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Denise Werner

@denisemwerner

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Sweet Home Chicagoan & Palm Springs Snowbird🌴
Most photos taken with iPhone 📱

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2026 Chicago Marathon… Lakeview scenes by @denisemwerner

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6 days ago

An ode to New York in the 1990s… the payphone, camcorder, George magazine, AIDS Walk and David Letterman.🗽🚖

After watching Isaac Mizhari’s fun 1995 “Unzipped” movie in the theater a couple days ago, I remembered these B&W and color pictures I captured during my trips to NYC 30 years ago.

I love the graininess and imperfections of these photos. No second chances with a portable film camera. 📸

Though mostly street scenes, it was always fun seeing an occasional celebrity like Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker outside the stage door of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” taken in New York City by @denisemwerner

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6 days ago

“Ah, September! You are the doorway to the season that awakens my soul.” – Peggy Toney Horton

Farewell mysterious Egypt and Summertime Chi… 🙋‍♀️ taken in Egypt by @denisemwerner

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16 days ago

(Egypt) is a great place for contrasts: splendid things gleam in the dust. ~ Gustave Flaubert

Thanks again, Egypt for the hospitality and exceeding every expectation! 🇪🇬✨

Such a vibrant place rich in color and texture, especially away from the tourist attractions. And many of these scenes were captured through my tour bus window, including one for cat lovers. 😺 taken in Egypt by @denisemwerner

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17 days ago

Cairo 🇪🇬 Coptic Churches, a Mosque and Cave Churches

Upon arriving in Cairo on Sept 19, my friend, Lisa and I had a wonderful private tour of a mosque and some of the churches in Old Cairo, as well as 2 churches carved into caves.

The Coptic Orthodox Church is an ancient Christian denomination based in Egypt and founded in the 1st century AD by St. Mark the Evangelist. The word “Coptic” comes from the ancient Greek term for Egyptian. The church follows an unbroken apostolic tradition originating in Alexandria, Egypt.

Many of the churches in Old Cairo honored Mary and the Holy Family and their journey through Egypt.

So many beautiful mosaics, wood carvings and religious paintings throughout these churches. Plus, we also saw the well that the Holy Family drank from in Cairo.

Walking through the mosque was a very solemn experience and the cave churches were incredible.

Thanks, again Nita (@nbreezy8) for connecting us with Sameh! He and his friends patiently drove us around and showed us so many wonderful places on our first day in Cairo. taken in Cairo, Egypt by @denisemwerner

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18 days ago

Sakkara & Memphis, Egypt 🇪🇬 In 1979, UNESCO named Memphis and its nearby pyramid fields (including Giza and Sakkara) a World Heritage Site.

The Step Pyramid of Djoser was created around 2760 BC and is known as the 1st Ancient Egyptian pyramid to be built. Other facts:

✅Also considered the world’s 1st major monumental stone building.
✅As a comparison, the Pyramids of Giza were built 2589 to 2504 BC.
✅Designed by Imhotep for Pharaoh Djoser
✅Revolutionized architecture by replacing the fragile mudbrick with white limestone as the primary building material.
✅Stacked 6 progressively smaller rectangular stones until it reached about 200’ high.
✅The site also contains a mortuary complex and an open courtyard.

Memphis, Egypt facts:
✅Located south of Cairo
✅1st capital of Ancient Egypt
✅Founded in 3100 BC by King Narmer (aka King Menes) after he united Upper and Lower Egypt.
✅Pharaohs traveled here to receive their crowns.
✅it was called Men-nefer, which the Greeks changed to Memphis.
✅The main temple was called Hut-ka-Ptah, meaning “Temple of the Soul of Ptah”. This name may be the origin of the word “Egypt”.
✅The ancient city of Memphis is mostly gone, but an open-air museum now sits near the village of Mit Rahina
✅Today you view a giant fallen limestone statue of Ramses II, a standing statue of Ramses II and a large alabaster sphinx.

Even though Sakkara and Memphis are often paired together as an optional tour, they’re both worth a visit due to their foundational roles in Ancient Egyptian history. taken in Step Pyramid of Djoser (Sakkara) هرم زوسر المدرج بسقارة by @denisemwerner

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18 days ago

Philae Temple 🇪🇬 Often called, “The Pearl of the Nile,” this temple complex is located on its own island in the Nile near Aswan. Built during the reign of Ptolemy II (Egypt’s Greco-Roman Period), the Temple of Isis at Philae is dedicated to Isis, Osiris, and Horus and constructed at various times between 280 BC - 138 AD.

Only accessible by boat, it is one of the final places where the Ancient Egyptian religion survived, remaining officially open until around 550 AD before being closed by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.

From early Egyptian times, the island was sacred to the goddess Isis. So it’s not surprising that this complex includes the Temple of Isis, which was converted into a church by the Romans. You can see a 3 examples of the Coptic Cross in slides 9-11.

There’s also graffiti in this temple that was added during Napoleonic times (slides 11-12). It may be hard to read, but the word “Paris” appears on slide 12.

And if you’re ever wondering where someone got the idea for gargoyles, look no further than the Ancient Egyptians, who created this lion version on an exterior wall (slide 14).

Just like Abu Simbel, the Aswan High Dam also threatened to submerge this complex. So UNESCO hired a team to carefully dismantle and reconstruct everything on a nearby island in the 1960s-1970s.

I highly recommend a tour of this beautiful waterfront temple. And the intricately-designed columns showcasing plant-shaped designs based on lotus flowers, palm branches and papyrus bells are exquisite.

I also enjoyed experiencing a little bit of the vibrant Nubian culture that stretches along the Nile from Aswan to Sudan. Contemporary Nubians are renowned for brightly colored homes, artwork and accessories. taken in Philae Temple معبد فيلة by @denisemwerner

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19 days ago

Abu Simbel Temple 🇪🇬 Comprised of 2 massive monuments commissioned by Ramses II in 13th century BC to showcase his power and honor the gods.

What makes this site so different from other Ancient Egyptian sites, is that these structures were literally carved into a sandstone cliff in southern Egypt vs. transporting stones from a quarry. Also, Ramses II dedicated the 2nd monument (aka the Small Temple on the right) to goddess Hathor and Nefertari, his chief wife out of his 200 wives.

Abu Simbel is usually an optional tour, because it’s typically a 7-8 hour round-trip bus ride from Aswan due to its remote location in southern Egypt near Sudan.

While the Great Temple that Ramses II dedicated to himself and major gods like Amun-Ra and Ra-Horakhty, was quite impressive with the massive 66’ tall statues flanking the entrance, I actually preferred the Small Temple’s feminine vibe that highlighted women and prominently featured papyrus (fan-like plant).

Another unusual aspect about this site is the fact that it had to be completely dismantled and moved to a higher location due to rising water levels from the Aswan High Dam. So between 1964-1968, UNESCO assembled an international team of engineers to painstakingly cut and reassemble both monuments near the original location. Just mind boggling.

Overall, I’m glad I saw this ancient (and modern engineering) wonder in person. However, it took my tour group over 10 hours via bus to complete the trip last Thursday due to a 2+ hour traffic delay at the mandatory Aswan checkpoint. So for anyone considering Abu Simbel on a future trip to Egypt, just know you can also reach this site via plane or cruise ship, too.

P.S. The key used on the doors at Abu Simbel is called the ankh, or the Key of Life. taken in Abu Simbel by @denisemwerner

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19 days ago

Edfu Temple 🇪🇬 One of the most completely preserved ancient Egyptian temples dedicated to the falcon-headed god, Horus.

Built between 237 BC to 57 BC, its towering 118’ gateway entrance features large reliefs and 2 large granite falcons with very stern expressions.

These 10’ tall colossal black granite falcon statues are also wearing the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.

After touring other temples during peak afternoon temperatures last week, it was a welcome relief to tour this one after sunrise.

In just a couple of hours, it was incredible watching how much the sun transformed this temple. The warm undertones, shadows and even a stray kitten appeared as more people entered. taken in Edfu Temple, Edfu Egypt by @denisemwerner

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19 days ago

Valley of the Kings 🇪🇬 Hands-down one of my favorite and most memorable experiences of my Egypt trip.

Simply breathtaking colors and unique designs in all 4 of the tombs we toured:

1. Ramses IV
2. Ramses I (starts with the tomb)
3. Ramses III (starts with me all sauna-like, because it felt like 120° in the tombs)
4. King Tut

It was also interesting to learn that starting in 1539 BC (and continuing over a 500-year period), Pharaohs stopped building visible pyramids because they were getting robbed, and decided instead to carve these secret, deep underground tombs into the limestone cliffs located near ancient Thebes (now Luxor).

Right now, 65 richly decorated subterranean chambers have been discovered there and with one ticket, you can visit 3 of the 11 tombs currently open to the public. King Tut’s tomb requires a separate ticket and I’m glad we had time to see it. taken in Valley of the Kings وادي الملوك by @denisemwerner

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20 days ago

Luxor Temple 🇪🇬 This magnificent temple was built around 1400 BC on the east bank of the Nile in downtown Thebes (now Luxor) and primarily used as a celebration complex by pharaohs during the annual Opet Festival, rather than a religious center. Its impressive entrance is over 200’ L x 80’ H.

Considered one of the world’s greatest open-air monuments, the Luxor Temple also has a few unique characteristics:
✅colorful 3rd-4th centuries Roman frescoes (slide 11)
✅a 13th century mosque built on top of its ruins (slide 12)
✅a famous carving depicting the ancient Egyptian fertility god Min (or Min-Amun) with an erect 🍆 (slide 13)
✅Alexander the Great reliefs (slide 14)
✅and several Ramses II statues at the entrance, as well as the large seated statue taken in Luxor Temple, Egypt by @denisemwerner

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20 days ago

Egyptian street scenes from this past week🇪🇬 taken in Egypt by @denisemwerner

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22 days ago