Egypt Gallery

'Man fears time, but time fears the pyramids.' So says an Arabic proverb. Millions of limestone blocks, each weighing several tonnes: 4500 years later, debate still rages about how the Pyramids of Giza were constructed. To get an idea of scale, look carefully at the base of the pyramid, about a third of the way from the left - there are two figures standing next to a third person on a horse.

All three great pyramids on the Giza plateau were originally encased with polished white limestone, and must have been quite a sight. But over the centuries, these outer blocks have been pilfered, ending up in various mosques and palaces. Only the Pyramid of Khafre retains its limestone cap.

OK, I'm holding my hands up at admit to some Photoshop trickery. In the original image, there is a large boulder in the bottom right hand corner, obscuring the base of the pyramid.

You are not supposed to climb on the pyramids - there are guards everywhere to enforce that ruling. However, this smaller structure - one of the three Queens' Pyramids - had several people standing at the top. In the foreground are rows of tombs in the Eastern Cemetery.

One of the things that surprised me was how close modern Cairo is to the ancient Pyramids. Camel-mounted policemen try to ensure that hawkers and peddlers do not hassle the tourists too much.

I loved the tranquility of Coptic Cairo. I went there nearly every day. This is part of the door which leads into the Church of St George.

These flowers were draped over the gates to one of the tombs in the Greek Orthodox Cemetery. The vividness of the flowers and the coldness of the tomb - it was an image I had to capture.

The Hanging Church, built on top of the Water Gate of Roman Babylon, has a deeply reverent and slightly eerie atmosphere. The interior dates from the seventh to the ninth century and is still used for active worship, as evidenced by the lit candles.

This was the view from my hotel balcony on my first morning in Luxor. Balloon flights over the West Bank give unequalled aerial views of the tombs and monuments of Ancient Thebes. Or at least I assume so - the cost for a short flight was nearly as much as the airfare to Egypt - so I didn't partake.

An hour or two sailing in a felucca is a splendid way to while away an afternoon. Being offered a felucca ride every two minutes as you walk along Luxor's Nile-side Corniche is not. It's tempting to be impolite after the twentieth person has shouted 'Felucca? Felucca?' to you.

I was quite entranced by Luxor Temple, especially because it is beautifully lit up at night. The ethereal figures picked out by the lights give a sense of scale for the obelisk and the massive statues of Ramses II.

In the 14th century, a mosque was built in one of the interior courts of Luxor Temple. It was dedicated to Abu al-Haggag, a venerated local holy man.

This avenue of sphinxes once ran all the way to the temples of Karnak nearly two miles away.

Colorful washing hanging from a window.

Colorful clothing and colorful produce to tempt passing shoppers in one of Luxor's souks.

I recall a teacher gushing about the temples of Karnak during a history lesson when I was in my teens. It is a spectacular complex of sanctuaries, obelisks, pylons and statuary. Karnak was the most important place of worship during the time of the Theban pharaohs, evoking names like Ramses, Amenhotep, Tuthmosis, Seti, and Hatshepsut.

From only having seen hieroglyphs on objects in various museums to hieroglyph-overload at Luxor's temples! Here, hieroglyphs adorn four of the 134 towering stone columns in the Great Hypostyle Hall.

Ankh was the symbol of life for the ancient Egyptians. Many of their gods are depicted holding the ankh sign and in some temple reliefs they are shown placing the sign in front of the pharaoh's face to symbolize the breath of eternal life. The sign was later adapted by the Coptic Christian church as their unique form of a cross, referred to as the crux ansata.

This is one of the two obelisks of Hatshepsut, raised to glorify the god Amun.

Every so often you get a privileged glimpse of how vivid and colorful these temples were thousands of years ago. Here, on the undersides of horizontal beams.

The Temple of Hatshepsut looks like it has been carved out of the sheer limestone cliffs which form its backdrop. Hatshepsut, the most famous of the female pharaohs, ruled for over 20 years. Here, she is depicted with pharaonic regalia, including a false beard, though in other cases she is shown as being more feminine.

I spent most of an afternoon at the temple of Medinat Habu. During that time, I counted less than a dozen other foreigners. More famous nearby monuments draw the hordes. At Medinat Habu, there are so many excellent hieroglyphs that it's difficult to know where to look.

During a ten minute walk along Aswan's Corniche, the road running alongside the Nile, I was asked twelve times if I wanted to hire a felucca. Highly annoying! This image was taken from behind the venerable Old Cataract Hotel. On the hillside in the background are the ruins of the town of Abu and the temple of Khnum.

Elephantine Island (known as Abu to the ancient Egyptians) has had human settlements since 3000 BC. It now houses two very colorful Nubian villages.

This image brings back memories - memories of a most depressing day. I went on a day trip to Alexandria and was determined to make it productive. I wandered about for hours looking for something to capture my interest. But my camera stayed in its bag. Admittedly, the weather was not great, but when I realised that the most interesting thing to photograph was this sign outside a hotel, I knew it was time to head back to Cairo.