This is the itinerary for our trip to Egypt. Highlighted text below will link to the appropriate sections of the large photo gallery. There are three photo galleries: • a full gallery with 500 large images (zzzz) • a partial gallery with approximately 200 images. • a greatest hits gallery with 36 photos. EZegypt. On the image pages, the "UP" arrow returns you to a main gallery page Day 1, Saturday: Chicago. We go online and find some basic Arabic phrases – which we study until the limo arrives. We take an 8-hour flight to Frankfurt. In the airport I pay $6 (US) for a small bottle of water. Shades of things to come. Day 2, Sunday: We arrive in Cairo late afternoon and on the way to the Fairmont Hotel, we get our first brief glimpse of Cairo. The upcoming election and US relations with Egypt have raised some security issues. We learn we are registered as Brits and should claim to be Canadians. After a recent attack on German tourists, the Tourist Police force was created – patroling the city in white uniforms. We have a Welcome Dinner at the hotel. I use one word of Arabic ("shukran" - "thank you") and the chef is my new best friend. Day 3, Monday: Wake up call 7:00. We leave for Memphis, the original capital of Egypt, at 8:30. We meet Ashraf, our Egyptologist tour guide. In Memphis, we see the statue of Ramses II (lying down) and a small sphinx. Then we're off to Saqqara to see the Step Pyramid of Djoser; the tomb of Titi (2340 B.C.) and the Mastaba of Mere-ruka (Titi's son-in-law). [A week later, CNN announces the discovery of a new Pyramid on this site.] We then go to a Carpet School. We see a weaving demonstration and then are offered beautiful carpets. Then on to Giza. We eat Lunch at Cleopatra Restaurant. (Larry, 89, catches up with us there – he'd been too ill to make the morning trip.) And then... the PYRAMIDS and the SPHINX. We're taken to a papyrus shop – demo of papyrus-making & a buying spree before a Sound and Light show at Giza. Then back to our hotel for dinner of mixed grilled meats at poolside restaurant. Day 4, Tuesday: 10:00 am trip to old Cairo. Citadel of Salah el din (1176) and Mosque of Mohamid Ali (the alabaster mosque) (1830-1848). We also see Coptic Church & Jewish Synagogue. We have lunch on docked riverside restaurant boat (Alsaraya) before going to the Egyptian Antiquities Museum. We see the King Tut exhibit. (Alas, no photos allowed.) On the way to the Bazaar in old Cairo, we see a big bus w/crushed windshield holding up a lot of traffic. Four men watch the scene from a nearby rooftop. We shop in the bazaar. Mom buys a cup and I buy a big earred dog (Anubis). [Our shopping skills need work.] As we head to dinner, a VW bug hits us. No damage. Then we have a surprise dinner on a moving boat (the Nile Crystal) w/Egyptian entertainment (2 bad dancers, a Belly dancer, and a Whirling Dervish). Members of our group join in the dancing. Day 5, Wednesday: We drive in 4 SUV’s (caravan-style) leaving at 8 for Wadi al Hitan (UNESCO site Whale’s Valley). We do not get there until 3:30 due to bad traffic in Cairo, stopping to pick up armed escort at Helnan Auberge Fayoun, and a lunch stop at beautiful restaraunt on Lake Qaroun (great fish meal). Long drive across the desert. Very short time to see whale bones w/feet before dusk. But there they are – an evolutionary link. Exciting ride back to hotel for very late night meal at Italian Restaurant, Leonardo’s. [I rode shotgun in one of the SUVs. The most amazing car ride I have ever taken. Like the Blue Angels. Very scary at first, and then... I let go. Larry had ridden shotgun in his SUV and was also impressed with the ride.] Day 6, Thursday: Early wakeup call (4:30 am) for flight to Luxor. We arrive at 8:05 a.m., picked up by a new guide, Hosny, and are taken to the Zeina, our cruise ship (floating hotel). In the lounge, Hosny gives us some history as our rooms are prepared. We have lunch onboard at 1:00. Trip to Karnak, a series of temples on 60 acres. 30- and 60-ft tall columns. The ceiling blocks weigh 70 tons. Then to diamond shop and the opportunity to shop. And then that night, to Luxor Temple – Sound(?) and Light Show. Then back to boat for 8:00 dinner. Day 7, Friday: Early 4:45 a.m. pickup for a sunrise hot air balloon ride. We float along the Nile, over the ruins, above the mountains. Then back on bus to Valley of Kings. We see the tombs of Ramses I, IV, IX and King Tut. Tut's mummy is on display, was well as one of the gold coffins. Then Valley of Queens. Then to alabaster shop for a demo and more cool stuff to buy. And then back to boat for lunch. We set sail and get the afternoon off. We spend hours on the top deck: relaxing, talking, enjoying the ride. As we approach the locks, small boats pull up alongside our ship. At first, I think they're there to guide us, but they are vendors – selling galabias – long decorative gowns. Bundled gowns start landing on the top deck. Day 8, Saturday: Overnight, we've docked at Edfu. We visit the Temple of Horus. Back on the boat, we visit the captain. We sail further down the Nile to Kom Omba. We visit the dual Temple of Sobek & Haroeris. On the way back to the boat, we stop by a small market area and meet and greet some baby camels. After dinner, we see Nubian Dancers perform. Day 9, Sunday: In the morning, we take a short flight to Abu Simbel. This is a site on Lake Nassar. To avoid the temple being under water after the construction of the Aswan Dam, UNESCO organized an effort to take the entire temple apart and re-build it on higher ground. We fly back to the ship in time for lunch. In the afternoon, we sail for hours on a felucca (sail boat). That night, we have a Dress-up dinner party. Everyone in galabias and fancy clothes. Our last night on the boat. Day 10, Monday: We leave the boat at 9:30 a.m. We drop off our luggage at a "day hotel." We visit a quarry, where we see an unfinished obelisk. The Egyptians carved obelisks out of the quarry in one piece. We drive across the old dam and then visit the Upper Aswan Dam. We then take a motorboat to the Island of Philae, where we see the Temple of Isis. Then to perfume shop. We take another small boat to an island where we have lunch at a Nubian restaurant. (Great fish baked in a pot.) We explore the Nile some more, and then stop at a Nubian village where several of us take a long camel ride. Meanwhile, the others cruise down the river keeping an eye on us. At the end of the camel ride, we end up in another Nubian Village. We visit a crocodile shop (?). We see a large crocodile in a cage, and then get to hold a smaller (5-ft long) crocodile. We have tea and then visit the home of some of the villagers. As the family prepares dinner and tends to their baby crocs, we poke around and take photos. We return to our “day hotel” for dinner and a little rest before our flight. At midnight, we fly back to Cairo. We check back into the Fairmont and sleep for a few hours. Day 11, Tuesday: We leave for Alexandria at 10 a.m. We arrive after one o'clock and have lunch at the Athenian restaurant. We visit the Qaitbay Citadel which was built on the ruins of the Lighthouse of Alexandria (one of the Seven Wonders). We drive though Alexandria on surface streets and get a good view of the people, shops, housing, etc. We stop at a site where they have unearthed Roman ruins. We visit Pompey’s Pillar (and another small sphinx). We check into the Sheraton and have dinner at the hotel. Day 12, Wednesday: We're up early to visit the catacombs. We visit the Library, which was built on the site of the ancient library of Alexandria. We have lunch at an Italian restaurant. We drive west, passing through what seem to be several small towns – all of which are part of Alexandria. We pass a large refinery and several processing plants and factories, and the housing of the people who work there. As we drive along the coast of the Mediterranean, we see miles and miles of new construction – luxury summer resorts. Finally, we reach El Alamein, the site where Allied Forces during World War II had their first victory over the Germans. 20,000 Allied Soldiers died there and 9,000 are buried in a sprawling cemetary. We drive 150 miles back to Cairo. We have our last meal at the Fairmont and in Egypt. Day 13, Thursday: 2:00 a.m. wake-up call. We catch an early flight to Frankfurt, and later a flight from Frankfurt to Chicago. An absolutely fantastic trip. Bill, our tour guide, took us to amazing places. I'm thrilled I got to share this trip with my mother (or rather that she shared it with me).