Egypt

We are currently in Israel, but I thought I would try and take some time to blog about the first two countries we visited. First up - Egypt.

August 12:
Luxor
We finally arrived in Luxor after a series of long flights. The first night we went to Karnak Temple for the Sound and Light show.

August 13:
Luxor
We rented bicycles and biked to see the Colossi of Memnon, the Temple of Hatshepsut, Medinat Habu, and The Rammeseum. We intended to see the entire Valley of the Kings, but after biking in the Egyptian August heat we were dead! This was the day we drank 12 liters of water between the two of us.
Hatshepsut's Temple
Medinat Habu
Colossi of Memnon
We had lunch at our hotel's restaurant before crashing for our afternoon nap . The food in Egypt was delicious - and unbelievably cheap - but not always easy on the tummy.

August 14:
Luxor
We hired a driver for the day to take us to Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures inside the tombs - and I can't really describe how beautiful they were. They were brightly colored and very ornate - and it is just amazing to me that the paint is still so vibrant after many thousands of years.Outside King Tut's tomb

We took a felucca ride on the Nile. It was quite relaxing to get away from the hubbub of the city - there is always someone pestering you as a tourist to use their services or buy their product. A few minutes after our relaxing Nile cruise started we heard a young girl screaming from her rowboat. As we got closer we could hear what she was screaming at us, "Hello! Hello-give-me-money!". Over and over and over. Ha!

Luxor Temple

August 15:
Cairo
We took the sleeping train from Luxor and woke up in Cairo. Not a bad option if you don't mind feeling like you are crawling with germs. :) After checking into our hotel we explored the city and went to the Egyptian Museum. Again, no photos inside - bummer. Inside we saw the Rosetta Stone, and a million gazillion Egyptian artifacts (they have such a surplus of artifacts that they are just piled hidden in corners and overflowing), and my favorite - the treasures found in King Tut's tomb.

August 16:
Spent in bed recovering from food poisoning we think - as noted above that the food was hard on the tummies.

August 17:
We spent the day exploring the pyramids. We went inside the Great Pyramid - but we couldn't take pictures inside. It surprisingly wasn't at all decorated like the tombs were, but it was still very neat to be able to climb around inside. The pyramids really are a marvel and a sight to see! Overall Egypt was quite amazing. Hotter than freaking hot (thankfully Jordan and Israel have not been as hot), and quite dirty and loud, but filled with some amazing sights!