Cruising the Nile

Hatshepsut Temple - Deir el-Bahri

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Attraction | "What a magnificently built Temple "

Hatshepsut Temple Photo - Hatshepsut Temple - Deir el-Bahri, Luxor, Egypt

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The temple of Queen Hatshepsut is only a short distance away from the Valley of the King’s and although we speculated that the Queen would have been excluded from the Valley this imposing building makes a much larger statement than the underground temples in the Valley of the Kings. The four of us had great difficulty in remembering how to pronounce the name of this Pharaoh and so decided on an English version by which we could remember she became "Hot Chip Soup". As pharaoh she ruled for over 20 years, some of these as co-ruler with Thutmose the third, the son of her husband and half-brother Thutmose the second. She declared herself Pharaoh in 1473 and, dressed in male clothing and sporti...Read More

The temple of Queen Hatshepsut is only a short distance away from the Valley of the King’s and although we speculated that the Queen would have been excluded from the Valley this imposing building makes a much larger statement than the underground temples in the Valley of the Kings. The four of us had great difficulty in remembering how to pronounce the name of this Pharaoh and so decided on an English version by which we could remember she became "Hot Chip Soup".

As pharaoh she ruled for over 20 years, some of these as co-ruler with Thutmose the third, the son of her husband and half-brother Thutmose the second. She declared herself Pharaoh in 1473 and, dressed in male clothing and sporting a false, decorative and ceremonial beard she efficiently administered the affairs of state with her "tame" high priest." This magnificent temple was built, as was usual, to show the nation how powerful and influential she was. A force to be reckoned with!

She had the relief carvings depict her divine birth, that was crucial in terms of the pharaohs, but in 1458BC she disappeared from view, when Thutmose III led a coup to recover his rightful position as ruler. To add insult to injury he ordered that every "image" of Hatshepsut be removed from sight – the faces of the beautifully carved reliefs in the temple were brutally mutilated and the cartouches removed. Such was her influence that her successor could not live with her presence.

But this magical building continues to state her power. The long walk to the temple was once guarded by sphinxes and ramps gracefully lead from one level to another. Large eagles stand proudly at the edges of the temple. A majestically constructed temple that was built on three levels and has almost 100 pillars on its frontage. You’ll see some absolutely stunning stories being unfolded in the carved reliefs. There’s the marvellously detailed story of the pharaoh’s journey along the Red Sea to the Land of incense, and others show the co-operation of the Gods with Queen Hatshepsut, confirming her as a mortal approaching godlike status. Or was it a God with mortal connections?

There are some magnificently painted walls with the reds and blues still in good condition, despite the defacing of some of the images. The Cow God, Hathor, dominates some of the reliefs with the sun hanging close to her horns and hieroglyphics, with blanks where the Queens cartouche once showed, are beautifully and carefully crafted. At one part of the temple the ceiling has been painted with numerous gold stars on the blue of the sky and another section, unfortunately affected by damp, looks strangely eerie with its blue, yellow and red paint looked down on by the black mould. The gods sit on thrones and accept gifts from the queen’s high priests, magnificently carve lintels support the brick work above chunky entrances and a remaining splattering of colour remind us that many, if not all of the statues were once finely painted. Here we see the sacred scarab in paintings and powerful looking guards stand, with their arms crossed overlooking the land in front of the temple.

This site is "so Egyptian" that my wife and our friends could not resist doing a stereo-typical sand dance to celebrate our love of the complex. I’m not sure that others fully understood their antics, but they enjoyed their performance!

This was truly magnificent and yet another memorable architectural masterpiece to stand in awe in front of. The scale of this place is almost unbelievable and I dread to think how many man years it took to complete.

Incredible.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on October 14, 2010

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

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Valley of the Kings

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Attraction | "The underground tombs had perfectly preserved art-work"

Valley of the Kings Photo - Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt

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Our visit to the Valley of the Kings surrounded us, of course, with great excitement. These were the great burial grounds that were established by the 18th dynasty (1549 BC) when the Kings decided to abandon Memphis as their capital City. It continued to be used right through to the 20th Dynasty (1069 BC) and it’s hard to think, that despite tomb robbers these burials have retained much of their original beauty. The art work that waited for us below the ground was intensely beautiful 7 in amazing condition considering its age.Egypt’s rulers abandoned the pyramid tombs (more of them in a later review) and began cutting their burial chambers into the limestone rock in Thebes. It doesn’t go un-noti...Read More

Our visit to the Valley of the Kings surrounded us, of course, with great excitement. These were the great burial grounds that were established by the 18th dynasty (1549 BC) when the Kings decided to abandon Memphis as their capital City. It continued to be used right through to the 20th Dynasty (1069 BC) and it’s hard to think, that despite tomb robbers these burials have retained much of their original beauty. The art work that waited for us below the ground was intensely beautiful 7 in amazing condition considering its age.
Egypt’s rulers abandoned the pyramid tombs (more of them in a later review) and began cutting their burial chambers into the limestone rock in Thebes. It doesn’t go un-noticed, however, that overshadowing this huge cemetery is a naturally formed pyramid reaching upwards to the heavens. So although the rulers abandoned the man-made pyramids they never discarded them as highly significant shapes.

Work began on the royal tomb as soon as they got into power and it is believed that they were normally very influential in the way it needed to be (a wee bit morbid). However, the general layout was very similar with corridors, antechamber and sarcophagus chamber and always the aspiration was that they would remain intact following the death and burial of the ruler. Our guide suggested that construction took at least 6 years and although King Tutankhamen is notorious (because of Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter’s discovery in 1922) he recommended that we didn’t explore that tomb. Apparently it’s not as well decorated as the others. Obviously we followed his advice and will check out King Tut’s paraphernalia in the world famous Cairo Museum.

"It was important to remember", our guide said "that the site at the time was much more hidden than it is today". So we tried to imagine everything without the man-made access paths. Difficult but I think we finally got there as we blocked off the sight of outstretched hands of the locals as they begged for cash or tried to sell us some unattractive trinket. We did recall that thousands of people laboured permanently on this site so I guess they have returned in their drove to work here once again!

The building of the tombs would have increasingly become a nightmare as time went on as the network of tunnels would be likely to get in the way of existing tombs, but as we understood there were only a few that were abandoned because of this problem.

We visited the tomb of King Setnakht with its two burial chambers and a clear indication that Sentnakht had usurped the king for whom the tomb was originally built, King Tausert. It was a long walk down the wooden footpath with fantastically bright and clear decoration on both sides of the tunnel. We saw a clear and fascinating book of the dead, by which the King could successfully navigate his way to the after-life. The walk wasn’t that strenuous despite the fact that the descent was a fair distance. But we weren’t hurrying and on the return we saqw much more than our descent.

The tomb of Ramesis the ninth was equally beautifully decorated with decorations including the book of the caverns in the descending corridor; the opening of the mouth ritual in the first chamber that we came to, and the book of the earth in the burial chamber. Of course the ever present book of the dead was there in all its glory.

Finally we visited the tomb of Rameses the forth where we saw Coptic graffiti (so it’s not a modern invention) near the entrance corridor and an intriguing conversion of a pillared hall into a burial chamber. Perhaps the King died before they could complete the intended burial chamber!

All in all we’d seen three fantastic tombs so well preserved from the rigours of time that we left staggering with amazement. The art work was intriguing and of high quality and the colours bright and impressive. Superlatives escape me. Just superb and it really needs to be experienced to be understood.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on October 14, 2010

Valley of the Kings
West Bank of the Nile in the Theban Necropolis
Luxor, Egypt

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Denderah Temple

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Attraction | "Denderah Temple - our introduction to Egypt"

The Temple of Horus at Edfu Photo - Denderah Temple, Egypt, Africa

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Our journey time from the Nile to Denderah Temple was only about 15 minutes but as seems customary for Egypt all the tour coaches had to leave in convoy. We were given a guard to the front and rear and we were very surprised that all the local traffic was halted whilst the buses passed through. Our guide promised to give a 10 minute talk on the rulers of ancient Egypt and in the shadow of this mighty temple we heard about the Pharoes, the Ptomelies and the Cleopatras (the seventh of which became the famous rules of Egypt). We were told about the frequent in fighting between the North and the South resulting, he claimed, with 70 rulers in as many days (known as Egypt’s "darkness years".The ...Read More

Our journey time from the Nile to Denderah Temple was only about 15 minutes but as seems customary for Egypt all the tour coaches had to leave in convoy. We were given a guard to the front and rear and we were very surprised that all the local traffic was halted whilst the buses passed through. Our guide promised to give a 10 minute talk on the rulers of ancient Egypt and in the shadow of this mighty temple we heard about the Pharoes, the Ptomelies and the Cleopatras (the seventh of which became the famous rules of Egypt). We were told about the frequent in fighting between the North and the South resulting, he claimed, with 70 rulers in as many days (known as Egypt’s "darkness years".

The original Denderah temple was destroyed, possibly by earthquake and the current building, believed to have been constructed to the same design, was built between 30BC and 15AD. However, this "modern construction" was significantly scaled up but it still made use of the original foundation stones at the front of the site. This makes it a baby in Egyptian dynasty terms.

Denderah was an ancient healing centre and this temple was built for the "cow God", Hathor who was the goddess of the sky, fertility (love and sensual pleasure) and healing was indeed a being to respect and celebrate. Like all significant temples in Egypt the inner sanctum of this place was reserved for high ranking officials and the rulers of the time.

We looked across the greenery in front of this imposing temple and wondered at its magnificence. Of course this was the first Egyptian building that we’d seen so I guess we were bound to be in awe. Little did we know that there was more impressive to come!
Realising its age is only part of the equation that makes this temple amazing. It’s remarkably intact and the carvings and hieroglyphics are incredible both in size and intactness. We found ourselves asking if they were original and were reassured that little restoration work had taken place at this site. There were clear images of Cleopatra and her son (the child of Julius Caesar) and some amazing intricate carvings on the mighty pillars and weathered "bust type" reliefs at the tops of the pillars. Many appeared to be defaced and it does seem that subsequent rulers did set about removing the images of their predecessors – perhaps this had happened here at Denderah.

Internal relief carvings took on a spiritual or spooky appearance as the natural light, with a bit of help with subdued artificial lighting, crept through. The "Sun Ceiling" was fantastically still showing off some of its original colours and at this point I only wished that I could read the intricate hieroglyphics, but had to content myself with admiring the craftwork that must have gone into these carvings.

In the pillar room - named by myself because of the forest of pillars that supported the amazingly colourfully carved ceiling – we paused to take on the enormity of the construction. Actually this is the Hyspostyle hall containing 24 pillars in the form of Hathor heads, and it’s speculated that the number of pillars significantly corresponds to the number of hours in a day.

A huge archway at the edge of the temple complex had not escaped the art work of the engravers but today it stands precariously alone with the lintel hardly supported by the arch that would one day have accommodated a vast door. Back on the outside we looked back at this temple which almost resembles a fortress in design and then we spot a staircase leading down to an enclosure with well established palm trees. This was apparently where the holy people would wash before entering the sacred temple.
Around the corner another smaller temple stands alone, but on closer inspection it was clearly linked to the main complex, but now the original pillars have collapsed or being systematically removed and put to other uses.

Denderah is a real delight and although we don’t understand the hieroglyphics we happily spotted images of Cleopatra, the Cow headed Goddess (Hathor), wise owls, Egyptian rulers, Roman figures (well Caesar was figuring large in Egyptian life). We tried to avoid the locals who appeared from nowhere, just as we were about to take a photograph, to pose for a donation.

What a great start to our exploration of Egypt.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on October 14, 2010

Denderah Temple

Egypt, Africa

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Ra II

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Attraction | "Cruising the Nile - the Best Way to Travel"

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We’d never done a river cruise before (I exclude the one day overnight river trip on a rice boat in Kerala) – or indeed any type of cruise – so we weren’t sure what to expect. Arriving at Luxor airport at 11.00 pm the coach took our small party to the Nile. We were surprised when the majority of the passengers piled off the coach close to the centre of the town whilst the four of us and another couple were advised to stay on the bus as we headed out of town towards the mooring of the RA II. The coach crossed the Nile and after a fair distance on the main road took a sharp turn down a narrow pot-holed track. This was a private road exclusively used for the company operating the RA’s and clearly not des...Read More

We’d never done a river cruise before (I exclude the one day overnight river trip on a rice boat in Kerala) – or indeed any type of cruise – so we weren’t sure what to expect. Arriving at Luxor airport at 11.00 pm the coach took our small party to the Nile. We were surprised when the majority of the passengers piled off the coach close to the centre of the town whilst the four of us and another couple were advised to stay on the bus as we headed out of town towards the mooring of the RA II. The coach crossed the Nile and after a fair distance on the main road took a sharp turn down a narrow pot-holed track. This was a private road exclusively used for the company operating the RA’s and clearly not designed for large buses. The sharp right-angled turns were skilfully manoeuvred by the driver and at several points his spatial awareness was indisputable as he turned the coach around a corner with no more than a couple of inches leeway on either side.

Having reached our destination we disembarked from the coach and by the time we’d reached the bottom of the steps our suitcases were being carried to the quayside by porters from the boat – our floating hotel for the next few days.

We were cordially welcomed by the "tour director" (as he grandly introduced himself) and given an hibiscus tea - the traditional Egyptian drink reputed to be instrumental in lowering blood pressure. Next we were given a brief introduction to the boat and then led to our rooms by obliging porter. The room, or should I say cabin, was compact but more than adequate for our needs. Two French doors opened onto the tiniest of balconies but once opened gave a superb view across the Nile, and with a wee bit of furniture arranging we had a couple of armchairs ready for our early morning viewing en route for Denderah.

There were too comfortable single beds and a large mirror opposite the beds and this together with the window and another mirror on the back of the door the gave us plenty of light and a real illusion of space.

It turned out that we packed rather badly because they had to delve into both cases to find clothes and soon our compact room looked like it had been ransacked by a burglar in a hurry. Indeed it never fully recovered from this state during the following three days, but we were undeterred.

There was a small but well-equipped bathroom tucked into the corner of the room and we heeded the warning issued by the tour director not to use the water even for the cleaning our teeth. Fortunately we purchase of water before getting onto the boat and this was placed in a small and noisy fridge to cool down for tomorrow's trip. The room was air condition - critical I would think in the height of summer - but not that important during last day. There was plenty of storage space in the cabin, and once we got ourselves organised we were able to hide at least some of our travel clutter.

The couple of nights we enjoyed aperitifs in our room and although it was a little tight when all four of us gathered together the opening of the French doors removed any feelings of claustrophobia that we might have experienced.

Of course the cabin was fairly noisy with people walking along the narrow corridors or chattering in adjacent rooms, but this wasn't too distracting and I suspect that more efficient soundproofing might be around in the more modern of boats. We assumed that we have some fairly noisy nights as we moved down the Nile from town to town but most nights we were very surprised to be waking up only in time to make it for breakfast.

The Ra II is part of the Eastmar group that's been conducting Nile cruises for the past forty-five years - part of the three hundred and fifty strong flotilla of cruise boats that service the Nile tourism business at any one time. However, the fact that the Eastmar group has its own mooring means that we were always slightly away from the hoards.

We've heard from a number of people who have experienced Nile cruises and I would certainly recommend the Ra II - with its grand entrance hall, neat little shops (well there were two on the first floor) and its friendly staff. It certainly sounded better than the description offered to me by my American cousin who describes their boats that having couple of machine guns to the rear. Our boat had a sunbathing deck and a small swimming pool with plenty of room to relax, enjoy a drink or two and take in the splendours of the river Nile. And what great sights they were particularly as the glowing red sunset cast its hues over the banks of palm trees.

We thoroughly enjoyed life on RA II, but I have to confess that our short stay was long enough.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on December 29, 2008

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Planning our Trip

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This was never going to be straight forward as we were embarking on a couple of new experiences.Firstly we were hoping to arrange a long and tourist packed holiday with a tour operator who must ensure guided excursions, decent quality accommodation at competitive prices. Secondly we were trying to co-ordinate the requirements of four people (we were intending to make this visit with two friends) and although our interests and needs were very similar there was always the chance that we’d have to consider some compromises on route.So we started with the well-tested format to plan any joint venture. An evening at home with the four of us enjoying a take-away and a glas...Read More

This was never going to be straight forward as we were embarking on a couple of new experiences.

Firstly we were hoping to arrange a long and tourist packed holiday with a tour operator who must ensure guided excursions, decent quality accommodation at competitive prices.

Secondly we were trying to co-ordinate the requirements of four people (we were intending to make this visit with two friends) and although our interests and needs were very similar there was always the chance that we’d have to consider some compromises on route.

So we started with the well-tested format to plan any joint venture. An evening at home with the four of us enjoying a take-away and a glass or two of a fine Shiraz. We consumed the meal, chatted over the virtues of a Shiraz and a spicy curry, cracked open a bottle of whiskey and then decided we need to spread out the holiday brochures. Now this is where the fun, or do I mean confusion started. Although there were many similar features with each of the tour operators there were also significant differences and it was these that prompted us to draw up a preferred itinerary with the intention to discuss this with specialist operators.

Of course the fact that we’d decided to open it up to specialist tour companies was bound to introduce further problems and the following weeks resulted in our trip to Egypt progressing into a grand tour of the region. I’d begun to entertain the possibility of a short extension to take in Amman, Petra and Wadi Rum and once I’d proposed that option to our friends they suggested a visit to Abu Simbel seemed to be a good idea alongside an extension, at the end of the holiday, for some Rest and Recreation (R&R).

The original 10 day sketch of a holiday was growing into a three week excursion packed adventure pulling in the neighbouring country of Jordan. Unperturbed we set about speaking with three specialists and asking that they let us have an itinerary taking full account of our requirements. One company was unable to oblige and only Audley Travel and Longwood Travel were taking our requirements seriously. After further discussions it transpired that Audley Travel was less flexible that Longwood who were patiently obliging in both email exchanges and telephone discussions. They filled us with confidence that they would deliver to our requirements. The "die was cast" and we decided to commit to Longwood reassured by a local travel agent that they were indeed Egyptian specialists who ensure tailor made holiday packages work to the advantage of the traveller.

Having committed it soon became clear that we looking at a holiday packed with excursions and we decided to pre-book as many of these as we could. This would remove the hassle of sorting them out when we arrived at each hotel and ensure that we had a personalised guided tour for just the four of us. Only one small problem ensued and that was that Longwood had less strong links with Jordan and so it was unlikely that we’d be able to pre-arrange those trips prior to the holiday. "No problem" the agent reassured us "it’s perfectly usual for trips to be sorted on arrival. The local reps are geared up for this!"

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