Volcanic Crater - West of Nairobi

Hotel View First Morning in Nairobi

Jarod's Nephew Eugene - 11 in July

Fellow Kenyan Adventurer - Jarod

Crossing the Equator

Bored With Tourists at Nukuru

Nakuru Hyena Welcome

Nakuru Rest Stop

Imitating Dad at Nakuru

Capetown - Finally!

I finally arrived in Capetown, South Africa after being detained in Nairobi Kenya for 4 days because I didn't have enough blank pages in my passport. I had a meltdown on Friday when I found out the US Embassy was closed for a 3 day weekend, but things actually turned out well. I found a great guide - Jarod (the Pretender?) who took me to Nakuru National Park where this guy and his friends roamed free.

Greetings From Kenya

This is a Masai tribesman that I came across wandering through the park area outside of Nairobi. He actually posed like this for me.
As an update, I'm still in Nairobi and still trying to leave. It has turned into a terrific weekend but now it's Monday and time to fly to Johannesburg, South Africa. I was at the US Embassy first thing this morning to straighten out passport issues, but they told me to come back at 1 pm.
So, I'm sitting in Java Joe's near the Embassy, having their Hungarian Goulosh and using their free wifi to send you this update. Wish me luck. I may be spending the rest of my life in Kenya. (Not such a bad thing since I once seriously thought of moving here for a while).

Party Time at Abu Simbel

The guy in the middle of the photo twirling the colored circle is a real Whirling Dervish. If you are like me - you thought it was just an expression.
Finally - an update - I'm stuck in Nairobi, Kenya with a passport issue which I hope the US Embassy will solve when they open on Monday morning. I like Nairobi, but it wasn't on the schedule for this trip. I just hope that I can eventually go on with my trip, as originally planned. If not - you will be getting lots of updates and photos of Nairobi.
Wish me luck!
Not Ramblin in Nairobi

Sunrise View from Inside Abu Simbel

This is dedicated to my friend Pat who had to put up with my obsession with what she calls "the King Thingie. " I finally saw it.

Sunlight's Path Into Abu Sibel Temple

I took this the morning before the official sunrise. Photos inside the temple aren't allowed, but when the sun rose, light came through the temple and covered the statue of Ramses II in the inner temple, as predicted. Statues of gods are on either side of him, but only half of each of their statues were lit. The 4th statue in the quartet is the God of Darkness and his statue always remains dark. On this day, only 10 of us were there to watch the sun stream through the temple - me, a Norwegian student, and a group from Japan. We were in the inner chamber for the entire sunrise and it was an amazing experience.
The next day (the official day) there were over 1,000 people, with the military controlling the line. After the sunrise, people were rushed through, with only a few seconds to view the illuminated statues.
Outside, it was a party - with Nubian dancers and local bands playing. All the locals were there, dressed in their finest, and very welcoming to all of the visitors.

Queen Nefertari's Temple

Abu Sibel Today-My Photo

Moving Abu Simbel

The temple was moved over 250 ft higher and connected to an artificial mountain before the valley was flooded. It took amazing engineering to make sure the temple was placed exactly, to catch the sun on the inner statues twice a year on exact dates. No one knows how the engineering was done 3,000 years ago.

Making a Lake

In the 1960s a dam was designed for the area around Aswan. The dam would create Nasser Lake which ultimately covered over 17 Nubian villages and many ancient monuments. The Nubian villagers were all relocated to an area north of Aswan. As for Ramses II's temple - countries throughout the world united to send money to Egypt to save the temple and relocate it.

Why I Came To Egypt

This one photo is why I returned to Egypt. It is the Temple at Abu Simbel built by the Pharoah Ramses II (one on the left) as well as the temple he built for his wife Nefertari (smaller one on the right). Twice a year the sunrise shines into the Pharoah's Temple all the way to the back of the temple where it illuminates his statue. This special illumination happens on a day in Feb and a day in Oct (the Pharoah's Birthday and coronation day). Seeing the temples from the air as my plane flew into Abu Simbel was a complete surprise.

Dance of the Feluccas

Aswan Swans

This was my first trip to Aswan, home of the famous dam and I must say that it is now my favorite city in Egypt. The ancient faluccas glide over the water like swans. It's hypnotic to just sit on the deck of the hotel and watch them soundlessly pass.

Hillside Village

Temple Destruction

Every face in the entire temple has been destroyed and I couldn't get a reason.

Nileometer

This is a stairway down to the 4000 year old engineering invention to measure the level of the Nile River and predict the success of the upcoming growing seasons.

Ancient Masterpiece