Our Egypt tour ended shortly after our train from Luxor arrived in Cairo, and six of us flew to Amman to continue our tour in Jordan. The flight was interesting because not only did I notice huge developments in Egypt, but photographed both where the Suez Canal connects to the Red Sea and the end of the Gulf of Aqaba where four countries have access (Egypt, Israel, Jordan, & Saudi Arabia). It was there that our plane made a left turn – avoiding Israeli airspace – to proceed to Amman. Check it out…

In fact, we didn’t do much in Amman – met six new people, had our initial meeting, walked to dinner, then left early the next morning for Aqaba. This batch shows some souvenir shop designs, an initial stop outside of town, unhappy goats, distant views of Eilat Israel, some farm plots at the beach, and a historical museum that was not open…

The castle (Aqaba Fortress) was open and we explored it thoroughly, after an equally thorough history lesson from our tour guide Adnan. Inside the castle, not unlike in Europe, there was an art exhibit…

Unfortunately, and uncharacteristically, I took no pix of our stop at a private beach to go snorkeling. I wasn’t able to photograph underwater, but it was glorious. The beach resort was also quite nice, and like other tourist attractions here in Jordan, widely underattended due to the war happening in Gaza!

Thanks to my fellow travelers, Xuele & Fei from Shanghai, I’ve got a couple of their pix from under the sea…

After a couple hours at the Berenice Beach Resort, we drove on to Wadi Rum, arriving in the dark to spend two nights in the desert. We were greeted by our jovial host Mohammed, and had a Bedouin dinner (cooked in the sand)…

The next morning, we woke to a beautiful sunrise in the desert. Wadi Rum is a large protected area featuring dramatic sandstone rock formations and vast stretches of red sand.

In the morning, we took a walk through the desert, and after lunch, we took an even more extensive drive to explore Wadi Rum. Wide angled dramatic views were punctuated by examining beetle tracks. The photo ops were many…

This next batch starts with Adnan & I having a political discussion before lunch. An interesting character, his is a Jordanian of Palestinian extraction who lived most of his adult life in Ukraine – where he still has a house. We’ve had several conversations about the current wars going on….

In addition to a lot of sand, these next two batches also feature some ancient grafitti, more than a few camels, more interesting rock formations, sunset in the desert, and sitting around the campfire…

After two nights in Wadi Rum, we headed to Petra. Stay tuned…

A lot can happen on days that start before dawn! This was one, and it started with a hot air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings at Luxor. Something I’d never done, but did with hundreds of others in what seemed like dozens of balloons – it was outstanding.

We left the hotel in the night, crossed the Nile again by boat in the dark, watched balloons rise from flames as the sky turned, and rose up into the breaking sun. The shadows of the myriad balloons dotting the mountains was magical. The green fields next to the beige desert. Glimpses of temples and tombs. The grandeur in defying gravity. The whole thing was a blast…!

Some of the group were scared to be on the edge – an opportunity for me, albeit not without some trepidation. The photo ops were many – as you can see…

In addition to the temples and the tombs were flocks of birds, buzzing ultralites, and the shared exhilaration of doing something fun, even magnificent. The roar of the flames contrasted with the silence of floating on air. I could do a better job of editing these pix, juxtaposing them better, but voila. Enjoy! Eventually, the balloons all came down, successfully, but what a start to the day – floating above the Valley of the Kings in Egypt….

After making our way back to the hotel and having breakfast, we went back to the Valley of the Kings to explore the tombs below the surface.

Like all these Egyptian posts there is so much history behind my photos that I must leave it to you, dear reader, to explore. The age, the length, the complexity – all defy the scale of American history, and rarely gets its due in World History – as those subjects are taught in high school.

This batch starts out with transparent model of the Valley of the Kings that shows where all the tombs are under the ground relative to each other. There are nine that are open to the public, but we went only to three. Afterwards, I paid extra to do to two more. While they are similar, they are each unique…

The hieroglyphics are poems extolling the virtues of the kings buried in each tomb. Since many had been raided, new tombs used various techniques to fool tomb raiders, thwart theft, and protect their treasures…

Hassaan regaled us with tales, but each is the tip of an iceberg of history. The tomb of Seti is particularly deep, colorful, and has parts unfinished which show the process of creating the painted bas relief carvings that cover the walls. Learn more about the Valley of the Kings tomb by tomb…

Though exhausted, I saved the best for last – the famous tomb of King Tut. While the story of Howard Carter is fascinating, and the sarcophagus I saw in the Egyptian Museum (tho’ not allowed to photography) is amazing, see the actual mummy – the body of Tutankhamun was breath taking…

On the way back to Luxor, we went to a stone carving workshop with a significant gift store. Perhaps another tourist experience, but interesting, nice hibiscus juice, and cool stuff…

We went to yet another temple, this one with the largest statues, and afterwards went to lunch at a local family’s house. Perhaps the best food I’d had thusfar, along with some good conversation…

And no, I wasn’t done yet. After taking a shower, I walked to the Luxor Museum for more, and it was nice to view objects with descriptions and far fewer fellow tourists. In addition to some great sculptures removed from the tombs and temples, this museum features two well preserved mummies! Let’s start here…

More from the Luxor Museum, including the two mummies…

Much more from the Luxor Museum…

I’ll end this post with some miscellaneous photos from my fellow Intrepid explorers gathered from our WhatsApp group (actually delivered to my photo stream).

This batch leads with one shot a fellow traveler took of Luxor Temple, and my last pix of Egypt, including this train’s club car (not as cool as the first one)…

After the Luxor Museum, we met in the lobby and headed back to the train station for another overnight trip back to Cairo. I slept well, showered back at the hotel, and got ready to fly to Amman Jordan for the second phase of the tour. We said goodbye to four of our group and six of us headed to the airport. At this writing, we’ve joined six new people for our travels through Jordan….

Perhaps you’ve heard of Moctezuma’s Revenge? Delhi belly, the Philippine fall-aparts, the Hersey squirts, etc.? Well, about the time I developed a case of what all call “mummy tummy,” I had the opportunity to lay around all day – a cruise on the Nile in a boat known as a “felucca.” After a leisurely morning (rare), we left our hotel and boarded the felucca, then proceeded to tac against the wind down the Nile (north). Apart from a lunch on the roof, we were able to just relax on the soft cushions on the main deck, and I took a lovely nap. Enjoy the ride…

We pulled over along one of banks of an island and some of us took a walk about. Below, after a walk through what we thought was an empty orchard/farm, we discovered the guy drinking tea and having his shisha was sitting there in the twilight under a tree…

More pix from the felucca, including a wonderful dinner in our communal bedroom. We all slept together in the one open room, woke to breakfast and crossed the Nile for a long bus ride…

During our five hour drive to Luxor, I took a few pix of the people along the road. Here ya go…

Also, I snapped some pix of the old buildings, many made of mud bricks, along the road. Included are some of the old tombs of more common people dug into the mountain sides…

Before getting to Luxor, we stopped at an animal rescue facility to visit some cats & dogs, horses & donkeys, and some turtles. ACE: Animal Care Egypt is partially funded by Intrepid…!

After visiting ACE, we briefly checked into the hotel, then went to explore the Temple of Karnak. The 134 enormous columns that once supported a roof are perhaps more impressive than the pyramids? Not only was the grandeur once an interior, the sheer volume of carvings is staggering.

Later, in the evening, on the way to dinner, we walked around the Temple of Luxor, similar in style to Karnak. We also walked through the markets of Luxor…

Time to rest…

I awoke on the train to the sun rising over the Nile valley, lush fields of sugar cane and vegetables, sprinkled with date palms and pickers. Shortly after breakfast, we made it to Aswan…

As with other trips, there is a WhatsApp group for folks to share their pix. Here are just a few from others…

After dropping our luggage, but yet to check in, we took a bus and a boat to the Temple of Philae, the first of two amazing sites that were completely removed from their original locations due to the building of the Aswan Dam and the creation of Lake Nasser.

The Temple of Philae, dedicated to Isis, originally started 380–362 BC, was moved from one island to another from 1977 to 1980, having already been subjected to the rising waters of the reservoir. Both the temple and project to move it were impressive, particularly because of the feature of positioning that allows light to shine on the sculptures within on two days of the year.

It is also interesting that Coptic Christians reappropriated the temple as a basilica before the Roman Empire officially adopted Christianity, and consequently there are other carvings (mostly crosses) depicting this this history. And, this is why many of the gods depicted were defaced – especially Isis (find the hole over her face below)…

More pix from around the Temple of Philae…

Eventually, we made it back to Aswan, had a traditional lunch, and walked back to the hotel through the souq…

After only a couple hours rest, we met again to board one of the many boats ferrying folks around the Nile, and took in a lovely sunset before going to a Nubian village for dinner with a local family and an opportunity to learn about Nubian culture. It was a particularly pleasant spot to enjoy a view of Aswan…

The next morning, six of us were up early to fly to Abu Simbel, an amazing pair of mountains carved into temples way back in 1300 BC. As amazing, like the Temple of Philae, Abu Simbel was moved in it’s entirely, carved into blocks, to its present location in 1968 – also due to the encroachment of Lake Nasser – which you can see we flew over part of.

There, we were greeted by Achmed, who gave us a personal tour of Abu Simbel. Unfortunately, we were not alone. A vast number of fellow tourists with an embarrassment of selfie sticks were there with us, making the experience more international – and not in a good way. In any case, it was worth the trip…

More of Achmed and Abu Simbel and the unregulated masses…

Thanks to aviation, the whole Abu Simbel experience was over by lunch time and we were able to relax at our quite nice hotel. After rest and pool time, five of us went to a perfume and glass blowing shop. We were given a thorough demonstration, including lots of sniffs and a massage, and I succumbed to buying more than planned. Turns out, what with my Omani purchase of Frankincense, the middle east has become a very fragrant experience…

We took another boat across to another Nile island for dinner at King Jamaica. We met King Jamaica at his delightful restaurant, see below. I would’ve enjoyed it more but had become afflicted with what I’m calling “mummy tummy” and was too cold, but it was a good time…

I’ll close out this post with some pix from my fellow travelers. (BTW, I wasn’t the only one who was cold!)

Thanks for coming along! Don’t know when I’ll have good wifi again, but it’ll happen eventually…

After our first meeting at the hotel, my new tour group went to check out one of the marketplaces in Cairo, and had dinner together. The next morning, our very first activity was to go visit the Pyramids of Giza. They are huge, the area is vast, and the unregulated tourism seemed unfortunate. Having been raped of their casings (exterior) and treasures (interior), I’d think they would be better protected now? Further, because of their immensity, they are better experienced from a distance – up close they seem just piles of rocks and their shapes hard to discern. In addition to regulating both the tourists and the sellers of souvenirs and camel rides, they should seek to restore the surroundings, to rebuild what the area might have been like before this venerable culture was swept away by the winds of time…

In addition to the Pyramids, we visited the Sphinx…

Around lunch time, we also visited a papyrus art shop…

Next we went to the Egyptian Museum, a vast archive of the antiquities saved from the tomb raiders and looters of the pyramids. More than the pyramids themselves, the artifacts in this century+ old museum demonstrate the artistry and philosophy of the Ancient Egyptians. And, this is where the King Tut exhibit, which has famously traveled the world, is permanently displayed (but it’s one exhibit that you cannot photograph):. Our tour guide, Hassaam, was clearly in his element, having studied here for years, and excited about telling us some interesting details and backstories, including about the Rosetta Stone, which the British Museum is unwilling to return to Egypt…!

More of the Egyptian Museum…

Even more of the Egyptian Museum…

After a full day of exploring, we went back to the hotel to freshen up before our night train to Aswan. My roommate Bram from Toronto had his 39th birthday. The train station was impressive, and brand new. The dining car (“club car”) was great, but the rest of the train had a lot of miles on it…

Was that only one day…?!

After a wonderful week in Oman, I flew from Muscat to Cairo a couple of days before my next Intrepid tour in Egypt & Jordan. After pristine & provencial Muscat, the sprawling squalor of Cairo was somewhat disconcerting. However, I slipped into my gritty urban suit of armor and spent two productive days exploring this vast metropolis on my own, before meeting an interesting new group of fellow travelers.

Certainly, the hotel and my room was not like in Muscat, but I survived the first night, taking it easy compared with the rigueur of a tour. On my first morning, I made it to the Cairo Tower for views of the city, and of the pyramids way off in the distance…

This batch has some of the greenery below the Cairo Tower, a serious police presence elsewhere in town, and the Nile that follows through this megalopolis, almost to the end of its long journey…

Uber worked great, and was way cheaper than the taxis, which themselves weren’t that expensive. So, I took one to the Christian Coptic section of town and visited several of the Churches there…

In addition to the Coptic Christian Churches, there was a synagogue! And, of course, more than a few tourist souvenir shops…

It was interesting to see the people engaged in their reverence, touching objects and pictures, worshipping their icons, and more…

Looking for my taxi driver, I first took in the displays of stuff, then wondered through a neighborhood adjacent to the coptic section, not a site of abundance, yet there was the fun of the kids playing…

I went back to the hotel for some more sleeping. The next morning, I went to the Islamic Art Museum. Check it out…

Next, I went to the Cairo Citadel, up on a hill with view of the city, a huge old mosque, and several museums. The mosque had much grandeur…

After the mosque, I wandered around the area, went to the prison, and checked out the Police Museum…

Next, I went to the Military Museum which was impressive. Set in a palace, it’s collection is vast…

More from the Military Museum…

Next, and with only an hour to spare, I went to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. Part of a larger complex, but housed in one huge room, it was great. Unfortunately, one is not allowed to take photos of the Royal Mummies exhibit below, but there’s a lot here…

More of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. This batch ends with some shots out the window of my ride back to the hotel…

After a long day, I still made it back to the hotel in time to meet my new Intrepid tour group. After our initial meeting, we took a bus to a tourist market place, then had some dinner…

That was just my first two days, mostly on my own. The next day we went to some of the classic sites in Egypt. Stay tuned…

After leaving Nizwa, we drove to Misfat Al Abyreen, a mountain village located 1000m above sea level and recognised by UNWTO as one of the world’s best tourism villages for its preservation of Omani culture. First, we had lunch at Ali’s house and met most of his six sons, but not his wife who had prepared our deliciousness. (Hmmm! What’s up with that?) The first pix of the village are from his house, and the picture of the house is his – both looking across the valley…

We took a walk through Misfat Al Abyreen, appreciating it’s irrigation system and historic buildings. The tour concluded at Ali’s shop which specializes in the various honeys of the area, but includes a variety of local products. Note the Omani bee hives inside sections of old date palm trunks. The spoons represent each different flavor of honey (or date syrup) – the winner: cedar!

We continued our drive to Jebel Shams, the highest mountain in Oman (featuring a military installation on top), near Wadi Ghul and adjacent to a deep valley known as the Grand Canyon of Oman. First, we checked into our hotel, another nature resort constructed primarily of local rocks. Then, we drove up to a view point to take in the views of the canyon, then to another spot to watch the sun set…

The next morning, after a cold night in our stone rooms, we drove back to the trailhead for the balcony walk which we only did part of, but enjoyed the goats and vultures…

A couple panos of my hiking companions, our guide Said, and Mike from England…

…a bit more of the balcony walk in the Grand Canyon of Oman…

We popped back to the hotel to freshen up, and fetch our fellow travelers who didn’t hike, and set off again on a precipitous dirt road making necessary use of four-wheel-drive…

We checked out Wadi Bani Awf, the Snake Gorge, and Bilad Sait, a remote fortress village in the heart of the mountains, lush with palm trees and irrigated farm patches. We had a picnic lunch again at a mostly lovely wadi – which seemed to have some ancient (or not) rock pictures…

The drive was spectacular, and at times, quite precarious. Time lapses lapsed due to the bumpy roads. Said and I had a great conversation about religion in general and Islam in particular. This is only a brief snippet…

Eventually, we made it back to the same hotel we started at, and had our farewell dinner at the same restaurant where we began. This time, instead of the comprehensive Omani cuisine sampler, I had a camel burger with cheese. Afterwards, we popped into the Crown Plaza before hitting the sack. The next morning, with some rare leisure time, I walked down to the “secret beach” and jumped in the ocean.

(This batch concludes with a couple random shots – the smallest bathroom sink I’ve ever seen, and a warning sign on an electrical facility.)

I’m writing his in the Oman Airport after a delightful ride with another fun taxi driver who told me about his career as a police officer, his huge family, and his take on US politics (we agreed!). Ya gotta love the wonderful people of the Sultanate of Oman! Want more: the History of Oman?

After the fact, I’ve added these group pix, sent on WhatsApp by our tour leader Said…

Where to next? Egypt!

Stay tuned…

After a night in the desert sands on the edge of the Empty Quarter, we headed for Nizwa, one of the oldest cities in Oman. After a morning drive, we had a picnic lunch at a falaj, part of the ancient irrigation system of Oman, then kept going…

Soon, we arrived at Jabreen Castle, considered one of the finest and most picturesque in the country. Built in 1675, this cleverly designed residence was home to Imam Bil-Arab Bin Sultan. We had an exceptionally good tour guide who explained all the interesting, usually defensive, features of the castle…

More of Jabreen Castle. Note the eyes in the ceiling, and imagine that the date palm orchards represent many generations of those venerable trees…

A bit more of Jabreen Castle…

Next, we drove to Nizwa and stayed in the old part of the city, surrounded by souqs and mud brick ruins that are being gradually renovated. While we weren’t the only tourists, it seemed many Omanis were enjoying their historic city…

Most of our group had dinner together atop one of the old buildings and enjoyed the light show projected on the nearby mountains – this clip in time lapse…

The next morning, we went out to tour the old town and explore the souqs. Note the map of Oman in this batch, and the fact that there are two Omani exclaves on the Musandam Peninsula that sticks into the Strait of Hormuz. It is significant that Oman’s Navy, along with Iran, protects access to the Persian Gulf…

Before doing some shopping in the souqs, most of us went to Nizwa Fort, built in the 1650s by the second Ya’rubi; Imam Sultan Bin Saif Al Ya’rubi.

More of Nizwa Fort…

The gardens adjacent to Nizwa Fort…

In addition to the variety, one wonderful aspect of the Nizwa souqs is the low pressure sales. The vendors are present, but not pushy or insistent, as elsewhere. Here’s some of the stuff I didn’t buy…

This last shot is with Said and our drivers (of our Toyota Land Cruiser armada) in the lobby of our Nizwa hotel, right before we hit the road again…

Shkran!

The next morning our group of 10, plus our leader Said Al Salti, and two other drivers, loaded into three matching Toyota Land Cruisers and headed for Hawiyat Najim Park to check out the Bimmah Sinkhole…

A “wadi” is where there is water – certainly a kind of oasis, and we next went to Wadi Tiwi. There, we drove to a vista point, took a short hike, and had a demonstration from a 74 year old man about how to climb a palm tree to gather dates. We also met some charming children and insects…

Here are a few more pix of the verdant part of this valley, including a donkey in a truck, banana trees, etc…

We drove out to Ras al Hadd, on the corner of the Arabian Peninsula, and stayed at the Turtle Beach Resort featuring its own archaeological site, great views, tide pools, an attractive pool, and an even better ocean to swim in!

The next morning, we drove back to the town of Sur and visited a traditional boat manufacturing operation specializing in the Dhow, and featuring a related museum…

Next, we went to the souq at Sur which seemed to specialize in women’s fashions, which fall into very narrow categories (like the men’s). Colorful even sparkly, when not black, but conservative and conventional…

Next, we went to another oasis, Wadi Bani Khalid, which must have been an absolute paradise once upon a time. It is still lovely, but now a rather unregulated tourist spot. There’s a cave to explore which was somewhat challenging, and beautiful water to swim in…

Next, we went to an auto shop and had our tires deflated so that we could drive in the sand dunes of the vast desert known as a the Empty Quarter. We first visited a bedouin house for some Omani coffee, then drove on into the sands…

We were the only guests at a nice, very spread out, hotel, the Desert Rose. After checking in, we drove to a nice spot to watch the sunset from some high dunes. The powdery sand where wonderful to walk in!

Afterwards, we watched the moon rise at our lodgings, had another great dinner, and some of us danced to some Omani music around a campfire…

Thanks for coming along…

Thought about walking to the bus pick up point, then ordered an Uber, then it didn’t come, so I took a taxi to wait in the early morning dark for my bus ride to Oman. Worked swimmingly, including the border crossing, arriving in Muscat with time to explore before meeting up with the tour group…

After checking into the hotel, I taxied to the souk at the Muttrah Corniche in the new harbor, but found myself avoiding the sellers, navigating the labyrinth, and finding my way up to the Muttrah Fort…

More pix thereabouts, ending with the pool at the Crown Plaza. Met the group and went out to dinner.

The next morning our first excursion was to the Grand Mosque of Muscat. This batch starts with me and Said (and some other dude), the ladies in their head scarves, and various shots around the mosque. It ends with an interesting Islamic scholar who had more to say than we had time, and who gave me some literature, including the Koran…

After the Grand Mosque we went to the fish market (featured prominently here) and eventually back to the souk. This batch ends with a large batch of frankincense…

Next, we drove not that far to what is the royal palace, stopping for some interesting views along the way. Note the myriad watch towers atop various hills, satellites of the forts built to protect this important port of the Indian Ocean trade system in the Arabian Sea. The one seen here is right above the Al Alam Royal Palace, also shown here…

Our next stop was to visit the Sidab Women’s Group to learn about their empowering work. and having a lovely lunch…

Our tour for the day finished, five of our group chose to go to the National Museum. Lots here, take your time, and near the end of this batch, note in particular the pix of Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the amazing ruler who overthrew his father in 1970 and went on to create modern Oman in a period referred to as the Renaissance. His story is quite compelling, albeit shrouded in mystery…

After the National Museum, the five of us packed into a taxi and went to the Royal Opera House, another amazing building and gift to Oman from Sultan Qaboos. The taxi ride was fun as our jovial driver was concerned about getting caught by the police for having too many people in his car. And though we didn’t see a performance, we took a tour of this impressive building. While it hosts many classical performances, it also promotes local culture. (How ’bout some Omani music?)

The walk back from the Opera House to the hotel along the beach was lovely as kids played soccer on the beach, families frolicked, and the sun set. Later, there was a bizarre light show in the sky as today celebrated the fifth anniversary of the new Sultan, Qaboos chosen successor, Haitam bin Tariq.

The next morning we hit the road to explore more of Oman…