• Home
  • About
    • Who We are
    • Affiliates
    • Disclosures & Guidelines
    • FAQs
    • Privacy Notice
  • Funding Your Travels
    • Banking on the Road
    • Credit Cards in Our Wallet
    • Spending
  • Contact
    • Media
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Partnership Opportunities

i should log off

log off and live!

  • Travel & Planning
    • Travel Reflections
      • Good, Bad & Ugly
      • Re-Entry
    • Travel Resources
      • Travel Tips
      • Travel Bloggers
    • Reviews
      • Gear
      • Operators
      • Travel Clothing
    • Travel Gear
      • Cameras
      • Danny’s Clothes
      • Electronics
      • Health & Hygiene
      • Jillian’s Clothes
      • General Gear
  • Destinations
    • Travel Guides
    • Africa
      • Egypt
      • Ethiopia
      • Lesotho
      • Kenya
      • Malawi
      • Morocco
      • Mozambique
      • Namibia
      • South Africa
      • Sudan
      • Swaziland
      • Tanzania
      • Uganda
      • Zimbabwe
    • Asia & Oceania
      • Armenia
      • Cambodia
      • China
      • Georgia
      • India
      • Kazakhstan
      • Laos
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uzbekistan
      • Vietnam
    • Caribbean
      • Antigua
      • Cuba
      • Jamaica
    • Central America
      • Belize
      • Costa Rica
      • Guatemala
      • Honduras
      • Nicaragua
      • Panama
    • Europe
      • Armenia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Czech Republic
      • France
      • Georgia
      • Germany
      • Hungary
      • Italy
      • Spain
      • Turkey
    • North America
      • Canada
      • Mexico
      • USA
    • Middle East
      • Egypt
      • Israel
      • Jordan
      • Oman
      • Turkey
    • South America
      • Argentina
      • Brazil
      • Bolivia
      • Chile
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Peru
      • Uruguay
  • Weekend Adventures
    • Cycle
      • Pastimes
        • Beer & Wine
        • Books
        • Cooking
        • History & Culture
    • Dive & Snorkel
    • Hike
    • Trek
    • Whitewater
  • Photos
    • Photo of the Day
  • Family Travel
You are here: Home / Archives for ancient egypt

Photo: Luxor, err Thebes

October 6, 2011 By Danny

Luxor is the ancient city of Thebes.  Sure, I had heard of Thebes but didn’t really know much more about it than that.  Our only real priority in Egypt was to visit the Pyramids of Giza but little did we realize that Thebes was where the real action had been in Egypt.
The city of Thebes, in its heyday, was the place to be for most of Egyptian history.  The temple of Luxor itself, right in the middle of the city is an impressive display of what Thebes was but Karnak temple just down the road and on the edge of town is even larger and more impressive.  Featured in the Bond flick The Spy who Loved me this is what ancient Egypt was about.  It’s where we snapped this photo of a headless guard and where we could have spent all day long examining every nook and cranny had it not been for the suffocating heat.

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.


IF YOU GO:
This is a cheap and exiting place to spend a few days.  We had a nice private room with breakfast and A/C for about $10/night.  Don’t be afraid to shop around and treat yourself nicely given the favorable exchange.  We could have visited the sites on our own but given the heat the tour was worth every penny.

Filed Under: photos Tagged With: ancient egypt, religion, ruins

Photo: Ancient Temple at Night

July 27, 2011 By Jillian

Sometimes visiting the big tourist attraction is worth it, no matter how cheesy or over the top it may be.  After two weeks traveling in the Sahara Desert of Sudan, we were happy when the ferry docked in Aswan.  The very first thing we bought were doritos and coke zero, hold your judgement until you spend two weeks in a very hot, very dry and very sandy country.

Besides the junk food, we also splashed out on some cliche tourist attractions in Aswan, like visiting the Temple of Isis at Philae at night.  Say what you will about the ridiculous laser light show that night, but the experience was worth it just to see the ancient temple in the dark.  The lighting was fantastic and I think we took several hundred photos that night alone.

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

Temple of Isis, Aswan

IF YOU GO:  Most tourists don’t get to Southern Egypt, also called Upper Egypt, but we thoroughly enjoyed our time there.  There are plenty of nile cruises between Luxor and Aswan, of varying levels of comfort, which make for a relaxing and scenic trip between the two.  Otherwise you can take the train, although at the time of our visit it was rumored tourists were only being sold tickets on certain trains and for certain cars, limiting your travel options.  Check out our Country Guide: Egypt for more advice and tips.

Filed Under: photos Tagged With: ancient egypt, religion

Photo: Ram Sphinxes

July 22, 2011 By Jillian

Like something out of a Hollywood production, these mytical statues lined the entrance to the Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt.  Part ram, part lion, the sphinxes can probably be attributed to Rameses II, whose cartouche is inscribed in their paws.  The “Way of the Rams”, these sphinxes are no longer in their original position, having been moved around the site by various Pharoahs, who all felt the need to inscribe their name.  There were probably several more sphinxes on site, but like so many things, climate and looters have had their way with them.

When we arrived at Karnak Temple, we were accosted by men offering guide services.  It wasn’t until we were buying our ticket that a man approached us with what he called the “student special.”  We laughed, but took him up on his offer.  His tour was better than our guidebook, but not perhaps as in depth as the $20 tour would have been!  We took this photo upon entering the processional walkway to the temple complex.  As you can see, some of the sphinxes are in better shape than others.

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

Statues at Kernak Temple, Luxor, Egypt

IF YOU GO: Luxor is a very touristy town, so be prepared for lots of “special price for a special lady” wheeling and dealing.  We had wonderful accomodation near the train station.  There are tons of sites in Luxor and in the end we decide to take a tour to cover the ground with a group.  The tour was worth the while, as our guide was knowledgable and made the sites more interesting than had we been alone.  If you’re headed to the Middle East, I’d suggest looking into Nile Cruises as well, which often start or end in Luxor.

Filed Under: photos Tagged With: ancient egypt, luxor, temples

Connect With Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Featured Posts

Our Bucket List
How We Travel For Free
$ Travel Tips

Recent Comments

  • Barbara on Kayaking Kauai’s Na Pali Coast
  • Lori Hubbard on Review: Eneloop Batteries and Charger
  • TK on The Trouble with Philadelphia

Banking on the Road

It can be very hard to keep track of your finances while you're on the road long-term. Be sure to check out how we took care of our finances while traveling and feel free to email us any questions you have.

Adventure Guides

Torres Del Paine
China Adventure
Uzbekistan Overland
Egyptian Odyssey
Malaria
Argentina Adventure
DIY African Safari
South Africa Guide
Bolivia by Bus
How-To African Visas

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright 2008-2015 · All Rights Reserved · Contact I Should Log Off · RSS · Partner With Us · Privacy