Well, I came to Egypt to find inspiration, and I did. After my Cairo tour, I headed to other places like Aswan, via the overnight train. The smell of diesel will forever remind me of the train. I had a two passenger cabin, and the toilets (when flushed when directly on the train tracks...) were shared among the other cart passengers. There was no heat or air conditioning, and I have to say that it is a bit stressful when the train is moving quickly WHILE the crew is trying to fix it... I had my morning coffee by the window and to the left I saw nothing but sand/desert, and to the right green landscape and the river Nile. It's like the train served as a divider between two completely different worlds. From Aswan, I was up at 3:00am to prepare for the 3:30am departure to Abu Simbel (Beautiful!!). Then afternoon was spent lazily on a Felucca where I spent the night surrounded by the tranquility of the dark and under the guidance of the moon.
Luxor offered great shopping and good food. Inspiration struck in the Valley of the Kings. It is an overwhelming feeling to walk into tombs that are dated B.C, touch the sand, and inhale the spirit and atmosphere of it all. For six or seven days, I saw tombs and temples, but nothing compares to the Valley of the Kings. WOW!
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| Sandboarding |
After Luxor came desert time! The 4X4 Jeep whisked me off to camp in the White Desert. I woke to 3 degrees Celsius - brrrr - It was worth it because the desert was beautiful. At sunset, the sky turned pink and blue, and at night, there were so many stars it seemed like it was a man-made fabrication. I've never seen so many starts in one spot. I spent two nights in the Bahariyya Oasis, where it rained for a good 20 minutes for the first time in over a decade. It was great to see the locals looking-up in amazement, and children who had never seen rain were running around much like children do at home during the first snowfall. My last two days were spent in Alexandria where my hotel room overlooked the Mediterranean Sea. Alexandria has a lovely European feeling to it with its many Patisseries and Cafés. The catacombs of Kom Ash-Shuqqafa (largest Roman burial site in Egypt where Egyptian art meats Roman influences resulting in the combination of two cultures) and the Bibliotheca Alexandria are quite impressive.
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Desert Sunset
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Well, I came to Egypt to find inspiration, and I did. After my Cairo tour, I headed to other places like Aswan, via the overnight train. The smell of diesel will forever remind me of the train. I had a two passenger cabin, and the toilets (when flushed when directly on the train tracks...) were shared among the other cart passengers. There was no heat or air conditioning, and I have to say that it is a bit stressful when the train is moving quickly WHILE the crew is trying to fix it... I had my morning coffee by the window and to the left I saw nothing but sand/desert, and to the right green landscape and the river Nile. It's like the train served as a divider between two completely different worlds. From Aswan, I was up at 3:00am to prepare for the 3:30am departure to Abu Simbel (Beautiful!!). Then afternoon was spent lazily on a Felucca where I spent the night surrounded by the tranquility of the dark and under the guidance of the moon. 
