Based on people’s recommendations of what to see and do, I booking into a full day tour headed towards the Northern Coast of Israel. We stopped by Caeserea, Haifa, Rosh Hanikra and Akre, the tour cost US$114 departing from Jerusalem. (It’s US$103 if you depart from Tel Aviv)
The tour guide Avishay was a really funny and enthusiastic tour guide who brought the tour and the history to life.
Caeserea
Caeserea built in 20BCE by King Herod who wanted a deep, safe port with a man made breakwater. It became a beautiful and very successful port. As with most beautiful and successful places in history, it was conquered, destroyed and rebuilt numerous times. Modern Caeserea was revived by Edward Benjamin de Rothschild.
Haifa
The coastal town of Haifa is a major seaport for Israel. Haifa is the third largest city in Israel and where most industry offices can be found.
The reason most people go to Haifa is to see the Baha’i Gardens. They extend up the side of Mount Carmel and are absolutely gorgeous. The Baha’i faith has strong beliefs in equality and communication. The only other things I know about the Baha’i is that they create absolutely beautiful buildings and gardens.
Unfortunately they were not open when I visited, but the view from the top looking down over the perfectly manicured terraces was stunning.
Rosh HaNikra
At the North-Western tip of Israel, right at the border to Lebanon are the Rosh HaNikra grottoes.
The grottoes were formed over time, with cracks in the rocks being created through earthquakes. The cracks were expanded through rainwater seeping down them, compounded by the relentless crashing of waves. The grottoes extend for 200 metres and are beautiful to see.
They are accessed by the world’s steepest cable car ride, and the view from the cable car is fantastic.
Akre
The city of Akre is across the bay from Haifa. It is here that you can find a perfectly preserved crusader city. You can explore the knights hall, the prisoners hall, refectory, tunnels and more.
The buildings are in fantastic condition. In the outer region of the citadel people still live and work. It’s a great spot to explore!
Jerusalem is definitely my favourite city in Israel. It is clean, modern, the people are friendly, the architecture – both old and new – is fascinating and it has a positive vibe. It has a smaller town feel than Tel Aviv, but is actually the biggest city in Israel with an approximate population of 800,000.
The city is a very holy place for a number of religions. While the people appear to get along, not all of them are happy with this and in some areas you can feel the undertones of tension, anger and intolerance. Attacks or attack attempts of various forms happen almost daily according to one of the taxi drivers I spoke to. But they are usually handled swiftly and to the tourists, invisibly.
Jerusalem, the new city
The newer parts of Jerusalem are all quite modern, very square shaped buildings all of a creamy sandstone colour. There are loads of shops, restaurants and cafes. The Mehane Yehuda market is a lively, colourful place to visit during the day or night.
The best way to explore Jerusalem is to wander up and down Jaffa Street, then branch off and get lost in the side streets.
Yemin Moshe
A suburb or area within the newer part of Jerusalem is Yemin Moshe. It was the first settled area outside of the old city walls, it was established by the Montefiore Welfare Fund. It was created as a solution to overcrowding in the old city, but it took a long time to become populated.
These days it is a super cute, foot traffic only, area to walk through. Towards the end of it on the uphill side is a windmill. The windmill was built to allow the poor jews to be able to grind their own flour
If you head down the hill there is a really nice park with a fountain. An awesome spot to sit and relax in the sunshine.
The Old City
Ceiling above the Tomb of Jesus
Any reference to the Old City of Jerusalem, is a reference to the walled city of Jerusalem into which you can enter from any one of seven gates. The old city is split into ‘quarters’ or regions; the most significant religiously is the Temple Mount area which has highly restricted access and is only open a few hours of every day. The other areas are the Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Armenian quarters. These areas are full of fabulous old architecture, and old cobblestone laneways in which you can easily get wonderfully lost.
Rather than wander the city and not know the significance of anything, I did a paid, 90NIS, four hour Holy City walking tour. The tour guide Emmanuel was absolutely brilliant. He shared an objective view of all the sights, while explaining their historical and religious significance . The tour included sights such as the Room of the Last Supper; the Tomb of King David; the Church of Dormition where Mary died; Mount Zion and Zion’s Gate; the path of Jesus from where he was given the crucifix to carry along where he fell, where he said goodbye to his mother to where he was crucified; the tomb of Jesus in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; the Western Wall; and the Temple Mount.
The Temple Mount area is quite fascinating as it is so tightly regulated in terms of hours as well as who may enter. It is only open for a couple of hours in the morning and only one hour in the middle of the day. The Jews are not allowed to enter. The Temple Mount is an area, within which is the Dome of the Rock. This is essentially a shrine over the top of the Foundation Stone, more typically referred to as the Holy of Holies. It is believed to be the most sacred spot on the earth. Jewish history says this is where the Ark of the Covenant containing the Ten Commandments was kept in a temple.
On the West side of the Temple Mount is the original Western Wall of the temple built by Herod. This is the closest public place that Jewish people can get to the Holy of Holies, and this is where they go to pray and talk to God. I have often heard it referred to as the Wailing Wall, but it is actually called the Western Wall. It’s fascinating do a tour in the Western Wall tunnels for 30NIS. In the tunnels is the closest you can get to the Holy of Holies.
On a Friday from sunset onwards until sunset on a Saturday, the Western Wall is particularly busy with Jews celebrating Shabbat. People will gather to sing, dance and pray.
Masada was built by King Herod as a fortress. It was the last bastion of Jewish freedom fighters against the Romans. It is a plateau at the top of a mountain, overlooking the Dead Sea.
I did a sunrise hike up the Snake Path to the top of Masada. The tour bus arrived a little late so we had to rush as fast as we could to get to the summit. While we got there in full light, we did get to see the sun crest over the horizon.
In addition to the historical significance of Masada, it is the place where the Israeli military swear their oath of allegiance and hold other important graduation type ceremonies. While up Masada one such ceremony was taking place. There were a hundred or more soldiers receiving awards, clapping for their friends, chatting, taking pictures and singing the National Anthem. Conscription into the military is still a requirement for all Jewish Israelis. Men are required to serve for three years and women for two, I feel that this encourages views of equality between men and women and also forces young people to mature before choosing a career path. While I am not a huge fan of conscription, it seems to work well for Israel.
En Gedi
En Gedi is a nature reserve, with beautiful scenery. It is a great spot for hiking and swimming in the springs, though I must say that compared to the nature reserves back home I found it a little underwhelming.
With limited time we walked up the valley along the river, lots of little waterfalls up to the larger falls David’s Falls. Along the way we saw some random oversized rat type creature which I later learned to be the Hyrax.
Dead Sea
Between the sites of En Gedi and Masada, we stopped at a resort to use their change rooms and showers in order to take a ‘dip’, read as ‘float’, in the Dead Sea.
Having already done it once I knew what to expect, and it was honestly just as fun the second time around. Body mud mask and all!
The Nitty Gritty
Transport
I travelled to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv twice, I caught the bus both times. Buses depart every 20 minutes or so, no matter what station you leave from. The ride takes approximately an hour and costs 16NIS. You buy the ticket on the bus.
The 605 Jerusalem Express departs regularly from the Super-Pharm Tel Aviv Central Bus Station.
The 480 departs regularly from the bus station on Arlozorov Street, just near the Tel Aviv Center – Savidor train station.
From the central bus station in Jerusalem to my hostel was approximately 25minutes walking or about 5 minutes on the tram. The tram runs along Jaffa Street and a single ride costs 5.90NIS.
Getting around Jerusalem was easy, as everything is walking distance. The only time I caught a taxi was after watching sunset on Mount Olive, it cost me 25NIS to go from the top of Mount Olive to the New Gate in the Old City.
Accommodation
In Jerusalem I stayed at The Post Hostel for six nights in a 4-bed female dorm. It was quite pricey at around 150NIS per night.
The hostel itself was really clean and modern. It had a real urban feel to it. I was highly impressed with the facilities, including USB charging ports by each bed and by the bar. The breakfast every day was absolutely brilliant and the staff were incredibly helpful.
The location was absolutely brilliant and it was only a 5-10 minute walk to the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City.
The only thing that was a little disappointing, was that a towel is not included in the price and if you would like one it costs 20NIS. Overall, it was worth the expense.
Landing in Israel was a bit of a shock to the system and I will admit I felt incredibly ignorant about the country when I arrived. I had assumed, being in the Middle East, that Israel was a Muslim, Arabic speaking country. But it is actually a Jewish, Hebrew speaking country. Compared the Arab countries I had been to recently, the infrastructure in Israel is better, the streets and buildings are cleaner and newer. The city and it’s people are much more modern and open minded – it was a welcome breath of fresh air.
The only unfortunate aspect of my visit to Tel Aviv, was the weather. As a three day break between gorgeous sunny days, I got to experience cold, wind, rain, thunder and lightning. Not to be deterred, I made the most of those three days.
Jaffa, the Old City
As I try to do with most places, I started my exploration of Tel aviv by doing a free walking tour. On this occasion it was with a company called Sandemans.
The tour started near a clock tower in the suburb called Jaffa, which is the old part of Tel Aviv. For two hours we wandered by the Tel-Aviv promenade to the wharf area and through the narrow stone laneways and alleys that make up Jaffa.
The buildings are all a beautiful yellow stone, with many stairways and arches. Colourfully painted doors and windows frames. While the area is quite small, it provides a lovely little labyrinth of old architecture to wander and get lost in.
Street Art
One of the first things that struck me about Tel Aviv is how much street art there is. Some of it is fairly average, as you might expect, but loads of it is really cool.
Almost every street I walked down had street art worth taking pictures of. Areas particularly dense with street art were the narrow laneways east and west of Elifelet Street.
Neve Tzedek
Neve Tzedek is a gorgeous suburb. It looks like an area that used to be quite run-down, but has had new life breathed into it. It feels a bit like a artists, urban zone. The houses are all colourful and compact. The main streets are lined with boutique stores and cafes.
I really enjoyed just wandering through Neve Tzedek, it is a suburb with a very chilled out vibe.
Rothschild Boulevard & Dezignoff Street
Tel Aviv’s White City is the central area of the city of Tel Aviv. It was UNESCO Heritage listed in 2003 and has the worlds largest concentration of Bauhaus architecture.
To see the architecture it is best to walk up and down Rothschild Boulevard and Dezignoff Street. Everywhere you go are interesting buildings and sculptures to look at.
Carmel Market
Carmel Market is a local market worth visiting. You can see and try local fresh fruit and vegetables, juices and sweets. On Tuesdays and Fridays the market is extended for arts and crafts.
It was a pleasant market to visit and I certainly indulged in a couple of tasty treats. Unfortunately it rained my entire visit to Tel Aviv, so when visiting the arts and crafts section of the market, very few stalls were set up.
The Nitty Gritty
Transport
I arrived in Tel Aviv by taxi from the airport. It cost 144NIS, which I thought was a huge expense. The bus and train combo costs 6NIS (bus) + 13NIS (train) and takes the same amount of time or less.
Getting around Tel Aviv I walked everywhere. It is a fairly easy city to get around and in my opinion the things to see were all within walking distance.
Accommodation
I stayed in the Florentine Backpackers Hostel. It had a great location, it had a very enthusiastic (sometimes overwhelming) community feel. It was reasonably clean and tidy, but there are only four showers available for all the dorm rooms.
A bed in a 4-bed female dorm costs 82NIS per night.
After departing Petra we headed northwards via Kerak Castle and the Dead Sea before making our way to Amman.
Kerak Castle
Kerak Castle was built around the 12th century AD and it’s history relates to the crusaders using it as a base point when trying to take back the holy cities of Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
At 900 metres above sea level and perched on a hilltop overlooking valleys, it had a good strategic position for defense. It is a reasonably large castle with a great deal of history. Parts of it remain in good condition.
It was fascinating to see, but I didn’t seem to retain much of the information about it.
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea is an absolutely fascinating place. We had anticipated a dark coloured sea and were surprised to find clear blue waters, with a white crystallized salt rim.
The Dead Sea is approximately 400 metres below sea level. It earned the name the “Dead Sea” due to the fact that it contains no life. The water has a very high percentage of salt in it. 290 grams of salt per litre of water, which is roughly a 34% saturation of salt. When you look through the water the salt content makes the water appear oily.
While I had heard that swimming in the Dead Sea is quite the experience as you are very buoyant, I really never could have anticipated exactly how it would feel. You float like a cork in the sea. You can stand vertically with your head and shoulders above the water, without your feet actually touching the ground.
In addition to all the salty buoyant water, the Dead Sea mud is fairly well known for it’s ‘health’ properties. Dead Sea mud contains 25 or more minerals and sells for a fortune in the form of body masks, face masks and well as various other creams.
We paid 3JOD (approx. $5) to spread the thick black mud all over ourselves. It was great for a laugh, but whether it improved my skin or not I can’t say.
Time spent at the Dead Sea was AWESOME!!!!
Amman Citadel & Roman Forum
In the center of downtown Amman, on the hill between several valleys, is the Amman Citadel. In terms of fortification and safety, the location had a fantastic position and provides a view over Amman in all directions.
The site was built and rebuilt numerous times over the years by many different civilizations. Evidence of which can be found in the architecture and carvings.
Very few structures within the citadel are in tact. The two best maintained/restored were Hercules’ Temple and the Desert Castle.
Looking down from the citadel into one of the valleys, the Roman Forum can be found. The Forum dates back to the 2nd century AD, in a time when Amman was known as Philadelphia. The Forum is a nice spot to visit but was absolutely overrun with people. It does however provde a nice view and has been fairly well restored.
Jerash
Jerash is approximately an hour drive north of Amman, close to the Syrian border. It is a Greco-Roman city dating back to around 2000BC. This ancient city boasts an unbroken chain of human occupation dating back more than 6,500 years.
While the site is enormous, not many of the original structures are intact. It was hidden beneath the sand for centuries, but has been undergoing excavation and restoration over the past 70 years.
The highlights of the site included Hadrian’s Arch, the Theatre, Zeus’ Temple, Temple of Artemis and the Cardo.
Amman Downtown
A delicious local meal for 2 people, with 6 dishes, bread and two cups of tea cost 5JOD
The city of Amman is large and used to be referred to as having seven hills. Over time the city has grown and now covers more than seven of the hills in the area. It has a population of roughly 4 million people, some people claim that approximately 1 million of whom are refugees. Currently the city hosts a large number of Syrian refugees.
The Downtown area of Amman is busy, noisy and smelly but in a way that is reflective of the culture. Wandering around is a very pleasant experience.
It’s great to stop by local food places for a savoury treat, a tasty dessert or even just a cup of tea. You can easily eat a meal out for 2.5JOD or 25JOD. I would recommend heading to the places that have big queues of locals as the food is likely to be the best and most affordable.
If you head to the right areas, the Amman Downtown has some pretty awesome street art. I went on a little mission to find some and was not disappointed!
If you are keen for a treat, then I would highly recommend a visit to a Turkish Bath (Hamam). There are a few around, but I went to Al-Pasha and was very happy with the service there. Over the course of 1.5 – 2 hours I sweated in the steam room and sauna and I roasted some more in the Jacuzzi. I was also scrubbed from head to toe, washed with soapy bubbles and had a full body massage. All for 25JOD, the cheapest Hamam I have visited to date. For an extra 3JOD you could add in a facial.
For me this body scrub and pampering treatment was a great way to wash off the collective dirt of the desert and city, and relax at the end of a fantastic adventure through Jordan.
The city of Petra is hidden in the hills below Wadi Mousa. The city was originally known to the Nabateans as Raqmu, meaning colourful. Since then it has received the official name of Petra, meaning rock in Greek, and the nickname of the Red Rose City due to the pinkish-red colour of the rocks.
Entry to the city is via a chasm in the rocks called the Siq. The walls of this chasm are approximately 80 metres high, and the distance from the start of the Siq to it’s end point of the Treasury is 1200 metres.
The Treasury earned it’s name from rumours that it was where all the gold was hidden in an urn at the top. Bullet holes in the urn show the Bedouin attempts to determine if this was the case. Building of the Treasury started around the 9th century BC, which was some time after the city of Petra was established as the capital city for the Nabatean people around the 4th century BC.
Walking through the valley you can see many tombs, a facade wall, the royal tombs and other interesting carvings. The sandstone by itself is even fascinating as it is multicoloured and patterned.
The place of High Sacrifice was one of the sites higher up on the mountains that was recommended for us to see, but most strongly recommended was the walk up to the Ad-Deir Monastery at the end of the city’s road.
According to our guide it is 866 steps up to the monastery, the path is constantly winding upwards and around the mountainside. In the heat of the day the walk is exhausting, but once you reach the top it all becomes worth the effort. The monastery is in my opinion equally as spectacular as the Treasury. In fact it probably feels a bit more special as there are fewer tourists and Bedouin touting their wares and services.
Sitting at the monastery and soaking up the atmosphere is a fantastic way to recharge your batteries before walking several kilometres back to the visitor centre to end your visit.
Cost: 50JOD for a single day pass, or a single day pass is included in the Jordan Wanderer pass.
Petra by Night
After having seen photos of the event on Instagram, I was ridiculously keen to see Petra by Night. The show starts at 8:30pm sharp from the visitors centre and takes 2 hours including the walk in and out of the city.
The walk in to the city is lit by candles on either side of the road and through the Siq. It is beautiful and calming.
Passing through the end point of the Siq the Treasury shimmers in the golden glow of hundreds of candles. It is an absolutely breathtaking sight.
Everyone is seated behind the candles on rugs, the crowd is silenced and the show begins. Echoing through the valley is the sound of a flute playing a local melody, this is followed by the playing of an old style violin/guitar and the lone voice of a Bedouin man singing a traditional song. The show concludes with a Bedouin gentleman recalling a story of the history of Petra.
When the show concludes you have some time to take photos before meandering back to the visitors centre.
I absolutely loved the Petra by Night experience, I felt very grounded and calm; it was almost a meditative experience. It was simply breathtaking to see such ancient architecture by the glow of the candles. But I must say that I consider it excessively overpriced for what it is and the actual ‘show’ is ridiculously short.
Before I launch into my adventures in the Wadi Rum desert, just a few quick notes on visiting Jordan. Firstly it is worth considering buying a Jordan Pass. The tour company advised me to buy the Jordan Wanderer Pass which waives the visa entry fee to Jordan, covers a one day visit to Petra and covers the entry fees of numerous other attractions. It costs 70JOD (approx $99USD) which is expensive, but is actually worth the money. It’s new to Jordan, so make sure you print out your copy and always keep it on you, together with your passport.
The Jordanian currency is very strong and with the turmoil in the Middle East they seem to have very few tourists visiting. As a result, prices can be obscene and it feels like they are trying to get every possible penny out of you! Despite the crazy costs of many things, eating locally is actually incredibly affordable. I mostly eat for under 2JOD per meal, but you could easily pay up to 20JOD depending on where you go. You are also expected to tip for any kind of service.
Even though the locals want all your money and can sometimes hassle you a little, I did find them all to be very friendly and mostly respectful when you say “No Thankyou” or “Shukran” with a wave of the hand to indicate “no”.
Wadi Rum Desert
The Wadi Rum desert is often referred to as the Valley of the Moon due to it’s moon-like landscape. Fittingly it is also where parts of the movie The Martian were filmed.
The term Wadi actually translates to Valley and Rum stems from the word rum which refers to the tribe who inhabited the region for a long time. Over the years erum got shortened to rum. Though wikipedia implies that it may have an Aramaic root meaning “high” or elevated”.
The desert became popular for tourists as it was seen as a great location for rock climbing and bird watching. I assume it remains popular for these reasons, in addition to the gorgeous natural rock formations in the area.
I spent one night in the Wadi Rum desert, staying in a tent/hut in the Hillawi Camp. As it is low season, and with the tourist issue previously mentioned my tour buddy and I were the only two guests at the camp, the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful throughout our visit. For dinner a bus loads of Jordanians joined us for a traditional Bedouin meal, music and dancing. This made the evening rather entertaining.
I did two activities in the Wadi Rum, a Camel Ride and a Jeep Safari.
Camel Riding for Sunset
At around 4:30 in the afternoon Abdullah the camel rider turned up at our camp with a small caravan of camels. We hopped on up and off we wandered into the desert. Abdullah taught me a new, and more comfortable way to ride a camel. Rather than sitting with a leg either side, as you would when horse riding, sit cross legged. It is much more comfortable.
The camel driver Abdullah was an absolute hoot!! We walked through the sands, took photos of ourselves on the camels and of the beautiful environment around us.
Suddenly with the cry “Yalla! Yalla” (Let’s Go!!!) we were trotting along in a rather ungainly fashion on our camels. It was hilarious!!! For all those women out there reading this, if you go camel riding and think there might be a chance of travelling faster than a slow walk, wear a sports bra!
As the sun dropped we “parked’ our camels by a mountainous rock and climbed up for a good view of the sunset. The rocks were lit up a fiery red and while the sunset wasn’t a huge array of colours it was simply magical. After some entertaining sunset photography we headed back to our camels for some more laughs before dinner time at the camp.
Cost: 15JOD
Jeep Safari
Promptly at 9am our jeep driver Akram turned up at the camp to take us on a jeep safari into the desert. Jeep safari’s in the desert are mostly driving with a few stops.
We sat on the back of the ‘jeep’ and enjoyed the wind whipping through our hair and the golden red/orange glow of the sand and rocks around us.
The desert scenery was spectacular. I was throughly surprised at how much vegetation there was when I had expected to see none. There were even sea’s of little purple flowers.
We made a stop at some ancient inscriptions on the rock walls, Lawrence’s house, a natural bridge, some sand dunes and some spectacular view points. Along the way we also made two stops for tea in Bedouin huts. Also learning how to tie a headdress/scarf like a true Bedouin. While I didn’t feel like we actually saw much of what the Wadi Rum has to offer, I certainly had a spectacularly fun time seeing the bits I saw!
Dahab is a small resort town on the coast of the Red Sea on the Sinai Peninsula, neighbouring Israel and facing Saudi Arabia across the Red Sea. Accessing the Sinai Peninsula involves passing under the Suez Canal, a major trade route for goods. As this is a major source of income for Egypt it is very well protected with numerous police and military checkpoints.
Dahab appears to have once been a lively town, very popular with snorkelers and divers alike. Due to recent turmoil and the closure of a nearby airport, it has become a very quiet holiday town.
After the fast paced tour through the main sites of Egypt, it was nice to use the time in Dahab both to see the town and to enjoy some rest and relaxation in the resort.
Aside from catching up on sleep, emails and reading my book I enjoyed two of the activities on offer in Dahab: Quad Biking and Snorkelling at the Blue Hole; as well as spending some time in the city center.
Quad Biking
In the hills of Dahab is a desert landscape. While the quad biking wasn’t overly epic, it was certainly fun to have a look around. We visited three sites: A valley within the mountains, a bedouin camp for some tea and Laguna Beach on the coast.
Cost: 170EGP
Snorkeling
The Red Sea is well known for it’s beautiful coral, so I headed up the coast to the popular diving location of the Blue Hole. The water was colder than anticipated but the coral was beautiful and teeming with sea life.
I snorkelled along the reef edge before passing through the saddle into the Blue Hole. While the Blue Hole is best for divers, it’s rim has plenty to offer those who are snorkelling.
Aswan is a great starting point for a few visits, primarily Abu Simbel Temples, Philae Temple, and Edfu Temple part way between Aswan and Luxor.
I heard that the town of Aswan is quite a nice place to explore, but after a bout of food poisoning and a bad cold, I was in no state to explore.
Abu Simbel Temple
The most important pharaoh in the history of ancient Egypt is Ramses II, who ruled Egypt for 67 years. Abu Simbel is one of his temples and is dedicated to four gods: Ra, Ramses II, Amun and Bitah.
The temple is in fantastic condition and shows absolutely stunning scenes of the fight between the Egyptians and the Hittites. A temple with fight scenes is unique as all other temples show scenes of Coronations and other similar things.
The entrance to the temple has four large sculptures of Ramses II at various stages in his life. The smaller statues between his legs depict his children.
The neighbouring temple is a temple Ramses II had built for his wife Nefertari, and it is dedicated to the cow god, goddess of fertility, Hathor.
Both temples were originally built along the banks of the Nile. When a decision was made to build the Aswan Dam, people became aware that this would flood the section of the Nile were the two temples are found. A huge effort and absolutely astounding effort was made to move the temple to higher ground. For the untrained eye, little to no damage to the temples was sustained in the process. If you weren’t told, there is no way you would guess that the temples had been moved.
While Abu Simbel is most definitely the more impressive of the two, they are both stunning temples, with such detail in the carvings and paintings. Many of the original colours still remain.
Be aware that the trip to Abu Simbel takes 3 hours each way from Aswan. Typically this is done as a police convoy departing Aswan at 4:30am, it then leaves Abu Simbel to return to Aswan at 10:30am.
Cost: 100 EGP
Philae Temple
Similarly to Abu Simbel, the Philae Temple was found on an island in the Nile River. Unfortunately, it was not rescued prior to the Aswan Dam being built and as a result was submerged.
Some years after it was originally submerged a restoration process was undertaken to move the temple to a nearby island. The temple is by no means complete, but it is a reasonable representation of what it once was. It is a greek design built during the Greek Empire and is dedicated to the goddess Isis.
Cost: 60EGP
Edfu Temple
Edfu Temple is roughly halfway between Aswan and Luxor. It is dedicated to Horus and is the second largest temple in Egypt. While it may not be the largest temple, it is the most well preserved.
The temple took 47 years to build and has the same design as basically all temples in Egypt. The temple first has a gate or pilons. Entering through the gate goes into an open court, followed by a colonnade hall and ending in a sanctuary.
Luxor is in Upper Egypt, south of Cairo. I would have anticipated that Upper Egypt was north and Lower Egypt was south, but it is the exact opposite. The terms upper and lower are reversed due to the altitude of the land.
Luxor can be found along the banks of the Nile River, once again monuments related to life are typically on the East Bank and monuments related to death are on the West Bank.
Luxor has numerous breathtaking, history-rich monuments worth visiting, but with limited time my visit had four highlights: Hot Air Ballooning, the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut and Karnak Temple.
Hot Air Ballooning
With a 5am hotel pickup, followed by a ferry crossing the Nile, we had the opportunity to get carried into the morning sky for a most peaceful sunrise over the West Bank of Luxor. We had hoped to fly over the Valley of the Kings, but the wind didn’t work with us in this regard.
Despite not flying over the Valley of the Kings, we did fly over some spectacular temples and monuments, including the Temple of Hatshepsut. The sun rising and casting golden-orange light on the mountains and temples was absolutely breathtaking. It was a fantastic way to start the day.
Cost: 75GBP (approx. 840 EGP)
Valley of the Kings
A ticket to the Valley of the Kings provides you access to three tombs. Not all of the tombs are open all of the time, so you need to pick which three you would like to visit, based on what is open (our guide gave us recommendations). In the event you want to visit the tomb of Tutankhamen, it is an additional ticket. I visited the tombs of Setnakht, Merenptah, Ramses IV and Tutankamen.
It is forbidden to take photos inside any of the temples, if you try to sneak a photo you are likely to be fined and excessive amount of money or have your camera confiscated. We were advised to leave our cameras in the bus. There is a ‘safe’ storage facility on site for you to check in your camera, but the staff there advised us that anything left there will be stolen. So either leave your camera on the bus or keep it out of sight.
The tomb of Setnakht was recommended for us to visit as it is viewed as the mummification temple, based on the scenes depicted on the walls. It was an absolutely beautiful temple with many of the painted walls retaining their original patterns and colours.
The tomb of Merenptah was the tomb that extended the deepest into the mountain, of all the open tombs on the day we visited. Based on what I know about the depth of the various tombs in the Valley of the Kings, it wasn’t as deep as I had anticipated, but nonetheless amazing. The thing that is most mind blowing is the size and weight of the sarcophagus’, boxes and treasures that would have been inside each tomb.
The tomb of Ramses IV is the most spectacular of the open tombs in the Valley of the Kings. The colours on the walls are the most vibrant in this tomb. The attention to detail is absolutely amazing.
The tomb of Tutankhamen is actually really small and he was a quite an insignificant king. The reason that it took so many years to find is that it is actually situated beneath another tomb. When it was found, it had been untouched and all the treasures were all still tucked neatly into their separate rooms within the tomb. As it was the only tomb to have been discovered completely intact, Tutankhamen became one of the most well known kings in Egyptian history. These treasures can now be found in museums, but the mummy of Tutankhamen remains in his tomb and the walls remain beautifully decorated.
Cost: 100EGP + 100 EGP to visit the tomb of Tutankhamen
Al-Deir Al-Bahari Temple
Hatshepsut is the only Queen to have been buried in the Valley of the Kings. She was a woman, but portrayed herself as a man, though I can’t recall why this was. The scultptures of her at the front of the temple clearly depict the body and clothing of a man, but with the facial features of a woman. While I did not visit her tomb in the Valley of The Kings, I did visit her temple outside the Valley of the Kings.
Around the temple of Hatshepsut are many hieroglyphics and paintings. Including many depictions of the Cow Goddess of fertility, Hathor.
While completely unrelated to the Cow Goddess, the Egyptians have an interesting belief in regards to the cow and earthquakes. They believe the earth is carried on one of the horns of a cow. When she tires and moves the earth from one horn to the other the earth experiences an earthquake.
Cost: 50EGP
Karnak Temple
Karnak Temple was found in 1985 in very poor condition. The complex housed seven temples, only two of which remain. The main temple which remains is the biggest of it’s type in the world.
Karnak Temple has been a popular location for Hollywood movies and some of the more famous films it has featured in include The Mummy, Indiana Jones and James Bond (I’m not sure exactly which one for any of those).
My trip to Egypt was part of a Travel Talk tour of Egypt & Jordan. Within Egypt there were four main places we visited, Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and Dahab. Egypt has a population of around 91 million, approximately 22 million of who live in Cairo.
On arrival in Cairo I was met by the Travel Talk driver Baseem, who helped me with the arrival visa and security. Before entering the security line, on the right are some banks where you pay US$25 to buy a single entry visa. You stick the visa sticker on a blank page, which gets stamped as you pass through security.
Out on the roads, I was unsurprised to discover that Cairo roads are absolute mayhem. You duck and weave between cars and trucks, tooting the horn to prevent being side swiped by another vehicle. There is always one more lane of cars than marked lanes on the road. People occasionally pull over on an outer lane of the highway to wash their car or chat to someone else. Motorcyclists plow through the mess without care for helmets or any kind of safety. Pedestrians run across the highway at random, even mothers with babies seem to have no fear running across multiple lanes of crazy traffic. It was an interesting welcome to Cairo.
Cairo, Giza and New Cairo are all parts of greater Cairo. Cairo and Giza are the two main areas visited by tourists, and the Nile River separates them.
On day one the tour guide Mega introduced himself to the group and with great enthusiasm and love for his country and history he took us on our Egyptian adventure.
The Pyramids of Giza
As most people are aware the Ancient Egyptians believed in reincarnation and that they worshipped many gods including the sun. The concept of reincarnation comes from the sun as it rises (is born) every morning in the east and it ‘dies’ at the end of every day in the west, to rise again the next day. For this reason, all tombs are built on the West Bank of the Nile, the body is buried on the West, so that it may rise again in the East. In alignment with this belief all pyramids were built on the West Bank of the Nile. For those that haven’t established the link, all pyramids are the tombs of Kings.
It is not part of the pyramids of Giza complex, but the first pyramid we visited was Sakkara. There are several pyramids in the complex. The most famous one is the Pyramid of Djoser. Djoser has a stepped construction and was one of the first pyramids ever constructed.
Within the Pyramids of Giza complex are also several pyramids, though the design is more refined and doesn’t display the stepped construction seen at Sakkara. Some of the pyramids show the remains of a smooth rendering over the top of the construction.
The Great Pyramid of Cheops is the largest of all the pyramids, with a height of approximately 149 metres. It is one of the original Seven Wonders of the World, and was the world’s tallest construction until the Eiffel Tower was built. King Cheops was one of the most loved Kings of ancient Egypt and to the people of Egypt it seems fitting that he is celebrated with such a magnificent monument.
The other pyramids in the area belong to Cheops’ family members, son, wife and sister. The famous Sphinx guards the area. The Sphinx has a construction of a lion’s body with the head of a man. The head of a man represents wisdom and the body of a lion, representative of strength or power.
The site is spectacular to visit. It is so challenging to understand how people in ancient times were able to build such immense structures. I felt awed to be a witness to such creativity and display of ingenuity.
In addition to wandering around the complex, I enjoyed a short camel ride around the site, to get some fun photos!
Cost of Sakkara and Giza: 160EGP
Cost of Camel Ride: 50EGP (from memory)
Cairo Museum
Cairo Museum is certainly worth a visit to see many ancient Egyptian artifacts. Many of the treasures found in the tomb of Tutankhamen can be viewed here. You can also see the mummified bodies of many of Egypt’s great rulers of ancient times, including the most important pharaoh in history Ramses II.
Be aware that if you want to take your camera into the museum you need to pay an additional 50EGP. You can leave the camera in a storage space for free. We were advised it was very secure, but with stories of theft out of safe storage spaces at other sites, we decided against this.
Cost: 85EGP
Mohammed Ali Mosque
The Mohammed Ali Mosque is in the old citadel overlooking the city of Cairo. It’s alabaster walls and meticulously designed interior are absolutely gorgeous. While I probably wouldn’t have put it high on my “to see” list, it was a thoroughly enjoyable place to visit.
Cost: 60EGP
Cairo Markets
Around Cairo downtown are many different markets where you can buy souvenirs. I would recommend visiting at least one or two. Be prepared to haggle, but don’t engage in discussion on price unless it is something you are actually willing to buy.
They are some fabulous jewellery stalls which can create rings, bracelets and pendants with a cartouche of your name in hieroglyphics.
Pyramid Light and Sound Show
At the Pyramids of Giza there is a nighttime Light and Sound show. It’s a little bit cheesy, but otherwise fantastic. I did this at the end of my tour and they presented a reasonable summary of the Egyptian history I had learned throughout the tour, which pulled together the information nicely for me.
It was fun to see the pyramids and sphinx lit up with various different colours. If you are on a budget, I would not recommend going, but otherwise it’s quite a bit of fun.
Caeserea built in 20BCE by King Herod who wanted a deep, safe port with a man made breakwater. It became a beautiful and very successful port. As with most beautiful and successful places in history, it was conquered, destroyed and rebuilt numerous times. Modern Caeserea was revived by Edward Benjamin de Rothschild.
The coastal town of Haifa is a major seaport for Israel. Haifa is the third largest city in Israel and where most industry offices can be found.
At the North-Western tip of Israel, right at the border to Lebanon are the Rosh HaNikra grottoes.
The city of Akre is across the bay from Haifa. It is here that you can find a perfectly preserved crusader city. You can explore the knights hall, the prisoners hall, refectory, tunnels and more.
One of the first things that struck me about Tel Aviv is how much street art there is. Some of it is fairly average, as you might expect, but loads of it is really cool.
