Ägyptenreise - Mai 2018

Great view from my balcony to  the whole big Tahrir Square

The Filfila Restaurant is very close to Tahrir. Every time I am in Cairo I eat there at least once. (Dawoud Pasha and a pineapple Fayrouz)

As the Egyptian Museum was so close to my hotel, I went there several times.

Some interesting faces in the museum

Cairo's bazar, the Khan el-Khalili and the historic area around it are always worth a visit.

Another visit in the evening with Egyptian friends.  It was a very nice evening.

Day trip to SAKKARA:

The oldest 'pyramid' (the so-called 'step-pyramid') of pharao Djoser is still under renovation.

The gentleman on the right is actually a small wooden head in the Imhotep Museum on site and is around 4,500 years old.

The big tomb of Mereruka with a lot of interesting reliefs:

Many species of animals are depicted (even a hyena), animals in 'action' which often means: hunting or fighting.

A visit to the Teti pyramid.  On the right the burial chamber with the big stone sarcophagus.

The new tomb of Maya, the wet nurse of Tut-Ench-Amun, had been opened last year only, and of course I wanted to see it. It contains very fine reliefs.

Tut-ench-Amun on the right

Just beside this tomb there is another exquisitely decorated tomb from the New Kingdom, too.

Both tombs were opened specially for me as there were no other visitors.

At the rear you can see the Hathor cow in a separate room protecting the king.

The Sakkara area is wide, and you have to walk far distances in the heat if you want to see all the tombs. One of the most interesting tombs is that of Maya (in this case Maya is the name of a high official in the New Kingdom). The photo on the right shows the entrance. You have to climb very narrow steps down to the tomb  which start where the guide is heading to.

The next tomb I visited was that of HAREMHAB who became Pharoe later on. He built this tomb before that, when he had been in a high position in the military. The reliefs in his tomb are very fine and show lively scenes: Scribes, prisoners from foreign countries being registered, and a horse guardian being tired.

The view from this place is far - you can even see the pyramids of Dahshur in the far:

More steps are leading to the tomb of Irukaptah - a remarkably colourful tomb.

Some days later I made a day tour to DAHSHUR, another field of pyramids, which are younger than the step pyramid of Djoser, but still before the famous pyramids of Giza. Pharao Snofru was still trying to build the perfect pyramid, but did not succeed. Only Cheops (Chufu) succeeded, later on in Giza.

Snofru's first try is the pyramid of Meidum which is further South. His second try is the so-called 'bent pyramid'. During its construction, some parts of the building got out of place due to the weight of the stones and the steep ancle of the pyramid sides, and so the architect went on with a less steep ancle. That's why this pyramid has that bend.

From the Bent Pyramid you can already see Snofru's 3rd try: The Red Pyramid which is much more flat than other pyramids.

It is possible to go inside this pyramid into several chambers the function of which is not clear.

There is another pyramid in Dahshur, the so-called 'Black Pyramid'. Yes, it was a pyramid in former times, even if it is hard to see nowadays:

Some views to the pyramids of Dahshur on the way back to Cairo:

Close to Cairo just a quick look at the famous Giza pyramids and the Sphinx:

Before I left to Luxor I met another friend of mine: Noha. It is always nice to meet her and to catch up with the most important news. We met in Heliopolis and ate some very delicious sweets.

My second destination after Cairo was LUXOR. I spent two weeks there, mainly for relaxing, but of course also for sightseeing. Egypt without sightseeing is not possible.

My favourite hotel is the Winter Palace in Luxor. The atmosphere in this hotel and its garden is sooo great and very relaxing.

The hotel is at the Corniche and looking to the Nile. Specially the sunsets are great to see from the hotel veranda.

I myself was not staying directly in the traditional building but in the Pavillon which shares the garden with the Old Winter Palace. It is also a beautiful hotel, but not as expensive as the Old Winter Palace.

Above: The entrance to the Winter Pavillon, and on the right photo my balcony.

I love the beautiful garden of the Winter Palace:

A banana flower and flowers of Jasmin spread on the lawn.

In the garden you can often find elegant animals like small reptiles and birds. Hoopoes are a species that loves this garden just like me :-)

In the evening this garden is my 'magic forest'. It is easy to see why.

There is a delightful swimming pool, too, which I regularly used.

Of course Luxor also has a bazar (suq). Unfortunately there are much too few tourists to enjoy it.

The famous tombs and many temples are on the West bank of the Nile.  You can cross the Nile with the National ferry.

The first thing you see on the Westbank are the Memnon colossi. Behind them, the area of Amenhotep III is still under excavation. As it was much too late for the excavation season, some items lay in the area, packed for further investigation. Several big statues have been found in pieces and were re-erected by the excavation team.

The Westbank of Luxor is full of tombs.

The tomb of Huy in Qurnet Murai had been opened during the past few years only, so it was new to me.

The West Valley (of the Kings) is not often visited. Actually besides me there  was no other visitor on that day.  King Eje's tomb is the only open tomb in this valley.

Left photo: The entrance to the tomb.

Photo on the right: Just for fun the guard of the tomb let me open the lock of the door.

I cannot show photos of the tomb inside, as taking photos is forbidden there.

I also went to the Valley of Kings to see the newly re-opened tomb of Sethos I and several others.

Below on the left: The Kings' Valley

Below on the right: The replica of Tut-ench-Amun's tomb. It is very nicely made.

The replica is located beside Howard Carter's former house which can also be visited. So I visited Carter's House again. (I'd seen it  before twice.)

In the evening I went to the Luxor Museum with  its great treasures.

Wandering along at the Corniche along the Nile

A visit to the  LUXOR TEMPLE  by night:

In old times the Luxor Temple had been connected to the Karnak Temple complex by a long Sphinx Alley.  This alley is now being restored. Construction work is going on.

The Great Hypostyle Hall with its huge columns:

The small Ptah-Temple in Karnak:

The Muth-Temple in Karnak is now open, too. It also belongs to the Karnak Temple complex.  Countless Sachmet statues can be found there.

After a glimpse on Hatshepsut Temple I turned to the tombs of the Assasif.  One of the tombs I visited was Pabasa's.

There are more tombs: Monthemhet, Cheru-ef, Pedeneith, and many more. Besides the bat I was the only visitor in the area.

After running around in the heat and climbing so many stairs and steps up and down, it is always a pleasure to have a cold drink in Café Ramses.

Slowly my time in Luxor came to an end, and I sat down on the veranda with a karkade (hibiscus tea) for a last sunset at the Nile.

Below, on the street, people gathered for dinner - Ramadan had just begun. Such street dinners are given out for people who cannot be at home for their first meal after sunset.

My trip to Egypt was great, as usual! I surely come back  soon!