Larger than Life History - Egypt

            7  Days

           6  Modes of  Transportation

         5  Temples

       4  Pyramids

     3  Cities

   2  Tour Guides

 1  Ancient Civilization

Egypt is one of the most ancient & the most preserved one. During our stay here we saw a couple of  temples & ancient architecture which dates as far as 4600 years ago & still in pretty good shape. They must have had some very smart engineers back then. Here we also got to ride all modes of transportation starting from the most ancient ones - camel ride, horse carriage, boat, car, train to the latest one airplane.

Something interesting about Egyptian civilization was that everything revolved around Sun God & river Nile. The pyramids were built on the west of Nile, side of the setting sun & the temples are all on the east bank. Here we got to see 5 temples,biggest of all was Karnak Temple (100+ acres of land) & the others were huge too. Each of them was filled with huge columns, array of sphinx & statues.

Some other interesting fact about Egypt are:
-Egypt has 109 pyramids, 75 temples but not  a single remain found of their palaces - Cause they believed in afterlife & not the leisure's of present life
-India means Amitabh Bachhan for all Egyptians

The Famous Giza Pyramids

Hatsheput Temple

@ Karnak Temple



Inside Edfu Temple



Spinx Avenue outside Karnak Temple



@ Abu Simbel



Ride like an Egyptian !!

Komombo Temple

α Δ Σ - more on Greece

After the trip to islands we came back to Athens, where we went to see the great Acropolis. Here the structure was in a much better shape than the Roman ones. For most of our time there we walked around the city, climbed a couple of hills ( Fact: City of  Athens is surrounded by 9 hills) & enjoyed meals in the local neighbourhood.

From Athens we took a 2 day trip to Delphi & town of Meteora. Our 1st day of the trip & it was pouring like crazy with freezing temperatures too. Didn't expect the weather to take such a turn on us. It was 9°C/ 48°F on our 1st day. Seems like mother nature was giving us a taste of fall in US.

Meteora is a lovely town which comprises of 6 monasteries built on giant rocks, literally. I mean some of them are so distant that the only way to get there is by cable car. we got to visit 2/6 monasteries which were lovely. The view from each of them was magnificent. That brings us to the end of our Greece trip.....Off to our next stop in another continent !!

@ Acropolis

@ Museum

Great Acropolis

Beautiful View of Meteora

White & Blue - Greek Islands

Heavenly......simply beautiful. During our stay in Greece we visted 2 of the most popular greek islands Mykonos & Santorini. Each of them is gorgeous in its own way.

In Mykonos we stayed at Vencia hotel. A great place & would recommend to anyone who goes there. Warm & friendly staff, amazing view (you will see in the pics below ;) & great food. We really enjoyed the risotto, taziki & baked feta cheese, which is like our kadai paneer with peppers & onion; one of the reasons
we didn't miss Indian food as much. Most common ingredient in greek food is olive oil, not just a dash but pentiful & feta cheese. Now, more on Mykonos - It is a very pedestrian friendly as one is forbidden to drive a car or ride a bike in the actual town, which is great, cause the town is filled with small streets, cafes, art galleries & arc of flowers at every corner. Beauty of the island lies in its color, which is white - simple, pure & clean.

Next we headed to Santorini, another beautiful island. When you drive thru the island you think what is so great about this place but the actual beauty is hidden on the sides. The city is hidden along the sliding perimeter of the island, which you see only when you walk on the edge. Important fact about the town is that it was once an active volcano (last minor eruption happened in 1960 which is not that far ago) & we got to see the crater of the original eruption. Pretty cool !! There are hot springs around the mountain where people can swim & you can smell the sulphur in the waters. Santorini is also popular for its blue domes & lovely sunsets. Chek out the below pics to understand why ...

More about Greece in my next entry....till then Adios !!

Overview of Mykonos

Windmills by the shore in Mykonos

                      

Chilling by the pool at sunset, Mykonos

In Santorini

Overview of the city on the edge !!

Distant view of Santorini

Volcanic Crater



Famous blue domes in Santorini



If Rome has ruins....Venice has waters

We just left from Italy & enroute to our second stop. Thought of sharing a few

bits with my readers.

If you are into history & archealogy then Rome is your jackpot. The city is  

filled with historical ruins. The master of all is Colosseum, the Roman Forum to

follow - an entire area filled with majestic columns & roman struture destroyed

by the Barbarians, rulers who defeated romans in war. The Pantheon, the monument

to honor the dead of the war was one of the few non-destroyed structure. Some of

the other monuments we visited include beautiful Trevi Fountain & the majestic National

Monument.

Next we went to the Vatican city. Beautful painting & sculptures fill the place.

Best of all is the Sistine chapel - a 130 ft painted ceiling done by

Michaelangelo over a period of 4 years. A true Masterpiece !!

Next Stop Venice :) - A city on water. One of the most beautiful city I have

seen. Its filled with colorful buildng, small bridges & even small passages

(some literally 1 arm wide) A city I would love to get lost in (and we did).

Theres also the San Marcos square in the heart of the town filled with the

hustle bustle of tourists, local musicians & lots of pigeons. Never knew feeding

pigeons could be so much fun. Sight of gandolas going under the bridges, people

dinning along the river & musicians singing by the cafe makes it a picture

perfect evening.

Given a choice, I would pick Venice over Rome, anytime. Below is a glimpse of  Italy thru our lense



Inside the coloseum

 


Colosseum

 



 

Trevi Fountains



Vatican City

 

God creates Human ....a part of the Sistine chapel paiting








National Monument



Roman Forum (ruins)





San Marcos Square, Venice

Fun with Pigeons

Canals in Venice