Came back recently from a 3 week jaunt around Egypt and Jordan with Pommy - fascinating sites and really glad we did it, though neither of us will be heading back to Egypt any time soon. I guess one reason is that we covered a lot of ground in our 2 weeks there, we saw all the main sites and probably all the not-so main sites. Cruised through Cairo and the obligatory tourist attractions like the sphinx, pyramids, Egyptian museum (very cool!) Citadel, bazaars, Coptic Cairo - basically all the usual destinations you see when you head to Cairo. It was nice but we could never shake the feeling of being stared at (and not in a nice way!) plus the hassling just drained us out.
Next stop was Luxor, pretty little city. The definite highlight here was our 4.30am wake up call for a hot air balloon ride to see the sunset. The setting for some gorgeous sunrise photos. Now for those of you who have seen my photos, you know I have a thing for sunrise and sunset. This particular sunrise left me gobsmacked.
In Luxor we saw the usual temple sites which have all blurred in my mind. I remember the Karnak and Luxor temple, though can't tell them apart in photos now... From there we made trips to Abu Simbel (this one I remember, gorgeous setting by the sea), Edfu, Isna, Kom Ombo - these ones blur too...
We then headed to Aswan, my favourite Egyptian city bc it was low-key and easygoing. We saw some cool things like the Philae Temple (which was moved piece by piece from it's underwater resting place to a nearby island), and some other stuff...how vague do I sound? it's only been 2 weeks since I've been back and I've forgotten lots of the little details already!
One thing I do remember was our trip out to the desert - what an awesome experience! We camped overnight on xmas eve literally under the moon and stars, cocooned under 5 layes of blankets. I couldn't bear to poke my head out during the night bc the temperature dropped so dramatically, but the night sky was just so gloriously lit by the full moon and myriad twinkling stars that it was worth the cold I got the next morning.
From the White Desert we headed to the Sinai region to climb Mt. Sinai. We definitely did not take the easy relaxing route! So yet another 2.30am wake up call for a summit to Mt. Sinai for the sunrise! I can't say it was a worthwhile sunrise given how cold we were but it was pretty cool to say we were on the same mountain that Moses (apparently) received the 10 commandments...
We then took a well-deserved break at a resort in Sharm El Sheik, it was nice to relax but come the afternoon I was bored silly and just couldn't wait to leave. Our next destination was to Jordan via the ferry. It took us the entire day to take the 1hour fast ferry from Egypt to Jordan - typical Egyptian efficiency! But we finally got to Aqaba port and from there to Wadi Rum desert.
Now that was another incredible desert experience! From the early morning sunrise over our tents (we actually had a roof over our heads, what a surprise!) to the amazing desert scenery, Pommy and I were absolutely hooked!
We got to experience a Bedouin style make-over with some red scrapings from the mountain, we had tea in the middle of the desert with desert mint picked from the nearby mountain. We got to bump along on makeshift seats on the back of a ute, it was so much fun!
Next stop was a few days in Petra, of the rose-city fame. The famous rose building was actually part of an entire city, so much more extensive than I expected! Pommy and I spent the day exploring all the amazing sandstone buildings and rock formations, it was the best way to spend new years eve.
Now on to New Years Day - we spent that floating on the Dead Sea...what a great way to start 2008 :)
So that was our trip in a nutshell, oh I forgot we had to head back to Egypt after Jordan (was quite heartbroken by that) and we spent another day in Alexandria...which was a nice enough port city but after Jordan, it just couldn't compare.
