Red Sea Celebrations

Thomson's Celebration cruise ship

Hotel

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We joined the Celebration at Sharm El Sheikh, a resort that’s becoming the place to holiday. Previously we had cruised with the modern ships of Princess cruise line so at first I thought Thomson’s Celebration a bit dated - she is 24 years old. She looked though like a ship rather than a block of flats with a flotation chamber underneath – the modern cruise ship! A constant throbbing through the hull proved to be generators rather smaller than the ship’s needs. Thomson’s, British owned until taken over by a German firm, continues to use British currency on-board. She takes 1254 passengers and a crew of 520, which were of mixed nationality.The ship has:Three restaurants, 5...Read More

We joined the Celebration at Sharm El Sheikh, a resort that’s becoming the place to holiday. Previously we had cruised with the modern ships of Princess cruise line so at first I thought Thomson’s Celebration a bit dated - she is 24 years old. She looked though like a ship rather than a block of flats with a flotation chamber underneath – the modern cruise ship! A constant throbbing through the hull proved to be generators rather smaller than the ship’s needs.

Thomson’s, British owned until taken over by a German firm, continues to use British currency on-board. She takes 1254 passengers and a crew of 520, which were of mixed nationality.

The ship has:

Three restaurants, 5 bars, 2 lounges, nightclub, casino, whirlpools, 2 swimming pools, wading pool, cinema, card/reading room, beauty salon, boutiques, kidzone, teen area and video arcade, health club, sports deck, sauna and massage, library, medical centre, internet access, 4 self service launderettes, air-conditioned throughout, stabilized, worldwide satellite telephone, telex and fax. Everything in fact that anyone would want.

Our cabin was an outside cabin on the 3rd deck – there are nine altogether. Our standard cabin had two single beds though some others had a queen-size bed. The cabin had two full-length wardrobes, en suite bathroom with shower and WC, colour TV and hairdryer and air-conditioned. The staff cleaned the cabin twice a day and turned the sheets turned down at night and put a chocolate on the pillow!

The Meriden restaurant has a waiter service with five course meals. Another restaurant offers self-service meals 24 hours a day. Cleanliness had a high priority everywhere. There was an excellent choice of food and well prepared. We had a drinks package thrown in so we dined in style.

Entertainment was good in the Broadway lounge. A troupe of dancers and singers provided most of the entertainment but other crew members joined in. The captain and entertainment’s manager took part in conversation pieces about their life. Both proved entertaining. The waiters gave a midnight performance and they were always performing for us on the quay when we came back from a trip. They also waved us off on our journeys. The catering staff created an art show from food items and ice.

This was a happy ship and unlike Princess there was no tipping. Also waiters weren’t constantly prompting us to give good reports. Everybody simply performed at 110% an approach I prefer. We had registered our charge card when we joined the ship so didn’t need to settle the bill at reception on the day of departure.

The excursion based cruise visited the port of Aqaba, a pleasant place, to visit Petra. According to the entertainments it hasn’t snowed in Petra for 4,500 years – it did for us! The ship also docked at Sokhna for Cairo and Safaga for Luxor. These latter two ports have nothing to recommend them apart from their nearness to the sights Even so Luxor took us four hours to reach.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 18, 2008

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Ancient city of Petra

Attraction

Path leading into Petra Photo - Petra, Jordan

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Jordan’s ancient city of Petra nestles away in the mountains south of the Dead Sea. Sitting on a crucial trade route it amassed a fortune enabling the Nabateans to carve monumental temples, tombs and administrative centres out of their valley rock. Incorporated into the Roman Empire in 106 BC colonnaded street, baths, and the trappings of Roman life extended the city and its population swelled to 30,000. Shifting trade routes and a major earthquake caused Petra to decline. For seven centuries, it disappeared into legend, its existence known only to local Bedouins. Finally, in 1812, a young Swiss explorer revealed the secret of Petra to an astonished world.As we entered the Siq, a n...Read More

Jordan’s ancient city of Petra nestles away in the mountains south of the Dead Sea. Sitting on a crucial trade route it amassed a fortune enabling the Nabateans to carve monumental temples, tombs and administrative centres out of their valley rock. Incorporated into the Roman Empire in 106 BC colonnaded street, baths, and the trappings of Roman life extended the city and its population swelled to 30,000.

Shifting trade routes and a major earthquake caused Petra to decline. For seven centuries, it disappeared into legend, its existence known only to local Bedouins. Finally, in 1812, a young Swiss explorer revealed the secret of Petra to an astonished world.

As we entered the Siq, a narrow winding path that leads in to Petra we passed a ruined ceremonial arch that once spanned the entrance. As the path narrowed to five meters the towering 200 metre cliffs cast shadows on niches that once held icons of the gods Dushara and al-Uzza. The channels cut in the rock walls to supply water for animals are now dry, and in places the terracotta pipes that brought water for human consumption are still in place. Many colours appeared in the cliffs.

After 1.5 kilometres, the guide asked us to look down, walk ten steps and then look ahead. There before us stood the most elegant remains of antiquity - the al-Khazneh (Treasury). Estimates of its age range from 100 BC to 200 BC. Carved out of the rock face, its three tiers stands 40 metres high. Although a royal tomb, the Treasury gets its name from the belief that it was the treasury. Eroded reliefs on the outside represent gods. Inside is a large square room.

The Siq turns right and the number of niches and tombs increase to a graveyard behind the 8000-seat Amphitheatre dating from the time of Christ. Under the stage floor were storerooms and a slot through which a curtain lowered at the beginning of a performance.

The wadi then widens into the main city area of three-square kilometres. Up on the right, carved into the rock are the Royal Tombs. The first is the Urn Tomb, with its open terrace built over a double layer of vaults. The room inside measures 20 by 18 metres, and the patterns in the rock are striking. Next along is the Corinthian Tomb, a replica of Nero’s Golden Palace in Rome. Finally, the Palace Tomb is a three-story imitation of a Roman palace and one of the largest monuments in Petra. Around the corner to the right is the Mausoleum of Sextus Florentinius, a Roman administrator under Emperor Hadrian.

Continuing down the Siq, several restored columns mark the sides of the paved Roman colonnaded street with markets and homes branching off on the sides. Unfortunately because of decay and earthquakes these free-standing buildings have disappeared.

We could only wonder at the hustle and bustle that had been here. We now had to retrace out steps leaving much undiscovered.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on February 18, 2008

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Hatshepsut Temple - Deir el-Bahri

Attraction | "Hatshepsut’s Temple"

Quote:

At first glimpse as we stepped off the coach Hatshepsut’s Temple seemed to grow out of the towering pink cliffs. Across the River Nile from Thebes, at the foot of the Theban hills its wide columned halls reflect the vertical patterns displayed in the cliff behind. Excavated in 1896 from drifted sand, the remains of the 3000-year-old temple still impress. Broken stonework awaiting restoration lie neatly arranged on the terrace as repairs continue.Through use of coalitions and marriage Hatshepsut (1479-1458 BC) became Egypt’s only woman pharaoh. Successful in warfare early in her reign she ushered in a long peaceful era. By re-established trading links lost during foreign occupation ...Read More

At first glimpse as we stepped off the coach Hatshepsut’s Temple seemed to grow out of the towering pink cliffs. Across the River Nile from Thebes, at the foot of the Theban hills its wide columned halls reflect the vertical patterns displayed in the cliff behind.

Excavated in 1896 from drifted sand, the remains of the 3000-year-old temple still impress. Broken stonework awaiting restoration lie neatly arranged on the terrace as repairs continue.

Through use of coalitions and marriage Hatshepsut (1479-1458 BC) became Egypt’s only woman pharaoh. Successful in warfare early in her reign she ushered in a long peaceful era. By re-established trading links lost during foreign occupation she brought wealth to Egypt. This financed building projects of a calibre not matched by any other culture for a thousand years. Building the temple complex itself took 20 years, almost as long as she ruled.

To keep her body and riches safe from grave robbers, a tunnel extends from the temple through to the Valley of the Kings where her sanctuary, built in secret, lies within the mountainside.

The temple expresses Hatshepsut’s power while alive. After her death, her husband Tuthmosis IV, who had been living in her shadow, took revenge. He destroyed images of her face, and even her cartouches (name tag written in hieroglyphs) to prevent her journeying to the afterlife. But for missing an image on column capitals he would have erased her image forever.

Reliefs explain her divine conception, her efforts to repair damage inflicted by Hyksos invaders and her erection of the colossal obelisks at the temple of Karnak. As her reign progressed, the blank walls filled with details of her life

Within the colonnades superb detailed reliefs document her peaceful expansion of the empire’s trade links with the African kingdom of Punt (modern Somalia). Superb portrays of the marine life of the Red Sea would do credit to a marine biologist.

The temple dedicated to Amon and Hathor, Hatshepsut's claimed parents, shows the cow goddess Hathor depicted with Hatshepsut’s features on column capitals. There are also chapels dedicated to other gods, like Anubis, the god of embalming.

The ground level had sphinxes and fragrant myrrh trees from Punt. These trees are bush like but with a delicate smell. Myrrh was compulsory in the religious rituals performed in any temple in Egypt. The sphinxes had the head of Hatshepsut. She also appears as a lion clawing at enemies and capturing "birds of evil" with a net.

From the lower ramp (ramps connected the three levels) there used to be other sphinxes leading all the way down to the Nile. Several of these sphinxes are now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. These stood in line with those across the river at the Temple of Amon at Karnak. Processional boats connected the two sites, allowing combined rituals.

The temple is a fitting monument to a great woman.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on February 18, 2008

Hatshepsut Temple - Deir el-Bahri
West Bank
Luxor, Egypt

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Karnak Temples

Attraction

Quote:

Four hours by coach from the port of Safaga escorted by armed police brought us to the imposing temple of Karnak at Luxor. A previous terrorist attack had led to a tightening of security. The inconvenience though was forgotten as we viewed this the mother of all religious buildings -the largest ever it covers 200 acres. For the ancient Egyptians population this could only have been the place of the gods. The temple sits on the banks of the river at the site of ancient Thebes, a city that reached its glory under New Kingdom pharaohs with a million inhabitants. The temple built over a period of 1,500 years is one of the greatest architectural achievements ever. Nearby is a similar but smaller...Read More

Four hours by coach from the port of Safaga escorted by armed police brought us to the imposing temple of Karnak at Luxor. A previous terrorist attack had led to a tightening of security. The inconvenience though was forgotten as we viewed this the mother of all religious buildings -the largest ever it covers 200 acres. For the ancient Egyptians population this could only have been the place of the gods.

The temple sits on the banks of the river at the site of ancient Thebes, a city that reached its glory under New Kingdom pharaohs with a million inhabitants. The temple built over a period of 1,500 years is one of the greatest architectural achievements ever. Nearby is a similar but smaller temple – Luxor. These are linked by a two-mile Nile-side promenade (once entirely lined with sphinxes).

The sprawling complex of temples at Karnak is the result of generations of pharaohs expanding and enriching the site to please the gods and increase their own status. Over the centuries, the Karnak and Luxor temples grew ever more magnificent by the addition of a succession of pylons, courts and halls. Builders included Tuthmosis III (ruled 1504-1450 BCE), Amenhotep III (1386-1349 BCE) and Ramesses II (1279-1212 BCE). The latter known as Ramesses the Great, was a prolific builder particularly enamoured of large statues of himself.

Temples of ancient Egypt were theatres in which pharaoh and priests performed symbolic rituals and held festivals to honour the gods. In return, the gods gave life and order to the land of Egypt. Deities worshipped often changed over the span of the Egyptian civilization, or appeared in different forms. In New Kingdom Egypt, the god Amun became the greatest of the gods. Regarded as a creator deity, he became assimilated with the sun god Re to become Amun-Re. The pharaohs themselves were heads of state and a divine link between the gods and people. Walls and columns in the temples carry carved and painted reliefs showing kings’ military exploits and interactions with gods.

The temple is approached through ranks of ram-headed sphinxes lining a processional avenue leading to a towering gateway, through walls that stand almost 147 feet high. This leads to the Great Court containing the Temple of Ramses III. Two colossi of him guard the way into the spectacular 54,000 -square-foot Great Hypostyle Hall crowded with 134 towering stone columns, some reaching 80 feet and measuring 33 around them. It is still the largest room of any religious building in the world

Finally come dimly lit chambers that include the holy inner sanctum dedicated to the temple god and accessible only to the pharaoh and priests. The area of the sacred enclosure of Amon alone is 61 acres and would hold ten average European cathedrals. St Peter's, Milan and Notre Dame Cathedrals could be lost within its walls. In addition to the main sanctuary there are several smaller temples and a vast sacred lake.

The mother of religious temples indeed!

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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on February 18, 2008

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Valley of the Kings

Attraction | "The Valley of the Kings"

Quote:

Four hours by coach from the port of Safaga escorted by armed police brought us to the imposing temple of Karnak at Luxor. A previous terrorist attack had led to a tightening of security. The inconvenience though was forgotten as we viewed this the mother of all religious buildings -the largest ever it covers 200 acres. For the ancient Egyptians population this could only have been the place of the gods. The temple sits on the banks of the river at the site of ancient Thebes, a city that reached its glory under New Kingdom pharaohs with a million inhabitants. The temple built over a period of 1,500 years is one of the greatest architectural achievements ever. Nearby is a similar but smaller...Read More

Four hours by coach from the port of Safaga escorted by armed police brought us to the imposing temple of Karnak at Luxor. A previous terrorist attack had led to a tightening of security. The inconvenience though was forgotten as we viewed this the mother of all religious buildings -the largest ever it covers 200 acres. For the ancient Egyptians population this could only have been the place of the gods.

The temple sits on the banks of the river at the site of ancient Thebes, a city that reached its glory under New Kingdom pharaohs with a million inhabitants. The temple built over a period of 1,500 years is one of the greatest architectural achievements ever. Nearby is a similar but smaller temple – Luxor. These are linked by a two-mile Nile-side promenade (once entirely lined with sphinxes).

The sprawling complex of temples at Karnak is the result of generations of pharaohs expanding and enriching the site to please the gods and increase their own status. Over the centuries, the Karnak and Luxor temples grew ever more magnificent by the addition of a succession of pylons, courts and halls. Builders included Tuthmosis III (ruled 1504-1450 BCE), Amenhotep III (1386-1349 BCE) and Ramesses II (1279-1212 BCE). The latter known as Ramesses the Great, was a prolific builder particularly enamoured of large statues of himself.

Temples of ancient Egypt were theatres in which pharaoh and priests performed symbolic rituals and held festivals to honour the gods. In return, the gods gave life and order to the land of Egypt. Deities worshipped often changed over the span of the Egyptian civilization, or appeared in different forms. In New Kingdom Egypt, the god Amun became the greatest of the gods. Regarded as a creator deity, he became assimilated with the sun god Re to become Amun-Re. The pharaohs themselves were heads of state and a divine link between the gods and people. Walls and columns in the temples carry carved and painted reliefs showing kings’ military exploits and interactions with gods.

The temple is approached through ranks of ram-headed sphinxes lining a processional avenue leading to a towering gateway, through walls that stand almost 147 feet high. This leads to the Great Court containing the Temple of Ramses III. Two colossi of him guard the way into the spectacular 54,000 -square-foot Great Hypostyle Hall crowded with 134 towering stone columns, some reaching 80 feet and measuring 33 around them. It is still the largest room of any religious building in the world

Finally come dimly lit chambers that include the holy inner sanctum dedicated to the temple god and accessible only to the pharaoh and priests. The area of the sacred enclosure of Amon alone is 61 acres and would hold ten average European cathedrals. St Peter's, Milan and Notre Dame Cathedrals could be lost within its walls. In addition to the main sanctuary there are several smaller temples and a vast sacred lake.

The mother of religious temples indeed!
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on February 18, 2008

Valley of the Kings
Luxor
Luxor, Egypt

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Pyramid of Khafre

Attraction

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The ancient Egyptian greatest legacies are the huge Giza Pyramids. Standing before them in the blowing sand we found it difficult to grasp their huge size and great age. They tower over the Giza plateau. Kings Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure who ruled through 2589-2504 BC built the Pyramids of Giza near the capital city of Memphis. Paid labourers motivated by faith in the divinity and immortality of their kings achieved this feat, possibly using sloping embankments. Three local mountains yielded most of the stone with the remainder of the mountains carved into the mysterious Great Sphinx, which presides over the complex.The Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza is the most massive building ...Read More

The ancient Egyptian greatest legacies are the huge Giza Pyramids. Standing before them in the blowing sand we found it difficult to grasp their huge size and great age. They tower over the Giza plateau.

Kings Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure who ruled through 2589-2504 BC built the Pyramids of Giza near the capital city of Memphis. Paid labourers motivated by faith in the divinity and immortality of their kings achieved this feat, possibly using sloping embankments. Three local mountains yielded most of the stone with the remainder of the mountains carved into the mysterious Great Sphinx, which presides over the complex.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza is the most massive building ever erected in the world - more remarkable for having been achieved 4500 years ago! It contains 2.3 million stone blocks. Its mathematical precision is remarkable. The four sides of the pyramid orient to the cardinal points of the compass. The base has sides 230 meters long and it was originally 146 meters high until robbed of its outer casing and capstone. The ancient Greeks regarded it as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Khufu (Cheops to the Greeks) ruled about 2589-2566 BC when the Old Kingdom of Egypt was nearing a peak of prosperity and culture. His embalmed body rested within the sealed pyramid to protect it and allow his transformation and ascension to the afterlife, and a place among the gods.

King Khafre built his pyramid on higher ground giving the illusion that his was taller. By encasing the lowest course in granite he also made it slightly grander.

Each of the Giza Pyramids had an adjoining mortuary temple where the Egyptians carried out rituals for the dead king and for the gods. A causeway ran to a lower temple near the Nile floodplain that acted as an entrance to the complex. The necropolis also included pits for funerary boats, small subsidiary pyramids and tombs for the royal family and officials.

Originally, the Giza Pyramids had an outer skin of lighter limestone that gleamed in the sun, unfortunately plundered to provide building materials for Cairo. Khafre’s Pyramid, however, still has layers of its original casing stones near its summit.

We took the passageway into Khufu’s pyramid. At first causing us to stoop it soon opened out. Nearing the burial chamber inside the passageway the air became very hot and stuffy. Here large blocks of stone formed the sides and ceiling. About halfway up inside the pyramid we came to the burial chamber of King Khufu. His granite sarcophagus, or coffin, stands empty. Hopefully he ascended to the afterlife!
Certainly he worked hard towards it!

There are no images on the walls and no inscriptions - only a beautifully built chamber built from fine granite stone. Robbers had visited here long ago but it is unlikely they found much treasures - rich funeral goods, such as found in Tutankhamun’s tomb, are a trademark of much later kings.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on February 18, 2008

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Mosque of Muhammad Ali

Attraction

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Its great dome and towering minarets give the Citadel a romantic, oriental quality. The pencil shaped minarets, 80 meters high stand on bases only three meters wide.Because of its grandeur and location in the Citadel, the Mosque of Muhammad Ali built between 1830 and 1848 is the most popular Islamic mosque among tourists. Due to its extensive use of alabaster on the walls it is often called the Alabaster Mosque. Built during the first half of the 19th century the mosque was built on top of the Mamluk palaces from which Egypt had been ruled since the thirteenth century. This is the reason why, among Cairo's wealth of historic Islamic monuments, there is not one royal palace left fro...Read More

Its great dome and towering minarets give the Citadel a romantic, oriental quality. The pencil shaped minarets, 80 meters high stand on bases only three meters wide.

Because of its grandeur and location in the Citadel, the Mosque of Muhammad Ali built between 1830 and 1848 is the most popular Islamic mosque among tourists. Due to its extensive use of alabaster on the walls it is often called the Alabaster Mosque.

Built during the first half of the 19th century the mosque was built on top of the Mamluk palaces from which Egypt had been ruled since the thirteenth century. This is the reason why, among Cairo's wealth of historic Islamic monuments, there is not one royal palace left from these periods. Muhammad Ali erected this mosque, where he is buried, as a monument to himself.

In its architecture, Muhammad Ali Pasha, viceroy and effectively king of Egypt, as well as the founder of Egypt's modern era, borrowed from Istanbul rather than Cairo’s architecture. Though the architecture of the mosque is entirely Ottoman, the domes are, relative to their width, higher and less squat than those in Istanbul. The plan of the mosque is a central dome flanked by four half-domes, and four smaller domes on each corner.

To enter we had to take off our footwear and carry them in a plastic bag. Gazing around the 41 meters square interior impressed us with its size. The main, high dome of the mosque soars 52 meters high, with a diameter of 21 meters. The grandeur of this single, large chamber is enhanced by the circle of small lamps hung in the middle of the praying area, and just before the main dome of the mosque. Other smaller lamps, many of them more modern, are hung elsewhere in the mosque, creating a spectacle of light.

Within the mosque are two minbars, or pulpits. The larger one of wood is decorated with gilt ornament, and is original. The smaller one of alabaster was a gift from King Faruq, dating to 1939. The mihrab, or prayer niche, is made of Egyptian marble. It is simple but beautiful.

In the southwest corner of the sanctuary, within an enclosure richly decorated with bronze openwork, is the magnificent, white marble cenoteaph of Muhammad Ali.

Though the architecture is Ottoman, the decoration of the building is Islamic art. Six large medallions around the dome enclose the names of God, Muhammad and the first four Khalifs. Even the marble chosen for decoration is different from that of earlier mosques. Many tourists and Egyptians themselves find the mosque decorations very beautiful. Its use of greens, golds and reds can be very appealing to many.

Because of its prominent position the mosque became a symbol of the city, even though it is the least Egyptian of its monuments. The Egyptians place a great deal of pride in this monument. Muhammad Ali would be proud!
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on February 18, 2008

Mosque of Muhammad Ali
Cairo
Cairo

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IgoUgo

Middle East Journals

Red Sea Celebrations

Thomson's Celebration cruise ship

Ancient city of Petra

Hatshepsut Temple - Deir el-Bahri

Karnak Temples

Valley of the Kings

Pyramid of Khafre

Mosque of Muhammad Ali

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