Joni's Jottings

Friday morning began with a pre-dawn wake-up call from the corniche: it was election season, and one candidate’s supporters blared messages from amplified bullhorns as they cruised the street.  Voting is compulsory (people are fined for not voting), and vote buying is common – a bottle of cooking oil in exchange for a vote is … Read more

Thursday’s itinerary included an early morning visit to the Temple of Seti 1 at Abydos, followed by a journey north into Middle Egypt to visit tombs of governors of the Wadjet/Cobra nome. In the Middle Kingdom, nearly all rulers expanded or reconstructed the main Khentiamentiu/Osiris temple while building separate “ka chapels” at other Abydos locations. … Read more

On Wednesday morning, I had a bit of time to wander the Winter Palace gardens before breakfast. Our destination today was the ancient city of Abydos, north of the Nile’s Great Bend. Abydos was perhaps Egypt’s most important religious place for the entire history of pharaonic Egypt.  The Abydos region was one of the emerging … Read more

I want to start this report of our Kemet Club Middle Kingdom tour with an editorial note. These posts will be longer than usual, for several reasons: There was so much to see! Every day was packed with site visits. Visiting many of these sites was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so I took LOTS of pictures. … Read more

On Monday, December 1, 2025, I left my friends’ home in Cairo and flew to Luxor to join a tour group. This was an unusual undertaking for me: I’m allergic to package tours in general, and especially allergic to organized tours in Egypt. As some of you know, I fell in love with ancient Egypt … Read more