Saturday, April 21, 2018, Alexandria, Egypt

Founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC, magnificent Alexandria boasts a storied past. Spread at the mouth of Egypt’s Nile River, this historic port grew into an educational center and the second most powerful city in the world after Rome.  It remained the capital of Roman and Byzantine Egypt for a millennium.  Its magnificent library was the largest in the ancient world; international scholars flocked here in search of knowledge.  Today, a stunning modern library has replaced it, rising dramatically from the shore.  The ancient amphitheater, too, provides a glimpse of the city under Rome.  Today, much of ancient Alexandria lies under water, a remarkable time capsule of a past era.

Treasures Of Egypt

We saw the storied Museum of Egyptian Antiquities and the Great Pyramids of Giza, fabled Wonder of the Ancient World.  We began by getting our bearings on Egypt’s 7,000 years of continuous civilization at Cairo’s impressive Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, a treasury housing the world’s largest collection of Egyptian artifacts from 2700 BC to the 6th century AD. Among its thousands of statues, jewels, and artifacts is the sarcophagus of Tutankhamen, the boy-king who ruled Egypt for nine years.  We savored a delicious lunch as we cruised the Nile and enjoyed a traditional performance of belly dancing; then we were driven to the wondrous Great Pyramids of Giza and the monumental Great Sphinx, the most famous of Egypt’s attractions.  Standing over 65 feet high and 240 feet long, the Sphinx is a truly breathtaking Wonder of the Ancient World.

Looking back at our cruise ship as we leave via bus for our excursion to the pyramids.

Sites along to way into Alexandria.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Alexandria over the curved bay.

One of our tour buses.

Campaign for women; other signs said:  "When women are in leadership positions the businesses are more successful" and "when women manage money the home has a better standard of living."

Technology development building on highway toward Cairo.

Nile River.

Very modern office building.

The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum or Museum of Cairo, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities.  It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display, the remainder in storerooms.  The edifice is one of the largest museums in the region.  As of July 2017, the museum is open to the public.

On the first floor there are artifacts from the final two dynasties of Egypt, including items from the tombs of the Pharaohs Thutmosis III, Thutmosis IV, Amenophis II, Hatshepsut, and the courtier Maiherpri, as well as many artifacts from the Valley of the Kings, in particular the material from the intact tombs of Tutankhamun (King Tut) and Psusennes I. Two special rooms contain a number of mummies of kings and other royal family members of the New Kingdom.

King Tut

Mannequin for the boy king.

Inlaid fording chair.  Note step for the boy king.

Boxes with jewels and treasures from tomb.

Game for King Tut's afterlife.

Hand fan.  Angle handle for minimal effort.  Feathers "like new."

Portable (camping) bed for the boy king.

The figures with heads are vases that organs (not heart but brain) were placed in outside the coffin.

Entry way to boat restaurant.

Lunch entertainment on the river boat moving toward pyramids.

This guy was far more entertaining than the belly dancer.  He sang the entire time he spun capes, one around waist and one around neck.

Ceiling inside boat restaurant.

The Giza pyramid complex is an archaeological site on the Giza Plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt.  This complex of ancient monuments includes the three pyramid complexes known as the Great Pyramids, the massive sculpture known as the Great Sphinx, several cemeteries, a workers' village and an industrial complex. It is located in the Western Desert, approximately 5 miles west of the Nile river at the old town of Giza, and about 8 miles southwest of Cairo city center.

The pyramids, which have historically been common as emblems of ancient Egypt in the Western imagination, were popularized in Hellenistic times, when the Great Pyramid was listed by Antipater of Sidon as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  It is by far the oldest of the ancient Wonders and the only one still in existence.

The pyramids of Giza and others are thought to have been constructed to house the remains of the deceased Pharaohs who ruled over Ancient Egypt.  A portion of the Pharaoh's spirit called his ka was believed to remain with his corpse. Proper care of the remains was necessary in order for the "former Pharaoh to perform his new duties as king of the dead."  It's theorized the pyramid not only served as a tomb for the Pharaoh, but also as a storage pit for various items he would need in the afterlife.  "The people of Ancient Egypt believed that death on Earth was the start of a journey to the next world.  The embalmed body of the King was entombed underneath or within the pyramid to protect it and allow his transformation and ascension to the afterlife.

These white sand stones had been the outer layer of the lower portion of the pyramid.

The Great Sphinx of Giza, commonly referred to as the Sphinx of Giza or just the Sphinx, is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the body of a lion, and the head of a human.  Facing directly from West to East, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt.  The face of the Sphinx is generally believed to represent the Pharaoh Khafre.

Cut from the bedrock, the original shape of the Sphinx has been restored with layers of blocks.  It measures 240 feet long from paw to tail, 66.31 feet high from the base to the top of the head and 62 feet wide at its rear haunches.  It is the oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt and is commonly believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom during the reign of the Pharaoh Khafre (c. 2558–2532 BC).

On our way to Malta.