Oh Kathy so sorry to hear you had to leave early. But....so glad it was not some kind of a medical issue or such.

Have a safe trip home. See you on Grand Prix.

Leslie, your pictures are so interesting and great to look at. Thank you.

Kathy, that just stinks! Have a safe flight home and I hope you can take care of things without too much headache :hug:

I agree with Karen that really stinks. :mecry: Have a safe trip home

wonderful pix, as always, leslie!

Thanks JoAnn, Karen and Arlene! Yeah, it does stink! Add a bout with "mummy tummy" into the mix and I would still do it again in a heartbeat!

Leslie, Thanks for the photos. I love seeing all the Nile2 folks and the Cairo scenes.

Kathy, Darn, so sorry to hear that you and Al have to go home ..... plus with Mummy Tummy. :( Hope you have a safe trip.

Bummer

Great pix Leslie!

Sorry Kathy. You must be disappointed. Hope your trip home is safe and easy!

Leslie, especially like the water pipes with the coke machine behind them...interesting photo.:-)

So sorry Kathy and Al have to cut their trip short. I certainly hope there will be a Nile 3 for them.

We flew to Luxor yesterday morning and were onboard in time for lunch. We visited Karnak in the late afternoon. 

This morning we had an early morning departure to the Valley of Kings, Deir el-Bahri, and the Valley of the Queens. No photography is allowed in the Valley of the Kings and Queens, so today's photos are only from Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahri. 





Brad's new best friend:











the neighborhood

Another amazing day. Leslie's pictures tell the story very nicely. We are now sailing down the Nile, after a visit to the Valey of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. Really it is indescribable. Last night we were entetained by a Belly Dancer (ok) and a Whirling Dervish (Wow!). I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings. Kathy and Al are very much missed, hope you got home safely.
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Helen

excellent pix, leslie!

Good to hear from you both and enjoying the great pictures. I'm sure Kathy and Al's departure has left a void :mecry: :mecry:

Off we go on the Nile





Entrepreneurial activity in motion

Does your group have the whole boat, I hope?

Love those tossed tablecloths!

Love that picture of Brad!

For all you original NILE travelers, here is a photo of Henry telling us stories while we were caught in a Cairo traffic jam.

Pam, we do not have the whole boat this time. There are 33 cabins and we have 11 of them. I am guessing it is about 2/3 to 3/4 full just based on the fact that there are some empty tables in the dining room, but not sure.

Since we have Henry and Hany as our guides we have a different schedule for touring than the rest of the passengers based on what they decide is the best order of things and timing. For instance this morning the schedule called for an 8 AM your of Edfu, but since we are on for the 7 day round trip we all opted to sleep in a bit and see Edfu on the way back.Hany presented a great lecture on Egyptian mythology for us at 9:30. Right now we have a couple of card tables going on deck 3. there is a comfortable open space in the middle of the ship above the atrium with panoramic windows, card tables, chairs and couches so we can see the scenery on both banks of the Nile go by. The Internet also works here, but there is no wireless access in our cabins although you can connect if you have a computer with an Ethernet cable. This afternoon we will visit the temple of Kom Ombo and tonight is the galabeya party with dinner on the top sun deck.

KARNAK TEMPLE:


Party at Antoine's home.












The "Do It All Group", taken in the same spot as NILE two years ago. Notice how happy they all are.

We are docking soon and are in the lobby ready for our tour of Kom Ombo. We're all getting outfitted for this evenings Egyptian dress-up night. I'm sure Leslie and. Ken will have fun photos to share! The best meals so far  in my opinion have been the traditional Egyptian food, so I'm definitely looking forward to dinner... not matter what I have to wear!!!

What a trip of a lifetime, the pix are incredible!

HATSHEPSUT's TEMPLE:


Colossi of Memnon.






Val having fun with young children on a field trip.


Kim taking some video.

Quick shot of Sally getting enveloped by a cobra!!!

These pictures really bring back precious memories. You all are so fortunate to have Hanni and Henry as guides. They are fun to be with and so knowledgeable. I really like the picture of Henry on the bus telling stories. It is so clear that Henry is enjoying himself.

Oh how I wish I could be there with all of you! The pictures are great, the scenery and sights are great and everyone seems to be having such a great time! Definitely adding this one to the bucket list

Wow, definitely have to do this trip.

We arrived home late last night.......missing you all and looking forward to hearing every detail of your wonderful journey! :hug:

Yes definitely one for the bucket list! Each day brings a new wonder. It is all just stunning. I am having a very hard time getting my head around these dates "2000 BC", "We think this dates from around 1100 to 1300 BC" really?
We all dressed up last night for the galebeya party. Personnally I thought we were all pretty impressive. Kim won the Water Bottle game and was wawarded a lovely fridge magnet. This morning we are off to Aswan and then a felluca ride later. Our printed schedule has been tossed and now each day is explained at dinner the night before. Most of us have no idea what we are doing in advance, just get up, meet in the lobby and see what the day brings!
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Helen

Kom Ombo

Leslie is SO FAST not sure how she gets the time to get these posted.

Ken and I remain amazed at the lack of tourists it is almost impossible to explain the difference. To have no lines for trains at the Valley of the Kings and to walk up and board the boat to Philae Temple, dock immediately it is such a different experience. The tours go so much faster with so little waiting for transport or for people to move to give our guides a chance to show us something. It is like a whole new experience. This has to be a better time to visit Egypt than it has been for years and years. Only negative for the tourist is the fact the vendors are far more aggressive as there are so few tourists. We also hit the weather perfect. Not been hot at ALL in fact today I used a light jacket in Aswan, unbelievable.

The ship is good I would use it again without hesitation. The cabins are a good size, the food acceptable (not Regent of course but as good as we have ever had on a Nile river boat) with lots of fresh vegetables which makes me very happy. Service is good and some really nice staff members. Internet works great as well. We do not have the ship all to ourselves but the other guests are not an issue at all. We are in the majority and it has worked just fine.

Hany did a lecture with slides yesterday that was excellent and explained about the beginning of the Egyptian culture. Henry is doing a lecture later on the role of women in the Egyptian culture. This is another benefit to have the time for lectures on a seven day cruise over a four day cruise and time in a hotel.

Last night we had the “Egyptian dress up” evening and this ship has much nicer dresses than I have ever seen before – people looked great. It seems like a hassle but once you are all set and everyone is dressed up it is a lot of fun. Some of the guys really looked the part. Henry was in rare form dancing a lot more than I have seen in the past and I asked him this morning and he said “he was in the mood” Pictures will follow by Ken eventually.

We have the “Henry’s Highlights” and the “Hany’s Do it All Group” and Ken is in the “do it all group” and is still out. We see the same things but Henry talks a little less and also does a lot of the explanations in the vehicle on the way so we are usually back an hour or two before the other group.

This morning we visited Philae Temple, Aswan Dam, and the unfinished oblisk. This afternoon we do the Felucca ride and visit the Nubian Museum.

Tomorrow we fly to Abu Simbel. For me Abu Simbel is the highlight of the trip. In the afternoon the “shoppers” can shop and the non shoppers can relax on the boat.

Then we sail back to Luxor. We lose the four night passengers and pick up the three night passengers. On our last day in Luxor there will be ten of us doing the hot air balloons. We will leave early in the morning be back in time for breakfast. Then at noon we fly Luxor to Cairo and then for 16 of us a flight from Cairo to Amman, Jordan. Going to be a long day!

Okay I am signing off now it is lunchtime and I am hungry – no waiting for Ken to come back I am going to have my daily vegetable fix.

Leslie, your photos continue to fascinate me! Thank you! And thanks Kim, Helen, and Ngaire for your great reports. Your trip sounds absolutely wonderful!!

We had a fabulous time at Abu Simbel this morning. Very nice weather, except for some wind, and very few other people there. The temples were incredible just on their own. But when you realize what it took to rescue them from the rising Lake Nasser after the building of the High Dam, it so much more fantastic. 

I picked up a little book on hieroglyphics thus morning at the Aswan airport and had a lot of fun trying to interpret some of the hieroglyphs in the temples. Alice and I were the last ones to get back to the meeting place before loading back in the busses and heading back to  the airport. Ken got a nice shot of us in front if the Ramesses temple that we're very happy about--- practically no other people in the picture.

There are two pooch training tables going in being lead by Brad and Ngaire. Everyone is enjoying a nice relaxing afternoon. 

This trip continues to be soooooo cool!!!!!!!!!

Photos from yesterday's visit to the Temple of Philae


Aswan
Temple of Philae

Boats to Philae







Not too many tourists, but lots of school groups



Shopping opportunities on board!
What a surprise!

Aswan. Afternoon felucca ride

Passing the Star Goddess







Tombs of noblemen







Entrepreneurial singing "pirate" paddled up and hooked on to the boat for a "concert"



Oh look! Shopping on board available here too!



Cataract Hotel - scene of part of Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile

Off we go to Abu Simbel via plane



A bit of a sandstorm on the runway





Arriving at Abu Simbel - relocated to higher ground during the building of the Aswan Dam

Abu Simbel

The two temples were originally carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Ramesses II in the 13th century BC, as a monument to himself and his queen Nefertari, to commemorate his alleged victory at the Battle of Kadesh, and to intimidate his Nubian neighbors. 

Really loving your photos, Leslie. Thanks a lot.

Just a quick post.

Ken and I continue to be shocked at the lack of tourists. Ken is going to post some pictures and you can see how few people were with us at the temples. Abu Simbel is my favorite temple in Egypt by far. Well worth the trip.

Got back at 2.30 pm STARVING from Abu Simbel and they had held lunch for us it was a three plate lunch for me. The lunches are really better than the dinners. A huge group of at least four fresh vegetables, rice, potatoes (different each day) a carving or pasta station, and fish and chicken (also done a little differently each day) and a few other items. The bread is good unfortunately! Then they have a desert table.

Right after lunch we gave some pooch lessons with Ms Understood winning both game with scores of 124 and 104! Definitely a alpha female.

Brad has been winning hearts CONSISTENTLY but finally today (bone tired and not focusing) I won the two games we played.

Tomorrow we have a sleep in morning (well deserved) and a lecture by Henry on Women in Egygt right before lunch. Then in the afternoon we visit Edfu Temple.

Next day it is Luxor Museum in the morning and then Luxor Temple in the afternoon when the light is better for photography.

Last day balloon rides and then off to Jordan.

Same as Nile 1 it is going to be SO SAD to say goodbye to Henry and Hany. They are truly remarkable and delightful people. They make the trip just as a great ranger does in South Africa.
We have the same guide we had in Jordan Zohair and he is good but no one is like these two guys.

Okay off to dinner now.