Category: Splendours of Egypt

This afternoon as we prepared to depart, the scheduled coach transfer sort of didn’t happen.  There was some panic and chaos in the hotel lobby as people were concerned about getting to the airport on time.  In the …

This afternoon we visited a carpet factory and our host, an affable gentleman with a very big grin, showed us around the floor and told of us the improving quality of Egytian carpets and how they were catching up with …

Saqqara is one of the richest archaeological sites in Egypt and today we visit its Step Pyramid of Djoser.  Saqqara’s monuments span some 3,000 years, with monuments including the earliest ancient funerary structures to Coptic monasteries….

This morning we drove to Mit Rahina village to visit the Temple of Ptah.   Ptah was the Chief Memphite god and patron of craftsmen and artisans.  The Mit Rahina of today is a small unremarkable village, however the Temple …

Egypt is a great place to shop if you’d like to impress your friends or family with exotic gifts.  The quality of the goods is variable, so it’s important not to buy the first thing that you come across.  …

We very nearly didn’t get to visit this bazaar due to lack of time, but were very glad that we decided to make the effort to get here.  This is one amazing bazaar made up of several markets, …

There are apparently 120,000 items on display and yet another 150,000 stored in the basement.  It would take months to go through all the items, but as we only had hours, we had to skim past many of …

It is well known that the Marriott Hotel was built by Khedive Ismail Pasha to accommodate Empress Eugenie of France on her visit to Egypt.  The Khedive spared no expense in building this hotel to house the wife …

Today was an action packed day, starting with a visit to the Citadel of Salah ad Din and the Mohammed Ali Mosque.  The citadel is an amazing fortified complex of Islamic architecture, including numerous examples of Mamluk and …

This morning our guide Mohammed gave a very thorough briefing on eating, drinking and acclimatising.  When I was packing for the trip, I was a bit concerned as to how strict it might be in regard to dress …