Across Egypt: From the Red Sea to the Eternal Nile
埃及之旅：從紅海到永恆的尼羅河
Our journey began in Dubai（杜拜）, the glittering modern city rising from the Arabian Desert（阿拉伯沙漠）. From there, we flew to Cairo（開羅）, where we obtained our Egyptian visas on arrival（落地簽證）and also arranged our visas for Sudan（蘇丹簽證）. Cairo was noisy, crowded, and full of energy—a dramatic introduction to Egypt（埃及）, a land where the ancient and modern worlds exist side by side.
Hurghada and the Red Sea 虎加達與紅海
We then flew from Cairo to Hurghada International Airport（虎加達國際機場）. Hurghada（虎加達）is a famous resort city on the Red Sea（紅海）, known for its brilliant blue water, coral reefs, and warm sunshine.
We stayed at Mövenpick Resort Hurghada（虎加達瑞享度假村）. After the noise and traffic of Cairo, the peaceful sea, open sky, and gentle breeze were especially refreshing. Riding across the Red Sea by speedboat（快艇）was exhilarating. The boat cut swiftly through the waves, leaving a long white trail behind us as the coastline gradually disappeared.
We continued by boat toward the Sinai Peninsula（西奈半島）and Sharm El Sheikh（沙姆沙伊赫）. Surrounded by desert mountains and clear blue water, Sharm El Sheikh felt completely different from the cities along the Nile. The contrast between the dry, golden desert and the intensely blue sea was one of the most unforgettable sights of the journey.
After returning to Hurghada, we joined a diving trip with Simba Aqua Club, which cost approximately US$1,180. Travelling by diving boat, we entered a colourful underwater world. The sunlight shone through the clear water, illuminating tropical fish and coral reefs of many shapes and colours. Floating beneath the surface, I felt that the noisy human world had suddenly disappeared. There was only water, light, silence, and the slow rhythm of my own breathing.
Qena and the Temple of Dendera 吉娜與丹達臘神廟
Leaving the Red Sea behind, we travelled by car through the desert to Qena（吉娜）. The journey revealed the vastness and emptiness of Egypt’s Eastern Desert. For long stretches, there was little to see except sand, rocky mountains, and the seemingly endless road.
Near Qena, we visited the Dendera Temple Complex（丹達臘神廟群）, principally dedicated to Hathor（哈索爾女神）, the goddess of love, joy, music, and motherhood. I was deeply impressed by the temple’s massive columns, carved walls, and beautifully preserved ceiling decorations（天花板彩繪）. The famous Dendera Zodiac（丹達臘黃道帶）showed the ancient Egyptians’ remarkable knowledge of astronomy.
Walking through its dim chambers, I felt as though I had entered a mysterious sacred world. The colours and carvings had survived for thousands of years, carrying the beliefs and imagination of an ancient people into our own time.
Edfu and the Temple of Horus 埃德夫與荷魯斯神殿
We then continued to Edfu（埃德夫）, where we visited the Temple of Edfu（埃德夫神廟）, one of the best-preserved ancient temples in Egypt. It was dedicated to Horus（荷魯斯）, the falcon-headed god（鷹首神）associated with kingship and the sky.
Its enormous entrance pylons（塔門）and high stone walls made us feel very small. On the walls were dramatic reliefs of Horus defeating his enemies, symbolizing the triumph of order over chaos. Passing through the courtyards and increasingly dark inner chambers, I could imagine priests performing sacred ceremonies there more than two thousand years ago.
Luxor: The World’s Greatest Open-Air Museum
路克索：世界最大的露天博物館
Luxor（路克索）was one of the most impressive destinations of the entire journey. Ancient Thebes（古底比斯）once stood here, and magnificent remains can still be found on both banks of the Nile.
On the West Bank（尼羅河西岸）, we entered the Valley of the Kings（帝王谷）. Hidden among the dry mountains are the tombs of Egypt’s powerful pharaohs. Their bodies were buried deep underground in the hope that they could escape grave robbers and enter eternal life.
Descending through the narrow corridors of the royal tombs, we saw walls covered with colourful scenes of gods, stars, sacred boats, and the pharaoh’s journey through the underworld（冥界）. It was astonishing that these colours remained so vivid after thousands of years. The silence inside the tombs gave me a strong awareness of both death and eternity.
Nearby stood the Colossi of Memnon（曼儂神像）, two enormous seated statues that have watched silently over the plain for more than three thousand years. Although much of the temple behind them has disappeared, the two giants remain, enduring wind, sand, floods, and the passage of countless generations.
On the East Bank, we visited Karnak Temple（卡納克神殿）. Its Great Hypostyle Hall（大柱廳）, filled with enormous stone columns, was almost beyond imagination. Walking between those columns felt like walking through a forest built for gods. Every surface was covered with hieroglyphs（象形文字）and images celebrating the power of the pharaohs.
Luxor Temple（路克索神殿）was equally beautiful, especially when illuminated in the evening. Its statues, obelisks（方尖碑）, and long avenue created a solemn but romantic atmosphere. Under the warm lights, ancient Egypt seemed to awaken again.
Aswan, Kom Ombo and the Esna Lock 亞斯文、孔翁波與伊斯納水閘
Our journey continued southward to Aswan（亞斯文）, where the scenery along the Nile became peaceful and graceful. The deep blue river flowed between golden desert banks, green fields, palm trees, and traditional Nubian villages（努比亞村）.
During our Nile cruise（尼羅河郵輪之旅）, we visited the Temple of Kom Ombo（孔翁波雙神殿）. It is unusual because it was dedicated to two gods: Sobek（索貝克）, the crocodile god（鱷魚神）, and Horus the Elder（老荷魯斯）. The temple has two entrances, two courts, and two sets of sacred rooms, creating an almost perfectly symmetrical design（對稱設計）.
The carvings of ancient medical instruments were particularly fascinating. They showed that the ancient Egyptians had developed surprisingly advanced knowledge of medicine and surgery.
We also passed through the Esna Lock（伊斯納水閘）. Watching our cruise ship slowly rise or descend as the water level changed was an interesting experience. It reminded us that travelling on the Nile is not only a journey through history but also an encounter with the modern life of the river.
Across the Desert to Abu Simbel 穿越沙漠前往阿布辛貝
One of the most adventurous parts of our journey was crossing the desert（沙漠縱走）. The landscape appeared endless beneath the burning sun. Travelling through such emptiness gave us a sense of how difficult journeys must have been in ancient times.
We rode camels, swaying slowly with every step. From the back of a camel, the desert seemed even larger and more silent. We also crossed the water by ferry（渡輪）, experiencing the close relationship between the people of southern Egypt and the Nile.
At last, we reached the magnificent temples of Abu Simbel（阿布辛貝神殿）. The four colossal statues of Ramesses II（拉美西斯二世）seated before the Great Temple were among the most powerful sights I had ever seen. Each statue rose like a guardian of Egypt’s southern frontier.
Even more remarkable was the story of how the temples were cut into pieces and moved to higher ground to save them from the rising waters of Lake Nasser（納瑟湖）after the construction of the Aswan High Dam（亞斯文高壩）. It was an extraordinary achievement of international cooperation and modern engineering.
Standing before the colossal figures, I felt both the ambition of an ancient pharaoh and the determination of modern humanity to preserve the treasures of the past.
The Nile Cruise and the Town near Sudan 尼羅河巡航與蘇丹邊境小城
The Nile cruise（尼羅河巡航）was the most peaceful part of our Egyptian journey. From the deck, we watched fishermen in small boats, farmers working in green fields, children waving from the riverbank, and birds flying over the water.
The scenery had probably changed very little over the centuries. Beyond the narrow green strip beside the river lay the vast desert, making it clear that Egypt truly is “the gift of the Nile”（埃及是尼羅河的贈禮）.
We travelled farther south toward a small town near Sudan（蘇丹邊境小城）. The atmosphere there was quieter and less commercial than in Cairo or Luxor. The people, architecture, and landscape reflected the Nubian culture（努比亞文化）that connects southern Egypt with northern Sudan. Being so close to the Sudanese border gave us a powerful sense that the Nile was not simply an Egyptian river, but a great African lifeline flowing through many lands and cultures.
The Sleeper Train Back to Cairo 搭臥舖火車返回開羅
From Aswan, we took a sleeper train back to Cairo—a journey of about 880 kilometres lasting approximately fifteen hours. It was a long ride, but also a memorable one.
As the train travelled northward through the night, I lay in my berth listening to the steady rhythm of the wheels. Occasionally, I looked through the window and saw dimly lit villages, fields, and railway stations passing in the darkness. Travelling overland allowed me to feel the true distance between southern and northern Egypt.
When morning came, the countryside slowly awakened outside the window. The journey was tiring, but it gave me time to reflect upon everything we had seen.
Cairo and the Pyramids of Giza 開羅與吉薩金字塔
Back in Cairo, we visited the Giza Pyramid Complex（吉薩金字塔區）. No photograph could fully prepare me for the actual scale of the Great Pyramid（大金字塔）. Standing at its base and looking upward, I could hardly understand how people had moved and assembled such enormous stones more than four thousand years ago.
The pyramids were not only royal tombs（皇家陵墓）; they were expressions of faith, authority, mathematics, engineering, and humanity’s desire to overcome death.
Nearby, the Great Sphinx（人面獅身像）rested silently with the body of a lion and the head of a king. Although its face has been damaged by time, it still possesses a mysterious dignity. Looking at it, I wondered how many rulers, armies, travellers, and ordinary people it had watched pass before its eyes.
The Egyptian Museum 埃及博物館
At the Egyptian Museum, we came face to face with the treasures of ancient Egypt. The golden mask of Tutankhamun（圖坦卡門黃金面具）was breathtaking. Its calm expression, shining gold, and deep blue decoration seemed to embody both royal splendour and eternal silence.
The mummies（木乃伊）, coffins, jewellery, statues, and everyday objects helped us understand that ancient Egyptians were not merely names in history books. They were real people who loved their families, worshipped their gods, feared death, and hoped for life after death（來世）.
Among all the exhibits, the faces of the mummies affected me most deeply. Looking at them, I suddenly felt that the thousands of years separating us had become very short.
Saladin Citadel and the Muhammad Ali Mosque 薩拉丁城堡與穆罕默德・阿里清真寺
We also visited the Saladin Citadel（薩拉丁城堡）, built on a hill overlooking Cairo. From there, we could see the enormous city stretching into the distance beneath a pale, hazy sky.
Inside the citadel stood the magnificent Mosque of Muhammad Ali（穆罕默德・阿里清真寺）, also called the Alabaster Mosque（雪花石膏清真寺）. Its great dome, slender minarets（宣禮塔）, hanging lamps, and spacious prayer hall created an atmosphere of solemn beauty.
After visiting so many temples and tombs from the age of the pharaohs, the citadel and mosque revealed another important chapter of Egyptian history—the Islamic civilization（伊斯蘭文明）that has shaped Cairo for more than a thousand years.
Khan el-Khalili Bazaar 哈利利大市集
Our final experience was Khan el-Khalili Bazaar（哈利利大市集）, a maze of narrow lanes filled with lamps, spices, perfumes, carpets, silverware, souvenirs, and the voices of merchants inviting visitors into their shops.
The market was crowded, colourful, and full of life. We could smell coffee, incense, and spices in the air. Bargaining was part of the experience, and every corner seemed to offer another surprise. After the silence of the ancient tombs and the vastness of the desert, the bazaar brought us back to the lively rhythm of present-day Egypt.
My Deepest Impressions 最深刻的感受
This journey through Egypt was much more than a collection of famous sights. We travelled by aeroplane, car, speedboat, diving boat, cruise ship, ferry, camel, and sleeper train. We crossed deserts, sailed upon two seas, followed the Nile, entered royal tombs, walked beneath gigantic temple columns, and stood before monuments created thousands of years ago.
The underwater world of the Red Sea filled me with wonder. The Valley of the Kings（帝王谷）made me contemplate death and eternity. Abu Simbel（阿布辛貝）showed me the power of both ancient ambition and modern cooperation. The pyramids（吉薩金字塔）revealed the astonishing abilities of early civilization. Yet the peaceful Nile perhaps touched me most deeply.
Along its banks, life and death, desert and farmland, poverty and splendour, antiquity and modernity all existed together. Egypt taught me that even the greatest kingdoms eventually disappear, but human creativity, faith, and the desire to leave something meaningful behind can survive for thousands of years.
When I finally left Egypt, the images remained vivid in my mind: the golden desert beneath the sun, colourful fish beneath the Red Sea, the enormous statues of Ramesses II, the silent face of the Sphinx, illuminated temples beside the Nile, and small villages passing outside the window of our night train.
It was an exhausting journey, but also one of the richest and most unforgettable adventures of my life.
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薩拉丁城堡
伊斯蘭開羅徒步之旅
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