HUG Explores Egypt!

This past month, 26 Harding University in Greece students had the opportunity to explore Egypt,
visit ancient sites, and participate in many cultural activities.

THE PYRAMIDS

The first day the students flew from Athens into Cairo,
and had the experience of seeing the Great Pyramids of
Giza. Some of the students even chose to go inside of the
pyramids and walk around the tight, dark tunnels. Near
the pyramids, the group got to see the famous Sphinx,
and take many pictures around the desert. Later, they
took a tour of the Egyptian Museum, where they got a
deeper look into the lives of the ancient Egyptians.

CAMEL RIDES IN SOUTHERN EGYPT

The HUG group woke up at 2:00 am on the second day of

the trip to catch a flight to Aswan in Southern Egypt. There,
they rode camels draped in colorful fabrics throughout the
desert, making it a scene straight out of a movie. The
students then headed into the local village on the camels,
where they were able to shop for souvenirs and support
the small community of the Nubian Village.

NILE RIVER CRUISE

The HUG clan then boarded the cruise ship to begin their journey down the Nile River, which
ironically runs north back towards Cairo. They stayed on the ship for three nights, cruising down
the river and stopping during the day to visit various locations. On the ship, students got to
participate in Egyptian culture through dancing, festivals, shows, and celebrations. They also
ate many traditional meals. “We made use of the ship’s sun deck, enjoying the sun and warm
temperatures. It was so relaxing and felt like an exotic vacation,” said Ruben Collazo.
THE TEMPLES
While cruising down the Nile River, the HUG students got the privilege of visiting six different
ancient Egyptian temples: Philae, Horus, Kom Ombo, Luxor, Hatshepsut, and Karnak. They got
to get off the boat and explore beyond the river, see many ancient hieroglyphics, architecture,
ruins, art, places of worship, and much more.

VALLEY OF KINGS

Besides the temples, one significant location that the group got to visit
during the Nile Cruise was the Valley of the Kings. The valley had over
60 ancient tombs of the pharaohs. “We had the opportunity to go inside
of a few of the tombs. The tomb of King Tut was incredible and so
surreal,” said Ruben Collazo.

WRAPPING UP IN
CAIRO

After the cruise, the group visited some last-minute

sites, including the tiny city of Memphis (Egypt, not
Tennessee!), oldest part of Cairo, and Pyramid of
Djoser- the oldest complete stone-building
structure known in history.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE

Sophomore Ruben Collazo, who tells of his experiences in Egypt with the HUG Spring 2023
group throughout his photographs and words in this newsletter, leaves us with one last note,
“Overall, we saw a whole lot of ancient sites. Within a week, I felt like I deepened my
understanding of ancient Egypt significantly just by being there and seeing these sights with my
own eyes”.

YOU CAN HAVE THESE EXPERIENCES TOO!

Just like the Spring 2023 HUG students, you can have the experience to explore Egypt and
many different places through Harding University’s six different semester-long international
programs. Visit https://www.harding.edu/academics/study-abroad for more information and to
sign up for your own study abroad trip!

CREDITS:
All photographs are provided by Ruben Collazo (@ruben_collazo21) on Instagram.