Egypt 4

The area around Amarna had been off limits to tourists for years, due to problems at El Minya, but now we were headed there.  Even though the four of us were traveling on our own, not part of a tour, we still had a police escort, which changed as we entered new territories.  But when we neared Assyut, we were shocked to see our escort was a Tank !!!  Yikes !!!

Of course we were assured that the only reason for the tank was because that was all that was available. And so, after escorting us to our hotel, they allowed us to climb inside and check it out.  Not your usual tourist fare.

This trip, too, was not on the usual tourist path.  From Port Said, through Bubastis and Tanis, to Meidum (where we saw Senefru’s collapsed pyramid) and Fayoum, out into the desert, then  down to Abydos, and finally to Luxor for shopping and Amelia Peabody’s favorite walk over the hill from the Valley of the Kings to Queen Hapshetsut’s temple.

See also: Egypt 1, Egypt 2, & Egypt 3.