I'm starting to feel like Pigpen from the Peanut's Gang. I take a shower and for about five minutes I feel clean and fresh, but before I know it, I find myself surrounded by a cloud of dust again. As much as I am enjoying my time here, I truly look forward to a shower that "takes".
Day 7: West Bank of Luxor
Today we took a tour of the West Bank of Luxor. The Pharaohs believed that since the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so shall the Pharaohs. As a result, all of the temples on the east are for worship and those on the west celebrate death. Our first stop on the tour was to Valley of the Kings. When the Pharaohs took reign they began to dig their tomb in the Valley of the Kings. The longer they lived, the longer the tomb. I can't decide what surprises me more, that the tombs where discovered at all or that they did not cave in in the last 3000 years. We went inside three tombs and the walls and ceilings were covered with hieroglyphics and paintings that told the story of the dead. Even after three mileniums, the colors were still vibrant. Next we went to Valley of the Queens where, not surprisingly, the wives of the Pharaohs were buried as well as a number of their children. The tombs were not as large or colorful as those of the kings but still amazing.
In the evening, we returned to the temple of Karnak for the sound and light show, which was Disneyland meets ancient Egypt. Although the show was pretty cheesy, seeing the temple all lit up at night was worth the price of admission.
Day 8: Dahab - Day 1
We arrived in Sharm El-Sheikh this morning with plans to take a taxi to the bus station. However this proved more difficult than expected. When we asked the taxi driver to take us to the bus station, he asked ''where to after?'' to which we replied ''Dahab''. Then he tried to convince us that the bus does not leave until late and he could drive us the whole way for a mere 200 Egyptian pounds (the bus is 11 pounds per person) and just to the bus station would be 80. We decided to approach another taxi driver, but routine was identical. Finally the first taxi agreed to take us to the bus for a lot less than originally quoted, but halfway out of the airport he stopped to speak with another taxi driver. After the two conversed back and fourth he explained that the other driver lives in Dahab and could take us the whole way. After we said no to this, he finally agreed and drove us to the station where we almost immediately boarded a bus to Dahab. I wonder how may tourists fall for their stories and spend the money on the taxi?
Dahab is made up of a string of hotels and restraunts lining a beach about 0.5 miles long. Most of the restaurants are right along the beach and instead of the traditional tables and chairs, there are coffee tables surrounded by cusions on the floor. It is quite windy here, not the pleasant sea breeze you might hope for, rather gale force winds. In fact most of the trees have given up on working on good posture and grow at an angle, giving in to the constant beating of the wind.
Day 9: Dahab - Day 2
Today we went exploring under water in the famous coral reefs that make up the Red Sea. Since June is not certified she held hands with the instructor and gracefully swam through the water, not realizing at the time that the poor instructor was doing all the work to combat the currents. All in all I was quite impressed with her lack of nervousness, as I was extremely anxious on my first dive. The reefs were alive with colorful fish and all different types of coral. There was a school of small, silver fish that swam about us a bit and I kept hoping that the would get together making shapes like in Finding Nemo. Maybe they could have pointed out where all the octupi were hiding.
We only have two days left in Egypt before returning to our real lives. I think that I'm going to miss all of the sounds. Islamic chanting is broadcast over speakers to the city many times a day, the constant sound of music playing, cellphones ringing, horns honking and roosters crowing (I thought they were only supposed to do this at dawn, but someone forgot to inform the Egyptian roosters of this). Not to mention all of the street vendors calling out as you walk by, "come look at my shop" and "no price for looking".
Day 7: West Bank of LuxorToday we took a tour of the West Bank of Luxor. The Pharaohs believed that since the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so shall the Pharaohs. As a result, all of the temples on the east are for worship and those on the west celebrate death. Our first stop on the tour was to Valley of the Kings. When the Pharaohs took reign they began to dig their tomb in the Valley of the Kings. The longer they lived, the longer the tomb. I can't decide what surprises me more, that the tombs where discovered at all or that they did not cave in in the last 3000 years. We went inside three tombs and the walls and ceilings were covered with hieroglyphics and paintings that told the story of the dead. Even after three mileniums, the colors were still vibrant. Next we went to Valley of the Queens where, not surprisingly, the wives of the Pharaohs were buried as well as a number of their children. The tombs were not as large or colorful as those of the kings but still amazing.
In the evening, we returned to the temple of Karnak for the sound and light show, which was Disneyland meets ancient Egypt. Although the show was pretty cheesy, seeing the temple all lit up at night was worth the price of admission.
Day 8: Dahab - Day 1We arrived in Sharm El-Sheikh this morning with plans to take a taxi to the bus station. However this proved more difficult than expected. When we asked the taxi driver to take us to the bus station, he asked ''where to after?'' to which we replied ''Dahab''. Then he tried to convince us that the bus does not leave until late and he could drive us the whole way for a mere 200 Egyptian pounds (the bus is 11 pounds per person) and just to the bus station would be 80. We decided to approach another taxi driver, but routine was identical. Finally the first taxi agreed to take us to the bus for a lot less than originally quoted, but halfway out of the airport he stopped to speak with another taxi driver. After the two conversed back and fourth he explained that the other driver lives in Dahab and could take us the whole way. After we said no to this, he finally agreed and drove us to the station where we almost immediately boarded a bus to Dahab. I wonder how may tourists fall for their stories and spend the money on the taxi?
Dahab is made up of a string of hotels and restraunts lining a beach about 0.5 miles long. Most of the restaurants are right along the beach and instead of the traditional tables and chairs, there are coffee tables surrounded by cusions on the floor. It is quite windy here, not the pleasant sea breeze you might hope for, rather gale force winds. In fact most of the trees have given up on working on good posture and grow at an angle, giving in to the constant beating of the wind.
Day 9: Dahab - Day 2Today we went exploring under water in the famous coral reefs that make up the Red Sea. Since June is not certified she held hands with the instructor and gracefully swam through the water, not realizing at the time that the poor instructor was doing all the work to combat the currents. All in all I was quite impressed with her lack of nervousness, as I was extremely anxious on my first dive. The reefs were alive with colorful fish and all different types of coral. There was a school of small, silver fish that swam about us a bit and I kept hoping that the would get together making shapes like in Finding Nemo. Maybe they could have pointed out where all the octupi were hiding.
We only have two days left in Egypt before returning to our real lives. I think that I'm going to miss all of the sounds. Islamic chanting is broadcast over speakers to the city many times a day, the constant sound of music playing, cellphones ringing, horns honking and roosters crowing (I thought they were only supposed to do this at dawn, but someone forgot to inform the Egyptian roosters of this). Not to mention all of the street vendors calling out as you walk by, "come look at my shop" and "no price for looking".
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