This page will show details and sights that I saw on my trip to Egypt in September/October 1997. Unfortunetly I didn't keep a detailed travel journal so this will be a compilation of photos and descriptions of places I visited. I did my tour of Egypt with a company called Contiki which runs tours for 18-35 year olds.

Most influential Pharaoh In your opinion who was the Greatest Pharaoh ? Sneferu Ramses II Akhenaten Hatshepsut Tutmosis III Khufu (Cheops) Seti I Cleopatra VII Amenhotep III Tutankhamon Current Results

Sunset over the Nile

My first trip outside North America started when my plane touched down in Cairo at about 2:00 A.M. local time. Being a bit leery because a week before I left a tour bus had been attacked in front of the Egyptian Museum. I met the representative for Contiki the tour company I was using before going through customs and also met Darryl a aussie who was also on my tour, we were the only 2 travelers coming in at that late hour. Traveling through Cairo late at night to the Oasis hotel which was outside the city I still remember my first view of the Pyramids illuminated at night. I was amazed how close they were to the city.

I had added a free day before the tour but spent most of it sleeping off jetlag. The first morning of the tour we are off to the Egyptian Museum. The Museum is the home to the treasures of the Pharaoh Tut-ankh-amon, along with a huge amount of archaeological finds. For an added fee you can also check out the Royal Mummies which has many of the mummies hidden for safety after their tombs in the Valley of Kings were plundered. When one looks at the treasures found in Tut-ankh-amons tomb one can only imagine the treasures that may have been in the tombs that were plundered.

Funerary Mask of Tut-Ankh-Amon

Sphinx and the Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops)

After visiting the Egyptian Museum we headed off to visit the Pyramids. The Great Pyramid of Khufu or Cheops is the only remaining Wonder of the Ancient World. Situated outside Cairo, the Sphinx stands guard over the pyramids. The Pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure were built during Egypts 4th Dynasty. Their father Sneferu built at least 2 pyramids at Daishur and possibly a third one elsewhere. His son Khufu followed in his footsteps, followed by his grandson, Khafre and his great grandson, Menkare. The Sphinx was probably carved by Khafre to guard his pyramid. Recent findings include a graveyard where the workers of the pyramids were buried. Walking inside the Great Pyramid was a thrill beyond belief, to believe that one walked inside a building which was built 4,500 years ago. It is amazing how small the Sphinx is in contrast to the pyramids. Beware of the hawkers and salesmen, they are persistent. Later in the tour after returning to Cairo we went to see the laser light show at the pyramids which was fantastic. Check to find out what time it will be held in your language.

After leaving the Pyramids and the Sphnx we headed out to a perfume shop and a papyrus shop where we were able to buy some stuff. Then it was off to the train station where we caught an overnight train to Aswan in Southern Egypt. After eating dinner on the train our group got together in the bar car and all got to know each other a little better before turning in.

We awake the next morning just before the train rolls into Aswan. After arriving in Aswan we head off to sightsee around the town. In Aswan you have the High Dam and Aswan Dam which dammed up the Nile River in order to provide Hydroelectric power and control the flooding. We visited the unfinished obelisk which is a quarry where granite was quarried for Egyptian temples. The unfinished obelisk lies in the quarry it was left there when it developed a crack. There is also a beautiful botanical garden set on Kitchener Island in the middle of the Nile that we visited by boat. An English Lord planted many types of vegetation not native to Egypt here. On his death he left the island to the Egyptian government. After a day of sightseeing around Aswan we go onboard our cruise ship which will be home for the next 3 days. That night we visited the Spice market in the city.