Egypt holidays Nile Cruise Must see life experiences

National Geographic Traveler: Egypt, 3rd Edition

The 3,000-year-old head of Amenhotep III - grandfather of Tutankhamun - was dug out of the ruins of the pharaoh's mortuary temple. A colossal red granite head of one of Egypt's most famous pharaohs has been unearthed in the southern city of Luxor, according to BBC.

Egypt has vast treasures buried somewhere, estimated to be around 65%, of what is seen today. I had been to Egypt on Luxor to Oswan Nile Cruise with Thomas Cook and it was a fascinating experience.

During the tour, I saw the monuments, architecture and Egyptologist explaining the history of Egypt and times of Great Paroah Ramses II, I often wondered

How did they erect massive monuments at that time ? They built temples but no palaces for themselves.
Ancient Egyptians did not have concept of death, so they mummified people to go next phase (Valley of Death). How did they master the technology of mummification ?
What tools did they use to build these monuments as it apparent that their architecture is far superior than anyone at the time.
They performed temple rituals and worshipped their Pharaoh as god.
How did the ancient civilisation remained buried under the sand for centuries till it was discovered in 18th century.
Ancient Egypt Civilisation science is currently being studied by archaeologists around the world. The religion, rituals are lost forever. Chinese and Indian civilisation still continue to practise the religion what they had thousands of years back.
In some places where the temples were discovered, people living on the top of it before the sand was excavated.

In 1974, Egyptologists visiting Ramses II tomb noticed that the mummy's condition was rapidly deteriorating. They decided to fly Ramesses II's mummy to Paris for examination. Ramesses II was issued an Egyptian passport that listed his occupation as "King (deceased)". The mummy was received at Le Bourget airport, just outside Paris, with the full military honours befitting a king. See National Geographic

I would highly recommend you to visit Egypt once in your lifetime and atleast do a Nile Cruise from Luxor to Oswan.

Places you visit while on Nile Cruise with Thomas Cook

Karnak Temple, Luxor
Luxor Temple, Luxor
Temple of Hatshepsut, Luxor
Edfu Temple, Edfu
Temple of Kom Ombo
Abu Simbel Temple - You have to pay extra. Worth visiting
Hot Air Balloon - That's expensive but worth every dime.

Oswan market is place to buy local items, food products and clothes. You will be better off if you know how to haggle. If the shop keeper tell you a price of say Egyptian Pounds 750, you can start with Egyptian pounds 80. And you can buy it for 170 to 190. So don't feel embarrassed what you are asking for .... it is business. Once you haggle, that means you are going to buy at a certain price otherwise walk out.

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