After spending our final day in Luxor relaxing in a hammock on a roof terrace with a view of the Nile, it was time to head back to the coast. We wanted to visit Marsa Alam in the south of Egypt to snorkel some of the top sites in the world, but it was complicated…
Karnak Temple, Egypt
Karnak temple sits on the east bank of Luxor so we had to catch the ferry across the Nile to reach it. The east side was a complete contrast to the tranquil west, it was chaotic, noisy and full of pestering touts. Before we visited the temple I wanted to stop at the local animal…
Cycling to the Valley Of Kings, Luxor | Egypt
Luxor is said to be like Cairo but a smaller, nicer version. That’s debatable – we really didn’t like the place. The city sits on the east bank of the Nile but we opted to stay on the calmer West Bank which was a great decision in the end. A public ferry connects the two…
The long journey to Abu Simbel and a Felucca trip on the River Nile
At 4am David our hostel owner walked us down the dusty street past sleepy dogs to a small bus waiting for us. We had a long four hour journey (each way!) to Abu Simbel which is in the far south just 35km from the border with Sudan. It’s said to be one of Egypt’s top…
Exploring Philae Temple and a colourful Nubian Village | Aswan, Egypt
For just £12 we caught an overnight train from Cairo to Aswan. We had large reclining chairs but the air conditioning was on full blast so we shivered the night away. The hostel we booked was actually 6km from Aswan in more of a local neighbourhood so we hopped in a taxi. On the way…
A stressful day visiting Islamic Cairo
The next day we decided to visit Old Cairo, also known as Islamic Cairo. We walked from downtown to Khan-El-Khalili which is where the souqs (markets) are. On the way we seemed to walk through the furniture neighbourhood where narrow alleys were filled with tacky upholstered chairs. Seemed like a really stupid area to focus…
A fascinating look at ancient mummies | The Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Cairo is home to 20 million people – it’s a massive place that sprawls out, eating up chunks of dusty desert and swapping it for messy concrete slabs. We booked a hostel in downtown where there were fairly modern shops with fancy displays, although the mannequins all looked a bit fed up with slanted wigs…
The Pyramids Of Giza | Egypt
The pyramids of Giza were built to last eternity, and the fact that they’ve been standing strong for 4500 years is testament to that. Egypt’s pharaohs were thought to become gods once they passed away so to prepare them for the next world, temples were built along with these grand pyramids to house their tombs….
Our first impressions of Egypt and a disastrous boat trip on the Red Sea
Egypt’s never been high on my destination list, but it was so close to Turkey and we had a few weeks spare before we headed home so it was decided. We would have 17 days and our first stop was Hurghada on the Red Sea – mainly because it was the cheapest place to fly…
A sky filled with hot air balloons and hiking through Cappadocia’s valleys
It’s like a hot air balloon festival every day in Cappadocia, that’s what makes it so special. Saying that, the trips don’t depart every day due to the weather and out of our five mornings they only departed on two of them. We wanted to view the balloons from a different area but in the…
Sunrise at Love Valley and hiking with stray dogs in Cappadocia | Turkey
We arrived in the little village of Göreme at 4am where a group of four gigantic dogs greeted us off the bus. The sky was pitch black and the air freezing cold but lamp posts led us to our hotel. Of course the dogs followed us right to the door and one even took a…
Visiting the terraced pools of Pamukkale | Turkey
I’ve had my eyes set on visiting the thermal pools of Pamukkale for awhile and finally we were making it happen. A bus took us inland from the Mediterranean coast and I had the joy of sitting in front of a child who relentlessly kicked my chair. Instead of staying in Pamukkale itself we opted…
