For my mom’s 60th birthday, I organized a mother-daughter trip to Egypt. It’s been at least 10 years since my last trip with my mom so both of us looked forward to this birthday trip. Since my mom loves ancient Egyptian temples, I wanted to include as many Egyptian temples as possible on this trip. For our stay in Hurghada, I looked online for things to do in Hurghada and found many Hurghada excursions. I doubt that my mom would be interested in snorkeling in the Red Sea as she can’t swim. Then, I stumbled upon the website of Travel2egypt.org, which offers various tour packages in Egypt. Lucky for me, they also offer a private day tour to the Temple of Dendera and Abydos by bus.
On the day of the tour, our guide picked us up at our hotel in Hurghada in early morning. He was a nice young man who was very polite. He also spoke very good English. Our first stop was the Temple of Dendera, which contains the Temple of Hathor. The temple complex was huge, and we were amazed by how well preserved it was. The stunning Temple of Hathor is dedicated to the ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor, who personified the principles of feminine love, motherhood, and joy. It was so fitting to come here with my mom.
Unlike other ancient Egyptian temples we visited on this trip, the ceilings of this temple are still in place. Therefore,, many of the colorful decoration are protected from sunlight. The colors remain very vivid after so many years! Our guide told us about the underground crypt and “hidden” upper level, which we visited. The hypostyle hall was simply gorgeous with all the gigantic columns with the face of Hathor at the tops. According to our guide, this place is so spectacular that even local Egyptians visit here. In fact, I think my mom and I were the only non-Egyptian faces I noticed.
Next, we headed to Abydos, one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt. It is famous for the memorial temple of Seti I. The site of Abydos is huge and offers quite an outstanding experience. The Temple of Seti I has a L-shaped layout. We entered from the north side, where the forecourt and pylon are located. Despite being destroyed, we still saw some partial reliefs. Mom and I walked through the desert nearby and everywhere around us were fragments of bone and pottery. The experience was very unforgettable.
We were dropped off at our hotel in Hurghada at the end of the tour, and we really enjoyed this private day tour offered by Travel2Egypt.org.