My first "big trip" was a special experience. With 14 companions (Tour guide incl.) we backpacked trough this particular country for 2 weeks, after which we have kept long lasting friendships. This is our story.
Cairo
"The city of a thousand minarets".
We landed in the capital and here our adventure began. The biggest city of Africa has a lot to offer.
From the busy traffic to the lively markets, from the National Museum to the Citadel.
Cairo is known for its chaotic traffic. This can be pretty spectacular and an adventure on its own, but sometimes, it has fatal consequences. Regrettably, I've also whitnessed this.
We soon noticed that we needed 1,5l water bottle every 3 hours a day to have enough fluids.
The National Museum was our first visit. We got a 2 hour tour and a chance to see the mask and the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun.
The Citadel of Cairo was build by one of the most famous sultans this country has ever known: Saladin. From the terrace, we enjoyed a great view over the city.
In the old town, we attended a dance performance. Because of the strong regulations in this Muslim country, there were only male dancers. They could rotate around their axis for more than 20 minutes!
Aswan
The night train took us to our next stop; Aswan, the most southern city. This region is called Nubia. The Nubian people have a dark skin and speak a different language. I soon noticed that the Nile here was much wider and less polluted in comparison to Cairo. After a short visit to the Nubian Museum and the botanic garden, we enjoyed a short trip on the longest river in the world. From on top of the boat, we saw the sun set behind the sand dunes.
After visiting Tombs of the Nobles, we chose a dromedary ride trough the dessert. Our destination? The Monastery of Saint-Simeon. It was getting used to the waddling movement of my dromedary Ferrari.
Got up at 2 am to get ready for one of the most famous temples in Egypt; Abu Simbel. This temple is located in the desert, near the border with Sudan. The tiring journey of more than four hours took place with other buses for safety reasons. On this route there were often robberies. The drivers made a contest to arrive first. The Abu Simbel Temple & Hathor temple were built by Ramses II and served as prayer temples, just like the Philae temple which we visited after the tiring journey. This is an island on the Nile and is only accessible by ferry.
We said goodbye to Aswan and boarded a felouka for a two-day boat trip to Daraw. A felouka is a sailboat with a flat deck and often not motorized. We spent the days mostly by lying around with some music. Our locomotion depended entirely on the wind strength. At night we were joined by hundreds of insects.
Once in Daraw we brought a short visit to the camel market (largest in the country) before continuing the trip by van towards Luxor. Along the way we halted at two temples, Kom Ombo and Edfu.
The Temple of Kom Ombo is known for its symmetry. Each part is dedicated to a specific god. The left part to Haruris, the right side to Sobek.
The Temple of Horus (Edfu) is one of the best preserved temples of the country. According to mythology was this the place where the battle was fought between Horus and Seth.
Luxor
Hurghada
After this evening show, we went exploring the surrounding regions of Cairo; Saqqara and Giza. Both regions are famous because of its Old-Egyptian culture.
My first encounter with pyramids was in Saqqara. The step pyramid of Djoser is one of the oldest constructions in the world. After visiting some tombs, we drove to our next stop: Giza!
Standing in front of this colossal pyramid, was an experience on its own. We explored the pyramid of Cheops from the inside. This is an option few visitors choose to do, but for me it was one of the most memorable moments of this trip!
A visit to the Sphinx can not be missed.
A visit to the Sphinx can not be missed.
Aswan
The night train took us to our next stop; Aswan, the most southern city. This region is called Nubia. The Nubian people have a dark skin and speak a different language. I soon noticed that the Nile here was much wider and less polluted in comparison to Cairo. After a short visit to the Nubian Museum and the botanic garden, we enjoyed a short trip on the longest river in the world. From on top of the boat, we saw the sun set behind the sand dunes.
After visiting Tombs of the Nobles, we chose a dromedary ride trough the dessert. Our destination? The Monastery of Saint-Simeon. It was getting used to the waddling movement of my dromedary Ferrari.
During our stay in Aswan, we stayed in two villages. This was an unforgettable experience! Here, I realized that I was not only in a country with temples and pyramids, but also in the Africa. We had a very nice dinner and could contribute to the preparation of the sauce. On one of the evenings, we all watched the World Cup finals. For this, our hosts had to get a TV from the neighboring village.
Got up at 2 am to get ready for one of the most famous temples in Egypt; Abu Simbel. This temple is located in the desert, near the border with Sudan. The tiring journey of more than four hours took place with other buses for safety reasons. On this route there were often robberies. The drivers made a contest to arrive first. The Abu Simbel Temple & Hathor temple were built by Ramses II and served as prayer temples, just like the Philae temple which we visited after the tiring journey. This is an island on the Nile and is only accessible by ferry.
We said goodbye to Aswan and boarded a felouka for a two-day boat trip to Daraw. A felouka is a sailboat with a flat deck and often not motorized. We spent the days mostly by lying around with some music. Our locomotion depended entirely on the wind strength. At night we were joined by hundreds of insects.
Once in Daraw we brought a short visit to the camel market (largest in the country) before continuing the trip by van towards Luxor. Along the way we halted at two temples, Kom Ombo and Edfu.The Temple of Kom Ombo is known for its symmetry. Each part is dedicated to a specific god. The left part to Haruris, the right side to Sobek.
The Temple of Horus (Edfu) is one of the best preserved temples of the country. According to mythology was this the place where the battle was fought between Horus and Seth.
Luxor
Meanwhile, we were already about half of the trip. Nevertheless, we still had a lot to see, because Luxor has much to offer! Our residence was just in the center and on the roof terrace we had a beautiful view of the Luxor Temple. Across the street was the Sphinx Avenue towards Karnak. In a few days, we would explore this last temple but we started our visit with the Temple of Amun-Ra.
This Temple (Luxor Temple) is one of the most visited temples in Egypt. At the entrance we were approached by a camera crew from an Egyptian TV channel. They were making a documentary about tourism in Egypt. After we had sung a Belgian song for the camera they recorded our next few minutes through the temple. Unfortunately we have never been able to see this episode, because this would only be broad casted in August on an Egyptian channel.
This Temple (Luxor Temple) is one of the most visited temples in Egypt. At the entrance we were approached by a camera crew from an Egyptian TV channel. They were making a documentary about tourism in Egypt. After we had sung a Belgian song for the camera they recorded our next few minutes through the temple. Unfortunately we have never been able to see this episode, because this would only be broad casted in August on an Egyptian channel. 
During our stay in Luxor we were dealing with a heat wave. One day the temperature even reached 52 degrees Celsius! This changed our schedule. All the activities that we planned had to be completed by noon. We headed outside around 4.30 pm. So we crossed the Nile to western shore very early. This region was formerly known as Thebes. We took a ride on donkeys towards the Valley of the Kings. This is a remote, hilly landscape where almost every pharaoh was buried. They chose this place, so looters could not find it. Here I visited some tombs, including the famous tomb of Tutankhamun. There are still graves being discovered by archaeologists.
After the Valley of the Kings we made some other stops in Thebes. After the Colossi of Memnon, we drove to the last attraction of the day. Both we and the donkeys began to suffer from the rising temperature. In the blazing sun we explored the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut. She was the only female pharaoh in Egypt's history.
Once back on the Nile we said goodbye to the donkeys and we returned to the shelter of our residence. In the evening, when the sun had had his hottest hours we visited the Mummification Museum.
Before we drove to the bus station to continue our trip to Hurghada, we made a balloon flight over the Valley of the Kings at sunrise. We had a beautiful view of Thebes and the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut!
After the Valley of the Kings we made some other stops in Thebes. After the Colossi of Memnon, we drove to the last attraction of the day. Both we and the donkeys began to suffer from the rising temperature. In the blazing sun we explored the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut. She was the only female pharaoh in Egypt's history.
Once back on the Nile we said goodbye to the donkeys and we returned to the shelter of our residence. In the evening, when the sun had had his hottest hours we visited the Mummification Museum.
The next day, we did all the trips by bicycle. I still felt the saddle of the donkey. We started with a short bike ride to the temple complex of Karnak. The bikes were of poor quality, as after 150m my chain fell off. When I had put my chain back on, my right pedal broke off. Finally arriving at Karnak, I the view was magnificent. It's the largest temple in Egypt. Every pharaoh has literally built a small piece at the existing temple. As a result, this temple complex contains several architectural styles and has the world's largest pillar hall (134 columns). After Karnak we drove to the Luxor Museum. Along the ride, my brakes broke off. The day we ended with a bike trip to Banana Island. This was a large fruit plantation of bananas, mangoes and oranges which lies on the Nile. Along the way I got flat tire. Curse of the Pharaoh?
Before we drove to the bus station to continue our trip to Hurghada, we made a balloon flight over the Valley of the Kings at sunrise. We had a beautiful view of Thebes and the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut!
The Nile we could follow for miles and we saw how everything got its warm color.
Hurghada
Hurghada looked much touristy than the other cities we had visited. It is located by the Red Sea and a popular base for divers. This is also the only place in our journey where alcohol was sold . From this perk we happily made use! After an hour of dancing and partying, we quietly huddled in bed, because we had some snorkeling plans the next day. In the morning we sailed from one place to another in order to snorkel between different corals. The guide had liquid fish food which he sprayed in our direction. Keeping still, I felt dozens of fish swimming past me! Not only did I see different species of fish , but I also swam a few meters from a moray! On the way back we saw some dolphins swimming alongside the boat. This special day
had given us beautiful memories (along with a nice sunburn!). The next morning we had a long drive back to Cairo ahead of us, but this night we celebrated the success of our trip with some cocktails and a hookah !
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