Learn Arabic as it is really spoken. Listen to and read Egyptian Colloquial Arabic.

Yomna tells us more about her trip to Luxor and Aswan and the places she explored there.

اهلا بيكم. خلصنا جولتنا فى الاقصر، و ركبنا المركب فى اتجاه اسوان. لما دخلنا الكابينه بتاعتنا و فتحنا الشبابيك منظر شط النيل و السفينه بتشق الميه. كأنك فى فيلم بس الهوا و الميه بيلمسوا وشك و انت بتتفرج. احساس جميل جدا… كان اول مره اجربه. تانى يوم الصبح وقفت السفينه عشان نزور معبدين فى الطريق. دايما كنت بحب اسمع شرح المرشدين و اعرف قصة كل معبد و معانى النقوش اللى عليه. لكن المره دى الولاد كان ليهم رأى تانى و عشان منزعجش باقى المجموعه، اقنعتهم يمسكوا ايدى و نروح نكتشف المكان بنفسنا. الحقيقه اكتشفت ان ده شىء ممتع جدا و خلانى اشوف حاجات اول مره اشوفها و امر فى حتت مدخلتهاش قبل كده. خلصنا جولتنا و رجعنا السفينه عشان نوصل اسوان، ارض السحر و الجمال. احساسى لما وصلنا مش عارفه اوصفه. بس هقدر اقولكو انى ما زلت بدور على طريقه اعيش بيها هناك بصفه دايمه. فى اسوان ركبنا فلوكه، شفنا التماسيح، و رسمت حنه على ايدى و شربنا عصير قصب. ده غير طبعا زرنا السد العالى و المتاحف و المعابد. بالليل ع السفينه حضرنا جلابيه بارتى. و لبست فيها التوب السودانى بتاعى. و سهرنا نلعب كوتشينه، و بعدين فى الفجر شفنا السفينه و هى بتعدى الهويس. وصلنا الاقصر تانى عشان نزور اكبر معبد مصرى قديم معبد الكرنك. سياسة التجول بحريه انا و الولاد اسفرت عن اننا اكتشفنا بير قديم ورا البحيره المقدسه و كنا لسه مكملين لولا ان واحد من الحراس نصحنا نرجع بدل ما نتوه. بالليل رحنا تانى نفس المكان عشان نشوف الصوت والضوء. المكان بالليل مهيب جدا ومخيف شويه. المره الجايه نفسى يكون معانا وقت اكتر نلف فى المدينه و عايزه نركب منطاد فى الاقصر. وعايزه كمان اروح ابوسمبل و اشوف الصوت والضوء هناك. الرحله كانت تحفه. و بعدها الولاد بقوا يلاحظوا مفتاح الحياه مرسوم كتير حوالينا. اظن هنحتاج رحله تانيه قريب نكمل مغامراتنا فيها. اشوفكو قريب!

Hello! We finished our tour in Luxor, and the ship headed toward Aswan. When we went inside our cabin and opened the windows, we saw the bank of the Nile and the ship cutting through the water. It was as if you were in a movie, but the air and water are touching your face while you are watching. A very lovely feeling–the first time I tried it. The second morning, the ship stopped so we could visit two temples on the way. I always liked listening to the tour guides and knowing the story of each temple and the meaning of the engravings on it. But this time the kids had another idea, and as not to disturb the rest of the group, I convinced them to hold my hands and go to explore the place ourselves. Actually, I discovered that this was so exciting. It let me see things I hadn’t seen before, go through places I hadn’t gone into before. We finished our tour and went back to the ship to get to Aswan, the land of magic and beauty. I can’t describe my feeling when we reached it. But I can tell you that I’m still looking for a way to live there permanently. In Aswan we took a small boat, saw alligators, I had henna drawn on my hand, and we drank sugarcane juice. And of course, we visited Aswan dam, museums, and temples. At night on the ship, we had a galabiya party, where I wore my Sudanese toob. We played cards all night, and at dawn we watched the ship go through the locks. We reached Luxor again to visit the largest ancient Egyptian temple, the temple of Karnak. The free wandering policy allowed me and the kids to discover an ancient well behind the sacred lake, and we were going on, but a guard advised us to go back before we got lost. At night we went there again to watch the sound and light. The place was so majestic at night and a little bit scary. Next time I’d like to have more time to wander in the city and I want to take a hot balloon in Luxor, and I also want to go to Abu Simbel to see the sound and light [show] there. The trip was amazing. And the kids came to notice The Key Of Life more and more around us. I guess we’ll need another trip soon to continue our adventures. See you soon!

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