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[Luxor Temple] [Valley/Kings] [Valley/Queens] [Hatshepsut Temple] [People] [Alexandria] [Arts] [Nature] [Transportation] [Pharonic Village] [Miscellaneous] [Copyright] [Home]  Despite it having been a rather distressing time to be a tourist in a Muslim nation, and an airline passenger, we (that is to say my father, sister, myself, and a group of about 16 other people) went on a whirlwind tour of temples, museums, and ritzy resorts/hotels in Egypt. Visiting Egypt is an experience that is a bit like losing one's virginity: there is the person you were before, and the person you are now, ... and it can't be undone. The effect of seeing the things we saw is literally that intense, that all-encompassing, that irrevocable, that unforgettable. In sharp contrast to the derogatory and destructive context that religious fanaticism is generally associated with nowadays, the ancient Egyptians are a testament to the artistic and constructive potential of fervent religious belief. This map (adapted from an old National Geographic article) shows our various travel routes, and the locations of cities and sites we visited. |
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| I have opted to present the pictures here by theme, rather than chronologically. I hope you enjoy them. | ||
| 1a) The Pyramids of Giza, Cairo [Top] | ||
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| 1b) The Sphinx, Cairo [Top] | ||
   
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| 1c) Solar Boat Exhibit, Cairo [Top] | ||
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| 1d) The Step Pyramid at Saqqara, Cairo [Top] | ||
  
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| 2a) Mohammed Ali Mosque, Cairo [Top] | ||
   
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| 2b) Egyptian Museum and Memphis Site, Cairo [Top] | ||
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| 3) The Temple of Philae and The Unfinished Obilisk, Aswan [Top] | ||
  
 
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| 4) Lake Nasser and the High Dam, Aswan [Top] | ||
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| 5)
The Temple of Kom Ombo, Kom Ombo [Top] Unfortunately, it got too dark to take more pictures. |
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| 6)
The Temple of Horus, Edfu [Top] The best-preserved carvings of all the temple sites. Why? It had been completely buried in the sand over the millenia. |
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| 7) The Temple of Karnak, Luxor (west
bank of Nile) [Top] The biggest of the temple sites, this one showed up in the James Bond flick, The Spy Who Loved Me. |
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| 8) The Luxor Temple, Luxor (west bank of Nile) [Top] | ||
  
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| 9a) The Valley of the Kings, Luxor (east bank of Nile) [Top] | ||
   
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| 9b) The Valley of the Queens, Luxor (east
bank of Nile) [Top] Alas, no cameras were allowed in the tombs. The queens' tombs had the most beautifully preserved paint colours on the walls. |
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| 9c) Queen Hatshepsut's Temple, Luxor
(east bank of Nile) [Top] This large temple site was where the terrorist attacks happened in 1997. Hatshepsut was one spunky ruler - among other things, she firmly believed in gender equality. |
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| 10) People [Top] | ||
     
 
  
   
  
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| 11) A Day in Alexandria [Top] | ||
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| 12) Arts [Top] | ||
    
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| 13) Nature [Top] | ||
 
       
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| 14) Transportation [Top] | ||
     
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| 15) Pharonic Village [Top] | ||
  
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| 16) Miscellaneous [Top] | ||
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[Top] are the property of Oliver Copyright 2001-2003 by Oliver Kilian Reichl" |
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