Egypt

If I hadn’t liked Egypt, I was prepared to say, “Well, it’s not really Africa. It’s the Middle East,” but I did like the country. In fact, there was only one negative of the trip, and that was the heat. Some days, it reached 107 degrees. July and August are the worst months to visit, but supposedly the crowds are not as bad as in their high season. Dealing with the dry heat was a small price to pay though for the thrill of being there. I spent two days at the Marriott Hotel and Omar Khayyam Casino in Cairo, not a bad place to get over jet lag. I visited Mohammed Ali’s alabaster mosque and the Egyptian Museum. The highlights were the mummy room and the King Tut exhibit. Then I flew to Abu Simbel and took a three day cruise on Lake Nasser before transferring to another ship in Aswan and heading north another three days on the Nile to Luxor. Along the way, some of the highlights included a sound and light show at the Temple at Abu Simbel, crossing the high dam, and riding on a felucca around Aswan’s Botanical Gardens. Almost every day we also stopped to see the temples along the river. Each had a fascinating history. We also dressed up for the Galabea party (see photo). After the cruise, I flew back to Cairo and spent the next day visiting the pyramids and the Sphinx at Giza, and then we made short visits to Memphis and Sakkara. It was thrilling walking into one of the pyramids. I’m claustrophobic, but managed to make it in and out. Overall, I was very pleased with the itinerary. The only things I would have also liked to have done was visit Alexandria, see the Suez Canal, and swim in the Red Sea. I would highly recommend this trip.