Saturday 1st October

Today was the trip to Abydos and Dendera with our friends and Suzie and her Mum.  After breakfast we climbed into the mini bus for the journey, firstly to Abydos, then to Dendera.  We had a few checkpoints to go through on the way there with Suzie having to sign a form at one of them and I think it was on this journey that the driver got a smack on the wrist because there was a crack in the windscreen on the mini bus!  It was quite a bumpy journey there which played havoc with hubby's back, but we had a stop-off on the journey for refreshments and toilets, which was very welcome.

Once at Abydos, we bought our tickets and off we went - and what a marvellous sight it was.  I was so glad we had chosen to visit here.  The temple was just fantastic with natural beams of light shining down onto the pillars - what a place this must have been in its day!!  Here are some examples of what I mean

It was really magical!!  And before I forget, here is a photo of the famous 'helicopter'

After a good old walk around here, we went to have a look at the subterranean temple called the "Osirion". 

It's said that if you bathe in here it will cure all ills but, believe me, it's not a place you'd even want to stick your toe into!!  I think you'd catch much more than you'd cure if you had a dip in here.  However, it was surprising to see fish swimming about!!

Then, Suzie, her mum and I went to walk to the Ramses II Temple which is a short distance away, but the policeman wouldn't let us go and stopped us, ushering back the way we came.  However, thank goodness for Suzie, because she knew one of the guardians because of her previous visits, and the guardian was ever so surprised that we weren't being allowed to walk over to the temple and asked a 'chief' policeman to do the honours for us - brilliant!!  So, off we went on our mini trek over the dust and sand.

We reached the Ramses Temple, which the guardians had to rush to open as the gates were locked!!  That, of course, cost us a little baksheesh!!  It's a shame that most of this temple is in ruins, but it's still well worth the visit.  The colours are lovely.  Here are some photos

On the way back to the visitor centre and small cafe, we walked through the village and had a peek at true village life in Egypt.  Talking of the visitor centre, there is a new one being built which looks to be ultra modern in design - not sure that I liked that really!!  These are some of the photos that I took in the village

The policeman had accompanied us all the way and when offered baksheesh for his time, he refused!!  That was a real surprise to us, but it just goes to show that not all of the locals are out to make money from the tourists.

After joining our travelling companions at the cafe, we all had a lovely cold drink and two huge plates of crisps between us!!  Then, it was onwards to Dendera!!

Because you're only allowed to be on the road during certain times, we had to be back to Luxor by 6 p.m., so time was getting a little tight as we had spent so much time at Abydos, but we still had enough time to do a bit of exploring.  It was disappointing that we weren't allowed to go on the roof - that had been a highlight during my visit here many years ago, but it's not allowed now because people were going up there and jumping off!!

Some of the colours here are wonderful.  You can see the difference where some parts have been cleaned and some parts have not.  Here are some photos

Quite a long walk, but worth it!!

You can see the difference here between the parts that have been cleaned and the parts that have not

Wonderful reliefs and colours

Fabulous reliefs and colours

Resident bat, not at all happy that he was getting disturbed!!

After a long day's sightseeing, it was finally back to the hotel for a wash and brush-up before heading out for dinner.  We sampled The Fortune Cookie this time, which was pretty good.  Then, as had become our habit, it was coffee at the local cafe, then a nightcap on the balcony before bedtime!!