Travel has always been a passion for both of us. Egypt has been on the top of our list of 'places to see' for quite sometime. Manoj's friend who lives in Cairo planned the holiday for us that included a visit to the pyramids and Alexandria, a Nile cruise and their personal favourite, the Red Sea Coast of Dahab.

We boarded Oman Air flight on 19 November, wednesday at 6.30 am from Bangalore International Airport, reached Cairo at around 2 pm local time (via Muscat). We were to stay with Manoj's friend Anil and his wife Anju. After changing some USD to Egyptian pounds at the exit, (1 USD = 5.515 Egyptian pound) we came out of the airport. Anju was waiting for us. We had met her in London in 2004, when she came down for an International Tourism Exhibition. At first she couldn't recognize us, but I did. Then I got a warm hug. She drove us to their house at a place called El Mohendeseen, near Giza (that Manoj termed 'Mohandas' to make it easier to memorize!!) Cairo is notorious for its bumper-to-bumper traffic but that afternoon, the ride was smooth. Our hosts stay on the ground floor of a villa with lots of trees and potted plants owned (and beautifully furnished) by the landlord who is a Judge in the local court. The front door opens to a drawing -cum- dining hall which has a wooden framed mirror with the statue of an Egyptian cat sitting next to it, along with a potted plant. The hall has Anil's paintings, 7 or 8 of them. A small but well equipped kitchen is on the side of the hall which has a door opening to the drawing room and one to the dining area. The hall leads to 2 bathrooms on both sides. Then there is a small space that leads to the 3 bedrooms.

Cairo, (or al-Qahirah in Arabic which means 'the triumphant') with crowded streets and high-rises looked similar to Mumbai. Main streets were wide and roads were good. Cars were parked on both sides of the side streets. All the buildings, especially residential ones were painted a dull brown colour. Anju said, because of dust storms, the place gets dirty very often so people don't bother to paint. Locals were selling pita bread on the road side, stacked on wooden planks. Crime rate is very low here. Alcohol intake is also less. But they are heavy smokers, either shishas or cigarettes. We could see people smoking shishas in front of restaurants and shops all along our journey.

We unpacked and had a shower. Anju had made fish cutlets and cheese toasts for tea. Anil came early from office. Had ready-to-eat chicken shawarma with pita bread (the locals call it aysh balladi) and some rice. After dinner, we went to a pub along with their friend Naresh. It was around 9.30 pm but the pub was almost empty. Some women were smoking. Cairo has an active night life and people start coming to the pub only by 11pm. People get married late here. As the groom has to pay meher to the bride's family, he's to save up before he can pay for his bride. So they date. Most of them live in joint families, can't take their dates home. Hence they meet up at restaurants and bars at night. Muslim girls wear western clothes but cover their heads with scarves.

Anju had arranged a taxi to take us to the pyramids and the museum. We started at around 8.30am and reached Giza in half an hour. The ticket counters at the entrance was getting crowded with groups of foreign tourists. Manoj bought tickets for the pyramids. There was some confusion about where to buy the tickets to enter one of the pyramids. After going thro' the security checks and metal detectors, we entered the compound. We took a car pass so that the driver could take us around the pyramids. The first pyramid is The Great Pyramid also known as the Pyramid of Cheops or Khufu. Built around 2560 BC, it was originally 140m (459ft) high but now it stands at 137m (449 ft).The entrance to this pyramid is more expensive. Anju had advised us to try the pyramid of Chephren, the one in the middle of this triumvirate of ancient wonders.

Towards the southwest of the Great Pyramid is the Pyramid of Chephren. Manoj went inside the pyramid. I had to wait outside as cameras were not allowed inside .The passageway leads 32m inside the pyramid to the burial chamber; it was empty when discovered by Belzoni in 1818. Manoj says the pathway inside was extremely narrow and the ceiling was so low that he had to crawl for the entire length till he reached the burial chamber. He felt very claustrophobic. So I decided not to go inside.

A traditional pyramid complex consists of the Pyramid, the mortuary temple and the valley temple. The Pharaoh is mummified in the Valley temple, and then brought to the mortuary temple where prayers and sacrifices were held and then buried inside the pyramid.

On one side of the pyramid of Chephren is the ruin of the Mortuary temple. Down the winding dusty path are the Sphinx and the Valley temple of Chephren. A 500-m (1640 ft) covered causeway connected the valley temple to the mortuary temple.

From there, we went to the Solar Boat museum, which lies on the south side of the Great Pyramid. It contains the original solar boat made of cedar wood which was found in 1954 underneath the paving surrounding the Great Pyramid. It is believed that 5 such boats were constructed for Cheops to accompany him to the afterworld. The dead pharaoh was brought to the burial site thro' Nile in this boat. Sometimes the boat itself was buried with the body inside it.

After buying the tickets for the Boat museum and going thro' the security checks, we were asked to cover our footwear with cloth shaped like bags to wrap around the shoes that we got from the reception to avoid damaging and sullying the museum floors. There were photographs of the excavation teams and exhibition of artifacts recovered from the site like straw mats, ropes, stones, broken pottery etc. along with few replicas of the solar boat. We climbed a few stairs to reach the section were the original boat was kept.

Then we walked down to the Sphinx – the figure with the body of a lion and the head of a
Man – generally believed to be a portrait statue of Chephren. But some believe it's the guardian deity of the necropolis. The Sphinx's nose and beard were shot off by mamluk soldiers for fun. Made of soft stone, it suffered from erosion. Restoration work still goes on. Towards the left side of the Sphinx is the valley temple of Chephren. A sound and light show is held several times a day in many languages at a theatre beside the Sphinx. www.sound-light.egypt.com

As it was a Thursday, students from different schools were visiting the pyramids. So it was very noisy and dusty. We finished our visit to the pyramids around 12.30pm. Then our driver took us to the city for a chicken shawarma lunch. After lunch we visited the Egyptian Museum, situated next to the Hilton. This museum has a vast collection of artifacts excavated over the years, documenting 4500 years of Egyptian history. The building consists of ground floor and first floor. Because of time constraint, Anju had advised us to go straight to the 'Treasure of Tutankhamen' on the first floor were the artifacts recovered from the tomb of the young pharaoh were kept. Tutankhamen was 19 when he died around 1340 BC. His tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in1922. That evening Anil and Anju were driving us to Dahab, a small town on the red sea coast. The famous Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Shaykh is 137km from Dahab down the coast. So we got back to Anil's place by 4.30pm.

We started our journey to the Sinai Peninsula around 5.30pm. We had to carry our passports, as there were numerous military check points on the way. We had to pick up another friend, Sunil on the way. Traffic was moving very slow. By the time we left the city it was 6.30pm.Within 2 hrs we reached Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel in Suez. This tunnel, which is around 8 km long, is built right under the Suez Canal. Suez Canal is the highest revenue maker for Egypt – the tolls alone bring around US $ 1.9 billion. Fourteen percent of world trade travels through this canal.

Anju was driving at 120-130 km. On the way, we stopped in the middle of the desert to see the Milky Way. It was pitch dark except for the headlights of the vehicles passing by once in a while. Gazing up at the sky, the view was magical!! Never ever had we seen so many stars at one time. We had a quick falafel dinner (pita bread stuffed with a cutlet and salads) and continued our journey. From the road along the Gulf of Aqaba, we took the northern route via a small town called Nuwayba. As we got closer to the Israeli border we were stopped at different check points and asked for driving licenses and passports. Once they even noted down the address of the hotel we were staying in Dahab. Another 100 km down the road is the border town of Taba, next to Israel's Eilat. From Taba, we could see Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia on the other side of the Gulf of Aqaba.

We reached Dahab at 2am. Anju had already booked up a small hotel right on the beach. The beach was lined with Bedouin tents with colourful cushions owned by small restaurants. Some of them run registered courses for snorkeling and deep sea diving. We could hear the sound of the waves from our room. Morning we set out for the beach after breakfast. We went to the sea side in a pick-up truck. Anil, Anju and I waited on the beach as Manoj and Sunil snorkeled. They saw coral reefs and some multicoloured fish. The reefs were just few feet away from the shore. We spent around 3 hrs there. There was an Indian restaurant named Nirvana right on the beach; we got hot samosas and masala tea. We had lunch at a local restaurant close to our hotel and played cards afterwards. In the evening we had tea in the Bedouin tents in front of the hotel. There were so many cats all around the place. As people feed them, they even tried to jump on to the tables. Everyone (except me!) tried to shoo them off. The waiters brought a bottle of water to spray on them. And it worked!! The 3 musketeers – Manoj, Anil and Sunil- were sharing anecdotes of their golden SMS days (School of Management Studies) at Cochin University. Then we went for cycling; Manoj got a flat tyre and was cursing, ranting and raving as usual. We walked up to a nice restaurant that serves fish. After a sumptuous dinner we did a bit of shopping; bought a t-shirt for Manoj with Dahab written on it and I bought my first ever swim suit!

After breakfast we bid farewell to Dahab and headed for the Greek Orthodox Monastery of St .Catherine, 37 km from there. The building is situated 1528m (5013 ft) above sea level in a mountain valley. This is the site of 'the Burning Bush' which is mentioned in the bible. It is believed that Moses saw a glow in the bush and heard God's voice. There is a three-aisled Basilica with a huge fresco above the main altar in the dome showing the transfiguration of Christ. There is also a Chapel of the Burning Bush. The library at the monastery has the most important collection of religious manuscripts after the Vatican. There are more than 5000 rare books and 3000 manuscripts.

Nearby is the popular pilgrim destination of Gabal Musa (also known as Mount Moses or Mount Sinai). It is believed that Moses received the tablets bearing the Ten Commandments here. There are 3400 granite steps leading to the top of this 2285 m
(7497 ft) high mountain. Trekkers can climb the mountain at dawn or dusk. Two-thirds of the trip can be done on a camel, but the last few flights of steps have to be done on foot.

We left the monastery at around 12.30 pm. Had lunch in a roadside restaurant and continued our journey on the road along the Gulf of Suez. We could see ships that had just crossed the Suez Canal. We reached Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel. (On our way to Dahab, we couldn't see anything as it was dark.) As we came out of the tunnel we could see the high walls of the Suez Canal. It is a high security zone and there were armed guards everywhere. We desperately wanted to get out of the car and have a look. But Anil warned that even if we slowdown the car they'll get suspicious and may even fire at us.
We reached Cairo by 6pm.; went straight to JW Marriott to drop Sunil. He ordered dinner for us .Got back to Anil's house by 9.30pm.

Next morning, Sunil sent us his car and driver to visit Coptic Cairo and Khan-al-Khalili market. We reached Old Cairo, which the locals call Misr al Qadima around 10am. This is the oldest part of the city, inhabited by the Christian Copts. We walked around the stone-paved, narrow alleyways to see churches like Church of St Sergius, Church of St Barbara, the 'Hanging Church' and Ben Ezra Synagogue (formerly the Church of St Michael). It stood on ancient Jewish land, and in the 12th century it was consecrated as a synagogue by Ben Ezra, a rabbi who came from Jerusalem. According to Jewish tradition, this is where the prophet Jeremiah preached in the 6th century BC, but the Copts believe that Baby Moses was found in a basket at this spot.)

After lunch, (we had chicken shawarma sandwiches AGAIN!!!) we walked up to the Khan-al-Khalili market. As it was a Sunday, many of the shops were closed. We bought a small Bedouin carpet and few paintings on papyrus. Got back to Anil's house by 5pm. We had to pack up for our Nile cruise. Our train to Luxor – from where we were boarding our ship – was at 8.30pm from Giza station. Anju had made couscous and chicken curry for dinner.

A representative from Elegant Voyage came at 7.30pm to drop us at the station. The driver was a great fan of Indian movies and had named his son Amar after the movie 'Amar Akbar Antony'. We reached Giza station by 8pm. Our rep. named Sam, waited with us. We were surprised to see that he spoke good English with a Brit accent. He grew up in the UK. His father is a doctor and still lives in England. The station looked just like the ones in India. Even the trains looked similar, except for the dirt. Our train, named Sleeping Train was 2 hrs late. We left the station at 10.30. Our twin cabin was neat and spacious. It even had a small wash basin. After half an hour, the steward of our coach came to make our bed.

We reached Luxor by 8.30am. A representative from the tour company was waiting for us in the station. He drove us straight to the ship, named Kon-Tiki docked on the east bank of the Nile. It looked bigger than what we had expected. As one enters, there is a small reception area with winding stairs going up to the first floor. The restaurant is in the basement along with few cabins. First floor has a small library, a clinic, a fitness room, a jewelers shop and few rooms. Cocktail bar is on the second floor. Top deck has a plunge pool, with a small bar and a covered area where tea is served when sailing. Our guide, who would accompany us in the cruise, was to meet us at 3pm to take us to the temples of Karnak and Luxor.

We got a welcome drink, wine red in colour, made of shoe-flower, went to our room and unpacked. The room was fairly spacious for a ship. It was a smaller version of a star hotel. After a shower, we decided to explore the place. We could see Luxor temple on the other side of the road named Shaariah Bahr al Nil (Corniche). There were around 10-15 boats docked along with ours. Workers were loading fruits and vegetables to the ships. Not far from here, we saw feluccas (small ferries) waiting for tourists. There were rows of shops selling handicrafts. We walked around for an hour and got back to the ship for lunch.

A table was reserved for us with INDIAN written on it. There were two groups of students from US universities on Educational tour along with few other families. The restaurant manager Osama asked us whether we have any special preferences. Indians usually ask for spicy food; so he checked whether we needed some chilly sauce. Manoj was a bit offended by the word 'Indian' written on our 'reserved' table. He spoke to someone at the reception next day and they changed it to his name.

At 3 pm we met our guide Wael, a 28-yr old 'lean and mean' chap from a place called Asyut. The temples in Luxor and Karnak are both dedicated to the local god Amun, his wife Mut and son, Khonsu which is referred to as the 'Theban Triad'. Amun later became the state deity as Amun-Ra, a fusion with the sun god Ra, worshipped as Supreme Creator. First we visited the Temple of Karnak. (Strangely, the word Karnak sounds similar to 'Konark' in Orissa which is also a sun temple.) Over the centuries different builders added different structures to this temple. The important builders include Tuthmosis I and III, Queen Hatshepsut, Amenhotep III , Rameses II and his father Seti I , the kings of Bubastis and finally the Ptolemies, who ruled Egypt before the founding of Rome.

After going thro' the security checks we saw a row of Rams on each side leading to the entrance of the Great Temple of Amun; consisting of the First Forecourt, the Hypostyle Hall, the Sanctuary and the Festival Hall. The forecourt which is 103m x 84m is the largest of any Egyptian temple. The Hypostyle hall measures 102m x 53m, has 134 sandstone columns in 16 rows forming a symbolic garden. This massive hall with a stone roof was built by Seti I, with decoration by his son Rameses II. Then comes the two chambered granite sanctuary decorated with relief showing the pharaoh making sacrifices to the gods. The obelisks were erected by Tuthmosis I and III, the two pink-granite ones by Queen Hatshepsut. One fell down but the other is the tallest standing obelisk in Egypt. Inscriptions reveal that each one was made from a single piece of granite and gilded with vast amounts of the finest gold. Behind the festival hall is the Temple of Rameses II. To the right of the Forecourt is the Temple of Rameses III which was added later. Towards the right of this is the Temple of Khonsu. On the right side of the great temple is the Sacred Lake built by Amenhotep III so that the priests could have their ritual washing 4 times a day.

Next was the Temple of Luxor, built by Amenhotep III ans Rameses II. It contains an early mosque and part of it has been used as a church. (We could see some fainted frescos depicting stories from the bible.) It consists of an entrance pylon, peristyle court, colonnade, courtyard, entrance hall, antechamber and the sanctuary. This temple was connected to the Temple of Karnak by a 3 km Avenue of Sphinxes.

We got back to the ship by 5pm. Had tea, spend some time in the deck, and then got back to the room to get ready for dinner. Next day we had to start at 7.30am to visit the West Bank. For the Pharaohs, the east bank of the Nile was for worship and the west bank was for burials.

After an early breakfast, our guide took us to the West bank of Nile, half hr drive by road. The Valley of the Kings is sacred to a local goddess, Mertsigir, which means 'she who loves silence'. This contains tombs of almost all the pharaohs of the 18th, 19th and 20th Dynasties (1539- 1075 BC). Ireni, chief of works of Pharaoh Tuthmosis I (18th dynasty) hoped that a tomb hidden in the rock would protect it from tomb-robbers. The Pyramids had already been broken into and the mummies stolen.

The entrance to the Valley of the Kings was already crowded with tourists. After going thro' the security checks we enter a hall where a glass replica of the valley was kept. We bought tickets for the mini train (small battery operated vehicles that take people to the entrance of the tombs) and waited for them. We saw a man wearing a pair of colourful shoes- with flowers and butterflies!! Then we boarded one train which took us to the tombs which is 5 minutes away from the ticket counter. On the way, excavations were still going on; local workers were digging up new tombs. Tutankhamen's tomb was the most crowded. As it was more expensive, and charged separately, we decided to go inside 3 other tombs which's included in the entrance ticket.

We entered the first tomb which was less crowded. Photography was not allowed inside. We climbed down the wooden steps to reach the inner chamber were the stone sarcophagus was kept. The walls on both side and even the roof of the inner chamber had fainted frescos. One of the tombs where Christians hid from the Muslim invaders had a cross and writings in roman language.

Our guide brought a pack of 10 photographs of the inside of the tombs and the mummies during the time of the excavation. He claimed that this was the last pack which he could get from the locals. We were sure that it was overpriced but still we bought it. We finished the visit in an hour and headed for the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut in the area known as the Dayr al-Bahari. On our way, we stopped for few minutes at the Colossi of Memnon, formerly the royal mortuary temple of Amenhotep III. These two huge seated figures made of sandstone are 19 m high, and covered with ancient graffiti scratched by among others, the Emperor Hadrian and other travelers of antiquity. The Greeks thought the statues represented the Trojan hero Memnon, son of the goddess Eos, who was killed by Achilles – hence the name.
Queen Hatshepsut was the daughter of Tuthmosis I. After his death, she married her half-brother Tuthmosis II in order to secure power. He died young, and his only successor was Tuthmosis III, the son of a concubine. Tuthmosis III was too young to reign, so Hatshepsut did so in his place, leaving pictorial proof of her claim to the throne and of her divinity. She was always depicted as a man, by wearing a false beard.

The theory goes that Hatshepsut was murdered by Tuthmosis III once he had come of age in around 1468 BC. The first thing he did was to replace the name of his step-mother with his own on all the temples and monuments; according to the belief of the time, this meant that he extinguished the queen in the afterworld. Hatshepsut's mummy has never been found.

On the way to Hatshepsut's temple we saw the house of Howard Carter on a hill top. He discovered the Tomb of Tutankhamen on November 4, 1922. Unlike many other tombs, this one was intact. It is said that Carter and his financial backer Lord Carnarvon entered the tomb secretly on the night before the official opening and stole several items from the more than 1700 precious objects buried inside.

The mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut at the foot of the 300 m rock face was built by the Queen's chief of works, Senmut. The location of the temple and the ramps that connect the terraces make this one of the most striking monuments in the area. The middle terrace has series of statues of the queen. The second ramp leads to the upper halls.

We got back to the west bank of the river and waited for our ship to come from the east bank. The ship started sailing at around 12 noon. Many of us were on the deck; as soon as we started, we went right under a bridge; its pillars were colourfully painted with scenes similar to that of the tombs. Then we had lunch and got back to our room. The view from the huge glass window of our room was spectacular. We could see farmers working on their fields, kids playing, cows grazing and donkeys resting after their hard work in the fields. Instead of bulls, they use donkeys in the fields. Some of them were fishing in small boats. We went up to the deck again at 4 pm for tea.

Around 5pm. a small boat with two locals came up to our ship, tied a rope from the ship to their boat and was following us like a water ski. Our ship had slowed down. Then so many boats started coming towards the ship and they were shouting at us. We were confused first. Then we saw these water borne merchants displaying colourful robes (which are called Galabaya with intricate works in thread, coins and sequence) and shawls. They started throwing it up to us in plastic covers. Almost all of them were caught by the guests on the deck which was four stories high. Some of them tried it on; some people threw it back to them. Many foreigners bought them after a bargain. More ships were docking alongside ours.

We were in a place called Esna, were the ships queue up for the Lock (which controls the water level of the river) to be opened. The space with shutters on both sides can accommodate only 2 ships at a time. There were around 15 ships, so we waited for almost 3 hours. Around 8.30pm we crossed the lock. First, one shutter opens; two ships enter and then that shutter closes and the one at the front opens. As we were waiting on the deck to take photographs of the crossing of the lock, we missed the Captain's cocktail. While having dinner, suddenly the lights went off. Thought that was a power failure. But then we heard the sound of drums. The restaurant staff came out of the kitchen, carrying a candle-lit cake and singing their traditional birthday song for one of the guests.

When we woke up the next morning, the ship was already docked at Edfu which is half way between Luxor and Aswan, about 64 km from Esna. After breakfast we visited the Edfu temple on the site of the ancient city of Djeba, where Horus, the god of the sky and of the light, shown as a falcon was worshipped. We went to the temple in a horse-cart. Our horse looked pathetic; most mal-nourished of them all. The temple of Horus was built by the Ptolemies between 237 and 257 BC in the classic pharaonic style. It is the best preserved complex in Egypt, as it was completely covered with sand until the 1860s.
The massive pylon (gateway) built by Ptolemy IX, leads to the first hypostyle hall guarded by the statues of Horus. The walls are filled with hieroglyphs. This hall leads to the sanctuary. As the place was crowded and dark inside, couldn't see the carvings on the wall. We got back to the ship by 10am and started sailing by 10.30.

We changed and went up to the deck in our swimsuits. The students from the US universities were already near the plunge-pool, sun-bathing. We also spent around 2 hrs there. On one side of the river there were hills with palm trees and on the other, were small houses and farms. Felt like we were in the backwaters of Kerala, with less greenery of course. But all along this journey we never saw any women in the fields. By 4pm we reached Kom Ombo, about 56 km from Edfu. After tea, we visited the Temple of Kom Ombo. We got out of the ship, climbed few flights of stairs; on the way up, there were small restaurants and shops selling curios. A group of locals were singing some folk songs and selling the CDs. In one vacant plot, an old man was waiting with a baby-donkey and a small kid; some tourists took photographs and paid him some money. We went thro' the security checks and entered the temple. This temple is dedicated to 2 gods – Sobek, the crocodile god on the right side and Horus the Elder known as the Good doctor on the left.

Ptolemy VI started building the temple around 180 BC, but most of the building was done under Neos Dionysos(80-51 BC) and the Roman Emperor Augustus(30BC-14AD). The first Pylon, forecourt and birth house have mostly disappeared in the Nile during the annual floods before the dam was built. The 1992 earthquake also damaged the structures. To the right of the massive gateway is the small chapel of Hathor, were 3 crocodile mummies are kept. The First Hypostyle Hall has two gates leading into the twin sanctuaries with carvings of gods and the rulers on the walls. On the side of the structure is the remnance of a nilometer and a pool believed to be used by Cleopatra. We saw sunset from the top of the temple and got back to the ship by 6pm.Started sailing again in half an hour. Evening we had a traditional Egyptian buffet. Most of the guests were wearing galabayas and Bedouin head dress. When we woke up next morning, the ship had already docked at Aswan.

After breakfast, we headed for our tour of Aswan. The granite for the temples built by pharaohs was brought from Aswan. First, we went to the granite quarry of the Unfinished Obelisk, 42 m long and weigh 1,168 tons. This obelisk broke while the masons were working on it, so it was discarded. Then we went to Aswan high dam. On the way we saw the Old Aswan Dam (1898-1902). Though it was 51 m high, it was not sufficient to control the annual Nile flood. So, the Aswan High Dam was built with Soviet help between 1960 and 1971. It's 111 m high, 3 ½ km long, 1 km wide, and the reservoir behind it, Lake Nasser, extends about 500 km. Since the dam's construction there have been no more floods and the harvest yield has increased by 20%. But this dam brought drastic climatic changes. It has altered the pattern of rainfall, making Aswan hot and humid. In the summer mercury reaches 45deg.C.

Security was tight at the site of the dam; there were CCTV cameras and security guards at every few yards. We could take photographs but was not allowed to use the binoculars. We saw a hydro-electric power station; Egypt exports electricity. We spend half an hour there and then went to the Temple Complex of Philae. This temple was earlier situated on a different island down the stream. When the old dam was built, the temple used to be flooded for almost nine months. So when the High Dam was built, the authorities decided to shift the temple to another island. The whole structure made of 40,000 stone blocks were carefully shifted and reassembled on the island of Agiliqiyyah.

From the ferry dock, we took a small motor boat run by a Nubian boy. On our way, we saw a few water birds. The largest structure at Philae is the Temple of Isis - the mother goddess and protector of the dead, shown as a woman with a throne on her head - built around 350 BC. The colonnade court at the front ends at the First Pylon of Ptolemy XII. Unlike other temples, no two columns looked the same. Behind the second pylon lies the hypostyle hall converted into a church in the 6th century. To the right of the temple is the beautifully carved columns and the Temple of Hathor.

Our next stop was at a perfumery run by Egyptian – Spanish Group for Selling Essences; Aswan is famous for perfumes made of natural essences. As soon as we entered, we saw a guy making colorful glass bottles used to sell the essence. One of the employees explained to us the names and the source of the extracts. Many of the oriental essences like that of lotus, mint, jasmine, cinnamon, vanilla were all too familiar to us. Then there were blend of flowers with names of pharaohs. He claimed that many of these blends were sold in the West under famous fashion brand names like Chanel, Hugo Boss etc.

We got back to our boat for lunch. At 2 pm our guide had arranged for a felucca ride on the Nile. Our boatman was a local Nubian. We spent around 1 hr. Saw the Aga Khan memorial, Aswan Botanical gardens on the other side of the river. We walked down the Corniche for few minutes; it was hot so decided to get back to the boat. Went up to the deck and spent some time there. By 5.15 pm we were packed and ready to leave. Our train to Cairo was at 6.30pm. Kon-Tiki staff gave us packed dinner which consisted of sandwiches, cheese, pickles and fruits. As our fellow tourists got ready for another night on the ship, we left Aswan with fond memories of 4 wonderful days of sailing, sight-seeing and gourmet food. A representative from Elegant Voyage came to drop us at the railway station which was just 5 minutes walk from where the ship was docked!

Usually the Nile Cruise is for 4nights 5 days but Anju decided to cut short the cruise by one day to include Alexandria in our itinerary. Our train was on time. Though they served dinner, it was nowhere near our packed goodies. Train journey was very comfortable. Around 9.30pm one of the staff came to make our bed. Though it was an AC twin cabin, we could switch it off, so Manoj never complained. We got up around 6.30 am and enjoyed the country side. As the railway line goes along side the river Nile, the whole area was very fertile. There were small patches of vegetables, sugar cane and acres of date palms. As we got closer to Cairo we could see women going out for work.

We reached Cairo around 8.30 am on Friday morning. A tour representative picked us up from the station and dropped us back at Anil's house. As we were coming out of the railway station, armed guards stopped our vehicle twice and asked the driver the details of the address and even noted down the car number. We felt very safe.

We reached Anil's place in half an hour. As soon as we walked in they broke the news of the Mumbai terror attacks. Though we had a television in our room, they showed 2 movie channels and some local music channel but no news channels. Their TV was on and the fight was still going on. They get NDTV Arabia on satellite so Burkha Dutt was in action too. We were shocked. Manoj and I had once walked into the reception of Taj Hotel when we were in Mumbai few years back. My cousin and his wife were to meet us in front of the hotel; as soon as we reached, we went in to the reception to check whether they were waiting there. So, when 'the rich and the famous' talked about their years of acquaintance with Taj, we also had a (short) 'rendezvous with Taj' to remember.

Around mid-day they took us for a drive around the city. As it was a holiday, roads were empty. We tried smoking Shisha in a coffee shop. Then we went to a small restaurant for some local delicacies. Manoj photographed some of the vintage cars that were parked on the street. We got back home by evening. Anju and Anil had to attend a function at the Indian Embassy so we spend the whole evening watching discussions on different channels about terrorism.

Anju had arranged for a car to take us to Alexandria. For a change this driver could speak English. His name was Ahmed; his wife was from Alexandria, so he knew the place well. The drive was very fast and smooth. The road was excellent. We reached Alex by 10am.

Alexandria, the 'pearl of the Mediterranean' is the second largest city in Egypt. Founded by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, it's now known as 'Al-Iskandariyyah'. Alexander's successors turned this place into a centre of trade and education. It was here in 1st century BC that Cleopatra courted Julius Caesar and his successor Mark Antony (who later committed suicide with her.)

We asked our driver to take us first to the The Fort Qaytbay at the end of the long winding Corniche named Shariah 26 Yulyu on the East Harbour which looked like Marine drive in Mumbai. The round-towered Fortress was built by Sultan Ashraf Qait Bey in the 15th century. Our next stop was at the Mosque of Abu al-Abbas, the biggest mosque in the city, closer to the fort. This was built in the 18th century over the grave of Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi, a 13th century muslim holy man from Andalusia. It was renovated in 1944.

Next on our list was the Bibliotheca Alexandrina - built with the help of UNESCO and the Gulf states - at the other end of the corniche. The huge wall around the library has alphabets from languages around the world carved on to it. The library complex includes children's and youth library, a Planetarium, Science Museum and the Archaeological Museum. The library has up to 8 million books, as well as around 50,000 rare manuscripts.

Then we went to Pompey's Pillar, the 26 m marble column, which has nothing to do with Pompey. It was built in the honour of Diocletian in 300AD after he had saved the city from famine. The last in our list was the Roman Odeon, a theatre with marble seating for 800 people. The sight-seeing was over by 1.30pm. We had a shawarma lunch (yet again!!) at a small restaurant by the harbour. By 2.30pm we started our journey back to Cairo. We reached Anil's house by 5.30. After tea, we had a shower, packed our bags and got ready for a party at Naresh's house. Anil's friend Brajesh and his wife picked us up around 7.30. They had relatives in Mumbai, so the main topic of discussion for the whole evening was Mumbai terror attack. We had chicken biriyani, roti, dal and vegetable curry for dinner. We watched a documentary about the 'Blue Hole' in Dahab where many divers – some with years of experience - had mysteriously died while diving. Around 12.30 am we were driving back to Anil's house. The roads were jam-packed with vehicles. It took almost an hour to reach home. We went straight to bed.

We woke up at 7.30am. Anju made breakfast for us – a special cabbage omlette, bread, butter and ham slices with some fruit juice. Anil left for his office at 9. Our taxi arrived at 10; we reached airport by 11. After check-in we walked around the duty free shops and bought few more things. Our flight was at 1.55 pm. We had a stop over at Muscat for 5 hours. We reached Bangalore by 5.30 am on 1 December.

I have to write about the local people before I sum up this travelogue. Egyptians are very friendly. They love India; adore Amitabh Bachan and are happy to meet Indians. Where ever we went, they smiled at us and said 'India', 'Hind' or 'Amitabh Bachan'. One person even said 'Rani Mukherjee' and somebody started singing 'Mehbooba mehbooba' when he saw me. I was quite surprised. They watch Indian movies on TV; they get Zee Movies and NDTV Arabia via satellite with Arabic sub-titles. Anil says that earlier Indian movies were shown in the theatres. But the government got concerned that the stories where the hero revolts against the government and injustice might encourage the youth to do the same, so they were banned. Though the main spoken language is Arabic, people know few English words. Anju had warned us that if we explain anything to them in English, they get confused. Even Manoj learned to express ideas in single words! On our visit to Giza, we had struggled to communicate with our driver.

People who prefer US, Europe or Australia as their holiday destination might be disappointed with the crowded dirty streets of Cairo but then, you can't find pyramids in London, New York or Sydney!! We thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and thrived on the wonderful chaos around us.

We sincerely thank Anil and Anju for planning this fabulous holiday.