While staying Dahab, me and a friend scheduled a sunrise hike to the summit of Mt. Saini. We left from Dahab at 11PM and started our climb at around 2AM with Egyptians offering us camel rides for a "special price" all the way up the mountain. We reached the summit around 5 AM and the Egyptians switched from offering us camel rides to offering us mattresses and blankets for sleeping and staying warm for the next hour until the sun came up. At around 5:45AM we saw the first bit of light coming over the mountains, and by 6:30 it was sunny and hot again as we started our descent. We reached the bottom around 8AM and after relaxing for a while, taking a short nap and eating breakfast we headed into see the burning bush before heading back to Dahab for some more, much needed sleep.
That's a picture of me trying the re-light the burning bush.

Labels: Travel, World Tour

With hostels beds at around $5.00 and food as cheap as $1.00 for a good filling meal, Dahab is by far one of the cheapest, most relaxing and most beautiful places I have been on my life! I really enjoyed snorkeling and see the incredible beauty and color coral and fish of the Red Sea. The underwater life here is breathtaking, plentiful and being only about twenty feet away from the shore, incredibly easy to get to. Recently tourism has taken it's toll on Dahab and the town is getting more and more commercial, but a good hour walk along the beaches will take you to the locals homes with half to all naked children playing in the clean water and fishing in the plentiful waters. Due to the popularity of Dahab as a tourist destination, many activities such as scuba diving, kite surfing, wind surfing, Mt. Saini hikes and desert camping can be easily arranged by any local hotel or travel agency. If you looking for a taste of Egypt with the incomparable beauty of the Red Sea reefs, I highly recommend Dahab Egypt.

Labels: Travel, World Tour

Home to Luxor temple, Karnak Temple(one of the seven existing wonders of the ancient word), Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens and Hatshepsut's temple among other sites, Luxor is a must see for anyone looking to get a good look at the architecture, artwork, and engineering the ancient Egyptians left behind all in one stop. From the largest temple in the world to the beautifully restored colorful wall of the Pharaoh's tombs, Luxor was full of amazing things to see. I really enjoyed going into some of the tombs in the valley of the kings and seeing the cartouches and paintings of the ancient Egyptian gods and rituals as well as seeing the massive size of Karnak temple and the Muslim masque accidentally built on top of Luxor Temple many years before it was unearthed.Mosque built on top of Luxor Temple. It is a fully functional Mosque to this day.
Illegally covertly taken picture inside the valley of the Kings. Photos were not allowed in the tombs and those caught taking them were threatened with imprisonment!

Labels: Travel, World Tour

This purpose built location is the second and probably the final home for two amazing ancient Egyptian temples. Do to security risks in southern Egypt as well as the increased possibility of heat stroke in the afternoon we had to leave from Aswan at 3:30 in the morning by armored guard escort for the roughly three hour ride to Abu Simbal. Both temple interiors and massive facades had been cut up and moved piece by piece from their original, now water covered locations, to this location in the the south of Egypt near the Sudan border. The impressive exterior sculptures and carving are complimented by detailed and highly carved and even colored interiors of the temples. I really enjoyed seeing both the temples and feel the it was well worth the time, money and effort even though it was a little hard to get up so early in the morning.

Labels: Travel, World Tour

Home to one of the engineering wonders of the world - Aswan Dam - as well and many beautiful ancient temples, Aswan is a good mix of old and new. I visited the dam, the siet(or market) as well as one of the temples that was actually moved stone by stone so that it would not be flooded one the dam was completed.

Labels: Travel, World Tour

Egypt's deserts are as varied and beautiful as it's ancient ruins. I went to see the Red, Black and White Desserts and got to spend the night in the white desert with a friend of mine and a friendly Egyptian guide. Going to the desert from Cairo was sucha nice change of surroundings. The desert is everything Cairo is not - clean, quiet, peaceful and full of natural beauty. If you have the time in Egypt, I highly recommend at least a night out in the desert

Labels: Travel, World Tour