Land of the Pharoahs

I have started my Egyptian adventure in Cairo. After a couple of days aclimatising and browsing through the bazaars, I paid a visit to the Egyptain Museum. If you spent just one minute looking at each exhibit you would be in there over 9 years - I cut my visit shorter. The highlight as to be the Tutankhamon room where I saw all the treasures that had been excavated from his tomb including the world famous death mask. It is inlayed with so many precious stones and gold that it doesn't look real. I also saw a mummy exhibit containing 14 mummies all over 4000 years old. Some even had some of their hair remaining. It was amazing. After the museum I travelled to the outskirts of the city to visit the pyramids and the Sphinx. The Sphinx is the head of the Pharoah Cheopys and the body of the lion. This is becuase when the Pharoah is reincarnated he will retain all his intelligence but have the body of the king of the beasts. This will make him truely unbeatable. I was able to go inside a pyramid into the burial chamber, this meant climbing a steep descent whilst bent double in a tiny tunnel. It was quite unpleasant but well worth it. I also was stupid enough to take a camel ride around the pyramids. I'd forgotton how much I hate camels. They are giant beasts whose mission in life is to scare me. All the time I was upon it, I thought I would fall any minute. They are uncomfortable, there is nothing to hold on to and going down hill is taking your life into their hands. Never again. If they are the ships of the desert - next time I will fly!

From Cairo I caught the overnight train to Aswan - more miraculously I even managed o get a couple of hours sleep on the 13 hour journey. Aswan is the most southernly city is Egypt, closer to the desert and therefore hotter. From here I took a trip further south to revisit the temple of Abu Simbel - definately a wonder of the world. This temple would have been lost under Lake Nasser when the dam was built, if it had not been rescued and moved 60 meters up the cliff face. The stone statues of Ramesees 2nd are huge. A person only comes halfway up the entrance way you can see inbetween the statues. Not only was the facade saved but inside the temple there are many rooms and anti chambers, tens and tens of pillars and all the walls are covered in hyrogilfics. Well worth my second look. Back at Aswan there was an increased military presence. I was stood outside the Old Cataracts hotel (where Agatha Christie wrote Death on the Nile) when who should drive into the hotel in a large motorcade but the Egyptian President followed by Condellisa Rice and representatives from other Middle eastern countries. I'd managed to stumble across a middle eastern trade negiotiation - as you do!

By jouney back from Aswan northwards to Luxor was far more relaxing. It was a two day trip spent lounging about on a traditional felucca. These felucca simply have a deck with mattresses thrown down - meaning there is nothing to do but nothing. It was great. Sunbathing and reading are hard work and I was exhausted after the trip. Mind you when we did sail it was an adventure. Due to the time of year there are very strong winds on the Nile. We were onlt sailing for a couple of hours each day - the rest of the day spent moored along the Nile. Because of the strong winds, the felucca moved at a breakneck speed. It meant the boat was tilted heavily into the water. We had to sit at one side weighting it down whilst the opposite side skimmed the watres edged. When we tacked and changed direction it was a quick rush to the opposite side of the deck to weight that side down. It wasn't a jouney for anyone afraid of the water! So currently I am in Luxor. My time here will be spent visiting the temples of Luxor and Karnac and recovering from the slight sunburn I managed to acquire on the felucca!