Last full day in Egypt. Got up late- hallelujah. Pyramid view from our room again. News that Kate has had a baby boy dominating the world news, and Cairo riots last night one killed 7 injured. Bought one 24 hour Wifi card but a real hassle getting it to log off each device- ended up ringing the server company somewhere around the world to sort it out. Explored the original palace part of the hotel including a private tour (for a gratuity) of a luxurious apartmen...

Abu Simbel was the southern gateway of Egypt built by Ramses II to show his power over adjoining territories. Massive colossi carved from the rock flanking a temple cut deep into the rock. Ramses built another smaller but just as impressive temple nearby. Both were relocated 66m higher and 200m back from the water when the dam was built way downstream. The resulting Lake Nasser is 500km long - second largest artificial lake in the world. 120,000 Nubians were rel...

Last day of Nile Cruise: Aswan. Up early of course for our day in Aswan. In the Memphis Tours minibus and off to see the Unfinished Obelisk, the two dams, and the Philae Temple. Options for the Nubian Village and the Fellouca Cruise we didn't take. The Unfinished Obelisk was for the Karnak Temple three days (for our boat) downstream - it was 61 metres long and weighed 1200 tonnes. After two years they had painstakingly carved three sides of it out of the solid g...

Nile Cruise Day 2: Edfu and Kom Ombo. Late night and up at 530 ready for 6 breakfast and 7am horse-drawn carriage tour to the Edfu temple - another greek period temple. Jeannie hadn't slept well and we'd left the curtains drawn to watch the Nile sliding by in the moonlight, so she saw us berthing during the night. Edfu only 86,000 people quite poor in the town but the temple was magnificent - built by Alexander the Great's people (under greek ruler Ptolemy) to ap...

Day 6 of Egypt. Nile Cruise. Up at 6am (I thought this was a holiday!) for breakfast and the day's tour to the Valley of the Kings and to Queen Hatshupset's Tomb complex. Valley of the King was amazing (I keep using superlatives like awe-inspiring and amazing but that is what it is like. Roman Emperors, Alexander, Napoleon all came to see, and Giza Pyramid is the sole remaining seventh wonder of the ancient world). Valley of the Kings has 62 discovered tombs of ...