Egypt Today and Yesterday

The people of Egypt are truly "in a transition". The 25 January revolution began a completely new experience here. Everywhere, the people feel a kind of freedom from repressive rules which restricted and limited the daily lives of the normal citizen. Our guide

Hassan

would chuckle at how chaotic the city streets were. Traffic was unregulated. Pedestrians would crisscross through busy thoroughfares with impunity as police were nowhere to be found to uphold the rules of the road. For in this transition period, the people are free even to break simple rules. Hassan would laugh and we laughed along with him.

We were disappointed to be unable to enter the Egyptian museum due to the throngs of protesters in Tahrir Square. However, the people did get their demands met. Mubarack and his sons have been detained and they will have to answer for their deeds.

13 April Mubarack "Arrested"

Here are a few of the wonderful faces of Cairo:

We flew from Cairo to Aswan to embark on our 8 day cruise. The Oberoi Zahra was our next home.

We sailed down the Nile on an exquisitely modern,  service oriented cruiser which met every possible expectation for comfort and serenity. While sailing and stopping at ports, we were able to see amazing ancient temples, tombs and museums.

The Temple of Philae -

The Temple of Kom Ombo -

The Temple of Edfu -                                                                                                                                 

The Temple of Karnak -                                                                                                                             

Valley of the Kings -                                                                                                                                  

The Temple of Hathor -                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                          

Temple of Hatshepsut -                                                                                                                             

Luxor Temple -                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                     

Each temple seemed special in it's own way, whether it was the sheer size of the structure, or the beauty of it's columns, or the detail and color of it's hieroglyphs.  In the Valley of the Kings we saw the tombs of Ramses the 3rd, Ramses the 4th, and Ramses the 5th, and lastly the tomb and mummy of King Tutankhamun. Weow!!!

Everywhere, it was excessively dry, hot, and dusty. Still, everywhere we saw the beauty and hardiness of the people. The children were abundantly willing for us to catch glimpses of them on our camera lens. Here are the kids we saw along the way.

At the end of the day, we found that Egypt is unique, proud and exotic in every way.