Aurora while flying over Greenland. 8 sec hand-held exposure at ISO 3200. M31 visible near center.
8 hour layover in Amsterdam. Got lost on the trains, then visited the Van Gogh museum, which had a fantastic collection of Rembrandt and Caravaggio as well. But Rijks museum is more photogenic on the outside.
Flew on to Cairo, then Dahab on the Sinai peninsula. Dahab waterfront in the evening.
Dahab beach. Saudia Arabia visible faintly across the Gulf of Aqaba.
SCUBA diving near Dahab. Chris next to mounding coral. Underwater shots taken with a Canon A80 P&S with camera flash only.
Parrot fish. Large male and small (young) female.
Emporor fish over seagrass.
Damselfish young and old, plus clown anemone fish on their Coriactis sea anemone.
Puffer fish
Triton snail and black sea cucumber
Butterfly fish
Deadly lionfish
Juvenile fishes in school
Large comb jelly (Phylum Ctenophora, unique with 2 anuses around eyespot, plus one mouth)
1 hour camel ride along the coast. Chris thought it was 55 minutes too long. I liked it, although it was a bit rough on a certain body part, especially when trotting (note lack of stirrups).
Egypt is not known for its wildlife (at least not above water), but we did find this little guy. I believe it is a gecko, but I haven't identified it yet.
Exactly 5 weeks after we were there, terrorists struck Dahab a couple blocks from our lodgings. Images from news services.
Cairo traffic. Five cars across on a three-lane road, with everybody (including our bus driver) cutting everybody else off continuously and honking all the time. Entertaining if you're in the largest vehicle, terrifying otherwise.
View from our hotel (Le Meridien) in Giza.
Modern architecture in Cairo. Some people found this new $20M house a bit over the top, but I'm planning to buy a few acres in Palo Alto and build one just like it.
Flooded intersection at the bazaar! I don't know where these guys are pushing the water to; Cairo has no storm drains. Haggle for everything here: It took a large effort to negotiate the price of a newspaper down from 60 cents to 40 cents.
Two of the three Great Pyramids at Giza: Khufu (left) and Khafre. Awesome.
We climbed up to the King's Chamber in Khufu. Narrow and tight in places, but what a thrill! Original entrance at center, modern entrance on the right (created in 820 A.D.).
In 1954 a pile of ancient wood was found at Giza. Nobody knew what it was originally until it was pieced together. The result was the 43m-long "solar boat" used to transport Khufu in the afterlife.
The Sphinx with Khufu in the background.
Local kids were always happy to see us.
The Colossus of Ramses at Memphis. The ancient city of Memphis was founded by Menes, the King who united Upper and Lower Egypt. Not much is left of this city, however this statue, the Alabaster Sphinx, and other well-preserved artifacts are housed in a small mesuem at the site near the modern town of Mit-Rahina.
The Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara. Built in the third Dynasty, this was the first pyramid in Egypt.
We spent 4 nights on the Salacia, sailing from Luxor to Aswan.
Karnak Temple
Karnak Temple. Cartouche of Ramses II on right (deeply carved to prevent erasing), 18th-19th centrury graffiti.
Karnak Temple. One of the Obelisks of Queen Hatshepsut.
Karnak Temple
Luxor Temple. Statue and obelisk of Ramses II in front of the pylon.
Luxor Temple. Gods were well-endowed. Greek graffiti at lower right.
Luxor Temple. My parents and I in front of Ramses II.
Valley of the Kings. Entrance to the tomb of Siptah.
Valley of the Kings. Interior of the tomb of Siptah.
Valley of the Kings. Just inside the entrance of the tomb of Merenptah.
Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. She was often depicted as male since a female could not be a pharaoh.
Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Detail of a relief, showing original colors.
Colossi of Memnom in Thebes. Amenhotep III (18th Dynasty) built these two 75 ft statues of himself to guard a mortuary temple (now gone).
Local transport
Rug vendors selling to cruise ship passengers.
End of the workday
Temple of Horus at Edfu. Pylon built by Ptolemy IX, construction required 6 rulers of that dynasty. Neos Dionysos shown smiting foes before Horus.
Temple of Horus. Statue of Horus.
Temple of Horus. Empty Cartouche. Craftsmen often delayed filling in the name of the Pharaoh until they were sure he would last, or he was scheduled to visit the temple.
Temple of Horus. One of several narrow hallways with walls covered in reliefs. Horus is depicted here.
Temple of Haroeris and Sobek at Kom Ombo. Left side is dedicated to the falcon-headed Haroeris, the "Good Doctor" (a form of Horus the Elder). The right side is dedicated to the crocodile-god Sobek.
Temple of Haroeris and Sobek. A calendar showing the 10-day week.
Temple of Haroeris and Sobek. Reliefs depicting a woman giving birth and medical instruments.
Sun temple of Abu Simbel. Built by Ramses II to honor the sun-god Re-Herakhte, but the 4 colossi are of himself. Re-Herakhte is depicted above the doorway, while Ramses's relatives are shown around his lower legs. Below are prisoners from conquered nations; African on the left, Asian on the right. The entire temple was cut up into pieces, moved, and reassembled on high ground in the '60s when Lake Nasser was about to flood the original site.
Sun temple of Abu Simbel. Detail of third colossus. Nile gods shown symbolically uniting Egypt. Ramses's cartouche is at center (vertically oriented) and at lower right (horizontal).
Sun temple of Abu Simbel. First colossus, and best preserved.
Temple of Queen Nefertari at Abu Simbel. Dedicated to the goddess Hathor. "Only" four of the colossi are of Ramses II.
Temple of Queen Nefertari. Standing people are always portrayed with the left foot forward, since the heart (center of all that is good and wise) is on the left side.
Tourist policeman at Abu Simbel. He suggested a small donation to take his picture would be appropriate. Since he was the one with the machine gun, I agreed. Note heavy wool coat, just the thing for 90+ degree weather.
Unfinished Obelisk at the Northern Quarries south of Aswan. Attributed to Queen Hatshepsut, it was abandoned after a crack developed while quarrying. It would have weighed 1200 tons and stood 42 meters tall. Health tip: when lifting large granite obelisks, use your legs and not your back.
Northern Quarries. Evidence of ancient quarrying techniques. Wooden wedges were inserted into slots and soaked, splitting the stone.
Town of Salum (Mediterranean coast, near Libya) on eclipse morning. Sky is clear in the town itself. Plateau, where we're headed, is shrouded in fog.
My setup. Main scope is a 80 mm f/7 Megrez ED with a Canon 20D. Everything designed to minimize weight and size. Cardboard counterweight box with genuine local Egyptian rocks. Sitka spruce tripod legs. Baader filters in homemade mounts on scope, finder (for visual), and video camera. Mom supervising. TravelQuest/Sky&Telescope crowd in background.
Peninsula Astronomical Society members. Yours truly, Bill, Paul, and Chris. Smiles because fog cleared!
Partial eclipse about 32 minutes after first contact.
Second contact with double diamond ring. Prominence activity was surprisingly good considering this was solar minimum.
Totality! Image is a stack of 11 exposures (1/500 to 2 sec). Nice polar brushes and equatorial streamers typical of a solar minimum corona. 7.7 mag star in Pisces at lower right.
Third contact. Deep valley on limb of moon gave us a bright and long-lasting diamond ring.
President Mubarak and his family watched the eclipse about 100 yards from where we were. He wore the Sky&Telescope (co-sponsors of our tour) eclipse glasses. "Anti-climax" refers to another story, definitely not the eclipse!