Traveling from Safaga to Luxor Egypt

When I was in elementary school we studied ancient Egypt.  I was fascinated by all things Egyptian. I even had a scarab bracelet and a watch with a scarab band. Later my sweetheart gifted me a scarab necklace and a scarab ring.  In high school my world history teacher took us to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to an exhibit with Egyptian mummies.  I remember visiting this fantastic place that showcased everything from jewels to ancient vessels used in the mummification process.  I remember thinking how wonderful to be viewing things that were three to four thousand years old. I've never lost my interest in ancient Egypt.  Never in my wildest young dreams did I think I would be able to visit the ancient land of Egypt! 

Today I'd like to continue sharing one of our World Voyage destinations.  When the Queen Mary 2 docked in Safaga, Egypt we had the perfect opportunity to take the excursion of my life!  Though it was going to be quite a long day on our journey to Luxor (ancient city of Thebes), we felt honored to have this opportunity to travel with an Egyptologist to the land of the Valley of the Kings.

This is our first visit to Egypt, so please pardon our excitement as we take off on our journey to Luxor.

The scenery out the coach window was desert with mountains and beautiful blue skies.  As we rode along our guide filled our heads with so much information about Egypt.  He called us all by the Arabic enduring term--Habibi.  Clearly this gentleman loved his job!

As we giddily looked out the window, it could have been a landscape from the moon!

 Continuing on we see small villages doting the landscape along with small farms. We see a canal that allows crops to grow along with people to live in small villages.

Egypt's major cash crop is cotton.  Because of the long strong fiber and softness of Egyptian cotton it is popular all over the world.  You may have Egyptian cotton towels in your home.

Islam is the official religion of Egypt.  The government only recognizes three religions--Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.  

 

Everywhere we looked folks were busy going about their daily tasks.  

The modes of transportation varied greatly.  We saw a lot of mopeds, small trucks, and carts pulled by donkeys.  Men were selling fruits and vegetables alongside the roads.  

Muslim Mosques dot the landscape.  The tall tower (minaret) call the followers to prayer five times a day by a man called a muezzin.  Some mosques use recordings and we heard both.  

Passing Police checkpoints we were cleared for our journey to Luxor.  Though troubling to pass through these areas, it made us realize that the world is not the same as it is at home. These checkpoints occurred every 30km (18.64 miles).  Of course we wanted to be safe and felt that way during this journey.

I could hardly believe we were about to cross the Nile and enter Luxor!  

The Nile river runs north flowing into the Mediterranean Sea at Alexandria.  Most of the population of Egypt, since ancient times, have been around the valley of the Nile. It is considered the longest river in the world, but when we went down the Amazon a few years ago they made that claim as well!  Let's just agree that they are both long flowing rivers.

We are headed into the Valley of the Kings as our first stop.  I can hardly hold my excitement upon visiting a site that was part of the ancient city of Thebes.  It is the burial site of almost all of the pharaohs from 1539-1075 BC.  
 

Our guide tells us that the structure we see was the home of Howard Carter.  You may remember that he was the British archeologist and Egyptologist that led the team that discovered Tutankhamun's tomb.   

Lord Carnarvon (of Highclere Castle) hired Howard Carter to lead the excavation in the Valley of the Kings.  In November of 1922 Carter and his team discovered the secret chamber of the Boy King known as Tutankhamun.

As most of you know Highclere Castle was used in the filming of Downton Abbey. 

Hopefully I'll be sharing our time at this extraordinary site that will forever be imprinted on our hearts and minds.  I need to post this time in Luxor in several parts as we visited many sites that day.  I hope you will join us as we remember our time in Luxor!