Project 365: Day 322

Project 365: Day 321

Mango ice cream (for me, foreground) and the ladies at the Oasis.

Project 365: Day 320

Third stop: Marsa Alam!

Project 365: Day 319

First stop: Edfu

Second Stop: Khanayis

Project 365: Day 318

We usually don't get weather here, but this was the view out the window at work today...

For comparison, here is a normal day:

Project 365: Day 317

In short, McDelivery is awesome and the best idea ever. 

The front of the scooter has a baby refrigerator, and the back is the heat box. Genius.

Project 365: Day 316

This is usually parked outside our building:

Project 365: Day 315

Waiting for the ferry to cross to West Bank this morning.

Project 365: Day 314

I've been moved to a new room, one hopefully free of the insect infestation of the last one. It's quite similar to the last one, except that now I have this lovely piece of quintessential Egyptian decor.

And these lovely accessories:

At last count there were upwards of 50 bites from some mystery assailant, perhaps bedbugs or fleas, covering my skin. Gotta love developing countries!

Project 365: Day 313

My first coffee in Egypt was actually an expresso, served in this delightful china:

The review: good by Egyptian standards. Not amazing by American. But I was very grateful! I love tea, but I miss my coffee, especially in the morning.

Project 365: Day 312

Today we went to Dendara (map here-- look just north of Luxor). It's a sweet Ptolemaic and Roman temple to the goddess Hathor, and I had a very hard time choosing photos for this post. There are more on facebook. :-) The SCA has been cleaning the reliefs, and the results are just gorgeous. We were all incredibly impressed.

We also went down into the Crypts, which were really small rooms used to store ritual items. The passageway was really small and the rooms were narrow, so it really was a bit like Tales from the Crypt!

I also made a friend, who gave me flowers. Well, basil. Which I put in my hat.

Project 365: Day 311

Part of the Procession Geographique on the Chappelle Rouge! We finally saw the tricky thing in person, and wow! What a building/collection of blocks.

Project 365: Day 310

This morning, the gate to the dig house was closed and locked, and the man with the key was still asleep (we assume). So, we found another way in... which involved a lengthy hike through reeds, tall grass, and the occasional camel thorn. (If you don't know, camel thorn is among the most evil plants in existence. Argh.)

Project 365: Day 309

Me and my giant Fresh Lemon Juice at the Oasis Cafe. Mmmmmm, fresh lemon juice! So delicious. So refreshing.

Project 365: Day 308

The view west from the flat where we've been working sometimes.

Project 365: Day 307

Tonight, we felt like being stupid Americans, so we went to the Luxor McDonalds. This is the 3rd floor seating area, where you can look at the awesome mural on the right and the real Luxor temple on the left, while eating your burger and American sized fries and drinks.

Project 365: Day 306

One of the blocks from the Mut Precinct, which was heavily damaged by Atenist hackers (see the damage in the upper right). The whole face of the stone was removed, at least several cm deep. Then this new image was put on top probably during the Ramesside period.

And this is sunset over the Nile from the Steigenberger Nile Palace. I like this photo because it sort of demonstrates the insane power of the sun and its force in the sky. It was something like 110 degrees here today, and the sun feels like it is about 6 feet from your head at all times.

Project 365: Day 305

Medamud.

Project 365: Day 304

The view from our living room terrace.

And the amazing floor show at the Steigenburger. Whoa.

Project 365: Day 303

Finally, EGYPT! It took 6 airports and nearly 36 hours of continuous travel time, several miles of sprints, and 5 hours of airplane sleep to get here, but here we are indeed.

And the view from the terrace at dinner, looking out over the Nile and the East Bank at dusk.

Project 365: Day 302

Lunch in Paris.

Project 365: Day 301

Trying again... waiting at Dulles for our flight-- we got there at 3:30 for our 7 pm flight, only to have it take off after 11pm... and to miss our connection in Paris... again.

This man slept there for about as long as I was conscious. Which was a long time.

As a side note: Flying Air France is super once you're on the plane. But their customer service leaves much to be desired on the ground. They left me on hold for ever (actually as long as I'd wait on the phone), and only have one song. The service is slow and unpredictable and not recommended. But in the air, the plane was in good shape, the food was good, the wine was good, the movie selection was fantastic, etc.

Project 365: Day 300!

Wow, hard to believe there have been 300 pictures up here already. Thanks for sticking around this long if you're still here!
Today we were supposed to leave for Egypt, but we didn't. Stupid ash cloud! They said we were going to miss our connection to Cairo in Paris, so we went home to try again. But not before waiting in this line for many hours...

Project 365: Day 299

Project 365: Day 298

Holy Frijoles happy hour special. Woo! 

Project 365: Day 297

Project 365: Day 296

Can you guess the source of our moving boxes?

Project 365: Day 295

Project 365: Day 294

Our couch is so awesome.

Project 365: Day 294

Dad was taking pictures of the new neighborhood...

Project 365: Day 293

Moving "the BEAST".