Egypt and Jordan trip report - revised

Day eight - we cruised through a canal portion of the Nile which was an interesting process if you have never done it before. We reached Aswan, toured the Osiris temple of Philae, visited the stone quarry to seen the enormous unfinished obelisk. Security was very high at the Philae temple as there were visiting dignitaries that day. There were armed men stationed every 15 feet or so on the hills overlooking the road approaching the temple. We then returned to the ship and had a farewell dinner. The grand finale dessert was a baked Alaska in the shape of three pyramids which was doused with alcohol and then set ablaze.
Day eight - we took the tour bus to the Old Cataract Hotel on the banks of the Nile. This is the hotel where Agatha Christie penned Death on the Nile. Our room was the size of a small house. We had to search for the bathroom because the accommodation was so huge. We had an amazing view of the Nile from our hotel balcony as well as another ruined temple across the river. We did a small cruise to visit a Nubian village and later sailed on a felucca.
Day nine - another early morning flight to visit Abu Simbel (temple ruins rescued when the Aswan dam was constructed). We could view Abu Simbel from the air before landing at the Aswan airport. This flight from Aswan to Abu Simbel saves us many hours on a bus. We spent some time at Abu Simbel and then were back at the airport for our flight back to Cairo and our stay at the Ritz Carlton on the banks of the Nile.
Day ten - we had a choice of a visit to old Cairo or the ancient site of Saqqara. I chose old Cairo and my husband chose Saqqara which he said was excellent. I was a bit weary of temples so chose old Cairo. Later on we toured the Grand Egyptian Museum which was a wow to see artifacts from Tut’s tomb among other things. When the new museum opens we will go back to Cairo as it will be beyond amazing. Hopefully it will be completed in our lifetime. We bade a sad farewell to our wonderful guide Aziz and 4 of our tour members who would not be journeying on with us.
Day eleven - another fairly early morning flight to Amman, Jordan for the second part of our journey. We were again met at the airport by Scenic reps who facilitated (and paid for) our visas, picked up our luggage and then traveled by tour bus to our hotel (Fairmont) and met by our Jordanian guide Wael. That night we toured the Royal Auto Museum and had a welcome dinner. For me the auto museum was a miss as I could care less about cars but my husband enjoyed it.
Day twelve - a tour of the ancient Roman town of Jerash and a re-enactment of a chariot race and gladiator fight. Also a tour of the citadel in Amman. The little museum there was very interesting and I could have used more time there.
Day thirteen - a visit to Madaba to see the ancient mosaic map of the Holy Land and Mount Nebo where Moses saw the promised land before he died. Bus to Petra for a two night stay at the. I’ve pick Hotel which is right at the entrance to Petra. An optional tour of candlelit Petra at night on arrival. You need to walk 1.2 miles through the Siq to the Treasury. Although it is lit by candles the walk is a bit hazardous as the walkway is part stone and part gravel. It is really hard to see. This for us would be a skip if we had to do it over again. The photos of the event are better than the event itself.
Day fourteen - all day at Petra which is amazing. We estimated that we walked 5 or 6 miles that day. My new knee (surgery 6 months prior) held up well.
Day fifteen - bus to Wadi Rum for a one night stay at the Sun Camp. We stayed in the domed Martian tents. We did a 3 hour Jeep tour of the desert and then had sundowners watching the sunset. Wadi Rum is where Lawrence of Arabia hung out and where the movie The Martian was filmed.
Day sixteen - bus to the Red Sea for a (finally) relaxing two night stay in Aqaba at the Kempinski Hotel.

Day seventeen - glass bottom boat tour of the Red Sea, Japanese garden coral reef and snorkeling. We were the only ones of our group to snorkel as the other thought the water was freezing. It wasn’t cold and we enjoyed it.
Day eighteen - bus to Aqaba and the Dead Sea with a stop at Bethany on the Jordan where Jesus was baptized. (We had a dusting of snow on our route to Aqaba and were told that Petra had enough snow (a rare event) to be closed to tourists. We were lucky not to be visiting Petra in that day.)We witnessed people on the opposite shore in Israel being baptized in the river. We stayed at the Hilton Dead Sea for two nights.
Day nineteen - We floated in the Dead Sea the next day and did the mud thing. Take water shoes if you go because the first two or three feet into the Dead Sea is rocky and hard on your feet.
Day twenty - up at 1:30 am for our 2:30 am ride to the Amman airport for our flight home to SFO.

Additional thoughts: Security is high in Egypt. You have to go through metal detectors at all hotels and sites and your bags are x-rayed and checked. At one point, we had an armed guard on our bus. They do this randomly. I am not sure how good the extra security is or if it is just for show to reassure the tourists.
Touts in Egypt are super aggressive and will do everything and anything to get you to buy. Super annoying. You can bargain with them if you wish to buy. We did not encounter this aggressive behavior as much in Jordan.
Trash - As Americans we are accustomed to mostly trash free streets. In Egypt and Jordan they simply toss their trash into the street. It was really sad to see a well-dressed lady at a historical sight in Jordan just drop her kid’s candy wrapper or the ground.
Food - The food was excellent. We had been given the warning about not eating fresh fruit and uncooked veggies and salad but we ate in really nice restaurant where the produce is washed with filtered water. We never got sick.
Water - We drank bottled water and used it to brush our teeth. Tap water is not safe.
Mosquitos - I saw two on the entire trip and they were pretty lethargic. Never got a bite.
Weather - We were in Egypt and Jordan from March 8 to March 27. Other than the one day that we had a light dusting of snow, the weather was perfect - in the 70’s and sunny.

Final thought - The tourists we encountered were mainly Asian, Australian and European. We never felt unsafe in either country. The people in both countries were really nice and welcoming. Service at the hotels for breakfast was not quite up to snuff. We were told that tourism is making a comeback to Egypt and they need to train the waitstaff again. Some of the waitstaff seemed to be wandering around aimlessly. So pack your patience.

I hope this helps any of you who are interested in visiting Egypt and Jordan. These are amazing countries with so much to offer.

Mary, thank you for sharing your trip with us. I thoroughly enjoyed reading of your adventure. It truly sounds like a dream to get to experience all that you did. I was quite impressed by your remark that your tour company refused to visit Edfu as protest against the mistreatment of the animals used as transport to the site. Kudos to them!

Yes, thank you for your Trip report! Very interesting time you had. It sounds like that tour company is stellar.

I just had to smile that you stayed at the hotel where Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon stayed!! I spent yesterday at the Tutankhamun exhibition here in Paris!

What an amazing trip! Thanks for sharing!

What a wonderful trip! These are places I'd love to visit, and I hopefully will visit them.

Thanks Mary, i really enjoyed reading about your amazing trip!