February 28th - the last day.

So, the final day has arrived. I feel as though we've been here for much longer than two weeks, but I will be glad to get home. Too much of a good thing?

We didn't leave the hotel until 10am and then made our way to the public ferry. 

1LE each got us over the Nile and we made our way to the bus station so that we got the right bus up towards the ticket office. This was a mistake. One man decided to be too smart for his own good and said the fare was 10, not 1!!!!!  Naturally we walked off and made our way up the road to pick one up further along, by the shops. 

We stopped two buses and both drivers said the same thing, 10LE, whilst laughing. The jungle drums work well over on the West Bank too it seems! Fortunately, the third one accepted the correct fare and so off we went. 

We arrived at the closed site of the Colossi, as I had an arrangement to see the Director, Hourig Sourouzian. 

As we walked towards the entrance I suddenly saw a man walking towards me, arms outstretched in greeting. He was accompanied by the site inspector, who I also knew. I then recognised the man, he was the driver when I used to visit Luxor with an Egyptology group. We had a brief chat but I had to keep my appointment, which was now delayed, as the inspector was then nowhere to be seen. 

We waited for a few minutes and the inspector returned, accompanied by Dr Sourouzian. We greeted each other and had a discussion about the work ongoing at the site. They are making the ground works for future years when the public will have access to the site. 

So much great work is being done here that it's a pleasure to support such a worthwhile project. 

From here we walked back up to Caravanserai, the lovely shop with all the items priced and no hassle, only tea! I bought a beautiful, hand made! Beaded shawl and a glass bead lamp cover. There are good views of Medinat Habu along this road, ones I haven't seen before. 

And the Theban Hills. 

We saw this little donkey by the roadside, hobbled so that he couldn't run off. He did seem well cared for and on our way back someone had been and given him some greenery. 

I did my shopping and then we walked back down to the junction to get another bus back to the ferry. We took our last trip over the Nile and then made our way to the Aboudi Coffe Bar for a much needed drink. They do a delicious fresh lemon juice for 12LE. 

After this, my friends went into the book shop and I went off to the souk to finish my shopping. I've now decided that it's far better to shop at night when there are more people, as the vendors are far ruder to s single, lone female during the day. I just went in, got what I wanted and left, so they were the ones who lost out. 

The pool area beckoned, so I spent my last afternoon lying on a sunbed and listening to my audio book. I've been really pleased with my two visits to the Winter Palace Pavillon and I'll sum everything up tomorrow. 

I won't forget this massive balcony and lovely view!

We went out early for dinner, to the Jewel in the Nile again, as we so enjoyed it last night. We ate likely, conscious of the day of travelling that awaits us tomorrow.  Satisfied, we made our way back to the hotel for an early night. 

It's been a brilliant trip, yet again. But I'll leave Amelia Edwards to sum Egypt up in a way I'm sure you'll all recognise. 

Landing from her boat at Luxor, She wrote in 1877;

"And now there is a rush of donkeys and donkey-boys, beggars, guides, and antiquity- dealers, to the shore - the children screaming for baksheesh, the dealers exhibiting strings of imitation scarabs, the donkey boys vociferating the names and praises of their beasts, all alike regarding us as their lawful prey" 

This is as true today as it was then , so times really haven't changed'

February 27th - we saw 'wonderful things'!

We had a late breakfast and were really glad to be back at the Winter Palace Pavillon. 

I'm getting really comfortable here!

We went to change some money and then check in for our Monday flight. There was no point, as they were unable to do it, so I did it later online. 

We moved away from the front of the hotel before we grabbed a taxi to Karnak. It's better to do it this way as the price goes up if they see you coming out of the hotel. As it was, it only cost 10LE to get there. 

We entered the main entrance and were shocked at the attitude of the security man. He was appalling! He shouted at each person in a very unpleasant way to put items on the X-Ray conveyer belt. I was SO angry at his very rude manner that I told him to his face that he was very rude. I reported him to someone who can do something about him. 

The Egyptian authorities really need to get control of obnoxious people like him. They are alienating the very people that they need to be polite to, so that they will not only spend money in the country but also encourage others to visit as well.  

We met with our friend and our special tour began. We were shown all of the area in front of the pylons me where there ramps and mooring area for boats had been discovered. 

Today I learned all about the vast contribution Taharka made to the rebuilding of Karnak in the 25th dynasty after it had fallen into disrepair.   

We walked through the temple aiming for another area to the north but on the way I took some photos, as the sky was SO blue!

As you can see, it was quite busy. There seemed to be lots of school trips and also Asian visitors by the coach load. 

From here we moved through a locked gate to the Temple of Montu, to the north. This is in an area which would be impossible for the public to access, as the terrain is very difficult. It was really interesting though and it's a site that really needs excavating, once there is enough money. 

We then moved on to the temple of Ptah. I visited here a few years ago, so it was interesting to see the improvements. This was it then. 

Here it is now. 

From now on I can only show you general photos, as I'm not allowed to show the 'special places' we were taken. 

The temple of Khonsu. 

We walked Karnak for three hours, none stop. There is still lots that we haven't seen yet, and I've been coming here for years!  Unfortunately, it was a REALLY hot day today and we were all very tired at the end of the visit. 

Suffice to say that there are areas in Karnak that, after restoration, have the most beautiful and vibrant colours! I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. I would have loved to have photographed them, but unfortunately it was forbidden

It was an absolute privilege to have been allowed to see what we did. We were extremely lucky and won't ever forget what we've seen. Hopefully one day these places will be open for all to visit. As we left the temple, a convoy arrived at the main gate. The security men snapped to attention, so it must have been someone important. We obviously picked the right time to leave! 

We a managed to get a taxi to take us back to the hotel and then we went to see Mando at Jolley's to sort out the transport to the airport. It's been great being able to make all our arrangements with him, it's made life easier. 

I spent the afternoon on a sun bed by the pool, listening to an audio book. It was still very hot, so I was careful to keep beneath the umbrella. 

Later we decided to visit the souk before dinner to get some gifts for friends (you know who you are, ladies!). 

We had an exhausting time haggling with the vendors, but I have to say that Luxor souk is much improved!  The items are displayed better than in the past, the hassle is still the same though!

Luxor temple looks lovely at night too. 

It was nice to se the caleche horses looking in better condition too. 

We managed to get a taxi to take us to Jewel in the Nile, where we had a really nice meal. We enjoyed it so much that we've booked it for tomorrow, our last night in Egypt!

February 26th - Luxor beckons!

We had a leisurely breakfast, having our last look at the pyramids before returning to Luxor this afternoon. Breakfast will not be quite the same at home!

We were being collected at 10am, so we went to pay our bills. What an experience! We were in adjoining rooms and the bills had been mixed up. It took twenty minutes to sort it all out. 

Was this a sign of things to come?

I had arranged that the driver would drop us off in Old Cairo for a short time, then let us see the Citadel, before taking us to the Khan el Khalili and leaving us for a while. Once finished, we would then go to the airport. 

Well, we drove past Old Cairo, with the driver just pointing it out! I only realised he wasn't stopping when the Citadel loomed into view. I asked the driver to stop here, unsure if he actually understood me. In the end I phoned our friend to explain it to him. The driver seemed to get extremely irritated. He said he could understand us, but clearly he couldn't or he would have stuck to the original plan. 

So we stopped at the Citadel for a short time, then, when we got back in the minibus, he took us all the way back to Old Coptic Cairo. We visited the Hanging Church. It was packed with people visiting, as today is a holy day, albeit for Muslims rather than for Christians. 

From here we went to the Khan el Khalili, which was even more packed with people!

This is the tea man, selling to people, then washing the cup, before then selling more 

tea to another person. 

After a while it became unpleasant, so we ducked down some side alleys to seek out the old buildings and non tourist shops and stalls. 

Chickens!

This area was far more interesting than the main tourist area, but it was very overpowering, so we made our way back to where we had arranged to be collected. We were early, but for some reason he was already there, despite telling us he wasn't allowed to wait for us. I never figured that out.  

We were glad to get in the bus and so made our way to the airport. On arriving we thanked him and gave him a tip. Unfortunately he felt the amount wasn't sufficient and became very cross with us. I won't go into detail, but he seemed to think he had been some sort of a tour guide, which he most certainly had not been! He was threatening to call our friend to complain and this annoyed us even more. In the end, my companion gave him more money but then he tried to take the original amount as well! 

We were very unhappy with his attitude and behaviour and this rather spoilt the end of our trip to Cairo. 

This is what comes of me not organising something myself, I won't do it again! We can't wait to get back to Luxor!

We landed at Luxor airport at 6pm and what a relief! The relative peace and quiet of the Luxor roads was more than welcome! As was our arrival at the Winter Palace Pavillon. We felt felt as though we were home! 

It's only now we are back in Luxor we can really appreciate it. The litter, squalor and ramshackle buildings in Cairo have to be seen to be believed! 

 

February 25th - the sands of Saqqara!

We had a wonderful today today. 

We started with a very pleasant breakfast in the 139 Restaurant overlooking the ornamental pool. 

The view of the pyramids is stunning!

We were collected at 9am and taken straight to Saqqara ticket office where we picked up an Inspector to accompany us. We had no need of tickets, as we were being shown some places not open to the public. 

The off limits site is south of the Unas Causeway. The Director is Prof Ola el Aguizy of the Egyptian University and she has been excavating there for over ten years. I met here at a lecture in London last year and she invited me to visit the site. I was allowed a couple of overview phots, but that's all. That's because nothing is published yet and so it's against protocol.  

We saw some amazing temple tombs and the carvings were as though they had been done recently. I'm afraid my word for today was 'amazing' as I couldn't stop saying it!  

We spent the morning on site and actually saw a burial shaft being cleared. It was done in the old way, with the rubber trugs being lowered on rope then filled with sand and brought up to the surface, so it was as though time had stood still for centuries! 

When looking down the ancient shaft there were footholds for getting in and out of it. As we were watching this process of removing many loads of sand, something was brought out which absolutely stunned us there were two pieces of a coffin, brightly coloured and with hieroglyphs painted on them!

Prof Ola was delighted but disappointed that, yet again, there was no name. This seems to be the way with most things discovered!

Around the site were a number of stone sarcophagi brought up out of burial shafts during previous excavations. 

We were taken to the dig house where we were shown the items in the store room. There were stelae, cornices, and carved blocks. 

There was also a ceramic type of coffin being restored. There is so much work to be done here, but,as with many digs, not enough funding. It's such a shame as this site is so rich in history. 

We said our farewells and then went with the Inspector to view some tombs. 

I finally got to see the tomb of Maya, the wet nurse to Tutankhamun. It exceeded my expectation as I never realised it was so large. 

We then went to Meryneith an18th dynasty tomb and that was really well restored. Again, the art work and hieroglyphs were just brilliant. 

The strings are to provide the idea of the missing columns. Ptahemwia was next. 

We moved on to the Unas Causeway, one of my favourite places. 

It was now time to return to the hotel, our day was done!

We fought our way through the crazy Cairo traffic, passing rubbish strewn canals and roads. They look absolutely awful and nothing seems to change with the passing years. 

Having said that, there are nice sights too, like this flower stall at the side of the road. 

The VW mini buses drive around the roads with their rear engine cover open to cool it down. Goodness knows what would happen if it came into contact with someone, sticking out like that!

We got back to the hotel for around 2pm. I had some ouch then actually went out by the pool and listened to an audio book. I was so tired that I feel asleep but I woke in time for the 5pm tour. 

The hotel offers a free tour of the Montgomery and Churchill Suites in the Palace. This is where they both stayed during WW ll and many vitaldecisions were made. 

This is the Churchill Suite. 

His view from his terrace!

The Montgomery Suite. 

And his view from his terrace!

We finished the tour in the lecture room, where Zahi Hawass was about to give a talk to a tour group. There was a table laid out with his books for sale. They were basically coffee table books, but one I couldn't believe - it was US$1,500!!!! Of course it was a limited, signed edition, so that's all right then!

Later, as we walked out for dinner, I noticed that the pyramids were lit differently. We asked in the restaurant and were told that a famous singer was singing at the pyramids tonight and they were being lit that way just until midnight. There was a magnificent reflection in the pool and it looked brilliant!

So, this is our last night at the Mena House, we're leaving in the morning for a tour of the old city then off to the airport for our flight to Luxor and the Winter Palace Pavillon.