Aswan (part 3) - Abu Simbel

Pictures from Abu Simbel. This was the temple in the far south of Egypt which Ramses II built. The one next to it he built for his wife (Nefertari). They are amazing and huge. We couldn't take photos inside these 2 temples- but it was impressive how intricate the carvings were, and that after thousands of years you can still see paint and colors on the walls!

It was really hot this day also, and inside the temples it was hot & humid and jam packed full of tourists... a sweaty mess. It was worth it to see everything, but I couldn't imagine being a worker here building these temples, it must of been grueling.

Another temple on the way back to Aswan from Abu Simbel

Apparently these were all recipes for types of perfumes.

The Holy of the Holy's.

Aswan (part 2) - The Nubian Village

More pictures of our camel ride to the Nubian village and some of the village. The family that hosted us for dinner were so gracious and the food was amazing. The husband of the family showed us the house and told us about their Nubian customs and some enteraining stories about weddings and his marriage.

I love rustic buildings with bright painted doors!

The man of the house where we had dinner, teaching us about Nubian customs.

Amazing Nubian food!

Aswan, March 9-10th

After Cairo, we took an overnight train down to Aswan. It is in the far south part of Egypt and a big change from Cairo and the bustling city. Aswan was about 15-20 degrees hotter (I think it was about 90-95 F), much cleaner, smaller and just different.

We spent some time walking around town and in the market. Aswan is known for its spices and we bought a bunch (especially saffron)! We also took a boat ride on the Nile, road camels for about an hour to a Nubian village, and had dinner with a local Nubian family. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip, and probably the best food we had!

Our Intrepid group

The Nile

Aswan The market
Spices! Riding camels to the Nubian village

Cairo, March 6th-8th

Cairo was our first experience with Egypt and it was a bit overwhelming the first few hours. Traffic is seriously crazy, it is super crowded everywhere, and a bit dirty. But the people in Egypt are just SO friendly and welcoming, and the culture and history is amazing (as well as the food), and so you forget about any uncomfortable feelings pretty quickly.

We spent the first day on our own pretty much, with a local Egyptian and his friend (Stacey's coworker back home has family in Egypt and had his brother show us around, it was so nice of them). We went to a local shop, saw some sights, went to a carpet making factory, and had a fantastic outdoor diner... before heading back to our hotel to meet our Intrepid group for the first time.

The next day we did Giza and the Pyramids & the Sphinx, as well as the Egyptian museum in Cairo. A jam packed day, but awesome to see things you have always heard about and wanted to see yourself. The pyramids are even bigger and more impressive in person!

Cairo

Tea. A daily drink. If you want coffee there is really only instant Nescafe, and tea seemed much more popular... we drank a LOT of it. The best soda...

Dinner with our Egyptian hosts for the day

The Pyramids!

Camels

Our Intrepid group

Egypt

I dont even know where to start. We had an amazing time in Egypt, and saw so many things. We did the first 2 weeks of our trip with a group through Intrepid Travel, the group was 14 people including us and it was great. It was really nice having a group that wasn't huge so we weren't in buses the whole time, and everyone was really fun (pretty much all Australians and 2 Canadians I think). We also had our friends Matt & Stacey with us (Matt's best friend growing up, and his now fiance).

After the 2 week tour, Matt and I headed over to a town on the Red Sea called Dahab for a week of beach time. It was beautiful and relaxing, a perfect way to end the trip.

I'm going to try and write a bunch of posts with pictures over the next couple weeks, in various parts based on the trip and cities we visited. Here is a little map of our tour!

We started in Cairo March 6th, and travelled down south to Aswan & Luxor. We then went through the desert and saw a few different Oasis towns (Dahkla, Siwa Oasis) and we even camped in the White Desert one night.

Around the neighborhood

The weather was SO nice in February and March, now we are into April and its been all wind and showers! Oh well, hopefully it brings with it some nice weather for May and this summer.

We've been trying to take lots of walks, enjoying our neighborhood. Tony's (the fruit/vegetable stand 2 blocks from our house) even opened up eary this year for the season! We love Tony's.... we can get off the bus on the way home and grab fresh veggies each day during the spring/summer.

February

February is always a busy month for us, both our birthdays (mine the 4th, Matt's the 11th), Valentines day, and this year getting ready for our big trip...cannot believe we are finally leaving in 2 weeks!

Birthday dinner at the Whitfields.