Egypt: An Unforgettable Mother/Daughter Adventure

Egypt is one of the only countries in the world I knew my daughter, Sydney, wanted to travel to so for her 30th birthday, come this December, my gift to her was this trip to Egypt. Little did I know how much she would love it and how very much I loved traveling and sharing this experience with her. Although documenting my travels is something I do and absolutely love doing, little did my daughter and I both know how much fun she would have writing and documenting our trip. As usual, I kept my daily travel journals on Day One (a personal journaling app) but Sydney posted our daily adventures to her Facebook page and did such an awesome job that I’m relinquishing control as the one and only author of posts on my blog to pass that torch to my wonderful daughter. Here is Sydney’s account of our Mother/Daughter Egypt Adventure

My first full day in Egypt has been something so remarkable that I struggle finding the best words to describe it. We have explored all day and no matter how sore I may or may not be right now, I am literally living my bucket list! Hard to explain that so, take a scroll and check it out yourself!

One of the corners of the Great Pyramid, less folks over here to snap our adorable picture. This angle still doesn’t even show the true size of this amazing Pyramid. (Sept. 30, 2019)

Fun facts about the Great Pyramid of Giza: 2.3 MILLION blocks came together to build this. How long could that take when the stones were made of only limestone and granite? 20 YEARS! It took 100,000 people working to make this one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. (Sept. 30, 2019)

Our travel guide told us to make sure we walked all the way around the Pyramids to truly take it in. I suppose folks don’t listen to instruction very well. Mom and I were some of the only ones on the backside but, it made for truly stunning pictures. (Sept. 30, 2019)

For an extra ticket, you’re able to actually go into the Great Pyramid with a rather small warning of it’s close quarters. Really glad this was something I was truly passionate about doing because it was smaller than small in there. This is me at the top of the first incline headed up to the top of the Pyramid. That’s sweat glistening because they didn’t run AC units in Pyramids LOL. (Sept. 30, 2019)

Y’all go ahead and star me in the next Jumanji movie, here’s my headshot. Just kidding, kind of. This is the entry way into another corridor as you navigate through the Pyramid. Wide stance waddle through this space. (Sept. 30, 2019)

Catching some air with the Nat Geo Queen. Seriously, shouldn’t this be on the cover of some Retired & Cruising the World Magazine?
Fun fact while we’re looking at all 3 Pyramids. There are over 4,000 tombs here amongst the 3 Pyramids. (Oct. 30, 2019)

Selfie time! Great Pyramid, King Khofo’s Pyramid and then his son and grandsons Pyramid. (Oct. 30, 2019)

I told Mom when we booked this trip that riding a camel with her was my number one goal, had to see her face. She beat me to the punch by doing it in Morocco so she made me go first to capture this. It was in this moment that I was second guessing my camel demands. LOL. (Sept. 30, 2019)

MUCH higher up than I guess I ever though about. But, little buddy and I hit it off rather quickly. (Sept. 30, 2019)

See? Calm as a camel cucumber! (Sept. 30, 2019)

Please notice they only put ONE of your feet in a stirrup. I really still don’t get that but okay! (Sept. 30, 2019)

Catching my stride with my new friend while we all go with our group mates. (Sept. 30, 2019)

Look ma, no hands! With a dangling GoPro lol. (Sept. 30, 2019)

Little buddy and I had such a quick bond that the guide handed me the reigns and we did our thang! In all reality, he knew where he was going and I was fine with it LOL. (Sept. 30, 2019)

Next up the Sphinx! It was said that the Sphinx portrays the strength and power of the Pharaoh. (Sept. 30, 2019)

The Sphinx was made of extra limestone and granite from the Pyramids. Clicking in at a total of 76 YARDS in length! (Sept. 30, 2019)

Lunch break! Forgot to ask the name of this local dish but it was 20 Egyptian pounds which is $1.50 US. No meat, which again is strange for me, along with it being straight carbs, also weird. This dish featured: chick peas, lentils, macaroni, rice, spaghetti, marinara sauce and we kicked in some chili sauce. With a side of salted fried bread! (Sept. 30, 2019)

Next up, Cairo Museum! 1901 this museum was completed and began its massive 3 story opening. (Sept. 30, 2019)

Pictured here is one of my favorites I learned about, Queen Hatshepsut. I love a badass woman who won’t take no for an answer. Queen Hatshepsut wanted to be the ruler in the time where women weren’t allowed. BUT, her son was so, she acted as a supervisor to him due to his young age. But, she didn’t let it stop there. (Sept. 30, 2019)

She sent her son off for military training and while he was gone, she ruled for 15 YEARS by herself AFTER being told, women are not to rule, only assist. She’s known to be one of the MOST powerful of the Queens in Egyptian history. As pictured here, her statues are all presented as a male of power to truly “show” her power. My how things have changed and how women from even in the Egyptian era said, “I’ll make my own mark of what we WILL and won’t be doing here.” (Sept. 30, 2019)

The REASON I fell in love with the Egyptian history, King TUT! Pictured here is the outside of 1 of 4, yes FOUR tombs. One set inside of one another like the stacking Russian Dolls. (Sept. 30, 2019)

Door to the most outer layer of King Tut’s tomb. (Sept. 30, 2019)

Selfie in front of his tomb as we listen to our tour guide run down all of the details of King Tut and his sacred burial. (Sept. 30, 2019)

The most outer layer of King Tut’s tomb. We learned these tombs were filled with food, jewels, beer and other things wanted in the afterlife. The beer part I can’t really argue with. (Sept. 30, 2019)

Although he only ruled for 9 years, King Tut is one of the most famous of the Kings in history. His tomb was discovered in 1922, well, all 4 of them if you want to be technical since they all sat inside of one another. (Sept. 30, 2019)

Gilded Wooden Throne of King Tut. This absolutely beautiful chair is CA. 1336-1327 BC. It’s made out of wood, gold and glass. The detail in person is truly amazing. (Sept. 30, 2019)

I pulled a card out of my mothers traveling book. There are no pictures in the King Tut exhibit that shows his mask taken off at burial. It is layered with 17kg or 37.47 LBS of gold and jewels. Although his body is buried at the Valley of the Kings, the mask is here to be viewed. Sorry but, I didn’t come all this way not to take a picture. (Sept. 30, 2019)

Side by side of how truly massive these tombs can get. Fun fact: It is a 70 day mummification process and only higher officials were mummified. (Sept. 30, 2019)

The dogs of the Egyptian time have also been quite interesting to me as well. Anubis shrine was apart of the grave goods as apart of King Tut’s burial, again to have in the afterlife. (Sept. 30, 2019)

That’s it for today! This is one of the huge doors at the opening of the Cairo Museum, one of Mom’s favorite things to picture on her travels are doors so, why not? (Sept. 30, 2019)

Day 2 of Egypt was both educational and relaxing. This morning we left our hotel to head to Alexandria, Egypt. Not only were we on our bus but a Tourism Police Officer with a rifle was sitting in the front seat as protection. We then headed out on our 4 hour trip to visit the Catacombs and enjoy the Mediterranean Sea! Check out our second day of adventure!

View looking down from the rounded stairwell of roughly 100 staggered steps. These Catacombs were used as burial sites below ground level. Bodies are located under this bottom level but they were at capacity so it had to be sealed. They then started moving up. (Oct. 1, 2019)

View looking up of the Catacomb that is now sealed. Fun Fact: This is the ONLY one outside of Rome. More on how the Romans, Greeks and Ancient Egyptians played nice together. (Oct. 1, 2019)

We are officially 20 Meters or 22 yards below ground. It was here that bodies were passed through tunnels, stored away and celebrated as a family below ground before going to its final tomb slot embedded within this Catacomb. Look at the detail here meanwhile still below ground. Ps. This is our tour group and in the blue is our tour guide. Next photos will be a step in the tomb behind him and the story it tells. (Oct. 1, 2019)

Everything in this tomb was about a story of both the Greeks, Roman’s and Ancient Egyptians. (Oct. 1, 2019)

All three civilizations came together to store bodies in this Catacomb. (Oct. 1, 2019)

The detail in this tomb was truly not only story telling but so boldly done. (Oct. 1, 2019)

Standing outside of said tomb I just described. Mom took another picture but there was a moving image in front of it. I’m pretty sure it was a presence wanting us to move along but I opted to post the clear one LOL. As you can see within the pillars and the tomb art behind and above me, this is truly a work of art. (Oct. 1, 2019)

As we moved throughout the wings underground this wall really stood out the most to me. How after THOUSANDS of years can things UNDERGROUND hold up to still shock and awe us? Just beautiful. (Oct. 1, 2019)

Headed back up to the real world but wanted to show the cut outs they put in for ventilation because, GASP, no air conditioning friends! (Oct. 1, 2019)

Outside of the Catacomb I found this gray granite stone sculpture of Roman General Marcus Antonio. Also known as Mark Antony, the great politicians General who was married to the famous Queen Cleopatra. I’m not the tallest woman on the planet but the side by side helps show the true depth of the remains of this sculpture. (Oct. 1, 2019)

Next up, we stopped by to check out the Mediterranean Sea up close and see the local fisherman boats in the water. (Oct. 1, 2019)

Here I am standing proud as a large toddler so it seems. The weird smiles adult children get when parents say stand there and smile LOL. Fun Fact: the huge Jacks behind me are used to help slow down erosion and flooding into the city. These things are MASSIVE and quite frankly the only thing Mom cared about. I love water, she apparently loves a good game of Jacks LOL. (Oct. 1, 2019)

LUNCH! It was quite awful so I’ll highlight what I loved, FRESH hummus!!!!! So wonderful!! (Oct. 1, 2019)

View of the Mediterranean Sea from Mom’s room, wait till I share the GoPro video of us crossing the road you see pictured. I felt like we were going to become a speed bump. Whew. Those white tents you see on the beach are for our hotel only, pending you make it across the street LOL. (Oct. 1, 2019)

Feet in the Mediterranean Sea! Making my best friend proud, Lindsey Yeates. The water was the perfect temperature and it was so calm and relaxing at our beach. Thanks to my personal photographer, Mommy Dearest. (Oct. 1, 2019)

Shameless plug, some of the most selfless people I know are associated with this logo and I wear it proudly on the beach in Africa. (Oct. 1, 2019)

Day 2 concludes with my new favorite thing to do, photographing my mother looking forward to the enjoyment of where we are together. Catching a sunset here on the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, how incredible? (Oct. 1, 2019)

Day 3 of Egypt for your viewing pleasure, video is coming up next to fill in some gaps and put action to my play by play lol.

We woke up in Alexandria and hit the ground running before ending our night on an overnight train taking us straight to Aswan, a 12-13 hour ride. I have never thought I was going to get a concussion as often as I almost did last night LOL. BUT, it was an adventure to say the LEAST!

Buckle up folks, here’s your recap!

Even more breakfast carbs. I swear I think the folks here carb load because most walk to and from their destinations. (Oct. 2, 2019)

After breakfast we took our bus across the street to Montaza Palace built by King Fuad in 1932. Selfie time while we explore the grounds! (Oct. 2, 2019)

Montaza Palace is located right along the Mediterranean Sea as you see here. It has a total of 4 different beaches and several restaurants inside. Although the palace itself is closed to visitors, you are allowed to pay to come visit the grounds and walk around. (Oct. 2, 2019)

The view after you walk through some pathways. This entire area is constantly guarded so no beach goers get onto the palace beaches. (Oct. 2, 2019)

Montaza Palace was built as I said by King Fuad to be his summer palace, hints the gorgeous spacious layout. How spacious you ask? Well but of course, 360 ACRES. (Oct. 2, 2019)

What better place to hold the opening ceremony for the African Cup, in a few short weeks, than a palace? (Oct. 2, 2019)

Next up was something I thought I would be bored silly doing. A LIBRARY! And, not just any library, but the Library of Alexandria. But this thing is actually pretty insane as I came to learn in our tour. This is the outside of the building which took from 1995-2001 to build with a total of 11 FLOORS! (Oct. 2, 2019)

“What is this? A school for ants?!” – Zoolander
If you haven’t seen that movie, disregard but that’s the first thing that came to mind as we started here on our tour with the mock up of the building lol.
Our guide gave us the complete rundown of how and why the building was put together the way it was. Yes, I’m taking notes. How else do you expect me to give you guys all the fun facts? (Oct. 2, 2019)

Here’s a look from the ground level looking up. The Library of Alexandria was built in a complete circle to show that knowledge never ends, just like a circle. Blue and green lighting throughout the library helps with concentration for those studying. And, the downward architectural cuts in the top of the building helps to keep the sun rays out to not disrupt readers. (Oct. 2, 2019)

Inside the Library of Alexandria is the Kiswah of the Ka’abah which dates back to 1830. The Ka’abah is near the center of the Great Mosque in Mecca and is considered by Muslims to be the most sacred place on Earth. Behind this beautiful piece are some 8 million books in the library’s holdings. (Oct. 2, 2019)

Selfie time in front of this gorgeous work of art!
Last fun fact about the massive Library of Alexandria, they currently have 400,000 digital books in 33 different languages! (Oct. 2, 2019)

After Alexandria, we headed back to Cairo to board our sleeper train to Aswan! I pictured this like the movies, I’m not sure if that was a good thought or not but boy was this an interesting evening. (Oct. 3, 2019)

I’m trying to figure out where in the HELL I’m supposed to fit in here. Next to me is my train mate who slept on the top bunk. This is Yum, she’s from Asia and traveling by herself. I asked how long she was staying In Egypt but she seemed a little terrified of me and her English wasn’t too good to really answer me. (Oct. 2, 2019)

Mom couldn’t help but to keep checking on me knowing I’m not comfortable sharing my space with a stranger. But, luckily it wasn’t that bad! What was bad was the bathroom on this train. The floor was soaking wet, don’t ask me with what because I tried not to think about it. The ceiling dripped some form of liquid, I didn’t look up to do more investigating. This train needed a seatbelt because I almost flew across the room several times in the night and in the bathroom. (Sept. 2, 2019)

That’s a wrap! Completely forgot to take a picture of Mom with me standing behind her but I did snap this cute picture at the palace! (Oct. 2, 2019)

Day 4 of Egypt, we immediately got started here in Aswan before the heat got too intense, which happened anyway with 103 temps here. Aswan is the 3rd biggest city in Egypt and has over 4 million people living here.

Mom and I split a Falafel on our way back to our hotel and I’m sorry there’s no picture because we ate like we had never seen food before. Just take my word for it. While waiting for said Falafel, a neighborhood kid of around 7 or so years old came up to my window on our bus and waved and smiled! How sweet! Waved back and smiled a nice warm smile, this child gave me the finger! Something else I wish I took a picture of but I was too busy laughing to catch it on my phone. Whew.

We had a very involved day that included multiple wonderful destinations and we ended the night with one hell of once in a lifetime meal!

Just when I thought there couldn’t be anymore breathtaking sights to see, Aswan provided us with plenty more! Grab your self something cold because even these pictures look hot LOL!

Mom and I in our floppy desert hats as we load up on a boat to head to Philae Island, the home of the Temple of Philae and it’s Nubian Monuments. Fun fact, Nubians are darker skinned and are both from Egypt and the Sudan because the Sudan is so close to us here. (Oct. 3, 2019)

This is the front entrance of the Philae Temple. Here are some fun facts about this massive monument made of complete sandstone. This actually isn’t the FIRST home of this monument. This ENTIRE Temple has been RELOCATED to here. (Oct. 3, 2019)

Yes, that’s right. Every single piece of sandstone you see around was moved from lower on the Nile to higher ground due to a dam that was created that flooded the monuments and homes of the locals. (Oct. 3, 2019)

It took a total of EIGHT years (starting in 1972) and this entire monument was cut into 40,000 PIECES and reassembled piece by piece on this higher ground to remain safe from flooding. In total 19 temples were also relocated. I could not imagine moving statues and monuments that are thousands of years old. I can barely hold a full bowl of cereal and that’s not even important. (Oct. 3, 2019)

Inside the temple you will find these absolutely high walls with intricate detail everywhere you turn. (Oct. 3, 2019)

As you walk in, you’ll see several rooms and huge hallways, each wall is inscribed as you maneuver though the temple. (Oct. 3, 2019)

As you can tell, even from further away you can still see all of the sandstone detail embedded in each piece. (Oct. 3, 2019)

This is one of the walls in one of the tomb rooms that they have illuminated so you can really see the details. (Oct. 3, 2019)

When you exit the temple and turn left, you’ll see this back wall and as you see the people walking by, you can really tell the height of this building. (Oct. 3, 2019)

There are several other temples (the others that were also relocated) surrounding the Temple of Philae. With our backs to the Nile we stood in the entry way of what was left of one of these smaller temples. (Oct. 3, 2019)

Mom and I decided to take a complete walk around the temple to see what else was to be discovered. Found this walkway alongside of the temple. The height of these crisp lined structures was just amazing. (Oct. 3, 2019)

Selfie in front of the temple! Small little tidbits that I learned while walking amongst this temple:
Walking into this temple without a shirt on is apparently okay because none of the officers made him clothe himself. Not like I was contemplating following suit, it was just interesting.
Smoking INSIDE the temple is also okay because nobody was told to put it out or move away from the temple. I know we were all smoking hot in there but none of our group was ACTUALLY smoking LOL.
Things that make you say hmmmm. (Oct. 3, 2019)

Further away view of the front and side of the temple. (Oct. 3, 2019)

This temple on Philae Island is backed up right to the Nile, beautiful view once you’re standing in it looking out onto the water. (Oct. 3, 2019)

Alongside the back we found a metal covering that was designed to have the light shine through to display hieroglyphics on the ground. Mom and I put our feetzies in for a picture. How cool of a concept is this? (Oct. 3, 2019)

This is the cafe located at the temple once you’ve done all of your walking around. The cats around here take up just as much population as the humans do, or at least it seems like it. (Oct. 3, 2019)

After a very hot day of adventure we settled into our new digs at our hotel! This is the Nile view outside of my window. We load up onto our Nile cruise boat tonight and will be staying on it for the next 3 days! (Oct. 3, 2019)

Sail boats, Nile cruise ships and if you look in the very back you’ll see some village homes. More on said villages as you continue to read below. (Oct. 3, 2019)

Before dinner we had time to kill so we walked to the local Bazaar behind our hotel. Getting whistled at is not something I’m used to anymore since I cut my hair off LOL. (Oct. 3, 2019)

Local butcher shop in the Bazaar, yes that’s really meat hanging (not cold by the way) and a line to pick up the meat for either their family or their village. This was my first time to see an actual butcher shop in person and not in a movie. (Oct. 3, 2019)

We are headed to dinner at a local Nubian village and getting there by boat as the sun sets on the Nile. I’m nervous as all get out about this one but embracing all the new adventures full steam ahead! Get it? Because we’re on a boat? LOL (Oct. 3, 2019)

We passed several different style of boats as we headed more inland to visit the Nubian Villages. (Oct. 3, 2019)

It was this picture as the birds were perched on the rock that I took in a deep breath and let the worries of being in a random village for dinner be okay. Y’all know I’m a control freak but I’m working on it LOL. (Oct. 3, 2019)

Selfie on our boat with some of our tour group! I’m riding shotgun on the boat to get said above pictures lol. Looking forward to seeing my GoPro video of the sunset as we cruised around seeing the different coves of the Nile and where the Nubian Villages call home. (Oct. 3, 2019)

We’re off the boat and headed to Jay Jay & Mona’s home who’s hosting us for dinner. Mom is of course leading the way following Teddy Bear (he really is a sweetie like one) through the churns and turns of this village. We passed a roaming donkey, entirely too many cats, plenty of kids playing outside with no cellphones (praise be), and we were greeted with so many “Hello’s!”. (Oct. 3, 2019)

Couldn’t miss an opportunity to take a picture of the front door knocker to our hosts home. Kinda reminds me of Coming to America, which made me smile but I just loved seeing this here. Sometimes it only takes a small detail to bring down some of our walls. (Oct. 3, 2019)

Lentil Soup with croutons and Nubian bread was first up for our dinner. Here’s Mom getting her croutons as Teddy makes sure she gets more than enough. We were told to finish every single dish, LOL. Ps. How adorable is this table cover? (Oct. 3, 2019)

Lentil Soup and croutons! I don’t like lentils and I’m a very picky eater but this was absolutely DELICIOUS, okay so maybe I do? Jay Jay and his wife Mona told us to slow our roll because there was a lot of food to come for the main courses. (Oct. 3, 2019)

Here’s our feast! Fried perch, rice, salad, mixed veggies, chicken, Nubian bread and minced beef. (Oct. 3, 2019)

Here’s Jay Jay talking to Mom about the Nubian culture over dessert. Here are some fun facts about the Nubian Villages:
It’s split into two different villages with a total of 5,800 people here on Elephantine Island which is 0.9 miles long and 0.3 miles in width.
When it comes time for someone to build a home, they use donkeys to pull all the materials they’ll be need. If you paid attention earlier to the left of Mom walking through the village you’ll see a mud brick wall. That mud is mixed straw and animal dung to make the mud bricks even stronger to uphold the house. Last fun fact, there are no police on Elephantine Island. If there is a problem in the village, each family member has one head of household who speaks to the other head of household to squash the issue. If only this happened back home! (Oct. 3, 2019)

Day 5 was the hottest we’ve yet to experience here in Egypt with the highest temp of the day reaching 108. I thought being a Texas girl used to the heat would be a source of strength for this trip except, desert heat is NOT ANYTHING LIKE TEXAS HEAT!

We headed to Aswan International Airport nice and early in the morning to take a 45 minute flight to Abu Simbel. There with 1hr and 10 minutes we saw two truly stunning temples and headed back on our flight to Aswan to our Nile Cruise for a night of quiet rest.

These pictures almost look fake but I promise you, these were so real that I had chills.

Lots of fun facts to learn so listen up friends!

We hopped on a 45 minute flight to our next destination through Egyptair, whom only flys to 2 destinations: Cairo & Abu Simbel. (Oct. 4, 2019)

Leave your spears at home for this flight please! Sheesh! (Oct. 4, 2019)

Breakfast at the airport! Mom had a cappuccino and I had this delicious ice cream bar. Basically I am so jacked up on time that I don’t know if it’s time for a beer, eggs and fruit or clearly this ice cream. For the record, it was damn good and beer can be consumed at any hour if you’re on vacation. At least that’s what I believe! (Oct. 4, 2019)

We boarded a bus that took us straight to the plane, this is the view as you walk to the plane. (Oct. 4, 2019)

With an hour and 10 minutes to tour, we had to get to movin and groovin really quick.
To the right of this cruise boat and only 31 miles from it is the Sudan, we are really that close. (Oct. 4, 2019)

We walked the path down and around to get to the temples with a wonderful view of Lake Nasser which is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. Lake Nasser is shared by both Egypt and the Sudan and where many villages catch the larger fish and where the crocodiles apparently frequent. (Oct. 4, 2019)

Taking notes from our tour guide before we get to the temples while Mom was on camera duty. I clearly take the note taker job with some seriousness. (Oct. 4, 2019)

King Ramses II built this massive temple to dedicate to the Sun Gods which was first discovered in 1813. He is shown outside of this temple 4 times and is 66FT in height. I look like a little flicker of orange amongst the massive size of this incredible temple. King Ramses ruled for 67 years and died in his 90’s. (Oct. 4, 2019)

Selfies! We have seen so many temples so far and they all are made of different elements based on where they’re located and what was accessible to them at that time. For instance if you remember, the Great Pyramids were made of Limestone. Others we’ve seen were made from sandstone. But these? Granite. (Oct. 4, 2019)

From 1963-1968 the 2 temples had to Be salvaged from the rising waters of the Nile. Gasp, again?! Due to the Aswan High Dam, temples and villages were again getting flooded. Seems like a common theme here which is quite insane to think about. They disassembled by HAND both temples into 16,000 pieces and moved the structures 200 ft above it’s previous location. This entire process took 4-5 years to complete and was funded by over 50 countries that totaled 42 MILLION to facilitate this massive move. (Oct. 4, 2019)

Entrance into the temple. Total of 8 statues along the walk way inside with the height being 203 feet. (Oct. 4, 2019)

All 8 statues and these things are just HUGE! I walked in and stopped to stare up at not only the beauty of these but even the detail in the high ceiling. (Oct. 4, 2019)

Here’s Mom taking my picture of me taking her picture of us taking a picture.
Just cant get over all of these high entrances. (Oct. 4, 2019)

Looking like I just stepped out of the shower. Although its triple temps outside, it’s still hot as hell in the temples as well with zero air movement. I didn’t care if I had to be carted out, I want to see everything! (Oct. 4, 2019)

Comparison for size, Mom and I are 5’5. Don’t mind me looking like I have a slight lean for some weird reason. (Oct. 4, 2019)

This temple held several long corridors that all were inscribed with different stories that were important to the King. Some about his wife, Queen Nefertari whom he built her own temple north of this one. We will discuss it next. His of course is MUCH bigger……(Oct. 4, 2019)

In one of the corridors there was a piece missing, couldn’t help but get this shot looking into the next one sharing this wall, if you look up you’ll see even more detail on the ceiling. (Oct. 4, 2019)

We made it out alive! Barely. We’re headed over to see the Queen’s temple and learn more about one of the most influential Queens in Egyptian history.
Fun fact because I got so hot that I thought it was worth notating in my book. Above the 4 seated statues of the King, you’ll see what was 22 baboons. There’s 14 left that haven’t eroded away. Bet you guys wanted to know that, so you’re welcome LOL. (Oct. 4, 2019)

Up next, Queen Nefertari’s temple, wife of King Ramses II. There are 6 figures here, 4 of King Ramsey II and 2 of Nefertari. He had this built to reflect his love for her yet he’s reflected more than she is. These statues are 35 feet in height. Let’s go take a look inside! (Oct. 4, 2019)

I told y’all its hot as Hell here, I look like I just got microwaved. BUT, check out the key inserted in the door in front of me, it’s called the Key of Life and it’s also held in the hands of SEVERAL monumental figures in Egyptian history. Anyway, this is the entrance of the Queen’s temple. (Oct. 4, 2019)

At the top of this pillar you’ll see the Goddess Hathor who is represented with cow ears. To the left of this pillar the King put himself in action about to take down someone to show his power in this temple. Yet again, he made this for her. (Oct. 4, 2019)

Queen Nefertari’s temple was the 1st time a temple was constructed for a Queen, even if her husband the King made this mostly to reflect himself. (Oct. 4, 2019)

Mom and I on the outside after we completed our tour, both of these temples were truly amazing to see and be able to go inside. We have not seen anything like these so far amongst all of the other temples we’ve visited. These with it’s details, history and overall size gave me chills in the middle of the desert. (Oct. 4, 2019)

Day 5 is concluded with the Nat Geo Queen outside of the temple getting that perfect shot! Here is what I think is the 3rd option for the cover of Retired & Traveling the magazine. I don’t even know if it’s a thing but it really should be if it isn’t. (Oct. 4, 2019)

Day 6 started in Aswan and ended in Kom Ombo with a night tour of the Temple of Kom Ombo & Crocodile Museum.

Fun fact around this part of the world, time is only relative. If you’re told 7:30 and you actually leave at 9, that’s just how the cookie crumbles. That’s been a hard thing to adjust to for Mom and I, we like to stick to a schedule.

Good Morning from the calm Nile River view from my cruise room! It was told to us that the Nile is just about always calm and easy flowing, even with the mass amounts of traffic throughout it’s channel. (Oct. 5, 2019)

First thing we did this morning was set sail on a Felucca! Here I am taking in the sights alongside one of the men steering the boat. Felucca boats hold up to 10 passengers and have room for about 2-3 to actually man the sail and ropes etc.
I’m probably thinking about something that really isn’t even important like, I wonder how old this boat is and where they get all these boats. Are they in the family or do they build them? How often do they clean the bottoms of them? What’s for lunch? (Oct. 5, 2019)

The saying on the front of this boat is funny to me because I’m working on doing this: Don’t Worry!
In the background you’ll see a masque that’s pillars are wrapped with lights that can be seen just about every where we’ve stayed so far. (Oct. 5, 2019)

Our Felucca setting sail after dropping us off at our cruise boat. A Felucca is a traditional wooden sailing boat used in protected waters of the Red Sea, Mediterranean, Egypt & Sudan and a few others. (Oct. 5, 2019)

I decided to hangout at the rooftop pool with great views of the Nile, but it was 107 degrees and not even sitting in the pool was enough to cool me down. (Oct. 5, 2019)

Maybe a beer will help? That’s my philosophy anyway. Stella is the popular beer in Egypt and has been in the market since 1897! Cheers to this stupidly hot heat and my soon to be hot beer if I don’t drink it quickly up here. (Oct. 5, 2019)

Said heat maxed out at an insane 109 today!
Waited until the sun started to set before I decided to face it again. It’s tea time for the cruise. You know, hot liquids in the hot heat sounds fun for someone aside from myself and Mom. So, we decided to find a place to set up our writing shop and catch the sun going down! (Oct. 5, 2019)

As the sun was setting I watched the other cruise boats cruising by, LOL.
There are over 200 of these Nile cruise boats that offer the same 3 night option we’re currently on. Not sure how folks are able to narrow it down when there’s that many. Lucky I didn’t have any part of that. (Oct. 5, 2019)

Sunset here is at 5:30pm and if you’re not on your photo/video A game, you’ll miss it. (Oct. 5, 2019)

Mom caught me catching video footage of all the cruise boats parking at the temple. In the distance you’ll see the Temple of Kom Ombo. PS. From the GoPro App I’m able to see the exact angle I’m shooting from, able to start and stop video and power on and off the device. It’s pretty nifty. (Oct. 5, 2019)

Us and about entirely too many other people made it to Kom Ombo’s Temple that is very well lit thank goodness. This Temple is dedicated to 2 Gods: Crocodile God Sobek and Horus the Elder. (Oct. 5, 2019)

Second from the left is Sobek, the Crocodile God who as you see, has a crocodile head. This Temple is located on a bent bank of the Nile where Crocodiles could perch and prey. Sobek was a God of the Nile who was known to bring fertility. For that, crocodiles were sacred and raised on temple grounds. (Oct. 5, 2019)

As you walk in and look up, this is your view. This temple has the most columns I’ve seen so close together so far. It was built from the inside out as time progressed and there were more stories to depict on the walls and pillars. (Oct. 5, 2019)

To the right you’ll see the falcon headed God Horus, God of the Sky (hints the falcon head) receiving an offering. Horus is one of the most well known protectors and rulers of Egypt. (Oct. 5, 2019)

Throughout not only this temple but others our guide pointed out some of these random holes that I attributed to age and weather but I was incorrect.
The holes in these temples was an act of the locals who took pieces thinking it would bless their homes and keep away evil. (Oct. 5, 2019)

Side view of the temple from the far back corner, the moon decided to hang out for some amazing pictures for us too! (Oct. 5, 2019)

Kom Ombo is a city known for 2 things, this temple and it’s sugar cane factories. Over 500,000 people live here. Again, if you look behind me you’ll see cut out pockets amongst the walls that locals decided to keep for themselves. (Oct. 5, 2019)

This is the one and ONLY Egyptian Calendar that cannot be found anywhere else. This is the first calendar known to use a year being 365 days. (Oct. 5, 2019)

Closer view of it. This calendar is split into 3 seasons of 4 months each: Flood Season, Seeding Season & Harvest Season. (Oct. 5, 2019)

This was the most interesting part if you ask me, well this and the whole crocodile thing was kind of interesting. (Oct. 5, 2019)

The detail in this picture completely looks fake like a Google image but I assure you, I had to elbow a couple people to get the shot. (Oct. 5, 2019)

Out in front of the temple between travel groups. I know I’m not tall but these structures are so massive I look like a little squishable mini person in these pictures. (Oct. 5, 2019)

Here you’ll find a ton of crispy crocodiles. Just kidding. When this temple was found, they also found 300 MUMMIFIED crocodiles. Here you’ll see some of the biggest ones. See why I gave you all that croc info earlier? There’s an entire museum dedicated to the sacred crocodiles below the temple. (Oct. 5, 2019)

Dinner on the cruise was freshly fried Falafel and it was delicious! Not as good as the hole in the wall our guide got for us but it was still delicious! (Oct. 5, 2019)

Day 6 Nat Geo Queen catching the moon and the Kom Ombo’s Temple while I catch her catching the moon and the temple. You can even see the stars if you look hard enough! That’s not dirt on your screen, it’s crystal clear at night. It was also roughly 96 degrees even at around 8pm at night. We were drenched. (Oct. 5, 2019)

Day 7 came and went so quickly! I think mostly because we started the day at 5:30AM. Temple of Horace at Edfu was something we would have to do on our own if chosen as it was not included in our trip itenarary. Some of the horses are not well maintained, some of the vendors can be pushy and it was just not recommended due to some bad feedback. Mom and I had a decision to make and quite honestly, we aren’t the type of women who listen to others opinions without seeing for ourselves.

That’s exactly what we did. Ventured out and figured it out and formed our own opinion.

In order for us to get to the Temple of Horus at Edfu, we had to be outside by 5:30am to catch a horse carriage ride to the temple. It was the only form of transportation to get there quickly. We made arrangements the night before with another guide who made sure to get us someone who wouldn’t try to jack with us much. Instead we got the most talkative of them all for 5:30 in the morning. Here I am ahead of Mom with my camera ready to take a picture of the driver and the carriage number. No funny business. (Oct. 6, 2019)

He gave me the reigns mid ride while taking our photo with Mom’s phone. If you can’t tell, Mom was TRULY uncomfortable. (Oct. 6, 2019)

It’s 2019 yet looks like the 1800’s. Walking to the Temple of Horace was an option but it would have taken too long and time was limited. (Oct. 6, 2019)

Here’s Rambo, Mom and I parked at the Edfu Temple. Rambo seems to be decently fed and well taken care of in comparison to some of the others I saw on our way to town. This was an interesting experience which is documented in my video that I just posted. He asked me why I didn’t have a husband and seeing as how I just needed him to get us from point A to point B and back again, I played along. Temple opens at 6 am, we need to get our ticket, meet the new guide and get in line. We can’t afford for me to tell this man that I have a wife and him pull a quick exit lol. (Oct. 6, 2019)

Seeing the sunrise behind the Temple of Horus and or Edfu, was completely worth all the hoops we jumped through. We have one hour to be here before we have to be back on the cruise boat so it can leave port. So, let’s get to those fun facts quickly:
This is the Temple of Edfu but it is also called the Horus Temple. Most of this temple reflects his life’s story and battles. If you remember, Horus is the falcon headed god who is the God of the Sky.
This temple is made of sandstone and is one of the most well preserved temples in Egypt due to it being buried by sand almost 200 years ago until it was found again in excavations in the mid 19th century. (Oct. 6, 2019)

As you walk in and look up, you can still see some color left in parts of this temple. Mind you this temple was built between 237-57BC. (Oct. 6, 2019)

This is the open courtyard that has 3 sides of a total of 32 columns all the way around. (Oct. 6, 2019)

Said columns. So thankful we were able to get there when it opened because it provided me with some shots without anyone in them, which is hard to accomplish around here at times. (Oct. 6, 2019)

More pillars and this is the backside of that huge entrance which is depicting more stories about Horus and how he defeated so many to become the God of the Sky including his own Uncle. Gasp! Even THEY had family drama?! Say it ain’t so! (Oct. 6, 2019)

Getting those shots so I can tell you guys all the fun stuff. Behind me is a massive wall that basically tells the story of Horus and his Uncle Set. Horus was the son of Osiris and Isis and the nephew of Set, Osiris’s brother.
Uncle Set murdered his brother Osiris and contested for Horus’s throne of Egypt. He wanted it for himself. Greed is a disgusting bitch that even showed itself in the Ancient Egyptian History.
Horus became Uncle Set’s enemy because Horus was in the way of the throne. So naturally, they fight for it. But in the end as we all know, greed never wins. Horus defeated his Uncle Set for the right to the throne.
Anyway, the whole wall behind me tells the story in picture form and it’s one of the best parts of the entire temple to be honest. (Oct. 6, 2019)

And continues here as well. It was a long story lol. (Oct. 6, 2019)

Here is Horus harpooning a hippo, which is actually his Uncle Set in the form of a Hippo.
The crazy part of learning all these stories is how these gods and goddesses took an animal form for battle and strength. Sometimes that worked and in Uncle Set’s case didn’t work. (Oct. 6, 2019)

The sanctuary of Horus is this polished granite shrine of him again, in falcon form. This is often referred to as the House of the God. (Oct. 6, 2019)

Back side of that huge entrance with more stories of Horus. As you can see below, tourism is starting to get a little packed. Time to snap our last few pictures and head back to Rambo to get to the boat. (Oct. 6, 2019)

Sun is officially up but I couldn’t pass up an empty column for a photo opp. Enjoyed learning more about Horus and how he avenged his fathers murder from his own brother. (Oct. 6, 2019)

Sun is almost up past the temple walls so we got a quick picture from our one hour only guide. Mom and I are SO glad we didn’t let fear stop us from forming our own opinions of this entire experience here at Edfu. It was completely worth everything we went through and experienced together. (Oct. 6, 2019)

On our way out, I turned around to take this picture. The dogs at these temples has pulled at my heart each and every single time. Makes me miss mine but it makes me wish I could take these sweet babies home too. More on the animals of Egypt tomorrow and what I was able to witness that is making a difference here. (Oct. 6, 2019)

Here’s Rambo taking us back to our boat and taking us on the scenic route! I may not have told the driver I’m a lesbian but this rainbow picture sure makes me laugh anyway! Thanks Rambo! (Oct. 6, 2019)

Back to the room on the cruise and I walked into a scary creature on my bed! He even jacked my headphones and sunglasses. Seeing as how I’ve never done a cruise before, this was pretty darn cute. (Oct. 6, 2019)

We finally made it to Luxor where we will spend the next 2 days before we head back to Cairo and from there I will be headed back home! (Oct. 6, 2019)

We docked and had time to kill before dinner so our group went to see the outside of the Luxor Temple at sunset, how beautiful is this? Luxor Temple is not included in our tours here due to the fact that we have SO much to do as it is. So this is a on your own time situation. Mom and I plan to hit this temple tomorrow after our morning tours. This is just stunning. (Oct. 6, 2019)

After walking past the temple we went to the market bazaar for some shopping. This is me staring at something while mid dance move, just kidding. Probably doing something weird with my feet because I’m being whistled and yelled at. Sounds about right. (Oct. 6, 2019)

Yes, you’re seeing this image correctly. Ask me if I asked what this meant, you know I didn’t. But I did take a picture though! Of course LOL. (Oct. 6, 2019)

Day 7 with the Nat Geo Queen in the early hour sunrise at the Temple of Horace. Agreeing to tackle this temple together is how we operate in general. Maybe it won’t be ideal circumstances but what can we gain from doing it? Let’s find out. I think one of the best things a parent can do for a child is to say, I’ll do it if you’ll do it with me or, let’s find out together (even if you’re almost 30 LOL). The whole morning after we got back from the temple we talked about how happy we were that we went out and formed our own opinions and didn’t let some small warnings scare us away. I learned my not easy timidness from the one taking the picture in front of me.
Day 8 will be a treat for you guys so make sure you come back to check it out! (Oct. 6, 2019)

Day 8! We are winding down to the last few days here of this absolutely incredible trip. This is probably the most constant my body has been in motion in years I think nothing but some Tylenol, Spark, Rehydrate, beer, water and the occasional nap can’t fix!

Today is filled with multiple destinations and a whole lotta heat here in Luxor! We hit Karnak Temple first thing in the morning followed by ACE Intrepid Project and had some rest time before Mom and I took on an adventure to Luxor Temple.

Fun fact: Luxor is based off the base of an Arab word that means, “the palaces”. It is also a city that that extends to both sides of the Nile River, both the East and West banks are the city of Luxor.

Buckle up! It’s hot, it’s hard, it’s more temples to share with you all! LOL

I love taking pictures of the mock ups, mostly because they’re tiny and adorable. This shows the intricacies of the Karnak Temple on 62 ACRES. Each Pharaoh added on to each wall and so on and so forth until it got so large that I had to hide in the Visitors Center for a rest while Mom ran to the restroom. LOL. (Oct. 7, 2019)

Shortly after entering, there’s a walk way lined with Ramses II as Osiris. Some were destroyed due to floods and earthquakes. (Oct. 7, 2019)

Me and Ramses II who’s legs are bigger than mine, like everyone else’s LOL. (Oct. 7, 2019)

Walking further in is the main axis where everything is lined up along these 12 massive columns. Before I hit you with the fun facts of those columns, to the right of this split high wall is something I wanted to show you guys. (Oct. 7, 2019)

The black line above Mom’s head? That’s the flood line from 1887. The entire temple, all 62 acres was underwater. Because, back then, the Nile came RIGHT up to the temple. It was long before dams, villages, levy systems etc. To the right, you’ll see our guide showing us the damages from the floods. (Oct. 7, 2019)

Alright! Back to those 12 columns: These 12 surpass 70ft in height along the main axis here and they are 18ft in diameter. Basically, it would take several of us to link hands and hug this thing. Not sure why we would but, that should give you an idea on how huge it is lol. (Oct. 7, 2019)

This group of columns are called the Great Hypostyle Hall.
In total there are 134 giant sandstone columns in this huge area. Every inch of them was inscribed by Ramses II. I guess he had more time on his hands than other Kings because that’s a whole lot of time. (Oct. 7, 2019)

The detail is just unbelievable. On top of how the sun shines through at all different angles in this sea of columns.
It’s said that this is the largest temple in the world and largest religious building ever made. Seeing as how it’s 62 acres, I can’t say I’m surprised by that fact. (Oct. 7, 2019)

Between here and that obelisk in the far back (the pointy thingy), are even more of those 134 columns. Fun fact about obelisks: There were 27 of them cut and made in Aswan, but only 7 are in Egypt. The rest are on display around the world. (Oct. 7, 2019)

This is Karnak Temple Sacred Lake that was dug by King Tutmosis III. It was used by priests for purification and other rituals. It is 200m long and 117m wide. Yes, it’s VERY green in color. (Oct. 7, 2019)

After a little walking we went to find what our guide called, “colors” toward the back of this massive monument complex. This is Akh-Menou built by again, Tutmosis III in his 23rd year of his reign. (Oct. 7, 2019)

Here I am underneath all of the color, waiting for my next clue to win Jumanji! Or is it the next piece to play on the game board, I don’t remember. (Oct. 7, 2019)

A poly chrome coloring was used for all of the colors you see here in these color structures. The fact that any color is here at all after thousands of years is just shocking. If you look up in all temples and rooms that still have a roof or ceiling on them, you’ll see what should be a blue sky and gold stars. (Oct. 7, 2019)

The Ram headed Sphinx symbolizes the God Amun who is the God of sun and air. King Ramses II is also on the chest of the rams. This is Ramses II’s wing and portion of this part of this massive temple. (Oct. 7, 2019)

After we finished the Karnak Temple tour, we traveled to see what Intrepid Tours is doing to help the animals here in Egypt. It’s quite the initiative due to there being so many animals that are on the streets, not receiving care. Even those that are working animals are not being treated with adaquate shots and things as basic as bathing and food. (Oct. 7, 2019)

Upon walking in we were greeted by this sweet face. It’s pretty obvious some of these animals have endured hardships leading up to being at ACE. (Oct. 7, 2019)

ACE offers a free solution to just about anything the animal owner needs. Some dogs are boarded while the woman of the home is having a baby. Free spay/neuter is also offered only if the animal owner asks, they are not required to have it done in order to receive treatment here. (Oct. 7, 2019)

Here at ACE they offer free shower/brush/feed. They will rehab the animal as long as it takes, from weeks on up to a year. All of this work is done at the expense of ACE and not the locals. All they ask is for you to bring them the animal who’s in need. (Oct. 7, 2019)

Horse stalls, donkeys, turtles, cats, dogs you name it. They can all find safety and healing at ACE with six Vets they have on staff. Horses here go for roughly 400,000 pounds which in US$ is $25K. To spend that kind of money on an animal to in turn not give it the care it needs is truly beyond me. Look at these sweet faces! They loved some good nose scratches. (Oct. 7, 2019)

This is Felix, the resident donkey! He answers to his name and let me give him some good pets while I was between my note taking. He’s a good boy and gives us tourists a cute smile to remember him by.
Animal Facts about Egypt and ACE: ACE has a total of 50 rooms/stables for local animals. Unfortunately at this time there are no animal cruelty laws in Egypt. So that means when an owner brings in their animal near death due to how they’ve treated them, ACE rehabs the animal and gives it back to the owner because that is the law. ACE does a lot of work with the local schools because they are the future of animal cruelty laws in Egypt. (Oct. 7, 2019)

My Luxor hotel room view for tonight and tomorrow night. Time to charge my devices, my body parts and get ready for a night tour of Luxor Temple which is not included in our list of events so we had to fit it in on free time. (Oct. 7, 2019)

Mini mock up of what the original looked like. Luxor Temple was built in 1400 BC. (Oct. 7, 2019)

My nerd self knows when the sunsets here because I looked and we made sure to get there in time to catch some beautiful backgrounds to this temple.
Ps. The walk here from our hotel was a hot mess. We were harassed by the local taxi’s and horse carriage drivers. Finally enough was enough and I barked back telling them enough was enough and to leave us alone. The drivers acted like I offended them after they followed us for several minutes. Needless to say, they moved on. You can either deal with me or Mom and trust me, she’s worse. Or would it be better in this circumstance? Whichever, just not a smart choice. (Oct. 7, 2019)

Again with the axis methodology. A lot of temples were made so that things fell in line along the axis of the temple as you see here. (Oct. 7, 2019)

Ave of Sphinxes for 3 Kilometers or 1.8 Miles connecting the Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple. Although most of the Ave is under excavation and closed, the closest to the Luxor as pictured has been restored. (Oct. 7, 2019)

Doing my two handed trick that I almost have mastered, one hand for pictures and one hand for video. It gets tricky when there’s people everywhere and I don’t want them in my video or my pictures LOL. (Oct. 7, 2019)

As the moon comes out, we venture through the rest of the temple to find even more standing Ramses II. This King really seemed to get a lot done everywhere with putting himself on display a bazillion times anywhere he could. (Oct. 7, 2019)

Look who I found hanging out in front of….gasp. Could it be? Ramses II! (Oct. 7, 2019)

The Luxor Temple’s importance was most prevalent when Luxor was the capital of Egypt in the ancient times. This temple at that time also served as a political and religious center back then as well. (Oct. 7, 2019)

This is the courtyard of Amenhotep III which includes a double row of papyrus columns. Love this shot as the colors are changing between day and night right before us. (Oct. 7, 2019)

Selfie amongst the sea of pillars! Can’t say I have ever seen as many sunsets and sunrises with my Mom like I have on this trip. Can’t say we’ve taken a flight together in a long time like we have on this trip. Can’t say I’ve laughed this many days in a row with her like I have on this trip.
She’s been my personal photographer, I’ve been her video journalist, we’ve been each others voice of reason both on this trip and the days and years before it. (Oct. 7, 2019)

The OCD in me felt at peace when I took this. What a beautiful line right down the middle lol! More of the courtyard pillars as the sun goes down. (Oct. 7, 2019)

A night view of the brightly lit Temple of Karnak. Quit a powerful look. (Oct. 7, 2019)

Funny story time: The walk back to our hotel from the Karnak Temple was quite interesting. Sidewalks are hardly a thing and men like to, as I said earlier, harass tourists for money. After leaving the temple, Mom turns to me and asks if I have anything sharp. If we were at home, I would have a knife. But, here? I have a fine point pen and an unopened beer. We walked with our pens in hand and if we had to go on the defense, someone would be very confused getting decked with a beer and penEv. No pens or beer were harmed. (Oct. 7, 2019)

Day 8 comes to a close here in Luxor for our first day here. Here’s Nat Geo Queen snapping a picture of Tuthmosis I obelisk in an open courtyard. Only a couple days left of snapping my favorite picture everyday. Till then, I’ll just keep finding more fun ones to share. Cheers to day 9! (Oct. 7, 2019)

I’ve struggled posting my last adventure day in Egypt because to be honest, I wasn’t ready to face the music that my 2 weeks with my rock had to come to an end. I wanted to share our last big day in Luxor and our trip to the Valley of the Kings because I promised Mom I would finish my documentation creation that I started when I got there.

I really wasn’t sure what this trip would mean once I got home. I’ve kept to myself as I got acclimated to everything again and really tried to sit with my thoughts about all I learned and experienced.

So, for now, here is the last of my travels until Mom and I hopefully move forward next year on her 20 countries in 2020 crusade!

Buckle up butter cups, this one required books and a lot of googling in addition to our notes lol.

Egypt, thank you for a trip of a lifetime full of sweaty boobs, under seasoned food, incredible views and horrible hotel WIFI LOL.

We started the morning with a quick visit to the Colossi of Memnon with these two massive stone statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III who reigned during Dynasty XVIII. Since 1350 BCE, they have stood in the Theban Necropolis, located west of the River Nile from the modern city of Luxor.
Pictured is Mom dodging a stray dog that I was struggling not to pet in a foreign country. (Oct. 8, 2019)

These statues are 60 feet in height and face east and is a common stop as tourists go to visit the Valley of the Kings, our next stop. (Oct. 8, 2019)

In most temples and sights we had to make our way through the local bazaars where basically a bunch of men try to get you to buy things and yell, “no hassle no hassle!”
This is my Mom, keep up with the group face. She got this face daily, don’t let her tell you anything different. (Oct. 8, 2019)

Here’s the mini mock up of the Valley of the Kings layout. Each little triangle is someone’s tomb. Could have been a Pharaoh, King, high official etc. Some of these tombs as you’ll see do not actually contain bodies but they once did. (Oct. 8, 2019)

Waiting on the tram to get us to the Valley of the Kings to start our tour. This is my 4 year old self swinging my feet with a nerdy smirk. (Oct. 8, 2019)

Here I am winning the race to the top! I mean, walking with our guide to ask him more questions for all of my very important Facebook documentations. We started at the very top of the valley and worked our way back down. On the other side of this high wall is the Temple of Hatshepsut and also not far from here is where the Alabaster or the Egyptian granite is found that most of the keepsakes I got are made out of. (Oct. 8, 2019)

Inside of King and Queen Tausert & Setnakht of the 19th & 20th Dynasties. These all had very high ceilings and some of them like pictured here were very well preserved and still hold a lot of color. (Oct. 8, 2019)

Remember, this is all built and carved into the side of a mountain almost 2 football fields in length! (Oct. 8, 2019)

These tombs all told stories of who was laid to rest there. Stories of their reign, battles, family and just the over all stories in which made up their lives before passing. (Oct. 8, 2019)

Here is a better view of the 2nd tomb we went into next. These were truly just massive! Located here was one of the many Ramses, Ramses IX of the 20th Dynasty. (Oct. 8, 2019)

Again as you see behind me, so much color still holds on while being around for thousands and thousands of years. Fun Fact: As I showed earlier, there are a lot of people and officials buried here. In efforts to allow tourists to see the burial chambers they allow you a ticket to see 3 of whichever they have open that day. They keep these on a rotating schedule to help preserve each section. (Oct. 8, 2019)

After waiting in line to take a picture of this empty burial chamber, Mom made sure to snap a selfie like everyone else quickly because it was hot as hell in there. (Oct. 8, 2019)

Nat Geo Queen in her script element. Taking more pictures that just don’t look like they could be real! (Oct. 8, 2019)

This was the hottest of the hot tombs. Mom and I had to take a quick timeout once we got to the tomb for some water and a quick breath before crawling further through the crowds to get our pictures. Again, look how high these spaces are while being IN a mountain. (Oct. 8, 2019)

Cheese! Hurry, Mom it’s hot! (Oct. 8, 2019)

The video camera in the top right corner, its to catch people taking video who didn’t buy the media pass. They’re quite serious and will make you put your device down to show them your ticket which was 300 Egyptian Pounds, equivalent to $18 US. (Oct. 8, 2019)

Outside of the hottest tomb we went into, King Ramses IV. It was in the 90’s by 9:30 am this day. Warm! (Oct. 8, 2019)

Next up we visited one of my favorite women I learned about. The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. (Oct. 8, 2019)

Mom and her umbrella LOL. (Oct. 8, 2019)

Goddess Hathor was also featured in Hatshepsut’s Temple. (Oct. 8, 2019)

Also featured in her Temple is the God of sky and another favorite, God Horus. (Oct. 8, 2019)

What is left of the statues of Hatshepsut. She pissed of a lot of people in her reign but as most of us strong women like to say, you can move on but you’ll always remember me. (Oct. 8, 2019)

Just 3 Queens for a selfie! (Oct. 8, 2019)

I took as many Nat Geo Queen pictures on my last day because I just never wanted it to end! (Oct. 8, 2019)

The last adventure for the day was checking out the Luxor Museum which was a nice short walk from our hotel. No emphasis on the nice walk part because I had to get pretty rude with a local who was following us. When I say enough is enough you can leave or I will get very nasty, especially when my mother is around. Luckily he didn’t want to keep barking up this tree! (Oct. 8, 2019)

I won’t bore you with a ton of pictures of things in a museum so here are just a few of my favorite depictions and views. Here is the God Sobek (Left) and King Amenhotep III. As the description states, “the refinement of modeling and the perfect balance between God and King makes this a great work of art.” 1403-1365 BC. (Oct. 8, 2019)

I enjoyed reading the story of how this statue was excavated. This is a statue of Tutmosis III of the 18th Dynasty. This statue was found in 1965 in the King’s now destroyed Temple. It was then given to a young Egyptian restorer who restored it to it’s original condition. Looking at the steps in which he had to take to put this back together truly makes it a work of art. (Oct. 8, 2019)

My favorite shot from the Museum is of King Amenhotep IV sporting his double crown. This statue is made of sandstone. (Oct. 8, 2019)

Of all of the Gods and Goddesses, Kings and Queens, Pharaohs and other high officials I truly had a few that stuck out to me. God Horus was one of those, here we are together chumming it up! (Oct. 8, 2019)

This is what the writer in me looks like when I’m taking a break of content creating. Beer, FB creeping and ignoring Mom as she snaps me in what we all know is my real form LOL. (Oct. 8, 2019)

Alas, here we are with the last Nat Geo Queen picture to conclude such an amazing trip with my Mommy Dearest.
Not every almost 30 year old daughter can say they spent 12 days in Egypt with her Mother but now I can say that I did! If there’s a trip or just something in general you’ve always wanted to do with someone you love and care about deeply, I encourage you to make the plan and make it happen! It’s truly some of the best medicine for your heart and soul. (Oct. 8, 2019)

Diana in Egypt…before Sydney arrived

I arrived in Egypt two days before my daughter, Sydney, did but on the same day my dear friend Elizabeth, whom I will be traveling with from Egypt through Lebanon, Israel and Jordan. Elizabeth and I began our first full day seeing Old Cairo on a day tour with Emo Tours Egypt. However, our official Egypt tour is with Intrepid Travel on their “Egypt Experience.”

Old Cairo, founded in 969 A.D., is also known as “Historic Cairo,” or “Islamic Cairo” and pre-dates the city of Cairo, Egypt. The Coptic Cairo, which is a part of Old Cairo, is about the Coptic theology which has much in common with the Catholic Church ― but diverges with Catholicism in several major areas. The Coptic Orthodox Church split away from the broader Christian community around 451 A.D.

Thank you Elizabeth for being okay while Syd and I did our thing. And, for now, here’s Old Cairo and Coptic Cairo in Egypt.