After four nights on the Nile cruise, we awoke early and boarded a short flight from Aswan to Abu Simbel for a quick tour of the two temples on site before boarding another flight back to Cairo.
Abu Simbel: Built by Ramses II, Egypt’s longest ruling pharaoh, it’s one of the most recognizable images in the country. It’s actually two temples: the Great Temple of Ra-Harakhte, fronted by four colossal statues of Ramses II and the temple of Hathos, dedicated to Ramses’ favorite wife Queen Nefertari. They were both moved to their current location when the creation of Lake Nasser threatened their existence.
With two more days in Cairo before our departure back to Jordan, our last outing was an Islamic walking tour which included Sultan Hassan’s Mosque and a walk down the main street of the walled city of Cairo, one fortified gate to another, followed by last-minute shopping in the souk.
Sultan Hassan Mosque: The Mosque of Sultan Hassan, completed in 1363, is one of the finest in Egypt. In recesses around its open courtyard, each of the four school of Sunni Islam was taught to students, and in its mausoleum, Sultan Hassan’s sons are buried.
On the drive back to the hotel after a great day of walking and shopping, Raj eyed a shwarma stand on the side of the road and asked our driver to stop to get us some. I’ll admit, I was hungry, but I knew better! Despite my trepidation with ‘street food,’ I ignored my inner voice and fell prey to Raj’s urgings to ‘live a little.’ Of course I got sick the next day (our travel day) at both the airport and on our flight home…while Raj was just fine…I suppose I have to forgive though with ALL of the bargaining he did for me throughout our shopping excursions.
Jen Maan in Amman 
Jen! All that rich history surrounding you guys… wow. I can’t wait to go to Egypt some day. And that Shwarma… damn that looks absolutely delicious! Hope you guys are doing well!
Hi, Dave. How are the wedding plans going? Have you decided on the location yet? The venue? Hope the plans are going smoothly!
I can’t believe you beat me to the #1 comment spot, Dave. How is it possible for two people to consume something from the same roadside stand and only one of the two gets sick. That barbeque man has the flashiest barbeque setup I’ve ever seen for a roadside stand. It puts our grill to shame. Where is my dad or my mom impostering as my dad? When will you be posting about the donut maker? I was the one who tipped mom off that you might like one. The donuts were good but I’m still looking for a better recipe to use in the machine. The kids liked them but thought they didn’t really taste like donuts because they’re not fried. Also, if you use too much batter it won’t make a hole in the donut. you have to make one with a skewer if that happens. I ordered a donut cook book. i’ll let you know if I hit paydirt.
You’ve lost out twice now to number 1. What’s going on? Stalking other blogs? Raj is still debating whether the shwarma made me sick. I’m sticking to my story. Thanks for the recommendation of the donut maker to mom. I plan on making them soon. Did you use the recipes that came with it? Which donut book did you buy? Let me know if it’s worth it. Did you order it from our good friends at GW for 1 cent plus shipping?
No I overpaid on Amazon. It’s called “Donuts”. It was a little pricy- like $11 something. Some recipes look good but it scares me that there are about as many recipes for gluten free and vegan donuts in the book. If I had known that I would have probably not bought it, but the gal is from Seattle where they really know donuts and there are a lot of recipes that I want to try. The red velvet ones look good and she has a recipe specifically for the donut maker. How is the crack pie coming along?
I’ll never forgive Raj for forcing you with a gun to partake in street food. It looked good but OMG sometimes you pay for it big time. Raj has big shoulders and I am happy that he understands the Palumbo humor. Keep on experiencing everything you can as we who are reading about it are really enjoying each and every trip.. Dad aka Joe
I’ll never forgive him either. It wasn’t even worth it–it didn’t taste that good and it was messy…a waste of calories.
Jen, somewhere in your recent blogs you mentioned shopping on your trip to Egypt but I haven’t found the photos of the treasures Raj purchased for you. Did I miss them along the way?????
This is a trip we have always wanted to take; however, the political unrest has always stopped us. Did you feel safe? What a maravelous adventure! I am pea green with envy!……..well at least as green as the Wicked Witch of the West! How wonderful…..thank you so much for sharing!
This was truly the trip of a lifetime. We happened to go at a pretty good time although there was one close call while we were in Cairo. Outside of Cairo though, it felt like we were worlds away from any unrest. We got lucky with the timing and felt safe thanks to the company that we booked with. I hope you get go…sometime…soon.