Egypt

Nov 9 we arrive in Cairo.

In both Jordan and Egypt travel representatives had badges that allowed them to meet us soon after we got off the plane and before we got to baggage claim.

We are taken to our hotel which is on Gezira Island which is in the Nile River.

The Giza Necropolis where the Great Pyramid is located is on the edge of Cairo.

The Marriott was built in 1869 to house world leaders coming to Egypt for the Suez canal inaugural celebrations.

A wide angle view looking toward the original building. Two big modern wings have been added. We were in the right side high rise.

The grand staircase. 3:03

Our rooms view wasn't so grand. 3:24

Nov 10.

We meet the rest of our group and our trip leader Mohammed Ali. 9:02

We pass by people getting ready to vote in national elections. 10:50

Our first glimpse of the Great Pyramid of Giza. 11:04

Our bus drops us off and we walk into the GEM (Grand Egyption Museum). It had just opened and we were coming from the side as the main entrance area had been used for lots of opening ceramonies and that infrastructure was being dismantled. 11:21

Ali orients us to the museum and its 50,000 artefacts on display. 11:32

Facing the main entrance and facing the statue of Ramses II.11:34

Ramses II. The 3200 year-old statue weighs 83 tons and is 36 feet tall. It was found in 1820 broken into 6 pieces. 11:37

Ali talks about cartouches.

Looking at all of the cartouches around the main entrance. There is one panel that twice a year allows sunlight to align and shine of Ramses as the temple at Amud Simble did. Feb 22 marks his cononation and October 22 celebrates his birthday. 11:35

Looking toward the main entrance. 11:41

Impressive. How did the ancient Egyptions move such a big statue. 11:41

The main staircase is lined with artifacts 12:10

While riding the escalator to the top floor. 12:13

12:16

View of the Giza pyramids from the GEM. 12:19

A layout of the exhibits by Era and Society, Kingship and Beliefs. 12:22

A burial chamber. The plaque next to the chamber reads "A gradual development of funerary practices towards the end of the Old Kingdom meant that tomb chambers above ground became more like monuments to honour their ouners. False doors and lists of offerings for the afterlife were often moved down into the burial chamber instead. False doors were symbolic doorways between the living and the ka (soul) of the dead. 12:56

Pharaohs with crossed arms. This was meant to emphsize their devine right to rule and also as a benevolent guardian. 1:00

A general view. 1:03

Mentuhotep II built many chapels for his own cult statues. The smiting scene on the rear wall of this chapel portrays him as a victorious leader. The side walls show him in close relationship with the local goddess Hathor, illustrating his divine kingship. Scenes of smiting and close relationship with the gods will be repeated often as we explore egyption history. 1:16

Figures change over time. 1:18

Sarcophagus of General Padisematawy. 26 Dynasty, Schist. 3:16

This timeline covers about five hundread years, during which time the shape and size of royal tombs evolved. They developed from simple mud-brick mastaba and step-sided tombs (about 2580BC and 2570BC) and King Khufu (about 2540BC) who built the Great Pyramid at Giza. The Great Pyramid is the largest pyramid ever buiilt and the only Wonder of the Ancient World still standing today. 12:38

In the afternoon we spent most of our time visiting the King Tutankhamun exhibit. He did not have a particularly large tomb but since it had not been substantially raided it still had most of its 5000 objects. How they got it all into his tomb required some good packing. We will visit his tomb outside of Luxor.

Looking down the length of the King Tutankhamun exhibit. 3:55

Canopic Chest. This box with four compartments probably contained the liver, lungs, stomach and intestines. 3:41

. 3:51

The famous mask. 3:51

The burial chamber layout. 4:05

Chairs from the chamber. 4:12

Beds from the chamber. 4:13

A display with various ideas on how he died. 3:59

Next door to the main museum is a reconstructed solar boat for the pharaoh Khufu. 4:28

Along the front entrance they are still removing the stands etc used for the grand opening. 4:53

That evening on our way to dinner we passed by a shop selling alcohol. 6:31PM

Nov 11. Today we visit the Giza Plateau.

But first our buffet breakfast. 6:54AM

Waiting to be bussed into the Giza plateau. We were too small of a bus (number of passengers) to technically get into the area but Ali knew how to get around the technicality and we were able to use our bus. 8:55

Our entrance ticket. 7:54

One of the signs in the waiting room. 9:04

The age old question is how did they move these stones. The stones weigh between 2-30 tons. Some stones for the burial chamber weigh 70 tons. The missing casing stones are estimated to have weighed 15 tons. 9:59.

looking up at the Great Pyramid of Khufu. It's estimated 2.3 million blocks were used in its construction. 10:04

A sign about the pyramid. 10:07

In front of the . 10:13

Looking toward the top. 10:13

Where the solar boat was found buried next to the pyramid. 10:15

In f . 10:23

Our group in front of the Great Pyramid. 10:23

Just the two of us. 10:25

We feel so lucky to see these great sights. 10:54

We slowly approach the sphink . 11:15

the stones were even polished with curves for a proper fit. 11:08

The head of a human and body of a lion. 11:19

. 11:22

I never thought about a tail. 11:27

A closeup of its head. 11:31

. 11:53

A camel ride. 12:26

Getting ready to ride out. 12:33

We travel out to a rise with a nice view. 12:44

A closer view. 12:46

What great fun. 12:47

Yes it is. 12:49

We pass by some guys having tea back at the start. 12:58

. 4:46

We meet with a young lady who describes what it is like in a male dominated society. 5:41

. 8:16

A view of athletic fields from the tower. 8:35

The boats are also casinos. There is a casino in the Marriott but only foreigners can go inside. 8:36

Nov 12.

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7:12

17:57

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Nov 13. Aswan.

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10:40

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Nov 14.

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Nov 15.

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Nov 16.

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On our way to the Daraw camel market 9:20

9:24

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9:42

We take a walk

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Nov 17.

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We help make sun bread. 11:04

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11:29

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c. 12:20

12:0

f. 12:23

12:47

3:35

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Nov 18.

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3:54

Nov 19.

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Egyptian Mousska. 11:10

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boat corridor. 5:05

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Nov 20.

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Layout of the Temple of Karnak. 9:52

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10:46

A picture from Ali's phone of the biggest oblesk made but it probably cracked during construction. It's estimated to weigh 1200 tons and is 42 meters long. 11:07