February 20th - I can't tell you anything!

This is going to be short. 

Today was my annual trip to Hierakonpolis, a pre dynastic site just north of Edfu and on the West Bank. 

As Patrons we can ask for permission to visit when we are in Egypt but it's up to the Minister and the Edfu Inspectors to grant that permission. The site Director, Renee Friedman, has to jump through hoops for us. We have to provide ID in advance just for starters. 

However, it's well worth it. No one can just visit this site out of the blue. Some have tried and been given short shrift, the Guardians can be VERY intimidating to say the least. In these troubled times this is the last thing that should happen

We left at 8am and arrived at 10.30am. We travelled on the much more pleasant West Bank road. Some of the sights of daily life are fascinating. 

We reached the turning off the main road and then entered forbidden territory. The most I can show you is an overview of the site with the Fort of King Khasekhemwy. 

And that's about it I'm afraid. 

We had a tour of the dig site and saw all of the pottery sherds that are being painstakingly put together by the team. They are doing amazing work and are expecting to find more animal burials this year, hoping that a giraffe will be one of them. 

We left the site at 2.30pm after a lovely lunch and made our way back to Luxor. 

When I arrived I found that not only had my room been upgraded but also all my stuff had been moved for me too! It was lucky that I had already packed!

I had a message waiting too. I am also involved with the Theban Mappping Library down by the ferry. It's run by Dr Kent weeks and his assistant, Ahmed. I had been contacted to see when I was visiting as I have things for the children. I was then able to make arrangements to visit tomorrow afternoon, which should be fun!

I forgot to mention something about the Valley of the Kings yesterday. Not only was it empty but I. Noticed that security was more heightened than in past years. As we left the valley road to join the main road we passed the security kiosk. I noticed that they have a Stinger on a chain, ready to pull across the road to disable a vehicle if necessary. 

Also, there is no licence being issued for the Amarna site until at least May, as the authorities are very concerned about Middle Egypt. 

Sorry it's such a short one, more tomorrow!

February 19th. A quiet day

We all decided on a late breakfast which we ate in the garden restaurant, a type of tent. It was lovely! We had the most perfect omelettes, flat bread that was fresh from the local baker and masses of fig jam and honey. Afterwards, Sayed kindly offered drop us off at the ticket office so that we could see the three new tombs at Quernet Marai. 

Of the three tombs, two are at the lower level and the best, Huy, was at the top of a short but steep track. 

The first one, TT278, Amenemhab, is ok, but nothing special. I'm getting picky now!

The second tomb, TT277 Amenemonet, was much nicer and there was a great deal of white background. 

After that we walked to see see TT 40, Huy the Viceroy of Kush. This was SO different from the others and any I've seen before. It was really all about the Nubians and there were some fantastic paintings. The ceiling was unusual in the there were no stars, just vibrant decoration. 

Notice the nursing mother with a baby on her back and other children hanging on to her hand. 

Whilst in here, we met a Dutch group being led by the Egyptologist Jan Koek. We had a long chat with them all and really enjoyed meeting with them. 

On leaving the tomb, which is quite high up, I took some lovely panoramas of the area. It was a bit misty but I think this adds to the mistique of the place. 

We walked from here to the Medinat Habu area to have a sit down and a cold drink, which was very welcome as it was so hot. 

Once finished, we made our way back to the hotel on foot, stopping off a the Egyptian gift shop called Caravanserai. What a lovely place to shop! 

The lady sat outside whilst we were inside, browsing. The lack of pressure to buy was so refreshing that I ended up buy a necklace and bracelet set. Everything was really good value with no need to barter. We chose some things that were heavy so decided to return next weekend, before we return home. 

As we finished I received a call from Sayed from the hotel. He had just finished at the mosque and wanted to know if we wanted a lift back to the hotel. 

Whilst we waited outside we noticed that a donkey and a goat were keeping cool by leaning against a mud brick wall. The goat had markings like those on the cattle in tombs. 

He is so thoughtful. We waited a few minutes and he arrived. It was a nice end to the morning. 

We had something to eat, and a short rest. I started writing this post on the roof of the hotel where I could see the Colossi. What an amazing setting!

It was decided that we would visit the Valley of the Kings late afternoon so we arrived there at 3.30pm. There were hardly any people there, in fact I only saw three, and they were leaving. The vendors stalls were nearly all closed. 

We bought our tickets but I only wanted to visit the newly opened Horemheb, whilst my friend also wanted to see Tuthmosis lll. I have no interest in that as it's not my type of art, all stick men. I waited by Horemheb for a short while then decided to go in alone, my friends would join me later. 

What a fabulous tomb! It has very dark backgrounds but the art work is exquisite, reminding me of last year's wonderful trip to Nefertari. 

As my friends joined me, the Guardian was telling them to be quick as it was nearly time to close. We dragged ourselves up the steps out of the tomb. I don't know how my friends managed it after being in Tuthmosis lll, as that it a very difficult tomb. 

As we exited the door another Guardian had a big, heavy chain ready to lock the door behind us. 

We were the only people there and the last people to leave the Valley. The only visitors seem to be Egyptians 

I have never seen the Valley so quiet. 

We returned to the hotel and started to prepare for our trip to Hierakonpolis tomorrow. 

February 18th - the British are coming!

My meeting yesterday had resulted in us being asked to visit a new dig site at Qubbet el Hawa, where the Tombs of the Nobles are on the West Bank.  We had breakfast later than usual so that we could luxuriate in our amazing hotel!

Again, we ate on the terrace. The sun was hitting the island and made it look fabulous. We were able to see the inscriptions on the rocks at the waters edge much more clearly. There were actually more guests than I expected to see, so that's a good thing for the economy. 

We had all made up our minds that, despite the cost, we would return to the Old Cataract again. 

I got the luggage sorted with the driver, as he was meeting up with us later, then I breathed in whilst I paid the bill!

We went down to the jetty where our boat was waiting for us to transport us over to the site. On the way I said goodbye to the hotel, hoping that I would be able to stay there again soon. 

We sailed past the new annex to the Movenpick Hotel on Elephantine Island. It certainly is an impressive structure but it didn't look occupied. 

We were being dropped off at the public ferry and then met by the two Directors of the site. 

Essam Nagy, the EES man in Egypt, was there to greet us. We walked up the slope to the dusty road where he introduced us to Martin Bommas, the other Director. Once introductions were made, we sat in the rest area whilst Martin outlined their plans. 

He explained that as a young man that he had been involved in the dig on Elephantine Island. Even then he had decided that he wanted to have his own dig at Aswan as he believed that there was much more to be found. He's now had his wish granted! 

There are already Spanish and German missions at Qubbet el Hawa, well now the British are there! There has not been a British led dig since the 1880's when Lady Cecil was there. It seems I've got a great deal of reading about this determined Lady when I get home. 

Martin is looking for the middle class burials. His work at the Elephantine site uncovered the poor burials and the Spanish have the high class burials, so his question is, where are the middle classes buried? He believes they are on a lower tier and this is indicated by another causeway, the top of a tomb and even more interestingly, what appears to be the bases of small pyramids, similar to that at Deir el Medina. 

This is an overview of the site and the causeway is quite clear. 

Their current visit is really to map the area and get ready to return later in the year to commence the actual excavations. The dig is sponsored by Birmingham University and the EES. 

We were really thrilled with what we saw and the thought of such major new discoveries that are so likely to occur over the next few seasons. It's great to be in at the beginning of what I'm sure is going to change the accepted history of Qubbet el Hawa. What a dramatic view it must have been from Aswan, looking over the Nile to see a row of small pyramids, next to tombs!

We left the site and went to visit the dig house. At the moment it's only for the two Directors, but later on it will be a hive of activity, with the examination and storage of all their discoveries

It is a very pleasant dig house and one I hope to visit again in the future. Thes are my friends with Essam and Martin. Good luck to them both!

We said our goodbyes and left to walk to the ferry for our final trip over the Nile at Aswan. 

That was the great part of the day, next came the worst!

We had a long journey back as we weren't stopping at Gebel el Silsila or Esna. One of our party was ill with a chest infection and then I began to feel rough due to the speed humps. They are prolific! This is what lengthens the journey so much. I think I'm going by train next time as it's far quicker. 

We arrived at our hotel on the West Bank, the New Memnon, which is right by the Colossi statues. It is a wonderful location and the hotel itself is ideal. The first thing that struck me was how clean and bright it was, with light coloured furniture and bright curtains. I had a small balcony with a chair for sitting out over the garden and the vegetable patch. If I looked to my right I could see the statues themselves - perfect!

We settled in then had a light meal which was very welcome as it was so nice.  The manager/owner, Sayed, could not have been more helpful. He genuinely cares about his guests so I can fully understand the rave reviews on Trip Advisor. 

After dinner we went for an evening walk up to the statues. I couldn't believe how wonderful it looks at night, with the Theban Hills lit up behind them and they are lit too. 

This was a pleasant end to a mixed day!

February 17th - Wednesday

We were up early and had breakfast, ready for our drive to Aswan. We checked out but also sorted out our rooms for when we return on the 26th. The car was a bit late so we left Luxor at 8.15am to drive first to Moalla. 

We arrived there at 9.10am with our tickets ready for the Guardian - or so we thought. What a performance! The group of men there wouldn't let us go up to the tombs and kept examining our tickets as though they had never seen anything like them before. Our driver got on his phone, the men got on theirs and so it wort on for over twenty minutes! I was becoming very frustrated and we just walked off up the hill to Ankhtifi's tomb. A few minutes later a man came up and eventually they all did, five of them. We all went inside and there are now prominent signs 'no photos'. This is a shame as on all my other visits there's never been a problem with that. 

I showed my friends around the tomb, we stayed for about fifteen minutes then we left. All that fuss for such a short visit was ridiculous! They really are not doing much to encourage people to visit these obscure tombs by behaving like this when people have tickets.

We continued off down to Aswan, stopping at Esna, Edfu and after Kom Ombo for the driver to have a smoke! We saw lots of interesting sights on the way down, so many butchers! The hanging meat still had the tails one!

There was a man looking to buy a doll for a little girl and he was going to great lengths to make sure it was what he wanted. 

We were losing the will to live when we finally rolled up to the entrance of the wonderful Old Cataract Hotel at 1.45pm. It was a long and tiring journey and we were shattered! 

We entered the hotel, taken on a buggy from the entrance, as no cars are allowed near it. We were taken to a lounge area where we were given a cold drink, hibiscus juice, and a cold towel to refresh us. We had to wait a little too long to check in and I had to go and find someone. I later found out that he'd upgraded us to suites to make up for the inconvenience!

We left the hotel and walked down to the public ferry for Elephantine Island.  More to follow but it's time for bed!  

It was baking hot on Elephantine so I thought it wise for it to be a whistle stop tour, especially has we had a meeting at the 4pm at the hotel. I took them first to th Satet temple to see the very sympathetic way in which the temple had been restored. Whenever a piece of plaster carving had been found, it was placed in situ then any missing parts are drawn on the new plaster, just to show how it would have looked like

We also viewed the early dynastic, old kingdom temple underneath it. 

After this, we went to see the Sater Nilometer, the one I hadn't seen before, as there are two on the island. 

The views down the cataract are wonderful from Elephantine, provided you get up high enough. There is a view point, reached by metal steps, but you are in the full heat of the sun in mid afternoon so it's not a place to linger. 

As it became too hot, we made our way back to the ferry. Once back at the hotel my friends made their way to their room but I waited for the man I had to meet. 

Whilst waiting I was admiring the beautiful floral display. The Guest Services man told me they were for Valentine's Day, a mixture of massive amarillys flowers and roses, roses are my favourite. He asked me if I had seem my room yet and when I said I hadn't he said it was very small! 

Shortly after my friends joined me and we had a very interesting meeting about places we can see on this trip. 

After this I went to see the room. It wasn't a room, it was a suite! It is too lovely to describe so here are some photos. The views from the extended balcony are amazing!

Later, after dinner, I returned to find three roses in the glass in the bathroom!

We had dinner on the terrace, overlooking the Nile and of course, Elephantine Isalnd. It was just perfect! We were too tired to go to the souk, so we went to bed. 

What an amazing day!

February 15/16th 2016 - a new adventure begins!

We left home early and went to our local airport for the connecting flight to London Heathrow. It was with some trepidation that we made our way from Terminal 5 to Terminal 2. I had heard so many nightmare stories about the difficulty, the distance and the time it takes and I really wasn't looking forward to it at all. 

I needn't have worried. The only thing that took a long time was collecting the bags from the internal flight! Once that was done, it only took us about twenty minutes to get between terminals. 

We went to the Egyptair desk to drop our bags. We were far too early but, by striking up a conversation with a pleasant man on the desk, we found that we were able to change our seats to exit row ones. That was a very nice surprise! 

We boarded the plane and appeared to be on schedule, but we had to wait for ages on the stand and then again at the edge of the runway. We were at right angles, so it was very unnerving watching the other planes land. They were approaching us side on, as thought they were coming straight at us! It must have been an amazing view from the cockpit of our plane!

Eventually we took off, some thirty minutes late. 

So, we had no problems at all with the Heathrow terminal transfers, T5 to T2, which was a great relief. The Egyptair flight was fine and I had the best food I've ever had on ANY flight. 

Despite a family medical emergency and the real possibility of me cancelling my trip, I finally arrived in Luxor late last night. 

I had arranged an airport pick up with Jolleys and so we arrived at the Winter Palace Pavillon by 11pm. This is the first time I've stayed here and I picked it after visiting Mr & Mrs eLaReF (from Trip Advisor-Luxor forum) last year. 

I'm travelling with two friends and funnily enough are staying next door to where they've been for the past month! I'm just along the corridor and have lovely views from my room. 

Today we went to the Luxor museum. We walked along the Corniche and saw some very nice new cruise boats. One, called the Mayfair, was beautiful and we were told it was only about six months old. 

We saw some amusing sights, the Cleopatra Wedding Hall was just one of them!

As was this floating cocktail bar!

We eventually arrived at the museum, with me using my student card for the first time. We walked around the first gallery with all the statues then wandered upstairs. It was then the commotion began. 

We were extremely lucky to be there when our friend Hourig Sourouzian came in to oversee the placement of a stone head of Amenhotep lll. What a job that was! Watching the workers physically manhandling such a heavy object in place was a sight to behold. It was really difficult, and at one point we thought one of the men was trapped between it and the wall. I spent over an hour just watching them get it on to a plinth and then add a spotlight to the ceiling so that it was properly lit. It was amazing, as the last time I had seen the head was on the ground at the Colossi site, Kom el Hetan. 

After this we went to buy tickets for Moalla. We're stopping there on the way down to Aswan tomorrow. Then we went to the new Aboudi coffee shop, opposite Luxor temple. It's really a great place to sit and admire the view. They had the sense to put large plate glass sheets as windows so there's no obstruction for photos. I had a problem with my order but management were very apologetic. It wouldn't stop me going there again, as it's such a pleasant place to sit for a while. 

On leaving here we bought some large bottles of water for just 5LE each and then went off to Jolleys to confirm our travel arrangements for tomorrow. Once this was done it was back to the hotel to relax, as it was gone 2.30pm and we were tired. 

The sun was really hot, a shock to the system when we'd had to scrape ice from the car windows yesterday!

I decided to sit in the sun for half and hour then go and sort out my phone. For years I have had problems getting a local SIM card from Vodaphone. The shop is always SO busy, the staff aren't very helpful and without fail they always mess it up so I'm left with no phone. THEN I discovered the Mobilnil shop further down the road. What a difference! The shop is never that busy, the staff are friendly and efficient AND I end up with a phone that works! This is my second year using them and it is such a change to not have all the bother. 

I returned to the hotel and phoned my EES man (Egypt Exploration Society). We made arrangements to meet up tomorrow with another archaeologist, a dig Director, and watch the sunset on the terrace of the Old Cataract Hotel. Whenever I'm in Aswan I always do this, but this year I'm actually STAYING there! It's a special birthday for me this year so I though I'd treat myself and also do something else off my bucket list. Another one is to stay in the three historic hotels, the Winter Palace, the Old Cataract and the Mena House Hotel in Cairo  and I'm doing that on this trip too!

We had intended to visit the Sunshine Orphanage today but we're just too tired, so we went for a rest before dinner, as we have a big day tomorrow. We're leaving the Winter Palace at 8am, so it's a case of up early, have breakfast and check out. I've already arranged our rooms for the return visit at the end of next week, so that's one less thing to think about.