English
|
Advertisement / Annons: |
My father Evert's travels in Egypt |
A seven days trek in EgyptPlanning the trip:This trip to Egypt must have been an old dream for my father. He already sailed in 1939 when he was a sailor on the shipping company Svenska Ostasiatiska Kompaniet's ship M/S Canton. Here you can read about his work on this ship 1939: M/S Canton (Swedish). 53 years later in 1992 in March he started his second trip to Egypt. He was retired and 73 years old then. Map over Egypt and Suez: I hope I can more information about his trip later. He took six rolls of film, I don't no the order between them more than the first and last roll.
He started the flight from Arlanda in Stockholm and landed in Egypt. 
The airport in Egypt, I think it must be in Cairo. 
Evert is waiting at the airport for the TEMA travel's group leader who will take him to the hotel. 
He traveled together with other retired people, lot of ladies. They stay two nights at this hotel in Cairo. 
TEMA's guide is waiting for the participants for a first tour around Cairo.
Egyptian Museum:
A visit to the Egyptian museum in Cairo, built 1901 on Tahrir Square.
View over the city Cairo from a view point. Muhammad Ali Mosque:
A guided tour to the famous Muhammad Ali Mosque. 
|
What did Evert found so interesting here? 
I think this lady is one of Evert's card-playing friends. He played Bridge in a club. Saqqara:
Evert has lend over his camera to some other that don't really understand the importance of correct focus, very common sadly to say. 
A tomb or what could it be? 
One of the visits this day was to farmers. Here you can take a tour on a donkey or a camel. Pyramid of Djoser:
This in the old ancient city of Memphis, this is where you will find the oldest pyramids. This is a step pyramid, many thousand of years old.
Nearby the Nile it's a lot of water and you have green fields. 
Controlling the water is important, no water, no crops, no food. |
|
Advertisement / Annons: |
A mini market with oranges. 
Goats, must be important for the milk, meat and skinn. Giza plateau:
At the third day there is a visit to Giza plateau where the biggest and most famous pyramids are. Great Pyramid of Giza:
This is the greatest pyramid, a tomb for pharaoh Khufu (Keops in Swedish). It's unbelievable 146 meter tall built 4600 years ago, it was the tallest building in the world for 3800 years. My sister Rose-Marie remembers that Evert said it was difficult to breathe inside the tomb.
Great Sphinx of Giza:
The mysterious Sphinx, maybe older than the Khufu pyramid behind.
Evert looks to like all exciting things he found at his stay here. Airport:
At the evening of third day it's time to leave Cairo, next visit will be Aswan. 
A local Egypt Air flight take my father and his traveling companions 900 km South to Aswan. Aswan dam:
This dam was built during the 1960s and opened 1970. It's important to regulate the river, deliver fresh water and of course electricity. 
|
The Nile is famous for its crocodiles, it looks as if the man in the blue coat is holding a small crocodile. The largest ones can be up to 6 meters long. 
A cross-section of how the dam is constructed. Russia Egypt Friendship memorial:
A 72 meter high friendship memorial. Built when the Aswan dam was finished 1970. 
Evert used to work on a power company in Stockholm before he was retired. Of course he found the power lines interesting.
It looks like a hopeless case to get all the sand out of here. Unfinished obelisk:
This is at the stone quarries near Aswan. See the crack in middle of the stone, that's the reason it was abandoned. It was ment to be a 46 meter heigh obelisk. 
A waiting bus takes the travelers for a trip to the Nile.
Sailing on the river Nile:
These old boats are called Feluccas and they spend the afternoon sailing on the river Nile at Aswan.
|
|
Advertisement / Annons: |
At the evening they check in on a bigger river boat, the RA II. That will be the home for the following days. Temple of Kom Ombo:
After breakfast in the morning of the fifth day they left Aswan for a short 30 km cruise with the river boat. They arrive at the temple Kom Ombo. 
I wish I could understand what's written here. 
Is it grain, sand or water he pour out of the bucket? 
This temple is dedicated to two gods: the falcon god Haroeris and the crocodile god Sobek, who was believed to have power over the waters of the Nile. 
Evert take a closer look at the inscription, maybe the guide told something interesting about it. 
A farewell to Kom Ombo. 
Last view of Kom Ombo temple from the river boat.
|
|
Advertisement / Annons: |
On the same day on board the river boat, now heading towards the temple of Edfu. 
Evert must had a lot of memories from his visit here 1939, 53 years earlier. 
Maybe some places hasn't changed much. Temple of Edfu:
The temple Edfu isn't far away, only 40 km ride on the river. 
The day is not over yet, the journey continues on the Nile, passing the lock at Esna and then on to Luxor, which will be the final station for this day.
Valley of the Kings:
Next stop is the Valleys of the Kings, this time they take a bus to visit the nearby places. It's now the sixth day of this journey. Colossi of Memnon:
This is one of the Colossi of Memnon, they belong to the Mortuary temple of Amenhotep II. The statue weigh about 720 ton and is 18 meter in height. Mentioned by both Romans and Greeks 2000 years ago. This is on the Western side of Nile.
Temple of Hatshepsut:
Inside there are lots of burial chambers, several with enormous granite coffins. The idolized oxen are believed to have been buried in those coffins.
Sheraton Luxor hotel:
Sheraton's Luxor hotel is placed at the East side of the river of Nile in the city Luxor. 
Here at the hotel they stay for a day, or possibly two. The hotel has a nice park with living animals. |
Garden with pelicans and flamingos. Luxor temple:
The sights are not over yet, today they will visit a temple on the other side of the Nile River. It is the Luxor Temple they will visit. Luxor dromos:
It don't look to be so much tourists here, maybe March isn't the high season.
Karnak temple:
Karnak and Luxor temples connect to each other on the East side of Nile, Karnak to the South. 
More inscriptions, what do they have to tell? Farao Sesostris I let building this temple for the god Amon-Re. 
A massive obelisk with a lot of hieroglyphs.
Sacred lake, hundred meter wide and the water come from the underground. 
Obelisk of Karnak, for Hatshepsut.
Last day before going back to Cairo and the flight home to Stockholm. |
Hotel Sofitel Winter Palace Luxor:
The last night at Luxor must be a bit special with this hotel. 
It look about the same even today 33 years later, expensive rooms! 
Not a bad living with a view to the river Nile. 
Maybe they had their farewell dinner on this barge. 
I understand that my dad got a fantastic week down here. The sad thing was that when he got home he got really sick, some kind of infection. He ended up in the hospital and my sister Britt-Marie visited him in the infectious disease clinic. Maybe it was the Pharaoh's revenge you heard about. But he came home anyway. The ship M/S Canton (Swedish) he served on in 1939 was torpedoed on its way home to Sweden. It happened out in the Atlantic Ocean off Northern Ireland, half the crew perished. Fortunately, Evert changed to another ship in San Francisco a month before. The END
|
| Go Back |