Sunday, June 08, 2008

Exotic Enigmatic Egypt! Part 6

Hope everyone had a good weekend apart from the petrol price increase episode. By the way, is it me or do the Malaysian roads seem quieter??? I didn't fill up my petrol tank as I refused to be part of the mayhem on that fateful night petrol prices were due to increase by 40%, a crazy 78 sen-making it RM2.70/litre! Grrr... and it seems it will be reviewed monthly? Guess most of us are staying in more, cooking/baking more? Or not eating at all? Hahaha... Well, no more driving to the shops nearby, will have to allocate more time to walk the distance ;o). But then, we'll also have to arm ourselves with mace/pepper spray and all sorts of of defensive aids to thwart off "evil" as I'm sure the "evil" ones will be looking for more victims since we will be more vulnerable, walking on the roads.

Well, here's another pictorial post of my recent trip to Egypt. Remember to click on the highlighted words for more explanation and details. We start off with dinner, continuing from the previous post.

Dinner under a tent - AlEzba Restaurant
Dinner under a tent - Al Ezba Restaurant. We got stuck in a 2 hour jam (suppose to be a half hour trip to the restaurant!). By the time we got there, we were really hungry!

Mini BBQ
Along with the usual side dishes, each table was given a mini BBQ pit where we had some lovely meats; chicken, beef and lamb. They were really tasty-either that or we were just too hungry that taste didn't matter. Hahaha...The meats were tender and full of herbs, spices and were well marinated. Eaten with the bits of capsicum and onions, we got the staff to refill the pit constantly (we were hungry, remember?)

Cute lights
I liked the cute and simple lights here in the restaurants!

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The next day, we stopped by Montazah Palace but was told that tourists weren't allowed in (seems their policy changes from time to time). Hence, only this shot taken from outside the gate.

Quaint house by the River Nile
I really liked this quaint looking house located by the sea in the same area across from Montazah Palace. This is just a section of a bigger house.

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We went to the Museum in Memphis which had this large statue of Ramsesses II. They had found in six broken pieces in 1882 and it weighs a total of 83 tons! Don't ask me why I took it at this angle :p

Souvenir stall
A souvenir stall in the area. I like those hanging small colourful carpets, regret not buying any :(

'Entrance to Mortuary Temple, Step Pyramid Complex
We then went off to Saqqara to see the Step Pyramid, this is the only entrance to the mortuary located at the south east corner.

Hypostyle hall stone columns
Upon entering, we went through this hypostyle hall that has stoned columns resembling papyrus bundles.

Step Pyramid, Pyramid of Djoser, Saqqara
Here's the Pyramid of Djoser. According to Wikipedia; during the Third Dynasty of Ancient Egypt (27th century BC), the architect Imhotep built Egypt's first step pyramid, the Pyramid of Djoser, by building a series of six successively smaller mastabas (an earlier form of tomb structure), one atop of another. Later pharaohs, including Sekhemkhet and Khaba, built similar structures. The first step pyramid was built for Djoser (or Zoser).

Pyramid Of Djoser, Saqqara
Look how big it is compared to the people in the foreground.

Bird with the cobras - Cobra Enclosure Wall, Step Pyramid complex
A total of 9 Cobras are featured on the enclosure wall around Step Pyramid. I thought it was a nice shot of the bird being next to the stone cobras, trying to fit in to be one of them??? Read more about this place HERE.




To be continued...




19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Such marvels. I like the little home too. Look kinda cute.

Anonymous said...

What an adventure you had.. :)

Anonymous said...

The dinner under the tent looks like soooo much fun! And the pyramids? Now I really gotta head to Egypt for once in me life! :D

Anonymous said...

that bird is gonna ruin the pyramid! Pyramids are ruined by birds, humidity from tourists and wind/ sand. Today road jammed like hell and LRT less ppl. First day of school? Not even a new school year. Ppl in Malaysia get used to things fast. I bet MATTA fair in Sept will still be crowded although everyone complains about the inflation. Such irony.

Anonymous said...

didn't poet yr dentist experience ah?

Bernsy said...

eh nice la ur pics.... really out of this world.....

k.t.x said...

i guess i will head to fill up my first tank after the increase, it will certainly dent my lifestyle. sigh!

i hv always been intrigue by the steps pyramid as it was an experiment prior to the geometrics of the then new styled pyramids. u did not do any indiana act there??? lol.

HairyBerry said...

it's a wonder how in ancient times people are able to create such symmetrical geometries without the help of technology we own today...

that includes your well-positioned pic of Ramsesses II. ;>

wmw said...

Jason : Really is...yah, how nice to have a place like that, overlooking the sea.

Mama Bok : More parts coming :o)

Kenny : Yup, it's just one of those places you have to go to, even for just once.

Jackson : No need dream, you just need time :o)

Jo : Well, that's nature taking place (apart from tourist lah). Shall see how us Malaysians adjust to all these events.

Wow2 : Maybe about my next appointment on Sunday!

Bernsy : My pics out of this world or the sights out of this world? Hahaha...Thanks for the compliment.

K.T.X : Yes, intriguing indeed. No act from me though I was trying to spot whether i could find an Indiana Jones for myself! LOL!

Nic : It's amazing isn't it? I mean the structures, not my shot on Ramsesses II :p

wonda said...

Even it's dining under a tent, it's like dining in a palace. Makes me feel like a sheikh looking at the pictures.

daphne said...

i see that u r still thinking abt the trip AND pita bread? kkkekeke

backStreetGluttons said...

I din know there's this Djoser kind of terraced pyramid !? But still looks bigger than one of the skinny KL twin towers. got other types or not ?
Like round one .

toni

New Kid on the Blog said...

Hmmm... Ok, not going to ask why you took that angle to snap that picture...
Oh ya, I like that house... that looks like you're in Europe... so nice, so pleasant.

Beachlover said...

Looking at your photo make me wanna to go there now..Have to save up for my vacation:(

UnkaLeong said...

The roads were quiter on Friday, seems most companies gave their staff a day off in lieu of Saturday being the King's Birthday. But traffic was back to normal yesterday :)

Great Pics! What's the exchange rate again?

J2Kfm said...

erm, Ramsesses was broken to 6 pcs? but the one you took (from bottom's up, mind you =P) seems quite complete woh. where are the other limbs? or they re-connect the whole thing?

was expecting more delicious food pics (=P) but the shots of the place captured the whole enigmatic and exotic feel of Egypt. VERY well done ... guess I'll consider a camera from now on ...

sc said...

woah, refillable bbq pit? without the need to cook some more..that's my dream come true..hahahahaha

wmw said...

Wonda : Hahah...nolah, didn't feel like a palace to me.

Daphne : Hahaha...Not that bad already (about the pita bread).

Team BSG : Glad that I was able to highlight that to you then. Hahaha...Huh, I don't think there are round ones.

NKOTB : Hahaha...thanks for not asking!

beachlover : Everybody needs to save, you save for vacation, us Malaysians save for necessities! Hahaha...

Unka : Thursday was quiet...still feel like got a bit of difference, maybe it's just me! :o) Thanks, during my trip, exchange rate is RM0.60 = 1 Egyptian Pound

J2kfm : Oh yes, they restored it somewhat, click on the link for more info. Thanks for the compliment.

SC : Yah lah, at that time we were so hungry that I don't think we were up to the cooking task, thank goodness we didn't have to work for our meal.

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