Here is something surprising you see throughout the contry - the majority of all dwellings have rebars sticking up into the sky. When we asked about this we were told, "Ah, yes, all visitors ask about that - those are for future growth, when the son marries or when the family saves more money". So they basically add floors whenever they can and always leave some rebar sticking up for the next stage. Our first stop, after several hours of swerving around traffic (our driver was a true maniac - a very fun ride indeed), was the temple at Abydos.

The temple contains many reliefs with colors that haven't faded as much as elsewhere, giving a hint of how colorful the temples must have been during their heyday. In this temple is the famous Gallery of Kings, which holds the names of all the kings that preceded Ramses II.

It tooks us a while to notice that we were being shadowed, it turned out that we had our own personal bodyguards - it was only when we returned safely to the waiting van that left our side. The fellow in the red shirt on the right in the following picture as well the one in the checkered shirt on the bottom left are the guys that guarded us.

Guards on camels were also positioned on all the walls around the temple. Our military escort conducted an on-site conference before we left. The temple at Dendera had quite a different feel to it, which is not surprising - it's relatively new construction, only a little over 2,000 years old. Even here we were well-protected, of course.

Imagine having a flat thousands of years before jacks and tire patch kits were invented.

Our driver made sure we weren't bored on the way back to Luxor - he kept tailgating our military escort so closely that we expected them to shoot him any moment. But apparently following a police vehicle at 50 mph with no more than two inches of separation is accepted driving practice (as long as foregin tourists are involved).

We're not sure who was trespassing on what but we're pretty sure we'll be held accountable for taking the following picture - downtown Luxor, the stone in the background is Luxor Temple.

Hang on tight, the bus is leaving! The fellow in the second picture is probably delivering airline food to the airport. Time to fly back to Cairo and watch once again many fabulous videos, including the "Get me close to you / You are my worthest thing" song. Note that only a strip along the Nile is fertile, the rest is an empty desert.

On our approach to Cairo we flew right over the pyramids at Giza, you have to look very closely at the picture to see them slightly below center and on the right. The city (Cairo) is home to about 20 million people and it's a sight to behold. In Cairo we visited the main mosque and citadel, marvelous pieces of architecture. The views of the city from the hill where the mosque and citadel are located is beautiful, though visibility is reduced somewhat by the haze that constantly hangs over the city.

Time for the last drive through the center of town and a stop at the drive-up mango juice stand - delicious!