Monday, June 09, 2014

Egypt Pt. 1 - the great pyramids, hot air ballooning and karnak temple








sorry blogging world, i'm not going to be able to catch up on much in the foreseeable future. as some of you may know i've been travelling since may 23rd and my first stop was a tour of egpyt. thanks for sticking with me (if you have/are) i'm sorry i'm probably not going to be overly responsive or be able to keep up with other people's blogs, but i'm going to try and update where i can just so i don't have 5 months worth of photos to sort through when i get home. i've had to split my egypt photos into two posts but i should be able to get part two up ASAP. rather than write an essay about all the things i've been doing i decided to write my memories of the country and include the music i was listening to at the time, mostly just for my reference but feel free to play the songs as a background to these photos and my words for a more complete picture of my experience, if that's of interest to you.



visiting the great pyramids and the great sphinx of giza and finding that we were just about the only tourists there. being the only person going inside the second pyramid and standing in the chamber alone, closing my eyes and feeling the complete stillness of the air and the weight of millions of tonnes of stone pressing in on me. driving overnight from cairo to luxor, arriving at 4:00AM and heading out at 4:45AM to go hot air ballooning. crossing the nile in the darkness and watching the sunrise over the river from the balloon at 1200 feet above luxor and hatshepsut temple. becoming instant friends with the incredible people on my tour and spending just about every waking moment together. standing face to face with tutankhamen's burial mask at the egyptian museum. being given a bottle of Queen of Egypt perfume oil as a gift, the scent of which is made up of 22 different types of flowers. seeing the original colours of three thousand year old paintings inside ancient pharoah's tombs in the valley of the kings. walking through the huge karnak temple complex. seeing a man's tyre fall off his car and watching him chase after it, put it back on and drive away. obsessing over the rolling stones’ exile on main street. cities full of brightly painted half-finished houses because residents pay less tax if their property is still under construction. stray cats everywhere. carts selling whole watermelons in the sun. cars and trucks beeping constantly, no road rules, no speed limits, no traffic lanes. everybody sweating and living in the desert heat.

it was the most important decision of my life so far. what i was doing was telling everybody to go jump in the big fat ocean of their own folly. 
i was also telling myself to go jump in the big fat ocean of my own folly. what a bath!
kerouac


the egyptian museum where most of the artefacts from tutankhamen's tomb are, including his burial mask. no photos allowed inside.












karnak temple




16 comments:

  1. Wow, wow, wow, wow. Literally, in awe. Hope you're having an amazing time!

    BrodieJay.Com

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  2. Oh my! Jess these shots are magical! It sure does look like a beautiful adventure you're on and that Kerouac quote is such a powerful sentiment. I absolutely love the musical inclusions on this post and please continue.
    Paige Paperdoll Chronicles

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  3. I was hoping you'd post while you're away! Gosh I'm green with envy right now, it would be SO AMAZING to see the pyramids and everything. Sounds like you're having a total blast, I'm glad you are! Definitely keep us updated :)

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    1. aww thank you, haha i struggle to update regularly when i'm at home but i'll be trying my hardest!

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  4. Wonderful, amazing shots, it looks like you had an epic time!

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  5. Wow, so amazing! Bucket list! New follower <3 Alex

    tobebeautifulingodseyes.blogspot.com

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  6. Hey, another new follower and fellow vagabond here! Randomly found your blog and got excited about your travelling plans, cannot wait to see what Europe has on hold for you and the experience through your eyes. I will be interrailing sometime in the upcoming months, so trip inspiration is always welcome! Thank you so much for sharing.

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    1. aww, thank you! so glad you're enjoying my blog, i'm having a great time away and i'm hoping to be able to update semi-regularly as i go. hope your holidays are similarly amazing, i'm sure they have been and will be. :)

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  7. Ohh my goodness, it sounds like you had the best time! Looks like you got an amazing view from the hot air balloon too, judging from your photos. I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures from your trip :)

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  8. This is so ridiculously pretty Jessica! I adore your photography and I am yearning to go to Egypt now. I totally like the added songs. It looks/sounds you are having a brilliant time, and you definitely should. I love these kind of updates! x

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    1. thank you! ^_^ haha well this is the only kind of update i'll be doing for the next few months so i'm glad you enjoy them!

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  9. Oh my gosh! I am so jealous. It looks like you had a wonderful time and the photos makes me feel like I am with you, as crazy as it sounds. Looking forward to more travel posts :) x

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  10. What a breathtaking experience you're having. I am so in love with these photos that you took of your experience, can't wait to see more.

    Chamomile Dealer

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  11. You've really captured the essence and atmosphere of your trip -- you have inspired me to dream even deeper about where I'd like to travel to. I really hope one day I can share photographs like this, the experience you're having is enviable.

    I look forward to reading more about your adventure!

    Love, Amy xx

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  12. Your photos are absolutely breathtaking, Jessica! I feel like I'm right there in Egypt with you! I associate certain songs with my travels too and even though I sometimes feel a little sad I'm not there anymore, the music takes me right back to that time in my life again and it makes me really happy. I really can't wait to go to Egypt one day and after reading your post, I definitely need to do a hot air balloon ride! The experience itself sounds incredible, let alone in a country like Egypt. I think when I'm over there one day, I'll travel to Kenya too as I have a friend who lives there and it's a dream of mine to do an African Safari!

    http://likeneonlove.com

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    1. i'd love to go on safari as well, it would be such a great experience. you should definitely go to egypt as well, and go hot air ballooning! it's such a beautiful country with so many amazing things to see and do. :)

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