Greece – Athens

2010.10.16For about an hour, the airport shuttle took us to the Athens’ metro station, Syntagma. From there, after a short taxi ride, we arrived in our hotel, Airotel Parthenon. The streets around the hotel were very lively at 10pm, so we decided to have a walk and get something to eat. We chose the hotel within the walking distance to Acropolis, but we didn’t know it’s this close – just walking one block from the hotel and looking up, the bright and magnificent temple on top of the mountain is there. It is the famous Acropolis. Many people were on the street having coffee or ice cream. We picked one restaurant that seemed having a party with people singing and shouting loudly. We ordered a chicken soup and a kebab. It turned out to be one of the most mediocre dinners we had of the whole trip.

Acropolis Museum, Athens
Acropolis Museum, Athens
the Acropolis at the night, Athens
the Acropolis at the night, Athens

We had only one day in Athens and we planned to spend the day just around the Acropolis area. The second day, Saturday, was the free entrance day, so we’d better get there as early as possible before the crowd. We had the breakfast buffet at the hotel, then after about 20-minute walk, we got to the entrance of the Acropolis. On the right was The Odeon of Herodes Atticus. At the southern slope of the Acropolis, this is a 5000-seat theater that provides the superb setting for annual Summer Festival as well as internationally acclaimed performances.

Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Acropolis, Athens
Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Acropolis, Athens

The remains of the Acropolis can be divided into three main areas. From Odeon of Herodes Atticus, we ascended to the entrance of the temple, The Propylaea. Before it was a flight of steps, a good place to admire this monumental gateway and take pictures. On the right, as we entered the Acropolis, was a small but graceful temple called Temple of Wingless Victory or Temple of Athena Nike overlooking the city.

Temple of Wingless Victory, Acropolis, Athens
Temple of Wingless Victory, Acropolis, Athens
the Propylaea, Acropolis, Athens
the Propylaea, Acropolis, Athens

Passing through the gateway, on the left is a temple called Erechtheum. The most famous feature is its south portion, The Porch of the Caryatids. It is a porch whose supporting columns are built as six draped female figures (caryatid). All these caryatids in place are in fact replacements. The original pieces were moved to Acropolis Museum for restoration and display.

Erechtheum and  Porch of the Caryatids, Acropolis, Athens
Erechtheum and Porch of the Caryatids, Acropolis, Athens

The main temple of the Acropolis is Parthenon. This grandiose temple has transcended its architectural greatness and become the symbol of classic and perfection. It’s almost unimaginable that the temple maintained its shape until 1687 when a bomb was thrown into the temple as Turks used it as the ammunition and rendered the temple into the ruins as it is today. Parthenon was undergoing the second round of restoration project. Huge machineries were visible from any angle. It’s quite disturbing and impossible to take a shot of the whole temple.

Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens
Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens

Sitting on a flat-topped rock 490ft (150m) above the sea level, the Acropolis provides a fantastic view of its surrounding city. Compared with the temples and monuments that we had just visited in Egypt, the Acropolis didn’t impress us very much. It is not as old as the Great Pyramids, not as majestic as the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak and not as well-decorated as those tombs in Valley of the Kings. However, what makes it stand out is its symbolic meaning. The Acropolis is much more than a historical ruin, but a symbol of aesthetics, philosophy and value of Classical Greek culture, which is widely considered to be the foundation of modern western civilization. It is really amazing to imagine that Greek civilization at its Golden Age has reached such a pinnacle that people were doing and thinking things that no one tried to be doing and thinking for the next 1500 years.

City surrounding the Acropolis, Athens
City surrounding the Acropolis, Athens

Exited the Acropolis from its north gate, paid a small entrance fee, we entered the Agora (marketplace). It’s the political and cultural center of ancient Athens. Speeches were delivered here, law court, schools, and theaters were built here. It even had a mint and state prison. Hephaisteion is the best-preserved temple in the area and looking the Parthenon into the distance. Stoa of Attalos is a building with a long colonnaded walkway. It was reconstructed in the mid-20th and used as a museum now.

Church in Byzantine Style in the Agora, Athens
Church in Byzantine Style in the Agora, Athens
Hephaisteion in the Agora, Athens
Hephaisteion in the Agora, Athens
Overlook the Acropolis from Hephaisteion, Athens
Overlook the Acropolis from Hephaisteion, Athens
Stoa of Attalos in the Agora, Athens
Stoa of Attalos in the Agora, Athens

The area surrounded the Acropolis and the Agora is called Plaka. It is a nice neighborhood but quite commercialized area mixed with small shops, cafes, churches and a few ancient ruins. It’s an easy and lazy afternoon as the sun was warm and many people sitting outside of the cafes on the street. The alleys are never straight, it is easy to get lost, but you can always look up and see the Acropolis then know where you are going.

Plaka, Athens
Plaka, Athens
Plaka, Athens
Plaka, Athens

We had a snap at the hotel then took the subway to Syntagma. We thought we could find high-end shopping district in this area, however, it’s indeed more like a city hub. The street we walked on were crowded but the shops were not very attractive. There was only one subway stop between Syntagma and where we live, so we decided to walk back and eventually we reached Plaka area. Again, we found the restaurants here were just typical tourist places, we enjoyed the environments rather than the quality of food.

Before going back to the hotel, we took a sidewalk to the Temple of Olympian Zeus. It is the largest temple in Greece, exceeding even Parthenon in size, however now only 15 columns remain standing, another one collapsed in 1852 and broke into pieces. The detail of the columns and the view of the Acropolis through the columns were very impressive, so I decided to pick up my tripod left in the hotel. As I went back to the temple, it started dribbling but soon stopped. A rainbow appeared in the eastern sky – a nice reward for my effort to take the tripod.

Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens
Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens
Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens
Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens
Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens
Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens

The park closed at 7pm. When we passed Hadrian’s Arch, I noticed the arch was painted with the bright golden color by the sunset. My wife went back to the hotel by herself and I was almost running to the entrance of the Acropolis. I should have asked her to join me because she missed a once in a lifetime sunset scene. The last ray of the sun rendered the Acropolis and the surrounding city in the glorious colors, the color transited from golden to red to purple. Glory, that’s feeling filled my heart.

Hadrian’s Arch, Athens
Hadrian’s Arch, Athens
the Acropolis in the Sunset, Athens
the Acropolis in the Sunset, Athens
Athens in the Sunset
Athens in the Sunset

This was the last day of the trip. We left Athens the next day morning and arrived home at night. As I finally complete my travelogue, there are still a lot of more to be digested. It was such an unforgettable trip that we will be proud of for many years.

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Greece – Santorini – Head to Toe

2010.10.15The wind stopped the next day and the sky was crystal clear. I walked down stairs to other hotels beneath us on the cliff. They have undisturbed view of the full circle of the caldera.

Hotel in Firostefani, Santorini
Hotel in Firostefani, Santorini
Caldera View, Santorini
Caldera View, Santorini

Because it had been too windy and too many people at Oia the previous day, we decided to go there again in the morning. It’s only a 20-minute drive from Firostefani to Oia. One of the villas at the northern tip of the island claims to be “the most popular site for marriage proposals” – that might not be an exaggeration.

Oia, Santorini
Oia, Santorini
Oia, Santorini
Oia, Santorini
Windmill at the Northern Tip of Santorini
Windmill at the Northern Tip of Santorini

Coming back from Oia, We had lunch at another cliff restaurant. When we checked out the hotel, I asked the owner what he would do in winter. He said that he would close the hotel and go back to Athens in two weeks, and then he would come back to the island again the next year. Most hotels and restaurants will be closed in the low season. The owner told me that late May and early October were good time to visit the island, “you cannot imagine how crowded the street is in summer”.

Lunch in Firostefani, Santorini
Lunch in Firostefani, Santorini
Efterpi Villas, Santorini
Efterpi Villas, Santorini
Caldera View from the Balcony of Efterpi Villas, Santorini
Caldera View from the Balcony of Efterpi Villas, Santorini

Our flight was at 7pm. We still had a lot of time. For the past two days, we only drove around the cliff side, so we decided to see the other side of the island first. Unlike Corfu Island, Santorini is mostly barren. While the cliff is decorated with the dazzling white buildings, at the end of the slow slope going down from the cliff, there are all black sand beaches. We stopped at Monolithos beach, which has some strange sand stone formation. Only a few people on the beach, some of them took off their clothes. This might be one of the nude beaches on the island.

Sand Stone Formation at Monolithos Beach, Santorini
Sand Stone Formation at Monolithos Beach, Santorini

We continued driving sort of randomly. We drove around Emporio’s town square a bit, then at Akrotiri, we failed to locate its archaeological site. Sitting in the small booth by the beach, we figured this was still not the end of the road yet, so we decided to keep on driving to the very south of the island. Along the road, we could see the Caldera from another direction. Those white houses on top of the cliff became just a white line. There is a light house at the road end. It is called Cape Akrotiri. From head to toe, we covered almost the whole island.

Caldera View from the Southern Tip of Santorini
Caldera View from the Southern Tip of Santorini
Light House at Cape Akrotiri, Santorini
Light House at Cape Akrotiri, Santorini

We arrived at the airport before it’s getting dark. This was the fourth small airport we had been to in the trip, Luxor, Abu Simbel, Corfu and Santorini, their airports all have merely one building with no more than two gates. From here, we were going to the last stop of the trip, Athens.

Santorini Airport
Santorini Airport
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Greece – Santorini – Firá & Oia

2010.10.14It’s already 10pm when we stepped out of Santorini Airport. Although it’s very late, there is only one road from the airport to Firostefani, where our hotel is located, very close to Santorini’s town center Fira, so we couldn’t miss it. As we were ramping up along the zigzag street, we realized we were climbing to the cliff top. We asked a local resident (who has a tiny cat:-) for direction and parked our car by a small church. The church’s shape and color was in typical Santorini style – white walls, blue domes and the tower bells. Passing through a narrow alley, stepping down a few stairway, here was our hotel, Efterpi Villas. I had never seen a hotel so compact, yet so elegant – it should only appear in fairy tale. In fact, all hotels around us were like this. The narrow alley that we passed by leads to the Fira along the cliff top. At 11pm, many people just walked back from the town. We had a dinner at a family restaurant by the cliff. The breeze was warm, you could smell the romance in the atmosphere.

Santorini
Santorini

We waked up the next day morning with a perfect view of the island Nea Kameni, (the only thing less perfect was there was a power line running through in front of our window). The owner of the hotel cooked the breakfast and brought it to our room. Santorini is the remains of a massive volcano eruption around 1450 BC. Nea Kameni island in the middle of the crater emerged after very recent activities in 197 BC and 1707. After the devastating earthquake in 1956, Santorini’s central town, Fira, was rebuilt with churches, hotels and restaurants cling to the edge of caldera to enjoy the magnificent views. The view of white-washed wall and the blue-domed churches with the Aegean sea as the backdrop is so unique that anyone who sees the picture of Santorini for the first time cannot believe such a place does exist in this world.

Santorini
Santorini
Santorini
Santorini
From Room of Efterpi Villas, Santorini
From Room of Efterpi Villas, Santorini

After breakfast, we walked along the Agiou Mina street, the ally by the crater edge, to Fira. Fira is the hub of the Santorini island. Like other town centers of Greek Islands, its narrow streets are packed with small shops, restaurants and bars. We did some shopping, visited catholic quarter and had lunch at one of the restaurants. Octopus is a typical local dish but we didn’t expect it was so huge on the plate. The view was unbeatable. The only regret was that it seemed the bad weather followed us here, the sky was cloudy most of time.

Firostefani, Santorini
Firostefani, Santorini
Fira, Santorini
Fira, Santorini
Catholic Cathedral, Fira, Santorini
Catholic Cathedral, Fira, Santorini
Catholic Cathedral, Fira, Santorini
Catholic Cathedral, Fira, Santorini
Lunch, Santorini
Lunch, Santorini
Lunch, Santorini
Lunch, Santorini

By the afternoon, the wind gradually cleared the sky. We drove to the north of the island. It is said that the northern tip is an ideal place to watch the sunset. We passed an lovely square with a church and several shops, so we stopped to take pictures. One of the best scenes I saw on the island was a roof paved with white cobbles here. Looking over the roof, the sea was shining and the remote island became a little blurred. It’s one spectacular view I will never forget.

Oia, Santorini
Oia, Santorini
Oia, Santorini
Oia, Santorini
Oia, Santorini
Oia, Santorini

Kept on driving for another 300 feet, I noticed a few tour buses dropped hundreds of visitors off at the parking lot. It meant there must be something worth seeing. We followed the tour group into the alley, until then we realized we were at the town Oia, where all those postcard photos are taken, not at Fira but here. The lighting of the afternoon sun was wonderful, but there were too many people, I had to wait in line to get a spot to take pictures or hold on several minutes for a view with less people in the frame.

Oia, Santorini
Oia, Santorini
Oia, Santorini
Oia, Santorini
Oia, Santorini
Oia, Santorini

There were only a few restaurants and hotels at the very northern tip of the island. The sun was low. Many people were either dining or standing by the cliff to wait for the sunset. However, I found the cloud gathering at the horizon and getting darker and darker. I doubted very much that anyone could see the sunset so I took some photos at the windmills and left. While driving back to the hotel, the wind became very strong and the cloud was moving fast from the cliff side. At some points, the dark cloud was so dense that we couldn’t see the road. The fierce wind kept on blasting throughout the night. We fell into sleep accompanied by the whistling sound made by the wind blowing through the power line.

Northern Tip of Santorini
Northern Tip of Santorini
Northern Tip of Santorini
Northern Tip of Santorini
Northern Tip of Santorini
Northern Tip of Santorini
Greek Salad, Santorini
Greek Salad, Santorini
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Greece – Corfu Island – Achilleion Palace & Old Fortress

2010.10.13It’s still very cloudy on our third day in Corfu. We decided to visited another nearby attraction, Achilleion Palace. Ithaca, another major island of Ionian Islands, is Odysseus’ homeland, so it’s not a surprise to see many places associated to Homer‘s poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Achilleion Palace was build in 1890 for Empress Elizabeth of Austria, Sissi, who is quite famous in China because of the movie in 50’s, in honor of Achilles. The palace is surrounded by many Greek statues. Among them, the most prominent one is a standing statue of Achilles as the guardian of the palace facing the Corfu town.

Achilleion Palace, Corfu
Achilleion Palace, Corfu
Achilleion Palace, Corfu
Achilleion Palace, Corfu
Achilleion Palace, Corfu
Achilleion Palace, Corfu
Achilleion Palace, Corfu
Achilleion Palace, Corfu
Achilleion Palace, Corfu
Achilleion Palace, Corfu

It started dribbling when we left the palace. I had been thinking of taking pictures of old Greek villages, so I made a few attempts on our way back. I am not satisfied because I don’t think I captured the atmosphere of the moment.

Old House in the Village, Corfu
Old House in the Village, Corfu
Remote Village in the Mountain, Corfu
Remote Village in the Mountain, Corfu

The rain was pouring when we passed the airport. We worried about if the plane could take off in the weather condition. However, magically, 10 minutes later when we reached Starbucks at the hotel, not only the rain stopped, but it seemed the sky could clear up potentially. We walked down the hill, passed through a causeway and reached the small convent on Vlacherna. You can see from the tree that it is a quite windy place. The wall must be flushed by the wave and the rain often, but remains picture perfectly white.

The Convent on Vlacherna, Corfu
The Convent on Vlacherna, Corfu
The Convent on Vlacherna, Corfu
The Convent on Vlacherna, Corfu
The Convent on Vlacherna, Corfu
The Convent on Vlacherna, Corfu

After checking out of the hotel, we still have 2 hours before our flight was supposed to take off. We went to the Corfu town again to see the Old Fortress. The Old Fortress was built on a promontory by Venetians in 1550. The top of the fortress provides a magnificent view of Corfu’s old town. There is a trench between the Old Fortress and Esplanade and they are connected by an iron bridge. At the bottom of the promontory is the church of St. George. Overlooking it from the town side is another signature view of Corfu.

Overlook Corfu Old Town from the Old Fortress
Overlook Corfu Old Town from the Old Fortress
the Old Fortress, Corfu
the Old Fortress, Corfu
the Church of St. George, Corfu
the Church of St. George, Corfu

We arrived at the airport at 3 pm, one hour before scheduled departure time. We would fly to Athens first then connect to Santorini from there. Because of the earlier storm in Corfu, the flight from Athens was delayed. When it finally arrived, it is 4:15 pm already. When we got to Athens, we found ourselves in the same situation as last time when we were here again – It’s only 15 minutes away from the next flight. We asked the crew members to inform the gate to wait for us and they did, and we run as in almost the same route as we run two days ago. However, this time we didn’t have the same luck. The gate had closed when we got there. Luckily, there was another flight to Santorini at 9 pm. At least we wouldn’t miss any precious day in that dreamy island.

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Greece – Corfu Island – Old Town

2010.10.12It’s still heavily cloudy in the second day morning. However, while we were having breakfast, I saw a hint of sunshine at the horizon. I quickly finished up my plate, grabbed my gears and run to the Starbucks place. The location has a panoramic view of one of Corfu’s most famous landmarks, Vlacherna and Pontikonisi or “Mouse Island”. Pontikonisi is said to be Odysseus’ ship turned to stone. It is often identified with Corfu in Homer‘s Odyssey. When I got to the spot, a ray of sunshine just penetrated the thick cloud and projected the light on these two tiny islands. It lasted for 5 minutes and the sky took on a leaden cast again. I’d call it the “stolen sunshine”.

Vlacherna and Pontikonisi, Corfu
Vlacherna and Pontikonisi, Corfu
Vlacherna, Corfu
Vlacherna, Corfu
Pontikonisi or
Pontikonisi or

At least it’s not raining. We went to see Corfu Old Town after breakfast. The signature of the town is its maze-like narrow streets and elegant buildings with blended style influenced by different European countries. It’s fun to drive on these streets. It vividly reminded me of Matt Damon’s car chasing scene in movie “The Bourne Identity”. Many small shops and restaurants are gathered in the allays around Agios Spyridon, a red-domed tower dominating the Corfu Town. In the summer, the alleys can be packed with tourists. But at this time of the season, there were more local people than visitors.

Corfu Old Town
Corfu Old Town
Corfu Old Town
Corfu Old Town
Corfu Old Town
Corfu Old Town
Corfu Old Town
Corfu Old Town
Corfu Old Town
Corfu Old Town
Corfu Old Town
Corfu Old Town

We had a snack at The Liston. It is a line of Cafes in Esplanade. My wife had a nice-looking Fried Banana dessert and I had a Greek Coffee. We picked a table along the street, so we could enjoy our meal while watching people and pigeons in the park.

The Liston, Corfu
The Liston, Corfu
Fried Banana in a cafe in The Liston, Corfu
Fried Banana in a cafe in The Liston, Corfu

Corfu is famous for its beautiful coast line and beach resorts. It is a popular destination for family vacation. We planned to circle around the northern island in the afternoon, but the featureless sky made everything looked pale, so we decided to cut our tour short to go to Ermones, right across the narrow waist of the island. We didn’t find any interesting scene in it neighboring village, Vatos, but Ermones is quite picturesque. The road led to a seclude beach and the small car showed its advantage here. The sun played hide-and-seek game with us. I made some shoots with bracket in order to try HDR later.

Ermones, Corfu
Ermones, Corfu
Ermones, Corfu
Ermones, Corfu

When we were having dinner at hotel, we noticed that not only we were the only Asians, but we were the only young couples there – all other people were seniors. It doesn’t mean they were less energetic. There was a band performing old time songs in the hotel’s bar. These people in their 60s or 70s were dancing, talking and laughing loudly till the midnight. We switched room one floor up so we wouldn’t here noise from the dinner hall, but we heard the party more clearly. They were enjoying their lives to the fullest.

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Greece – From Luxor to Corfu

2010.10.11We were going to take three flights continuously today to move ourselves from Luxor in Egypt to Corfu Island in Greece.

The first flight from Luxor to Cairo was easy. But as we were waiting for the connection flight at Cairo Airport, the plane was not ready until the scheduled take-off time had passed. We experienced similar delay when we flew from Frankfurt to Cairo, maybe it is a norm for Egyptian airline. The connection time to the third flight was only 50 minutes. As we arrived in Athens, there was only 15 minutes left. Right after we stepped out the plane, we found a booth so we could check-in the next flight and inform the gate to wait for us; we cut the line at the immigration check so it took us less than two minutes to officially enter Greece; then we started running. We would come to Athens International Airport another three times in our trip, and this was not the last time we had to run. While running almost out our breath, we could notice that we were in a much more modern country now. Two minutes before taking off, we arrived at the gate and an airport shuttle took only two of us to the plane. With a serials of right decisions and luck, we made it!

Corfu, officially named Kerkyra, is one island of Ionian islands. When the plane landed at Corfu airport, it’s the last weather condition we wanted to see – it’s raining. While the tourist season just began in Egypt, it was the end in Greece. Both the officer in Greece Consulate and the review site had told us, it’s a good time to avoid the crowd, but we had to bear the risk of raining, especially in Northern Greece, where Ionian islands are located.

We rented a Fiat Panda at the airport. It is a manual car and it is small, ideal for cruising in narrow alleys in European cities. Our hotel, Aquis Corfu Holiday Palace, is located at Kanoni, only 5 miles south to the Airport and Corfu Town. The street was winding up slowly to a hill. Small hotels, country houses and some ancient ruins could be seen at the road side. As we were slided through the dribbling rain, the mood was quite sentimental. When we almost reached the top of the hill and seemed nowhere to go, we saw a Starbucks where the road made a sudden turn. It’s indeed a warm welcome. We were told the hotel was just behind the StarBucks store and we could walk to it.

We got a room at the base floor after checking into the hotel. The room was big but a little humid, it had a back door opened to the garden. The good feature was that it had a family room next to the back door. Sitting on the couch, we could hear the rain knocking on the leaves; opening the door, all the greens filled our horizon. One downside was that the room was right beneath the dinning hall. We heard people dragging their chairs all the time till the late night.

Talking about dinning, we were surprised that not only breakfast but also dinner were covered by the room price. When we tried to confirm with the front desk, the lady was even more surprised than us. “Of course!”, she answered. Both breakfast and dinner were not those cheap, so called “continental buffet”. They were wonderful buffets with a lot of choices of local dishes. After dinner, we even played several sets of Ping Pong game. It’s a place to relax, perfect for us!

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Egypt – Luxor

2010.10.10We spent our last day in Egypt at Luxor. The current location of Luxor was city of Thebes in ancient Egypt. Pharaohs built temples and palaces at the East Bank of the Nile River, while dug their tombs deep in the valley of the West Bank, hoping that their priceless possessions buried with them would not be found by robbers. They badly underestimated the robbers’ skills and determination. Only a handful tombs remained intact today. One of them is Tutankhamun‘s tomb. When it was discoverd in 1922, the glorious treasures inside the tomb astounded the world.

More than sixty pharaohs’ tombs have been found in the hills of West Bank. It is called Valley of the Kings. It was the first stop of our West Bank trip in the morning. The camera was strictly forbidden, so no picture was taken inside the valley. The ticket is valid for 3 tombs, and some of the tombs require separate tickets. Our guide book marks the tombs that are worth visiting, but it is easy when you are on site. You just need to follow the longest lines. Those are the must-see for the first-time visitors. What we went to are, Romb of Ramses IV (No.2), Tomb of Horemheb (No.57) and Tomb of Ramses III (No.11). Most these tombs share similar structure, a long declining corridor leading to the burial chamber. Although the precious were all taken, some of the paintings were burned or damaged, what remain are still stunningly beautiful. Because the sunshine cannot reach the corridor wall, colors are vividly preserved. Only several colors were used in Egyptian reliefs, yellow, red, green and blue. They are the same colors used on reliefs in temples, but they disappeared overtime exposing under the sun. These dramatic structures made me wonder, if they could make my jaw drop three thousand years later, what a grand view would be when they were originally constructed. The only thing that prevented us from exploring more was the heat. It was unbearable if you were not standing in the shade. Inside the tomb was especially stifling.

We then went to Hatshepsut Temple. Hatshepsut was a female pharaoh. It’s uncommon but not unprecedented. She is considered as one of the most successful pharaohs because she brought peace and prosperity to Egypt under her reign. The wealth enabled her to construct breath-taking buildings, such as the Hypostyle Hall in Karnak and Hatshepsut Temple. What is interesting is that although here statue is presented as a male with a beard, the face is having a soft contour of a female.

Hatshepsut Temple
Hatshepsut Temple
Hatshepsut Temple
Hatshepsut Temple
Hatshepsut Temple
Hatshepsut Temple
Hatshepsut Temple
Hatshepsut Temple
Hatshepsut Temple
Hatshepsut Temple

If we had more days in Luxor, I’d like to come to West Bank every morning, ramble around the rubbles and ruins. But my passion could not withstand the burning sun. October marks the beginning of tourist season in Egypt. In December, the temperature at noon could drop to 80F (25C), which is more comfortable. Before leaving West Bank, we quickly stopped at Colossi of Memnon. These two colossi are faceless now damaged by the annual flood of the Nile over thousands of years, but because of their sheer size, it is still a very impressive sight and one of the most recognizable landmark of West Bank.

Colossi of Memnon
Colossi of Memnon
Colossi of Memnon
Colossi of Memnon
Corn Field in West Bank
Corn Field in West Bank

We rested at the hotel in the early afternoon. The last attraction we were going to visit is Luxor Temple, which is in walking distance from the hotel. We had a small meal at McDonald’s across the street of the temple. From its third floor, we had a good view of Luxor temple and the city center. We had several meals at McDonald’s in different cities in Egypt. I have to say they are the best McDonald’s I have ever been to. What you get is not something that has been pre-cooked long time ago like in the American stores. Fry’s, Fish Hamburger and Chicken Nuggets were always fresh, tender and hot, just made for you.

Luxor Temple Panorama
Luxor Temple Panorama
McDonald\'s Overlooking Luxor Temple
McDonald\'s Overlooking Luxor Temple

We entered Luxor Temple at around 4pm. Luxor Temple is connected to Karnak through an avenue of sphinxes. A gigantic pylon as its entrance features a huge obelisk and two seated colossi of Ramses. In side the temple, besides the high-rising columns, statues and squares, you can also find a mosque and Egyptian reliefs covered by Christian paintings, indicating the temple has been used for other religious purposes in its three-thousand-year of history.

Avenue of Sphinxes, Luxor Temple
Avenue of Sphinxes, Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple
Abu al-Haggag Mosque, Luxor Temple
Abu al-Haggag Mosque, Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple
Sunset over the Nile
Sunset over the Nile

We had one of the best buffet dinners at the hotel. There were many local dishes and vegetables, onion, olives, tomatoes, beans, stuffed vine leaves and cheese, simple but elegant.

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Egypt – Abu Simbel

2010.10.9The only reason we came to Aswan was to visit Abu Simbel. We almost excluded it from our itinerary because not only it would take one precious day from the trip but also cost us $400 more just to see it. Eventually, we arranged our plan to accommodate this visit. How could we come so far to Egypt without seeing the place that often make to the list of “things to do before you die”?

Only 30 miles from Egypt-Sudan border, Abu Simbel is located below the Tropic of Cancer. In October, the temperature can easily reach 110F (40C) at noon. To avoid the bloody heat, referred by our guide, it’s better to get there before 8am and leave by 10am. While most tourists visit Abu Simbel by bus, which is a 3-hour drive from Aswan, so they have to get up at 3am; we took flight so we could get up at 5am and I still had time to take several snaps from the balcony – the color was lovely.

Aswan in the Morning
Aswan in the Morning
Aswan in the Morning
Aswan in the Morning

The flight only took less than a hour. When the plane was approaching Abu Simbel Airport, we could see the temple up in the air. It looked like toy bricks from the air – small, elegant and sitting by itself overlooking Lake Nasser. The airport has shuttles to take visitors to the temple. Enter the main gate, skipping all the exhibits, we anxiously made a turn around the mountain, the great Abu Simbel Temple is right in front of us.

The temple was originally built by Ramses II in 13th century BC. Ramses II is one of the most achieved Pharaoh in ancient Egyptian history. Externally, he created a formidable force, won many battles against enemies of Egypt and secured Egypt’s border; internally, he ruled the country more than 60 years and lived to his 90’s, built countless temples, monuments and cities. Abu Simbel temple complex contains two temples, the Great Temple, dedicated to Gods and Ramses II himself, and a smaller temple dedicated to Goddess Hathor and Ramses II’s wife.

The Great Temple in Abu Simbel
The Great Temple in Abu Simbel
Temple of Hathor in Abu Simbel
Temple of Hathor in Abu Simbel

Both temples were buried under the sand and were rediscovered in 19th century. What is more dramatic is its relocation project conducted in 1960s. As the rising Lake Nasser threated the temple, an international team literally carved the temples out of the mountain and moved them piece by piece 65 meters higher and 200 meters back to their current location. The orientation of the temples were also restored exactly. When the Great Temple was built, two days every year, October 21 and February 21, the rays of Sun could penetrate through the long hall and illuminated statues at the back wall. Because Earth’s orientation drifted in the past 3000 years, now these two events happen on October 22 and February 20.

We saw the Temple of Hathor first and the Great Temple next. The statues that sitting in front of the Great Temple are Ramses II himself. The head of the second statue fell down in an earthquake in 27 BC. Inside, the reliefs depict the battle scenes and victories of the military campaigns. The colossi bear the Upper Egypt crown or double crown of both Upper and Lower Egypt in the hall way.

The Great Temple in Abu Simbel
The Great Temple in Abu Simbel
Reliefs in storage room inside the Great Temple
Reliefs in storage room inside the Great Temple
Hypostyle Hall in the Great Temple
Hypostyle Hall in the Great Temple
Reliefs about Ramesses\' military campaign in the Great Temple
Reliefs about Ramesses\' military campaign in the Great Temple

We left the temple at 10am. Airport shuttle brought us back to the airport. After another 1 hour, we were back in Aswan. It’s exactly noon. We stopped at High Dam but gave up 2 minutes later surrendering to the scorching sun. We were supposed to take the felucca to see Temple of Philae on island of Agilika, and we should have visited Aswan’s famous market, Souq, but we skipped all that and directly headed back to Luxor. In Egyptian’s word, the Nile smells differently in Aswan, unfortunately we didn’t spend anytime there. We originally thought about taking train back to Luxor, but we learnt that the train could delay a couple of hours sometimes. We took our guide’s advice and went back Luxor with their car.

Fulucca on the Nile River in Aswan
Fulucca on the Nile River in Aswan

Back in Luxor, I had a walk within the hotel in the afternoon. Winter Palace Hotel has two buildings, the one we lived was built later and with a lower rank; the old building, built in 1886, along the Nile bank is one of most prestigious hotels in Egypt. The 1886 Restaurant requires ties and suits to get in and other tea rooms also indicate “no casual dress” on the door. Both buildings share the garden and the swimming pool. Every Thursday night, the hotel holds the buffet dinner by the pool and presents traditional Egyptian dance as well.

Garden of the Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor
Garden of the Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor
Garden of the Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor
Garden of the Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor
Garden of the Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor
Garden of the Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor
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Egypt – From Luxor to Aswan

2010.10.8The hotel we booked at Luxor is Winter Palace Hotel. The rate is very reasonable so we reserved 4 nights, including one that we were going to Aswan. We didn’t know the Hotel is a heritage site when we booked it, but it is hard to miss once you step in. We were shocked by the lavish garden – After the chaotic in Cairo and wildness in White Desert, this was like paradise to us.

When we woke up the next morning, we could see some hot air balloons from the balcony. Taking the balloon to see Luxor, Nile River and the West Bank from above is a popular activity.

Hot Air Balloons over Luxor
Hot Air Balloons over Luxor

Some visitors spend 7 days in Luxor but we really had only one and a half days. We were going to the most famous temple first in the morning – Karnak Temple. Karnak is the largest ancient religious site in the world. In Egyptian myth, it is the dwelling place of god Amon-Re, his wife Mut and their son Khonsu, the moon god. In pop culture, it appears in several movies, such as Death on the Nile, The Mummy Returns and the Transformer 2. Different from most other Egyptian temples, Karnak was developed and used over the period of thousand years by more than thirty pharaohs. Although most of the temples are ruined, roof are fallen, obelisks are broken and statues are demolished, its massive size and complexity still remind the visitors of the grandeur of its past.

Karnak Temple, Osirian Statues
Karnak Temple, Osirian Statues
Karnak Temple
Karnak Temple
Karnak Temple
Karnak Temple
Karnak Temple
Karnak Temple

The most impressive one is the Hypostyle Hall that features 134 columns in 16 rows, where the middle two rows reaches 24m (80 feet) in height.

Karnak Temple, Hypostyle Hall
Karnak Temple, Hypostyle Hall
Karnak Temple, Hypostyle Hall
Karnak Temple, Hypostyle Hall
Karnak Temple
Karnak Temple

Another interesting site is the granite Scarab statue, it is worshiped by ancient Egyptian as a symbol of sun god Ra.

Karnak Temple, Granite Scarab Statue
Karnak Temple, Granite Scarab Statue

Our plan for the afternoon was to go to Aswan and stay there for the night. From Luxor to Aswan takes 3-hour drive. We didn’t book the tour through large agency, but followed the recommendation from posts on TripAdvisor and arranged the tour with a local private agent. After lunch, we met our driver and guide and set off to Aswan on a minivan.

Luxor is a small city, while the city center along the Nile River is busy, the road out of Luxor is lovely. Flowers are planted on the roadside. Soon, flowers are replaced by corn and sugar cane field. They are the major crops in Upper Egypt. (It is cotton for Lower Egypt). Our whole trip was along the Nile River. It is wide and smooth, just like Luxor, in fact I should say the city is like the river. You can easily realize how crucial that Nile is to Egyptians – all the crop fields are within the narrow band along the river. We passed villages from time to time and we saw people riding donkeys on the road.

Our first stop is Edfu. It is located almost exactly half way between Luxor and Aswan. Temple of Horus at Edfu is dedicated to god Horus, which is one of the most important gods in ancient Egyptian religion. The temple was buried under the sand for two thousand years until 19th century. Because of that, the temple is very well preserved. Looking at its main gateway (Pylon), it is the impression that we had about Egypt from movies. Horus, who is symbolized as a falcon, is to be believed to unite the Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt kingdoms. Many carved reliefs reflect this concept.

Temple of Horus
Temple of Horus
Temple of Horus
Temple of Horus
Temple of Horus
Temple of Horus
Temple of Horus
Temple of Horus
Temple of Horus
Temple of Horus
Temple of Horus
Temple of Horus

After another hour of driving, we arrived in Temple of Kom Ombo. It is surrounded by fields of sugar cane and has a beautiful setting overlooking the Nile. The temple is dedicated to two gods, one is falcon god Harioeris, Horus the Elder; the other is crocodile god, Sobek. To me the most beautiful feature is the columns carved with the lotus of Upper Egypt and the papyrus of the Lower Egypt. Under the late afternoon sun, their light and shadow created a fascinating contrast.

Temple of Kom Ombo
Temple of Kom Ombo
Temple of Kom Ombo
Temple of Kom Ombo
Temple of Kom Ombo
Temple of Kom Ombo
Temple of Kom Ombo
Temple of Kom Ombo
Temple of Kom Ombo
Temple of Kom Ombo
Temple of Kom Ombo
Temple of Kom Ombo
Temple of Kom Ombo
Temple of Kom Ombo
Temple of Kom Ombo
Temple of Kom Ombo

Several Nile cruise ships were parked just outside the temple. The cruise trip was romanticized by countless films and novels, but we didn’t have time to do it.

Temple of Kom Ombo
Temple of Kom Ombo

By the night, we arrived in Aswan. We stayed in Philae Hotel. It is family-run and looked shabby from outside, but it was along the river and we had a room with the Nile view. The room was decorated in Egyptian styles.

The Room Door of Philae Hotel
The Room Door of Philae Hotel
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