As our time in Egypt comes to an end, there was still one last adventure to be had - take a Nile cruise to Upper Egypt! What a wonderful way to end a two year adventure here in North Africa.
Turns out, if we want to get to Upper Egypt from Cairo we actually head south!?! As it was, and continues to be, the Nile was the centre of life for the people of Ancient Egypt. This river, both the longest in Africa and the world, is also one of the few that flows north. This meant, it was far more difficult for people to travel south, heading "up" the river. This difficulty made the mountain ranges that lined the shores of the Nile in southern Egypt a perfect place for tombs and burial sites for phoroahs, being protected mostly by the difficulty of reaching this far south.
This has resulted in the incredible Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens, where many of the pharoahs were buried, including the famous Tomb of King Tut. A hot air balloon ride over these stunning valleys (with the Nile off in the distance) was a spectacular experience that got our adventure off to a great start.
Along with these tombs, of which experts believe they have only found a fraction of them all, the pharoahs built temples and shrines in honour of their various gods - and to prove to others just how devout and wealthy they were. These building projects have lasted some 4000 years and continue to impress.
The most awe-inspiring has to be Abu Simbel which was built by Ramses II to let the Nubians (enemies to the south) know that he and Egypt were in charge. What makes this all the more impressive is that in the 1970's, with the damming of the Nile to protect farm land from floods, this massive monument came under danger of being under water. With the help of UNESCO and some very patient and diligent stone workers, the entire monument was cut into pieces and moved up and back from the water's edge some 300 metres - and you'd never be able to tell if there wasn't video evidence.
What follows in an incredibly small sample of the 400 or so pictures taken - pictures I hope to share with you in the near future!
Photo Album
Turns out, if we want to get to Upper Egypt from Cairo we actually head south!?! As it was, and continues to be, the Nile was the centre of life for the people of Ancient Egypt. This river, both the longest in Africa and the world, is also one of the few that flows north. This meant, it was far more difficult for people to travel south, heading "up" the river. This difficulty made the mountain ranges that lined the shores of the Nile in southern Egypt a perfect place for tombs and burial sites for phoroahs, being protected mostly by the difficulty of reaching this far south.
This has resulted in the incredible Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens, where many of the pharoahs were buried, including the famous Tomb of King Tut. A hot air balloon ride over these stunning valleys (with the Nile off in the distance) was a spectacular experience that got our adventure off to a great start.
Along with these tombs, of which experts believe they have only found a fraction of them all, the pharoahs built temples and shrines in honour of their various gods - and to prove to others just how devout and wealthy they were. These building projects have lasted some 4000 years and continue to impress.
The most awe-inspiring has to be Abu Simbel which was built by Ramses II to let the Nubians (enemies to the south) know that he and Egypt were in charge. What makes this all the more impressive is that in the 1970's, with the damming of the Nile to protect farm land from floods, this massive monument came under danger of being under water. With the help of UNESCO and some very patient and diligent stone workers, the entire monument was cut into pieces and moved up and back from the water's edge some 300 metres - and you'd never be able to tell if there wasn't video evidence.
What follows in an incredibly small sample of the 400 or so pictures taken - pictures I hope to share with you in the near future!
Photo Album
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