is thought to be bigger than Karnak). The huge temple must have disappeared because the location is in a flood plain of the Nile, and erosion of over 3000 years caused its disappearance. At first, these structures were believed during Graeco-Roman times as those of the legendary Memnon who was slain by Achilles during the Trojan War.
The northern statue has a reputation of being a “vocal statue” since it emitted weird musical sounds during sunrise, a phenomenon created by a change in temperature and the auditory effects of damaged sustained by upper parts of the statue in 27BC. With the heat of the morning sun, the baking stone would set off sand particles which would resonate in the cracks of the statue. But when the statue was repaired in the 3rd century AD, the audible greetings vanished. So, I did not hear them at all… Leave a Comment Address: West Bank of LuxorDirections: They are located just off the road, before the Antiquities Inspectorate (West Bank) ticket office.
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 Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir
al-Bahri, Egypt by jumpingnorman, 4 more photos
Rumour has it that Hatshepshut was a lady pharaoh who sometimes had to don men’s garments and paraphernalia (like the protruding conical stick-beard from the chin) in order to gain respect and power in ancient Egypt. She was the daughter of Tuthmosis I, and she was married to her half-brother Tuthmosis II who died before her. With the support of priests, she ruled for a remarkably prosperous and peaceful 15 years, overtaking Tuthmosis III who was the pharaoh’s son from a minor wife. She died in 1458 BC, and Tuthmosis III became ruler finally. But at some point, some people wanted to erase her from the list of pharaohs and so many of her monuments and those with her name were destroyed. Akhenaten took out all refernces to Amun, and early Christians who took over the monastery defaced the pagan reliefs. But Hatchepshut’s magnificent temple still stands and is a huge structure that’s so nice to walk around in.
I heard that some tourists were gunned down by terrorists in this temple decades ago, and somehow the walls seemed to echo that horrid past when you listen closely…
The temple looks like it was carved out of the mountain and this was exactly the effect that architects wanted at the time, partly rock-cut and partly free-standing stonework. There is a large central court, and two chapels at both ends of the colonnade. Leave a Comment Directions: Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir al-Bahri
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 Fallen Falcon at Temple of
Horus, Edfu, Egypt by jumpingnorman, 2 more photos
Unfortunately, one of those nice falcon statues was on the ground, detached from its body. I hope the next generations would still see these falcons who met each succeeding century with their emotionless faces and eyes. I hope the fallen falcon smiled a little when I took a picture with him…
This temple, whose 200 year construction was started by Ptolemy III in 237 BC, has an impressive 36m-high pylon entrance or gateway guarded by two granite falcons and reliefs of Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos holding enemies by the hair, a stance symbolic of the pharaoh’s triumph and power. There is a big court after this where offerings to Horus were made, followed by several halls, passages and chambers. You will also find a Nilometer in this temple on the eastern enclosure wall which was used to measure the level of the great river to help predict harvest outcomes. Leave a Comment
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I read a lot before going to Egypt about climbing Mt. Sinai but I must admit that it was much more difficult than I expected.
After the luggage control at the entrance at the Monastery we start climbing.
Mt. Sinai, also called Horeb Mountain or Jebel Musa (Moses Mountain), lies on the south part of St. Catherine Monastery and is 2.285 m high.
On this mountain God spoke to Moses and gave him to stone tables with the 10 Commandments.
Mt. Sinai is considered sacred both for Christians and Muslims and is the centre of an important pilgrimage destination that includes St. Catherine Monastery, Elijah Plateau and ar-Raaha plain near the mountain.
The climbing starts at 1.500 m and follows on the "Horeb staircase" up to 2.244 m.
We started at 2:00am and, even if we were a quite young group, we arrived at the top at 5:30am.
The last part, the steps, is the most difficult one and a pocket lamp is mandatory, although, if you are lucky, the moon is a good companion.
On the top is really cold, but you can rent blankets for 10 LE (USD 2-).
The best place to sit is on the right side of the chapel but the sunrise can be seen from almost all the points on the top.
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 swimming pool by marimar_72
If you enjoy sunbathing,swimming and scuba diving,yet don't want to travel far,this is your choice.
I stayed at Palmera beach resort. Leave a Comment
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Kom Ombo is located on the east bank of the river Nile about 50 km north of Aswan.
Kom Ombo is home to an unusual double temple built during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods.
The temple is dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and the falcon god Haroeris (Horus the Elder).
In the main hall there are two lines of columns with the upper part decorated with floral motives (papyrus, then lotus, then open papyrus flowers).
On a wall can be seen the Egyptian calendar (365 days, 12 months with 30 days). Other 5 days, considered important festive days, were later on added. Once every 4 years another day was added (the 366th), as in the case of the leap years.
In Egypt were only 3 seasons (summer, winter and the Nile fooding season), and in this calendar the Egyptian registered the important events of every day of the year.
The days were represented as follows: the first day of the first month of the first season (for example, the Harvest season). The days were represented as lines up to 9; a sign as a horseshoe represented number 10.
In the first column it was registered the months and in the second the instructions to be followed for that day.
The temple was excavated last century, although part of it has been lost into the Nile and an earthquake in 1992 caused further damages.
Despite being badly damaged, the temple is a beautiful sight as one approach from either direction on the river, particularly as sunset nears and the colors change.
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The Egyptian civilization has developed and continues to exist owing to the Nile. It is the longest river in the world - 6671 kilometer from the source up to the mouth.
The Nile is formed by merge of the White and Blue Nile in the territory of Sudan. The White Nile begins in Rwanda and the Blue Nile - in Ethiopia. The river eats rains which are dropping out on the plateau of East Africa and in Ethiopia. In the territory of Egypt the Nile has no inflows. The width of a valley is from 1 kilometer in the area of Aswan up to 25 kilometers in the area of Cairo. In the delta of the Nile there are two greater sleeves - East and Western.
My cruise over the Nile has allowed examining it from Luxor up to Aswan (about 200 kilometers). Unforgettable impressions for me there will be dawns and sunsets above the Nile.
You may watch my high resolution SLIDE Show Sunrise over the Nile on my personal WebShot page.
You may see my 5 min VIDEO-clip Dawn over the Nile near Isna with Xenia Akeynikova "Dawn Over Moscow" music on my YouTube channel.
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