Colossus of Ramesses | Anotherdayinparadise2's Blog

Here I am squeaking in at the last minute for Jake’s Sunday Challenge ‘Attraction’.

I’ve shown you many of the places which have attracted me to travel to different places, The most memorable in my mind, being the amazing sight of Machu Picchu. This 15th century Inca site is to be found in the Cusco region of Peru, and is almost 8,000 feet above sea level.

Egypt had long been on my bucket list, and one of the attractions I really wanted to see, was The Great Sphinx of Giza, situated on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile River. The head of the Great Sphinx is believed to be that of the Pharaoh Khafra.

The fallen and badly damaged limestone statue of Ramesses The Great, near Memphis, would have stood over 13 metres high. He was the most powerful Pharaoh of them all, and ruled Egypt from 1279 to 1213 BC.

The famous Terracotta Army in X’ian, dates back to 210-209 BC. These soldiers and their horses were buried with the Emporer Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, supposedly to protect him in the afterlife.

Another attraction in China, is the Li River in Guangxi Zhuang. We did a cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo, and the scenery was truly breathtaking.

The USA has many attractions, and the most amazing place I’ve ever visited is Yellowstone National Park. Something we had to see, was the Old Faithful cone geyser, which shoots 3,700 to 8,400 US gallons of boiling water to a height of 106 to 185 feet. The average height of an eruption is 145 feet, and occurs roughly every hour and a half.

Something else I’d always wanted to see was the huge bronze Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.It was inscribed with the words, “Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” It dates back to 1752 and in its early years, was used to summon lawmakers to legislative sessions and to alert citizens to public meetings and proclamations. It acquired its large crack some time in the early 19th century.

A well-known attraction in San Francisco, is the iconic trolley bus, or tram. The first ones were pulled by horses, who managed with great difficulty to climb the city’s steep hills, until the electric tram was tested and brought into service in 1873.

Of course, you can’t go to San Fran without visiting Fisherman’s Wharf, the most popular tourist attraction there.

I was so excited to see the Statue of Liberty on my first visit to New York. Lady Liberty is located in New York Harbour, and was a gift of international friendship from the people of France, in 1886.

So many attractions, so little time, but to end off, I just have to include another photo of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. This is one of the most photogenic attractions I’ve yet to see.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my pics. To see more attraction, visit Jake’s Sunday Post. He has already posted the next challenge, so why not have a go at it?

Hi again, everyone. Last week, I happened to mention in one of my posts, that when we did the Nile cruise, I got the chance to impersonate a Belly Dancer. Funny-lady blogger, Tilly Budd, demanded that I put up some proof in the way of photos, so here are a few pics from my Egypt experience, included in which is the required proof.

Of course, as soon as we stepped off the plane in Cairo, we were cajoled into trying out the local transport. It was a bit scary, as the steed my son and I sat astride, suddenly spotted a mate of his,in the distance, and started galloping off to have a chat, and a bit of a spat into the bargain. The minders really didn’t seem to have an awful lot of control over their charges, and I don’t know if I would do it again.

The most photographed icon in Egypt, has to be ‘The Sphinx’, which stands on the west bank of the Nile, at Giza. This gargantuan statue which has the body of a lion and the head of a human, was much bigger than I had ever imagined. It is 73.5m long, 6m wide, and 20.22m high, and dates back to between 2558 and 2532BC.

The Colossus of Ramesses, an enormous statue carved in limestone, is about 10m (33.8 ft) long, even though it has no feet, and is located near the village of Mit Rahina. This piece was discovered in 1820 by an Italian traveler Giovanni Caviglia, and was donated to the British Museum, but because of it’s size and extreme weight, they were unable to transport it over there.

Here is the Muhammad Ali Pasha, or Alabaster Mosque, which is situated on the summit of the citadel, the largest to be built in the first half of the 19th century, and the most visible mosque in Cairo. It is one of the first landmarks to be seen when approaching the city from no matter which side.

Even though I considered myself to be ‘modestly’ dressed, One of the officials, obviously judged me to be showing too much flesh, and rushed over to cover me up with this green cloak.

On the river cruise, there was a fancy dress evening, and during the day, many traders along the river bank, were trying their utmost to sell us Egyptian attire. They would throw it up onto the deck for the passengers’ perusal, and then if it was considered suitable, the money would get thrown down in a plastic bag. Both hubby and son bought their Galabeya (long shirts), this way.

I decided to go to the costume-hire boutique on board, and the guy there insisted on kitting me out as a belly dancer. He even stuck a jewel in my navel to complete the look. Later in the evening, during the entertainment, the authentic belly dancer, spotted me, and press-ganged me into dancing with her.

Our dual act met with so much applause, that I was persuaded to do a bit of a solo, and surprised myself when I quite enjoyed it. I wasn’t however, tempted to take it up as a full-time career. We all had such a lot of fun that evening.

Here is one entertainer I wouldn’t even consider trying to emulate. This ‘Whirling Dervish’, made me dizzy just watching him perform. His frenzied, ecstatic dance, accompanied by weird howling utterances, was quite sight to behold.

I hope you all enjoyed the photos, especially you Tilly.

Have a great day, everyone. Chat again soon.