Egypt Western Desert & The Oases

I packed up early the next morning hoping I could make it to Bahariyya Oasis before night fall and leaving some time where I could wander the infamous white desert — a wacky collection of mushroom shaped formations carved by the wind from naturally occurring blocks of magnesium. The ride was windy and hot. Several […]

Midnight At The Oasis.

With all that Egypt is best known for, the Great Pyramids, King Tut, the Valley of The Kings and the longest river in the world, it’s easy to look over the fact that it borders on some of the most inhospitable terrain on the planet — the Sahara Desert. Technically the Sahara stretches through Egypt […]

Crossing the River Nile in Luxor

More temples, tombs and tooling around today. Some walking too. Getting from the west bank to the east bank of Luxor either requires about 10 miles of driving as the bridge crossing is about five miles south or taking the public ferry across which costs about 20 cents. The ferry not only saves the time […]

The Challenges of Being A Tourist In Egypt & The Necropolis of Thebes

Luxor is a good sized town that straddles both sides of the Nile covering what was once the ancient city of Thebes. While the seat of the Thebian empire, today Luxor and Karnak, the adjacent city and temple, is perhaps best known for its proximity to the Valley of the Kings, where kings, queens and […]

Running From The Convoy: Aswan to Luxor Egypt

Today I experienced a little bit of sadness. As such, I’ve got a confession to make. It’s been kind of a secret. Though those who’ve ridden with me in Africa including Ronnie “B”, Grant and Julie and even Robin from Cape Town were privy to the secret. But today I’ve got to let it out […]

Back To Sudan — almost. The Massive Temple of Abu Simbel.

Egypt is the land of Pharaohs. Home to some of the oldest and most well preserved archaeological sites in the world. And it’s no wonder. Wit the massive Sahara desert to the west and the Red Sea to the east, Mediterranean to the north, it was very in accessible in ancient times. So while the […]

Problems Plague Escape Plan From High Dam in Aswan, Egypt

I ask my taxi driver to pick me up early the first morning the insurance office is open and I can get to it. Armed with my letter from customs, some paperwork from the traffic police and my scratch-off image of Doc’s chassis number I’m the second person in line at the insurance office. Behind […]

Temples & Dams: Coexisting Peacefully. Sort of.

Both the Philae Temple and the Temple at Abu Simbel were due to be submerged under the waters of Lake Nassar in the late 60’s. A huge international rescue effort saw that it and several other historical points were meticulously moved to small islands on the Nile River before the High Dam. Not only because […]

Aswan Egypt. Shower & Rest.

So I successfully crossed the Nubian Desert and sailed Lake Nassar to arrive in the Nubian lands of Egypt and Aswan. First order of business is to get cleaned up. Thankfully with the Nile in close proximity I didn’t feel guilty about taking one of the longest showers in my life. Then I tried to […]