Wish You Were Here

From the beginning of the New Kingdom, around 1550 BC, Kings of Egypt were no longer buried in the pyramids, as they were obvious targets for robberies. They found another sacred, more remote location outside of Thebes, in what is now called the Valley of the Kings. Even walking through the Valley, one gets a sense of the sacred and eternal. The tombs were dug far into the mountain side and other deterrents were put in place to help protect the tombs from grave robbers, but unfortunately all the tombs but one were raided thousands of years ago. Thankfully, most of the scenes and scripts on the walls are intact and have been of great help to egyptologists. The tombs we visited, of Rameses IV and Merenptah, were simply stunning. It is unbelievable that so much artistry still remains 3,000 years after it was created! Buried alongside the king would have been all the things he would need in the afterlife, including chariots, weapons, food, and jewelry. Though many materials were...

Ancient Egyptians’ lives revolved around the Nile, as it provided them with everything they had - even life itself. This river and its predictable floods allowed the Ancient Egyptian civilizations to thrive. Getting to travel the Nile, as many have for thousands of years before us, was a humbling and wonderful experience. We started our river cruise journey in Aswan, on the Royal Ruby. Located in the south, Aswan was known as the “opening” in Ancient Egypt, as this was the beginning of their kingdom, and start of their portion of the Nile. It is still an important trading town, utilizing the Nile for transport. Before leaving Aswan, we took an excursion on a traditional felucca sailing boat. Our sailors were very skilled at maneuvering through the busy waterway. We got our first glimpses of ancient hieroglyphics carved in the rocks along the water. What an incredible experience to sail the Nile, just as the ancient Egyptians did, going past their Pharoah’s signage - like elegant...

Have you always dreamed of visiting Egypt but haven’t because of the cost, distance, or various unknowns? Over the next several posts, we will share why now is the best time for you to visit Egypt, in addition to giving you some of the tips we learned along our journey through Egypt. Courtney and Brenna had the opportunity to travel there in March via an escorted tour company called Keytours Vacations - and we will NEVER forget this trip of a lifetime! While we had many questions and reservations before our arrival, we didn’t have to worry about much while we were there thanks to our amazing tour guides. We would return in a heartbeat - but only via an escorted tour. As Egypt builds its economy and tourism back up, they are eager to show each of their visitors their beautiful country, deep history, and amazing culture. However, there are a lot of cultural differences and we were so glad to have our tour guides there to help us along the way. We never felt unsafe, ...