This was it, today was the day I finally got to go to Abydos, after trying for so long. My cab driver Julio picked me up at 8am and we drove for about an hour and a half to the Temple of Hathor at Dendera, which I was going to see on the advice of Ramez.

The temple was one of the most amazing I had ever seen. It is virtually intact, the colours still remain on the painted heads of the goddess that top the columns in the hall inside the temple as well as on the amazing carvings on the ceiling. I managed to find the spiral staircase leading up to the roof and walked up it, stopping on the room at the second level and looking down into the rest of the temple. I made it out onto the roof and there was an amazing view of the surrounding area. I then went down the straight staircase leading down to the ground floor. I was worried that I was going to have a repeat of Edfu temple, where I was cornered by a guard in a similar area that was grated off.

The passageway was dimly lit and light reflected off the faces of the priests' and the king carved on the walls walking in single file, it was an amazing experience. I was also the only one there, which is always a nice bonus. I then went down into the crypt of the temple, which is accessed by a hole in the ground leading to a passage way, which you actually need to crawl through. It was a real tomb raider moment.

I crawled out of the crypt and then climbed up a rickety steel ladder into a tiny room in the middle of one wall, not sure I was supposed to be up there, ce la vi! There was no one there to stop me.

I came out of the temple and walked around the back and climbed down into the area where there was once a sacred lake, now empty and full of palm trees.The lake enclosure had passageways leading from it into small rooms.I had a poke around in there, but alas there was very little of note, besides a bad smell.I also visited the small Isis temple around the back. I left the temple and got back in the taxi, it was very hot and I felt a bit dizzy from the heat, thank god for air conditioning.

We drove for a further 2.5 hours stopping at about six check points to be questioned, I didn't think we were going to get through the last one, it seemed to take forever and I think some money may have changed hands. We finally arrived at Abydos, and the local town seemed really old, older than most things people still seem to be living in.

I walked up to the Temple of Seti I, not believing I was walking on the hallowed ground of Abydos…..Finally. I walked into the temple and through the colonnade hall of Ramses II and then through the hall of Seti I. The temple is an odd "L" shape, most Egyptian temples go straight back in a horizontal direction.

I walked through the temple and managed to find the king lists of Seti I detailing all the kings from the Early Dynastic period and the reigns of the god I stood there reading the lists of names something I had wanted to do since I found out about this place. I kept going down that passage and came out the back of the temple, where I found the partially submerged Osirion temple, which is thought to be a cenotaph or memorial tomb for the god Osiris at his cult site. It was amazing and very strange to see the temple partially under the water table and submerged in vibrant green slime like water. This was the main building I had come to see and it was very satisfying to finally be standing in front of it.

I left the temple and got back in the cab and the Julio attempted to convince me that we should press on further to Akhmim, the cult site of the god Min in ancient times. I know there is not that much there, and I didn't want a fight about the price when we got back to Luxor so I declined the invitation. I did have a good conversation about Julio on the way back, mainly about politics, and his opinion of Israel and the USA.

The drive back to Luxor took about four hours and we stopped once and Julio bought me a Pepsi. We got back to Luxor and I paid Julio and gave him a nice tip. I had dinner with Mum and Dad in the hotel, and the power failed about 5 times, pathetic. All in all a totally wonderful day…..and I've lived another dream.