Egypt on Uniworld, October 2015

My husband David has his own thread, but I'll do my own. We probably will make various replies in each other's threads, but our perspectives will be somewhat different.

We left Canada on the 12th, and had a few days in Paris (wonderful) before flying on to Cairo and starting the Uniworld tour in Cairo on October 17th.

We were met at the airport by a Uniworld rep, even before we went through security or customs. We did "visa on arrival" and it was a cinch--walked up to a little bank counter, handed them $50US for two visa, no fuss, no muss.

The Four Seasons Nile Plaza was lovely, as expected. Great huge rooms, good service, good facilities. Of course, everything there was very expensive, and it was very tough to get out. So, we didn't, sadly.

Cairo itself seemed hot and dusty and inaccessible. We arrived at the hotel at dinner time, so didn't venture out, nor did we the second day, since we had a day of touring. If this sounds timid, it wasn't really. Walking in Cairo is treacherous at best (traffic), and the whole city seems to be in a state of permanent traffic gridlock, so even taking a cab would be fraught.

Having moved around Cairo now in buses and cabs, I would try to venture out next time--we drove through the Khan el-Khalili and it looked amazing. It would have been nice to have been taken there, perhaps with a guide, since it looked like a huge area, easy to get lost.

Excursions during that first full day in Cairo was a trip to the Egyptian Museum, Citadel of Salah al-Din and the Alabaster Mosque. The museum (which is being replaced by a huge, brand new one in Giza in 2018 or some such date), is musty and old, like an old-fashioned Victorian museum in England, full of stuff, but amazing stuff I must say. In some cases there are items that were damaged or stolen in the unruly phase after the 2011 revolution--some have been returned. It was a great introduction to the many splendours we were going to see in the south (aka, Upper Egypt!)

We had an extremely early flight to Luxor, so we had a 4 a.m. wake-up call. The flight went well and we were picked up in Luxor where we were transported immediately to the Temple of Karnak. This worked out well since we were there before it got too wretchedly hot. Karnak is amazing, and we had our first experience of being gobsmacked by the "splendours of Egypt". You can see pictures of these sights, but it's not the same as being there.

More next time...

My husband David has his own thread, but I'll do my own. We probably will make various replies in each other's threads, but our perspectives will be somewhat different.

 

We left Canada on the 12th, and had a few days in Paris (wonderful) before flying on to Cairo and starting the Uniworld tour in Cairo on October 17th.

 

We were met at the airport by a Uniworld rep, even before we went through security or customs. We did "visa on arrival" and it was a cinch--walked up to a little bank counter, handed them $50US for two visa, no fuss, no muss.

 

The Four Seasons Nile Plaza was lovely, as expected. Great huge rooms, good service, good facilities. Of course, everything there was very expensive, and it was very tough to get out. So, we didn't, sadly.

 

Cairo itself seemed hot and dusty and inaccessible. We arrived at the hotel at dinner time, so didn't venture out, nor did we the second day, since we had a day of touring. If this sounds timid, it wasn't really. Walking in Cairo is treacherous at best (traffic), and the whole city seems to be in a state of permanent traffic gridlock, so even taking a cab would be fraught.

 

Having moved around Cairo now in buses and cabs, I would try to venture out next time--we drove through the Khan el-Khalili and it looked amazing. It would have been nice to have been taken there, perhaps with a guide, since it looked like a huge area, easy to get lost.

 

Excursions during that first full day in Cairo was a trip to the Egyptian Museum, Citadel of Salah al-Din and the Alabaster Mosque. The museum (which is being replaced by a huge, brand new one in Giza in 2018 or some such date), is musty and old, like an old-fashioned Victorian museum in England, full of stuff, but amazing stuff I must say. In some cases there are items that were damaged or stolen in the unruly phase after the 2011 revolution--some have been returned. It was a great introduction to the many splendours we were going to see in the south (aka, Upper Egypt!)

 

We had an extremely early flight to Luxor, so we had a 4 a.m. wake-up call. The flight went well and we were picked up in Luxor where we were transported immediately to the Temple of Karnak. This worked out well since we were there before it got too wretchedly hot. Karnak is amazing, and we had our first experience of being gobsmacked by the "splendours of Egypt". You can see pictures of these sights, but it's not the same as being there.

 

More next time...

Wendy, you've brought back some wonderful memories! It sounds like things haven't changed all that much since I was there. The traffic was horrendous. Our hotel was across the street from the embarcadero and we asked the concierge if it was safe to walk there....he said, "Madam, you are safe walking anywhere in Cairo....the only time you will not be safe is if you try to cross the street!" The Visas have doubled in price....we didn't have to go to anyone, our TM took the $25 pp and our passports and while we waited for our luggage, he got everyone's visa! We couldn't go to the Khan el Khalili because there was a bomb scare, but we did do everything else you mentioned. Did you get to the Hanging Church? That was stunning. It also sounds like Egyptair hasn't changed their flight schedules either....we had a 4:30 a.m. flight to Aswan followed by a 3 hour bus ride to Abu Simbel. We also had an armed guard accompany us everywhere....and on the boat (we did two, Lake Nasser and the Nile) there was one at the bow and one at the stern 24 hours! You're so right, no picture can ever take the place of seeing the pyramids at dawn!

... The Visas have doubled in price....we didn't have to go to anyone, our TM took the $25 pp and our passports and while we waited for our luggage, he got everyone's visa! ... It also sounds like Egyptair hasn't changed their flight schedules either....we had a 4:30 a.m. flight to Aswan followed by a 3 hour bus ride to Abu Simbel. ...

No, the visas are still $25 pp, sorry if I didn't make that clear. Many of the domestic air flights happen early in the morning apparently, to avoid the heat they say.

We flew to Abu Simbel, no 3 hour bus ride, thank god. Apparently normally there are dozens of flights to Abu Simbel; that day there was but one, a sign of the tourist downturn. It meant we were there in mid-day, and it was 40C that day, about 100F.

So, as I said, Karnak was amazing, and our first real taste of the sites to come. After that, we were bussed to the ship and greeted warmly by the staff.

BTW, I didn't say I guess, but our group size was 12. Ship capacity is 80. Five people joined separately later, but we hardly spoke to them. They had a separate guide and schedule.

So, we were ushered into the large main floor lounge where they had a light snack set up, and did some paperwork. We briefly met the folks from the previous week, including Bill and Jeannie, that was nice. Then we obtained our keys and were escorted to our rooms, where our bags awaited us.

There are no elevators on this ship. Not on any of the ships in the Nile I imagine, since they seem to have very similar configurations. This was a minor downside for us, but not a major one.

We were on deck 2 forward. This meant two decks up to the sundeck, and two decks down to the dining room and shop. Cabins are very spacious. As David said, about the size of a penthouse on Regent, specifically Voyager. No balconies, but french-style, but these were hardly ever opened due to the heat and the presence of flies. Huge bathroom, large tub, bidet and separate shower (kind of tight as usual, with a rain shower head plus a hand-held one.) The bedding was superb, and large--we felt like we were sleeping in a football field.

Only complaint about the room was that the closet space was a little tight. Since we were travelling light, and wearing very casual clothing during the day, that was fine, we managed, and there was plenty of drawer space. I can't emphasize enough that touring clothing be lightweight--I wore t-shirts and capris, sometimes a loose longsleeved shirt on top for the sun. I had a good sturdy pair of New Balance shoes that I wore always onshore, no sandals, although one couple wore sandals the entire time. We saw some Russian tourists mincing around Dendara wearing wedge sandals and flip flops, but I wouldn't recommend that. This was a two shower-a-day trip, believe me, and we also used the laundry service, which was efficient and reasonable.

Okay, so we're in our room, and have explored the ship. We're ready for our first dinner. I can't remember what we had every day, but the food was very, very nice in general. Dinner is chosen from a menu, usually with two choices of appetizer, a soup, and three main courses, two desserts. There are also some standards available if nothing suits.

The boat stays in Luxor for several days, and you tour from there. We were up for an early breakfast (buffet-style, with eggs to order), and off by bus to Dendara. This was our longest bus ride, and it was great to see the village life of Egypt out of the windows. Truly fascinating. Dendara's Temple of Hathor is Ptolemaic, one of four we saw. That means it dates from the era of Cleopatra, not pharoanic, i.e., only 2000 years old, not 3500 or 4500.

You get some time to ponder the differences between New Kingdom, Old Kingdom, etc., first in the museum in Cairo, then during the excellent, entertaining commentary of Tarek Mostafa our guide. His knowledge of Egyptology was vast, he was funny as well, and had a flair for the dramatic.

Hathor is the goddess of love and beauty, wife of Horus. Fun getting a grip on all these gods and goddesses and their stories.

Another really fascinating bus ride back to Luxor, and onto the ship for relaxation, swimming, sleeping. Another great dinner and then off at sunset to the Temple of Luxor. As the sun went down, the lights came on, and we had the temple pretty much to ourselves. This, and Karnak are New Kingdom temples, and this one is spectacular, especially with the lighting, and a sliver of a moon overhead. Magic. They are joined, the two temples, by a long avenue lined with hawk-headed sphinxes, several miles long I believe. Much of this avenue is preserved within Luxor City.

More later, next up, Valley of the Kings!

A word about tipping, currency and shopping in Egypt.

Uniworld is not all-inclusive in Egypt. I can kind of see why, since tipping is ubiquitous in this country, as David said. Money changes hands constantly.

It would have been nice to have Uniworld pre-pay at least the tour guide, ship's staff, drivers and airport reps. It was hard keeping track of what we owed each (Tarek helped with that), and tough carrying a mound of cash (although most of it stayed in the safe until we needed it.)

USD are recommended by Uniworld, but in fact Euros would be fine too, Egyptian currency can be used up at the end as well this way, and Canadian dollars worked fine in the gift shop on the boat, and was accepted by various vendors as well. If we'd known this, we would not have bothered purchasing all that US currency (we're Canadian.)

On top of the above there was money for bathroom breaks at various places, doormen, staff at the hotel. Getting Egyptian coins was next to impossible. We were lucky if we could get a 5 pound note--then two of us could use the facilities together, lol! Those US dollar bills were really useful.

As for shopping, there seems to be, at least in the south, a fairly standard set of merchandise for sale at any of the antiquities sites. With not a huge variation in quality, but lots of variation in price. Much haggling is necessary. Vendors, since the economy is so bad, can get very persistent. We learned to say "no thank you" in Arabic very fast. You also learn to not look at anything, touch anything, tell them your name. Some places were worse than others. In most places the sellers were actually nice people, and would laugh along with you about their plight. This just made it harder not to keep buying stuff from them.

There were several opportunities presented to us during the tours that included high-quality merchandise with no pressure. One was a papyrus store, very nice quality. They showed us how papyrus is made, how to tell fakes, and they had signed art from all over Egypt. We ended up buying two pieces, getting a third thrown in in lieu of discount--we will enjoy them I 'm sure. Most of our group bought something there and the art was really stunning. Another time we went to a perfume factory, one specializing in essential oils. Again, many people bought gifts there, including lovely little perfume bottles.

On the last day, in Saqqara near Cairo, we went to a "Carpet School". This is a place where silk, wool and wool/cotton carpets are made by hand. The silk carpets particularly are made by boys who are 8-12 years old. If they have thin enough fingers when they grow up, they continue, if they are good at it, but their fingers get too big, they become teachers. They apparently go to school, they didn't appear mistreated. The carpets for sale were beautiful, but very expensive. I saw a silk I liked that was about 3 feet long perhaps, small. It was $1000 US. So none of us bought a carpet!

The merchandise in Aswan included lots of alabaster carvings, but in general, the merchandise was scarves, galabeyas (light robes), statuettes of gods, scarabs, pyramids, decorative camels, oh I'm forgetting lots of stuff, like fridge magnets. Mostly decently-made in the south. At Giza most of the merchandise looked cheaply-made. On the ship they sold beautiful gold jewellery, including customizable cartouches. A Nubian market in the south included wood carvings that were nice.

Sorry, I made a mistake. The sphinxes in Luxor, along the great avenue are goat-headed.

So, we had another early morning in Luxor. Tarek, our wonderful Egyptologist guide, wanted to get us out there as early as possible, since it was hot.

We saw the 3500 hundred year-ol Colossi of Memnon, which are huge statues in not great shape, out on the plain. Then we went to the tomb of Hatshepsut, the female pharoah, who portrayed herself in most art as a man. She is an intriguing historical figure, and her temple quite large. Her image was systematically removed by her successor, but the art is still impressive. It's amazing how the art on these walls still retains some color after so millennia.

Then, on to the Valley of the Kings. Those who have been there know that the tombs are scattered along a wadi-like valley, and are still being discovered gradually, since they were all originally hidden. On any given day, a selection of tombs are open. At the moment, Tut's tomb is closed, alas, since they are now on the search for Nefertiti's tomb. But having seen all of Tut's treasures in Cairo at the museum, we didn't feel too left out. We visited several of the Rameses tombs (IV, IX and...oh oh, I forget!) All amazing. Again, there is plenty of colour on the walls, and in most cases the preservation of the art is stellar, thanks to the dry climate I guess.

Coming out, there is the usual gamut of people selling wares. One of our group was an inveterate haggler--he was always stopping and engaging with the sellers, and he ended up buying lots of stuff during the week, and seemed to get great enjoyment out of it--I'm sure he made the day for many vendors.

No visit to the Valley of the Queens, apparently according to Tarek, the tomb of Nefertari, which is by far the most impressive, has been closed for some time. She comes up time after time, rightly so, since she was the favorite wife of Rameses II, his Nubian honey.

Coming back to the ship for lunch was, as usual, a relief of sorts. The boat was set to move south, and the sail down to Kom Ombu was a delight. We were all relaxing by the pool and sitting under the nice canopies or covered area on the pool deck (yes, there was lots of shade), when we came to the major lock that we were passing through. This was a treat. Old hat for you Rhine river folks, but for us it was great, and watching the way the Egyptian workers did it was fun. And, ..., as Tarek had warned us, there were vendors along the edges of the lock, trying to sell us stuff, from two storeys down! This was great fun. And Danny, the fellow who liked to haggle, bought a galabeya that he later gave to my husband David. They did it by throwing stuff up and down (they did this by boat at times as well).

The night before, I had participated in a galabeya-choosing jamboree at the little shop outside the dining room. The store is independent, and his merchandise changed as the week progressed, and that night he had a whole selection of the lovely, comfy, soft galabeyas out, since we were headed for the galabeya party the next night. No pressure to buy, or wear one, but the gowns were priced very reasonably, I think I paid $15 for mine, and I love it and will wear it as a cover-up for swimming.

But David wasn't having any of this, no costumes for him!!! But in comes Danny and Ron (another pax from Canada) with the galabeya for David, and then along comes Sam, the cruise manager with one of those beautiful, soft cotton head scarves, and next thing you know, David is dressed as a pasha.

The galabeya party was a great success, I think about half of us were dressed up, and all of the staff were, and participated in the hijinx--dancing mostly. The Egyptian men seem to love to dance, and a hint of music just gets their whole bodies going. This party loosened everybody up and there was much laughing and hilarity. I didn't get a decent picture, although we have a whole packet that the photographer took (and sold to us at a reasonable price.)

And so to bed, getting ready for Kom Ombu and our first of several forays out onto the river on a small boat.

Keep it coming.......:)

The next morning we were off early again to Kom Ombu, another Ptolemaic temple, this one dedicated to the gods Horus and Sobek, the latter being a crococile god (yes). It was again, beautiful, with great wall carvings. And a huge well-like pit where apparently they kept real crocociles for people to worship (I hope no one got thrown in!)

We then went back to the ship which took off upriver towards Aswan. It was again a very pleasant relaxing time up on deck, dips in the pool, naps, etc.

In late afternoon we boarded a small boat with a Nubian guide, a man who specialized in wildlife, apparently. He was quite knowledgeable and pointed out birds to us as with puttered down the river through a wildlife preserve. I was very happy to see that overall, there are lots of shore birds along the Nile. Egrets, ibises, geese, ducks, several types of herons, plus the ubiquitous black-hooded crows. The grassland of the shore was framed by the vast sand dunes of the dessert, just behind. Beautiful. A very pleasant float.

He then took us ashore to a Nubian village. This was not at all what you might expect. The Nubians have been in Egypt for centuries, but are still culturally and ethnically distinct. They have their own language and culture. The village was probably fairly similar to an Egyptian one. Narrow paths among houses usually three storeys high, with open roofs. It had rained the day before, which was astonishing to most, but that is so rare that they don't worry about their roofs very much. The village was modern in some ways, TV's and internet satellites, but was obviously fairly poor. We were invited into one house, and they were proud of their fridges, stoves and freezers, but the living spaces were, uh, modest, shall we say. The guide stressed that the education levels here were high, and that many folks came back to their villages to retire and live the peaceful life after working in the cities. And as all over Egypt, everything was dusty and dry.

We floated back to another stop along the river, where up some stairs lay a little tourist spot, with camels and crocociles. I got to hold a small one, and others took pictures of the young camels. There was a cafe and the usual shop items for sale.

Back to the boat, and shower and change for yet another lovely dinner followed by a performance by a belly dancer (aided by the ship's masseur ho was a very good dancer), and a whirling dervish. Fairly ersatz probably, the latter, but still mesmerizing to watch. Great fun, and with just 17 pax, very intimate.

The next morning we were off early again to Kom Ombu, another Ptolemaic temple, this one dedicated to the gods Horus and Sobek, the latter being a crococile god (yes). It was again, beautiful, with great wall carvings. And a huge well-like pit where apparently they kept real crocociles for people to worship (I hope no one got thrown in!)

 

We then went back to the ship which took off upriver towards Aswan. It was again a very pleasant relaxing time up on deck, dips in the pool, naps, etc.

 

In late afternoon we boarded a small boat with a Nubian guide, a man who specialized in wildlife, apparently. He was quite knowledgeable and pointed out birds to us as with puttered down the river through a wildlife preserve. I was very happy to see that overall, there are lots of shore birds along the Nile. Egrets, ibises, geese, ducks, several types of herons, plus the ubiquitous black-hooded crows. The grassland of the shore was framed by the vast sand dunes of the dessert, just behind. Beautiful. A very pleasant float.

 

He then took us ashore to a Nubian village. This was not at all what you might expect. The Nubians have been in Egypt for centuries, but are still culturally and ethnically distinct. They have their own language and culture. The village was probably fairly similar to an Egyptian one. Narrow paths among houses usually three storeys high, with open roofs. It had rained the day before, which was astonishing to most, but that is so rare that they don't worry about their roofs very much. The village was modern in some ways, TV's and internet satellites, but was obviously fairly poor. We were invited into one house, and they were proud of their fridges, stoves and freezers, but the living spaces were, uh, modest, shall we say. The guide stressed that the education levels here were high, and that many folks came back to their villages to retire and live the peaceful life after working in the cities. And as all over Egypt, everything was dusty and dry.

 

We floated back to another stop along the river, where up some stairs lay a little tourist spot, with camels and crocociles. I got to hold a small one, and others took pictures of the young camels. There was a cafe and the usual shop items for sale.

 

Back to the boat, and shower and change for yet another lovely dinner followed by a performance by a belly dancer (aided by the ship's masseur ho was a very good dancer), and a whirling dervish. Fairly ersatz probably, the latter, but still mesmerizing to watch. Great fun, and with just 17 pax, very intimate.

Wendy, I'm loving your diary....brings back such wonderful memories! I bought my galabaya on board ship as well and I was amazed at how reasonable it was....I think I paid $25 but it was elaborately embroidered. We went to a Nubian village as well, but the children mobbed us (we were told to bring school supplies) and when Maged asked a woman if we could see the inside of her house, she politely informed him of the cost!! He thought it was too much so we didn't go in. Can't wait till next post....BTW, I love that you are the Wanderer and DH is the Wonderer!!! :D

Well, I got it backwards! We did the Nubian village and nature preserve on the river the *next day*, the day we went to the Aswan High Dam.

So, *yesterday*, after the temple in Kom Ombu, and lunch, we did our felucca ride up the river, through the Elephantine Island area (amazing rocky structures that look like elephants), to the Old Cataract Hotel, site of Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile. We had high tea outside on the patio, and then walked through and admired the old hotel. Very elegant, incredible view. I could have wished that tea had been indoors, since it was still very hot. But it was after sunset when we left, so we did get to see the sun going down over the river.

It must have been even more amazing before the High Dam went in, and the name "Cataract" must have meant something. Still a stunningly beautiful area. I don't have my pictures up yet, or I'd show you a view. When I do, I'll try to update this thread, but it will be a while, since we're starting the drive to our winter home in Florida next week, and it will take a while to get settled, as usual.

So, back to *today*, still in Aswan, we visited the High Dam and another temple. Very educational, still a marvel of engineering. Built largely by Russians, still have a few around I expect. Very high security, as you can imagine. Interesting to see the area around it (and interesting to watch the traffic issues on the bridge over the river, which is the *old* Aswan dam.)

After that we came back to the Philae Temple, dedicated to Isis. Again a Ptolemaic temple. Again lots of beautiful carvings. This temple was one that was rescued when the High Dam was built--moved in its entirety, piece by piece. And very worth the effort, thanks UNESCO. There was also a stop at a unfinished obelisk, still lying in the ground, in town. I demurred, being hot and tired, but those who made the climb up to see it were rewarded with a nice market on the way back--wish I had known that, I would have made the effort. But still, I could feel the effects of the heat and the climbing beginning to wear me down by this point.

Back to the ship, and this time (following our trip to the Nubian village), we had a Nubian music and dance show in the lounge. It was okay, interesting, not sure how authentic since I had nothing to compare it to.

Oh, and I must mention a factoid or two about Aswan. It is one of the driest inhabited places in the world. It rains every, oh, five years or more.

Well, it rained while we were there. We didn't witness much of it, since we were chugging down the river at the time, on the ship, but we did experience a freak thunderstorm with high winds and some rain while going through the lock on the way back towards Luxor. Our Nubian guide pointed out that the sand dunes were a different colour because of the rain, and people were often afraid of the rain, presumably because it's so rare. The next morning there were puddles on the street in Luxor.

Estimates varied as to when the last rainfall was. Our documentation says it rained in 2006. Guides said three years, or seven years, take your pick.

Well this is getting very long, so I'll try to make the rest brief.

Did I mention that there was a fitness instructor/masseur onboard? A delightful young man. I made his yoga class one early morning around sunrise, and there was always some class up there early.

The next day was our "big" day to Abu Simbel. This was an add-on extra, one that ten of us took. It was reasonably-priced and we flew.

The good news was that we didn't have to get up early, since our flight wasn't until about 10. The bad news was that this meant we were at the site in the middle of a very, very hot day. But Egyptair has cut way back on its flights, and there was only one flight that day from Aswan.

This is huge temple, the jewel of the whole trip, an absolute must-see. David said that walking around the corner on the path and seeing those huge statues of Rameses II was a peak experience for him, and it was for me too. No photographs allowed inside, so we bought a packet of photos, although there are probably lots on the net. Incredibly beautiful. Preservation is stunning, mainly because the temples were buried in sand for centuries, and forgotten until the nineteenth century. There are actually two temples, the second one to his favourite Nubian wife, Nefertari. We spent about an hour altogether, going in and out of the two temples. Luckily I had brought my little umbrella, and we sheltered under that, since outside there is no shade.

This temple is another one, the major one, that UNESCO moved up the shore so that Lake Nasser would not flood it when the dam was built. It's more or less where it was originally, just higher, facing the lake. Lake Nasser is beautiful, and it would have been lovely to do a boat trip--apparently there are lots of temples along the shore. Different types of boats ply the shores down there, didn't get a good look at them.

After flying back to Aswan, we re-boarded for a late lunch and a leisurely chug back down the river heading towards Edfu. This was the hottest day of all I think, and I was beginning to fade!

Next morning we were off to Edfu bright and early. This temple is dedicated to the god Horus, son of Isis. We learned all kinds of great stories about the gods and their interactions with each other. To me, this was the least-impressive of the Graeco-Roman temples, but perhaps I was just getting "templed out".

I was tired, and almost skipped the Karnak Sound and Light show that night after dinner, back in Luxor. It was really hokey. It was fun walking through the site at night, with spooky lights, but the show itself was really dreadful I thought. Let George Lucas or Steven Spielberg do it, and I'm sure they could do some great ones. If there was one thing to skip, it would be this.

Farewell reception in the lounge before that, necessarily brief, but nice.

I think this was the night we had the great mezzes served at dinner, yummy Egyptian fare!

(I forgot to mention that our trip to Edfu was by horse-drawn caleche. Managed by our guide who imprecated the drivers to treat us well, and chose carriages with decent seats. It was quite an adventure, through a dusty traffic jam and all. I did feel sorry for the horses, as I did in Giza. You have to prepare yourself for this, if you're an animal-lover. They are not starved horribly, but they obviously work hard and are not treated very well, in my opinion.)

So the next morning it was sad farewells, as we headed mid-morning to the airport to fly back to Cairo. The weather had broken somewhat and it was much cooler (and lovely and cool in Cairo.)

The Tosca was, I thought, I lovely boat. Some who were Uniworld veterans thought it was not up to snuff with the European boats, and probably that is so, but it was very nice, and I loved the intimacy. The staff were all gems, and treated us like pashas! And those cabins were so lovely and big, it made up for any shortcomings.

Flying in and out of Cairo is a pain. It's a long slog from the airport to the Garden City area where the hotel is. I wonder if Uniworld wouldn't do better to put us up coming *back* in a hotel down in Giza, since we then proceeded to have two long bus trips back and forth to Giza. The first trip was that night, down to see the Sound and Light show at the Great Pyramid. This is quite dramatic, since we hadn't seen the pyramids yet on this trip (although we did spot them from our balcony at the hotel that afternoon where we were having a delightful late lunch from room service.)

Seeing the Sphinx and the Pyramids all darkened, then waiting and seeing them successively lit up was a real treat. The story line and drama was again very hokey, but the setting was great. We also enjoyed the fact that it was quite cool that night, with a lovely breeze. But as I said, long bus rides both ways, particularly getting to Giza. Giza itself, at least the area right around the pyramids is very tawdry, and for the first time we saw lots of garbage littering the canals. Lots of animals around, even horses just walking loose around town, quite strange.

So, I'll leave the last day to another installment, since it's kind of the "main event" I think.

We've sailed twice with Uniworld in Europe and now I definitely have to put this trip on my bucket list. Thanks for all the detail! I'm loving your report.

Thank you Wendy for your extensive trip report. My wife and I where on the initial Uniworld tour River Tosca cruise in the beginning of October. It was wonderful reliving this adventure through your reporting. Your observations where spot on. We where a group of 20 which provided an interesting diversity of fellow travelers with whom to share experiences and dinner. Mohammed Ragbed was our excellent Egyptologist guide and he did a remarkable insightful and efficient job. Mohammed Ali was the ship bound masseuse who provided both yoga on the sun deck and massage extraordinaire. This experiance remains highly recommended for the adventuresome. Thanks again.:)

Thank you Wendy for your extensive trip report. My wife and I where on the initial Uniworld tour River Tosca cruise in the beginning of October. It was wonderful reliving this adventure through your reporting. Your observations where spot on. We where a group of 20 which provided an interesting diversity of fellow travelers with whom to share experiences and dinner. Mohammed Ragbed was our excellent Egyptologist guide and he did a remarkable insightful and efficient job. Mohammed Ali was the ship bound masseuse who provided both yoga on the sun deck and massage extraordinaire. This experiance remains highly recommended for the adventuresome. Thanks again.:)

Thanks, glad to hear from someone who was on the boat before us! Yes, Mohammed Ali was great, and quite a character! I agree that a group of 20 would be a nice size. Twelve was a wee bit small, but we all coped. I think we all realized we would have to get along and that there was little room for dislikes in such a small group. We did take a shine to one couple in particular, and were quite friendly with several other pax, and perhaps not so friendly with one or two.. But it was all very congenial.

Okay, so our last big day started, the last day of the tour.

We were to do two things, go to Giza to see the Pyramids and the Sphinx, and then go to Saqqara to see the Step Pyramid of Djoser, etc.

We started the day with another long trek out to Giza by bus. We were taken through the usual gamut of hawkers at the gates, and got back on the bus several times to take us to different viewing spots. One spot was high up, overlooking the Pyramids, surrounded by desert. There were camels and horses and horse-drawn caleches galore--they seemed very popular with the Egyptian tourists. The horses, especially the ones meant for riding, were in much better shape here. We were offered camel rides, which we demurred, but several in our group did it and it was great fun. We got close to Cheops itself, and I climbed up to the door, but did not go in--this cost extra, but that wasn't the reason--I'm claustrophic, so outside is just fine. The smallest of the three pyramids was open, also at an extra cost, and some of our group went it.

Twice, women tourists wanted me to be in their selfie shot. Not sure why--one was a Chinese woman, the other an Egptian, part of a family visiting from another part of Egypt. Perhaps they were just glad to see tourists, or perhaps it's because I'm blonde, who knows.

We were lucky with the weather that morning--it was breezy and gloriously cool. Still, as the day progressed the sun got hot, and we went back to seeking little strips of shade wherever we could. Some of us visited the Solar Boat Museum, where they have unearthed a beautiful cedar boat that was buried with Cheops, apparently to transport him to the afterlife. That was unexpected and really amazing. I was reminded of the Viking boat in Oslo.

Then we drove back down and visited the Sphinx, up close and personal. It's quite popular and I can only imagine what it's like when there are hordes of tourists, but it wasn't bad for us of course. All these sights are truly amazing and humbling, and I'm so glad I got to see them, words can't express it.

I had been happy to hear that we were going on to Saqqara, since I didn't think we'd see this area. The Step Pyramid is the oldest one, and is considered kind of a prototype for the pyramids-proper, since it was built as a series of mastaba, piled on top of each other (a mastaba is a low structure, usually a grave I think--think storeys of a house, piled on top of each other, but each storey a little smaller.)

We stood and ooh'd and aah'd at the pyramid for a while, plus at the other ones off in the distance--the red pyramid, the bent pyramid and several others. Just magical. Something about those ancient stones is just fascinating. Then we went to an area that's more recently excavated, that has tombs of town officials and workers. That day the tomb of the daughter of the mayor was open, and we got to walk through it, up close and personal. It was awesome. Again, no pictures allowed, but the pictorial stories told were just so poignant. Again, lots of color left after so long. The tomb was human-sized, not much bigger than a small home would be I guess. A highlight of the day.

So, lots of peak experiences today. Before lunch we had a brief visit to a Carpet School, of which there are plenty around that area. They make silk, wool and wool/cotton blend carpets of very high quality. We saw how they were made, all by hand, and then proceeded to the showroom. Lovely products, but really expensive. No takers that day.

Our guide Tarek realized that we were going to have a long day out, and that Uniworld had not arranged anything for lunch (which they probably should have.) So he felt us out about it, and chose a restaurant for a lunch stop, that we all agreed to pay for. It was a patio setting, in a fairly large complex laid out for families, usually for corporate visits. There was a pool, and pony and camel rides for the kids. I realized that since more Cairenes live in apartments, and there are few public parks (that I saw), this type of place would be very valuable to them. This was near Saqqara, which is considered a nice suburb I believe. Anyways, it was a lovely lunch, with an amazing selection of mezzes (including the absolute best babaganouj that I had ever had and fresh-baked pita), grilled meats, etc. This we did basically before we went back into Cairo to the hotel. It was a huge meal really, and we didn't eat again. And it cost about $10 per person, plus the cost of a couple of beers.

All that was left to go back to the hotel, say our goodbyes, pay our driver and guide, go down and have a couple of cocktails at the bar, then try to get some sleep before our 4:30 a.m. wake up call to go to the airport.

Our flights home were uneventful, albeit moderately uncomfortable when AF substituted a different plane to Toronto, and we lost our seating together, but a nice desk attendant found she could put us in adjoining aisles, which isn't half bad as most can attest. I'll wrap up with some final thoughts in the next day or two.

Love hearing about all these great places again. Sounds like a wonderful trip.

I enjoyed reading both you and your husband's reviews of your trip to Egypt. Thanks for taking the time to post. My husband and I were just saying we are considering this trip for 2017. (We've already booked our travel for 2016.) Your husband suggested we notify Uniworld we are interested as they may not stay in the market with such low volume. I think I'll do that.

I enjoyed reading your review. It brought back many happy memories of our trip. How many passengers total were on your boat?

I enjoyed reading both you and your husband's reviews of your trip to Egypt. Thanks for taking the time to post. My husband and I were just saying we are considering this trip for 2017. (We've already booked our travel for 2016.) Your husband suggested we notify Uniworld we are interested as they may not stay in the market with such low volume. I think I'll do that.

My DH has let Uniworld know we are interested for January 2017, having read marvelous reviews on CC, and received the following reply from the director of guest relations: "We are very pleased with how things are going in Egypt. It is great to finally be back in such an amazing destination. We do have 2017 dates for Egypt open for booking now. We have January through May open. The 2017 Fall dates will open in September 2016."

I enjoyed reading your review. It brought back many happy memories of our trip. How many passengers total were on your boat?

Thank you. There were twelve of us in the Uniworld group. Plus a family of 5 who joined us a couple of days later, and had a separate guide and itinerary. So 17 total. Apparently the next group (boarding today?) is five.

Thank you. There were twelve of us in the Uniworld group. Plus a family of 5 who joined us a couple of days later, and had a separate guide and itinerary. So 17 total. Apparently the next group (boarding today?) is five.

I'm surprised they can operate profitably with so few passengers, but it must be nice to see everything without crowds.

Well it's my opinion that Uniworld is taking a bath right on Egypt, but hoping that by not just outright cancelling, they will encourage other travellers to book. I believe they have more solid bookings come January and February, not sure but I got that sense.

I felt sorry for the chef and dining staff. They had to put together meals for many more people, so that we could have that luxury feeling of choice. The buffets were all quite sumptuous, although I presume the quantities made was quite limited. The guides and managers ate in the dining room as well, but I sure hope that the rest of the staff got to eat all that food that was left. The chef particularly was quite pitiful at times, entreating us to try all of his delicacies--I'm sure we all took too much at the buffets just to please him!

And I feel sorry for the staff who must be handpicked, but nevertheless no doubt get laid off frequently.

I think I mentioned that were rafted six-deep quite often. The really shocking sight in Luxor was all of the river boats, tied together in groups of up to 30, just sitting idle. Very sad. This plane crash can't be helping. We saw Russian tourists at some of the sites and I can't help but wonder if they were the ones who died.