Jordan - Petra

After our relaxation in Dahab, I was ready to tackle the ancient city of Petra in Jordan. I think the most exciting thing about Petra is that it has so much history, is so old, and is so much of a mystery! On our first day we walked through the Canyon entrance, saw the Treasury, the Tombs of the Nobles, and climbed up the Urn Tomb. That night we walked through Petra which was lit up by candles. At the Treasury we sipped tea and listened to Jordanian music and Folktales. During our second day we saw all the sights we had missed, made the long treck up to the Monastery and highest point in Petra, we got incredibly lost and finally made our way to the High Place of Sacrifice. We held the boat up on the way back as our names weren't on the list of passengers. As the 12 security guards were deciding whether to let us leave the country, I dropped my phone in the toilet (yes yes....typical). Overall, a crazy 2 days!

The Canyon Entrance

The Tombs of the Nobles

The Treasury

Walking to the Monastery

View from the top of the Monastery

Getting lost trying to find the High Place of Sacrafice

The bedouin man who helped us find the High Place

We made it!!

Leaving Egypt

Dahab & Mt Sinai

The only thing to say about Dahab is that we were meant to stay there for one night and it ended up being 5 days. We spent most of our time sitting by the beach, snorkelling, and Shaun went scuba diving. We climbed Mt Sinai our first day there after no sleep the night before. Of course we (mainly Shaun) decided to go up the 4000 steps of repentance instead of the Camel Trail. With our bedouin guide 'Nigel' ahead, we made it up the mountain in 1.5hours, just in time to watch the sunset :)




Driving at 160km/hr along the desert road to Mt Sinai



Nigel and I, our hilarious guide :)

The Arch of Moses

Pointing in the direction that we had just come from

Ice covering the steps

Dahab a.k.a Paradise

The stray kitten we let inside the dorm -
bad move, it cried outside the room the entire night and was still there in the morning

The blue hole

Shaun getting ready for his Scuba Diving

Luxor

In Luxor we stayed at the Boomerang Hostel, run by an Australian/Egyptian couple, it felt like home! On our first day we booked ourselves on ALADIN tours for a group tour of the Westbank and Eastbank. Unfortunately, in laidback Egyptian style, we were ditched for the second half of the tour. Moral of the story - don't pick a tour company just because it has the same name as a Disney film! It ended up being a fantastic day though as we met an Egyptian man while watching the sunset on the Nile and sat on his felluca drinking tea and talking about his crazy girlfriends (who were married) in Cairo. After sunset we stayed on the boat  and listened to his business plan which involved Shaun standing on the street and selling tourists a felluca ride, and then us selling used mobile phones (50% commission). The next day we visited the Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple, and explored the markets.

Temple of Queen Hatchepsut next to Vally of the Kings



On the Mona Lisa Felluca




Our new friend/business partner




Luxor University Rowing Team





Making tea for us




Karnak Temple




Luxor Temple




Vally of the Sphinxes - Just being excavated!



Aswan

After having spent a few days in the hussle and bussle of Cairo, we were ready for the peaceful small city of Aswan. The city is located on the glistening Nile with a beautiful view of the surrounding islands. The people in Aswan were noticably more traditional, wearing the full Jilabad and speaking little English. This did make our taxi rides exciting with cab drivers pretending to know what we were saying, negotiating a price, and then having to call a friend or pull someone over to translate. It was definately an experience walking through the markets in Aswan. We were offered spices...."this one will make her into a tiger"....."this one will give you the strength of a lion"...."this one is for your mother-in-law", we were offered trinkets..."this one is unique, handmade" (along with the other 1000 in Egypt) .... "this one is fake for your mother-in-law...this one is real for your mother", we were offered camels (in exchange for my hand in marriage), and ofcourse we were offered business cards. We spent our days in Aswan wandering through the town, having hilarious conversations with the locals, visiting temples and going on felluca rides.

 

 

 

 

Yummy Food






Philae Temple

 



Felluca driver on
way to Philae Temple









Captain Chillax

  

Shaun Sailing with Captain Chillax





Our private felluca





Ruins of Abu





Nubian Village




Botanical Gardens