Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople

Historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople, Istanbul is the cultural, economic, and financial center of Turkey. Located on either side of the Bosphorus Strait, Istanbul is the only city in the world that sits on two continents—Europe and Asia. After leaving Egypt, arriving in Istanbul, and driving across the Bosphorus Strait, we managed to stand on three continents within one day...

Istanbul on two continents—Europe in the background and Asia in the foreground.

Constantinople's city walls

Starbucks Series 4... Alexandria

My Starbucks Series idea fizzled after only three videos in Korea, but was spontaneously resurrected one afternoon in Alexandria, Egypt.

This time, Andrea and I brought friends and the randomness continued...

Bibliotheca Alexandria

Launched in 288 BC, the Ancient Library of Alexandria attracted scholars, poets, mathematicians, and scientists from a variety of cultures. Inside its walls, the great thinkers of the past studied as children and researched as adults. People such as:

1. Aristarchus,

the first to state that the earth revolves around the sun, a full 1800 years before Copernicus.

2. Eratosthenes,

proved that the Earth was spherical and calculated its circumference with amazing accuracy, 1700 years before Columbus sailed on his epic voyage.

3. Callimachus,

the poet, described the scrolls in the Library organized by subject and author, becoming the Father of Library Science.

4. Euclid,

wrote his elements of geometry, the basic text studied in schools all over the world to this day.

5. Herophilus,

identified the brain as the controlling organ of the body and launched a new era of medicine.

6. The Septuagint,

the first translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek, was created.

7. Manetho,

chronicled the pharaohs and organized our history into the dynasties we use to this day.

- information from the Bibliotheca Alexandria website

Over time, the library suffered a gradual decline and fell victim to an accidental fire and neglect. By 400 AD, the library had vanished and only its memory remained. In 1974, a committee of people from Alexandria University had an idea to revive the old library. A competition for the architectural design of the building was held in 1988 and construction began in 1995. Finally, in October 2002, the Bibliotheca Alexandria was completed.

Its modern design, immense size, and technologically advanced features make it the most famous library in the Arab world. Currently, the collection includes around 650,000 books with a capacity for 8 million. The library also includes one of the largest computer systems in the world and a new one-of-a-kind machine called, the Espresso. Once finished, the Espresso will be capable of printing and binding any book ever written within 20 minutes.

Alexandria by the Sea

Founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC, Alexandria is the second-largest city in Egypt and the country's former capital. Its location on the Mediterranean Sea makes it the largest seaport in Egypt serving 80% of the country's imports and exports.

After spending time in Cairo and Luxor we were thankful for the cooler temperatures, but not as thrilled with the pounding wind. Nevertheless, the seaside town was beautiful and a welcomed change of scenery. Our group of six was now down to four and it would only be a matter of days before we entered the last country on our trip... Turkey. In the meantime, we enjoyed the relaxing pace of Alexandria and recharged our batteries once again.

Sheep and goats waiting to be slaughtered for the Muslim holiday, Eid.

Perhaps it was better they had no idea of their fate...

Luxor Temple

King Ramesses II

Constructed by King Amenhotep III who reigned 1390-1353 BC, the Temple of Luxor was dedicated to the gods Amun-Re, Mut, and Khons. Additions and completions were made by Ramesses II, Tutankhamun, and Horemheb. Used continuously as a place of worship, even for the Christian church at one time, the temple was eventually buried beneath the city for thousands of years. During this time, a Muslim mosque was built on top of the structure and when the Luxor Temple was finally uncovered, the mosque was left in place where it still remains today.

Nana, our tour guide the previous day, highly recommended we save the Luxor Temple for after dark when it comes to life under hundreds of spotlights. She was right. It was magnificent...

Outer entrance constructed by King Ramesses II and flanked with his statues.

photo by Andrea

My favorite area, the Sun Court of Amenhotep III, is an enchanting room bordered by huge romantic columns.

photo by Andrea

The avenue of sphinxes, still being uncovered, link the Luxor Temple with the Karnak Temple.

Now, I know the song I used for the video below isn't what you might initially think of, but the beauty of the lit-up temple cast a spell on me.

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

When I'm in Egypt and I'm all templed out, I like to do something different. Hop on a relaxing river boat, sail down the Nile and stop on an island. A banana island, that is.

It's true.

On Luxor's banana island, hundreds of banana trees bask in the sunlight while farmers sit and wait for the fruit to ripen. Why do tourists visit the island? I'm not sure. There aren't any mummies or pyramids or temples or statues to see. In fact, the only other thing to look at is the crocodile the locals have captured, which they now poke with a stick. Obviously, that's not a good idea. But, after a tour around the land with a semi-informative guide and a quick poke at the croc, we sat in the shade and enjoyed a heaping platter of bananas. Maybe that's why people go. Who would turn down a perfectly good banana?

Our boat, the Tom & Jerry

Baby bananas

Little Men

Whistles, stares, and catcalls... much too young.

Regrets

Sometimes it's easier to leave the baby at home...

What Not to Wear

True: Egypt is hot.

False: You should wear the least amount of clothing possible when visiting Egypt, as well as, other Middle Eastern countries.

As a general rule, it is best to cover most of your arms and legs while traveling throughout the Middle East. This is beneficial in many ways as it shows a level of respect for the culture and wards off unwanted attention. We did our best to abide by this rule, especially while off the beaten path. However, temperatures in Luxor soared to an unbelievably high degree and we sometimes rolled up our pant legs and pushed up our sleeves.

Some people, however, just didn't get the memo. Wearing these outfits in the Middle East is probably, Not a Good Idea...

Well, the hat was a good idea....

It seems as though he came with a shirt, but now it's tucked into his... swimming trunks?

Can't you just feel her sunburn?

He got it half right... at least he's wearing jeans.

Peek-a-boo

Karnak Temple

Karnak temple is the largest ancient religious complex in the world and the second most visited site in Egypt, after the Giza pyramids. The temple was completed over a thirteen hundred year period during which approximately thirty pharaohs contributed to its expansion and grandeur. Today, only the largest precinct is open to the public—Precinct of Amun-Re—while the others, Precinct of Montu, Precinct of Mut, and Temple of Amenhotep IV are closed.

Entrance to the Precinct of Amun-Re lined with rams

The famous Hypostyle Hall—134 massive columns in 16 rows, half at 10 meters high and the other half at 21 meters.

An Hatshepsut-shaped erasure, presumably from her nephew/husband's son, Tuthmose III.

Another missing Hatshepsut

The Obelisk of Hatshepsut is the second-tallest obelisk in the world at 97 feet. The Lateran obelisk in Rome, commissioned by Hatshepsut's nephew Tuthmose III, remains the tallest at 101 feet.

Where You Going? Part 2

Remember this picture from Bangkok? The annoying tuk-tuk drivers followed us all the way to Egypt, put on a new outfit and transformed their horsepower engine into, well, actual horse power. Despite the new appearance, the old question remained...

Hey! Where you going?

Colossi of Memnon

Originally constructed around 1350 BC, the two gigantic twin statutes of Pharaoh Amenhotep III stood guard at the entrance to his immense mortuary temple across the Nile from the city of Luxor. Weighing over 700 tons each, the statues are made of quartzite stone, which was transported over 400 miles from an area near the city of Cairo. Throughout the years, the mortuary temple was destroyed and the statutes themselves, run down. At one point, cracks in the statues' remains cried or whistled early in the morning when the wind blew. Many people believed the cries to be the voice of Memnon, a hero of the Trojan War, whose name means "Ruler of the Dawn." It was said good luck favored those who heard the cries causing thousands of people to flock to the statues. However, a reconstruction of the upper-half of one statue, around 199 AD, silenced them forever.

Slight reconstructions of this statue make the twins appear more fraternal than identical.

The smaller statues along Amenhotep's legs depict his mother and wife.

Valleys of the Kings & Queens

Entrance to the Valley of the Kings

The Valley is surrounded by the tall Theban Hills

The Valley of the Kings, located on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor, is home to 63 burial sites of Egypt's ancient kings and powerful nobles, including King Tutankhamun, whom Nana (our spunky tour guide) apparently does not care for. Decorated in colorful hieroglyphs, the paintings depict mythological scenes and give insight into various customs of the time period. As excavations continue, only a handful of tombs are open to the public including those we saw of King Ramesses I, III, and IV.

The Valley of the Queens, located near the Valley of the Kings, was once known as Ta-Set-Neferu, meaning "the place of the children of the Pharaoh." Both the wives and children of prominent Kings were buried within the rock-cut tombs as a way to protect against robbers. Over 70 tombs exist in the valley, many of which are said to be lavishly decorated, including the famous tomb of Queen Nefertari, wife of Ramesses II. Said to be the most beautiful tomb in all the valleys, Queen Nefertari's resting place is now closed to the general public and only accessible upon governmental permission and a $4,000 entrance fee. Obviously, our budget was not that flexible so we settled on the tomb of Queen Tyti, the speculated wife of one of the many King Ramesses.

The entrance to the tomb of Queen Nefertari, a $4,000 fee.

Carved out of the wall and painted in vibrant hues, many of the hieroglyphs still remain in astonishing condition maintaining their original colors. Red, yellow, blue, and black trace their way up and down the otherwise bare walls, forming small symbols and filling in familiar drawings. Na Na informed us of the origin of each color: red came from animal's blood, yellow from a bird's egg, blue was lapis lazuli, and the ubiquitous black, used in outlining, was from smoke and ash. Common scenes depicted the deceased crossing into the afterlife accompanied by various gods. Unlike some underwhelming world wonders that do not deliver the expected show or illicit the desired response, the hieroglyphs were an exact match to the pictures I had studied so often in art history classes. The royal figures were continuously humanized as we strolled through their tombs and the mystery of ancient Egypt and its mummies came alive in a fascinating and unforgettable way.

In an effort to preserve the incredible hieroglyphic paintings, taking photos is no longer allowed inside the tombs. But, here are some examples of what the hieroglyphs depicted:

Anubis, god of judgement and the dead

Ra, god of the sun

The ankh, or "key of life," is the Egyptian hieroglyphic character representing eternal life.

The Eye of Horus is an ancient symbol of protection.