Egypt 1999

Here's an adventuresome travel idea, especially for James Bond fans. Starting in Cairo, fly south to Luxor. Take a ship from Luxor to Aswan stopping in Esna, Edfu, and Kom Ombo. From Aswan, take the air excursion to Abu Simbel. A most "interesting" vacation, it is recommended for the adventuresome traveler.

These pictures were taken in March 1999 with my first Digital camera. I was also very new to Photoshop and committed many unrecoverable sins in this wonderful photo-editing environment.

Hatshepsut: Near Luxor in the Valley of the Queens, this temple was carved out of the rock, not built stone upon stone.

Karnak - City of Luxor: This room of columns is in the Temple of Amun Ra. Karnak has an interesting sound and light show at dusk.
Edfu: The Temple of Horus is a short walk from the Nile. The edifice is about 5 stories tall.
Kom Ombo: This temple is quite close to and overlooks the Nile. According to local guides, "The cobras come out at night." None are visible in the picture.
Aswan: When the Aswan high dam was built, it flooded the Nile river valley burying most of the historical sites in the valley under water. This Temple at Philae was rescued from the flood by disassembling it and reconstructing it on higher ground about 100 meters from its original site. The style is similar to the temple at Edfu, but look closely, the carved images are of different gods.
Abu Simbel: The temple of Ramses II was carved out of the rock. It too was buried under water by the Aswan high dam, and was later moved and reconstructed. In this case, not only was the temple reconstructed but so was the mountain from which it was carved. Twice a year, as it rises above the horizon on the anniversaries of Ramses II's birth and coronation, the sun shines through the door of the temple and illuminates a sanctuary deep inside.

Abu Simbel: Temple of Hathor - Nefertari. This is right next to Ramses II, also oriented facing east.
Sphinx & Pyramid: Difficult to photograph. Close enough for detail is too close to see whole structures. Far enough for context, is too far for any detail. ARGH!