Luxury Egypt Vacation Review, Aswan, Pyramids of Dashur, Luxor Temples & Tombs, Old Cairo, History & Religion, Boat Tours

 We began our trip with a half day at the Egyptian Museum where our guide guided us to a selection of many of the most outstanding artifacts, setting the stage for our visits to the pyramids and tombs.  We started in Dahsur where we visited the Red and Bent pyramids, followed the next day with the pyramids at Giza including the Great Sphinx and the Solar Boat exhibit followed by a visit to Saqqara to the Step pyramid and the Imhotep museum ( which we loved) and then to Memphis.  It's hard to describe how beautiful and awe inspiring each of the sites were.  We climbed inside the Bent pyramid which was quite an adventure.  Because so few people were there (zero once we climbed down the 100+ steps) we were able to absorb the impact of the amazing construction at a leisurely pace and avoid the crowds trying to experience the same thing at the Great Pyramid. 

In Luxor, we visited Luxor and Karnak temples, the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu (one of our favorites), Dendera Temple. the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut (female pharoah!), the Valley of the Kings where we paid for special visits to the tombs of Sety I, Ramses VI, and Tutankhamun and were not disappointed. The decorations on the inside walls of the tombs are so beautiful and well preserved.  While on the Nile, we stopped in Esna, Edfu, and Kom Ombo to see the temples in each place and learn from our guide! In Kom Ombo, we finished the day with a visit to a local coffee shop near the site where there was live Egyptian music, hookah, tea and coffee. We ended the boat trip in Aswan where we visited Philae Temple, the unfinished Obelisk, the Nubian museum, sailed in a Felucca, took a lovely boat ride to a Nubian village (the village seemed very touristy) , and visited the Aswan Dam. Each sight brought greater insignt into ancient and modern Egypt.

We ended our trip to the south in Abu Simbel where we visited the mortuary temples of Ramses II and Nefatari.  How lucky we are that these were preserved when the Aswan Dam and Lake Nasser were constructed. The flight to Aswan was short and easy and we had plenty of time to explore the temples.  

We ended our trip with a final day spent exploring Old Cairo including the Ben Ezra Synagogue, the Hanging Church, the Citidel and the Muhamed Ali Mosque Judaism, - Christianity and Islam.