Scenes from Egypt and the Sinai

 

Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai

 

Inside the Temple of Horus at Edfu

We have returned safely–though a day late due to a missed connection–from a wonderful two weeks in Egypt. As Jonathan sorts through more than 3,000 photos to create albums of the best shots from our trip, here are some video clips which provide a glimpse into some of the highlights of this trip. Enjoy!

Sailing by Felucca on the Nile: Feluccas are small sailboats traditionally used by fishermen to ply the Nile waters. On the second day of our cruise, we spent a very relaxing few hours sailing the Nile in Aswan. Visible from the boat were the Tombs of the Nobles, the lively banks of the river, and Kitchener’s Island which is a botanical garden.

Setting Sail from Aswan: The view from the top deck of our cruise boat, the Nile Goddess, as we cast off and set sail from Aswan for Luxor.

Docking at Kom Ombo: The boys watch as our boat docks near the temple complex in Kom Ombo. The temple is visible from the river.

Street Scenes from Edfu: In Edfu, visitors take a horse-drawn carriage ride from the Nile to the temple complex a few kilometers away. This clip shows some of the activity in the early morning, a glimpse past the tourist sites to what street life in Egypt is like.

Dancing on the Nile: The boys dance around and “get the wiggles out” to jazz on the top deck of our boat as the sun sets and the banks of the Nile glide past.

Karnak Hypostyle Hall, clips 1 and 2: Two scenes taken while walking through the massive Hypostyle Hall in Karnak Temple, Luxor. The largest hall of its type in the world, it features 134 massive pillars, so large that the archtraves topping each column weigh 70 tons each.

Hot Air Ballooning over Luxor and the Valley of the Kings: Two clips taken during our hot air balloon flight over Luxor, the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatshepsut’s temple and the Nile river basin.  The first clip shows the takeoff–with many other balloons lifting into the sky alongside ours. The second clip shows the view from the basket at about 4,000 feet altitude–the Valley of the Kings, a brief glimpse of Hatshepsut’s Temple, Luxor and the Nile valley.

Reef Submarine in Sharm el Sheikh: The boys take in the abundant fish and coral from the windows of our semi-submersible boat tour of the Red Sea reefs around Sharm el Sheikh at the south tip of the Sinai Peninsula.

Trekking by Camel at Mount Sinai and Saint Catherine’s Monastery: Descending on camels from the base of Mount Sinai and working our way down towards the third century fortress monastery of Saint Catherines, in the remote Sinai desert.  According to Biblical history, Mount Sinai was the location from which Moses received the Ten Commandments, and Saint Catherine’s is built around a bush that according to legend was the burning bush from which God spoke to Moses, commanding him to go to Pharaoh and demand the freedom of the Israelite nation.

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