A motor boat picks us up at 8 am today for the short trip to the Kalabasha Temple. Our luggage is going to be transported separately and will meet us at the temple a bit later on. After all the wonderful temples we have seen, this one is a poor relation really. It is situated on the west bank of the Nile River in Nubia and was originally built around 30BC during the early Roman era but never finished. Not many tourists make it to this site and the Nubian sellers ...

Sunday is a working day in Egypt (Fri/Sat is the weekend) and with that the traffic is even heavier than before. At least the sky is blue this morning with a light breeze helping to blow the smoke haze away. If the breeze blows too hard, it brings in the sand from the desert whch covers the city in a sandy layer. The forecast temp today is 32 degrees and this is almost the beginning of winter! Our bus driver Hassam picks us up after a hearty breakfast along with ...

Friday: After the mad rush to get to NY, then to the airport, we finally can relax as we fly across the Atlantic to Frankfurt and then onto Cairo - 7 hours & 4 hours hops. It is a balmy evening when we emerge from the airport, such a contrast to New York. The rep from Viking Cruises waits for us while we buy our Egyptian visas for $15, then together with another couple of our group, we make our way by mini van to the Sofitel al Gezirah, our home for the next ...