Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Sunday, October 24, 2010 – Alexandria, Egypt – 77F - Sunny

Distance Traveled from Corfu: 736 Nautical Miles

Early wake up call for our big excursion to Cairo.

Getting up early also means getting a good picture of the sunrise over Alexandria.

Alexandria Sunrise 2 (Small)

Sunrise over Alexandria,Egypt

Alexandria from Ship (Small)

View from the Equinox of the Port

As the ship made its way to the dock, I noticed several ships that have been capsized and left to rust in the harbor (below).

 Alexandria boats capsized to rust (Small) 

Capsized Ship in the Harbor

We are on a full day tour today to Cairo:  “The Pyramids and the River Nile”.  Our guide is Nevine, a woman who speaks English very well.  There is no security on this bus so I am able to get the very front seat.  Not much legroom but plenty of view.

Alexandria Mohammed Ali (Small)

Statue of Mohamed Ali Pasha in Alexandria

Alexandria E Bus (Small)

Ellen’s bus in front of ours – On the way to Cairo

After a three hour bus ride, we finally arrive at the Giza (West Bank of the Nile) Plateau. The ride is a little shorter since we bypassed a good deal of traffic by going to the Plateau directly and not going tot he Museum before.  There are many more busses here today than last time and the busses drop off passengers at one location and then park in another – a little difficult to find the bus again.

At the pyramids, all the passengers are basically on their own for a pre-determined amount of time.

Giza Camel Ride Vendor (Small)

Camel Ride Vendor

Chephren (Kahfre) Pyramid (Small)

Chephren (Kahfre) Pyramid 1 (Small) 

Top: Khafre Pyramid

Bottom:  Khafre Pyramid and stones

Khufu (Cheops) Pyramid (Small)

The Great Pyramid – Khufu

As we make our way to the Western Plateau to get our panoramic view, we get a clear view of the Menkaure Pyramid and the Pyramid of the Queens.

  Menkaure Pyramid and Pyramid of the Queens (Small)

Pyramids Western Plateau (Small) 

The Pyramids of Giza

The Sphinx 2 (Small)

The Sphinx

The Sphinx 3 (Small)

The Sphinx, Khufu, and Khafre

Following the Giza stop, we drive to the Nile River and the Pharaohs Boat Restaurant for lunch.  Ellen was there with her passengers so we had lunch together.  The lunch was pretty good (Sea Bass on buffet) with pita, humus, babba ghanoush, and other local salad items.  The deserts were good and so was the coffee.  During lunch, the guests were treated to a belly dance by Magda.  After the meal, the boat went out for a 30 minute cruise of the Nile.

Magda Lunch Show (Small)

Showtime on the Pharaohs Lunch Boat

Nile Lunch and Cruise 1 (Small)

Nile Cruise – Cairo Side

Nice Cruise 1 (Small)

The Boat went under this bridge 

Nile Giza Side (Small)

Giza side of the Nile

Nile Cruise H and E (Small)

H and E on the Nile

 Nile Hyatt Regency Cairon on island (Small)

Hyatt Regency Cairo on Island in the Nile

Giza Side Lotus Flower Tower (Small)

Lotus Flower Tower – Giza Side

Nile Cruse and H (Small) Giza Side Gold's Gym (Small)

Gold’s Gym Cairo

Nile Cruise H and E 1 (Small) Nile Cruise E and Egyptian (Small) Cairo Traffic Jam (Small)

Cairo Traffic

Citadel of Saladin and Mosque of Mohammed Ali (Small) 

Citadel of Saladin and Mosque of Mohamed Ali

The next four pictures were taken at the Mosque of Mohamed Ali.

Mosque of Mohammed Ali 1 (Small)

The Mosque

Mosque of M A Courtyard (Small)

The Mosque Courtyard

Mosque of M A Courtyard 1 (Small) Mosque of M A Interior (Small)

Interior of the Mosque

Cliffs near Citadel Khufu Pyramid Quarry (Small)

Quarry near the Citadel – Khufu stones came from here

Citadel Walls (Small)

The Citadel

We arrived back at the ship around 8:30 PM and had dinner, along with all of the other arriving passengers, at the Oceanview Cafe.

No show tonight - “Flava of the Mediterranean” in the Grand Foyer.

Flave Night Greek Dance 2 (Small)

Tired…

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