What a day! What sites! What perfect weather! The trip from the ship to Luxor (Thebes) took about 3 plus hours, but first we traveled through desert then through farmland that was lush and full of sugar cane farms. We traveled in a convoy of 20 buses led and trailed by soldiers (armed and looking very serious). On each bus was an armed guard in civilian clothes (on our bus he was carrying and Uzi on his belt under his suit jacket). Every 25 miles or so we passed through a military checkpoint which allowed only one vehicle at a time through. Our convoy had the right of way at every intersection with armed militia holding back cross traffic. They are really serious about protecting tourists. Four years ago 40 tourists were killed at one of the temples we’re visiting near Luxor.
In any event, our tour guide was sensational. She was very personable and had a great sense of humor. She knew her stuff and knew how to get us into the spirit of where we were going. Our first stop in Luxor was the Temple of Karnac. Awesome is the only word to describe the place. My photos will not do it justice. They are continually digging up the area and restoring the temple. This temple and the temple of Luxor are joined by the Avenue of the Sphinx’s, 3 kilometres long. They are restoring all of the avenue and so far it is about half done and will only make the area more overwhelming.
After being walked through the temple by our expert guide and me taking picture after picture (and not nearly enough), we were taken to our hotels restaurant for lunch. It sits on the Nile and is about as scenic as you could get. After lunch we were taken to the Valley of the Kings across the Nile where the tombs of 63 Pharoahs have been unearthed and restored. We got to walk into two of the tombs, Ramses VII and Ramses II. They are huge and decorated with amazing hieroglyphics and contain the huge granite vaults that they were buried in. The engineering of these tombs is impressive as is that of the temples with their statues, obelisks, columns and drawings.
After spending a couple of hours at the Valley of the Kings we had a photo stop at Hatshupet’s temple and the Colossi of Memnon. Again the wonder of it all is much more than I expected and we’d been looking forward to this for the whole voyage. I managed to buy two little alabaster statues for Christmas decoration for more than I should have (after serious haggling), but Chris was happy with the result.
Finally we were taken to our hotel which overlooked the Nile where we had plenty of time to shower and freshen up for dinner. Our balcony on the fifth floor looked right over the Nile and as the sun was setting I got some great pictures of the sail boats, the Nile and Chris. We called Grandma Jenny and woke her up to see how she was doing and tell her about our view. In addition, we could see the minarets of two mosques that were lit as the call to evening prayers were sung out. About as picturesque and classic a setting as you could ask for. We had a buffet dinner under the stars on the back patio and then were taken back to the Temple of Karnac for a light and sound show. As we were led through the temple the voices told the story of the temple and the egyptian dynasties as different parts of the temple were lit. What an end to a fantastic day.
We were both exhausted by the time we got back to our hotel at 11 pm, but had no regrets. We slept well.
In any event, our tour guide was sensational. She was very personable and had a great sense of humor. She knew her stuff and knew how to get us into the spirit of where we were going. Our first stop in Luxor was the Temple of Karnac. Awesome is the only word to describe the place. My photos will not do it justice. They are continually digging up the area and restoring the temple. This temple and the temple of Luxor are joined by the Avenue of the Sphinx’s, 3 kilometres long. They are restoring all of the avenue and so far it is about half done and will only make the area more overwhelming.
After being walked through the temple by our expert guide and me taking picture after picture (and not nearly enough), we were taken to our hotels restaurant for lunch. It sits on the Nile and is about as scenic as you could get. After lunch we were taken to the Valley of the Kings across the Nile where the tombs of 63 Pharoahs have been unearthed and restored. We got to walk into two of the tombs, Ramses VII and Ramses II. They are huge and decorated with amazing hieroglyphics and contain the huge granite vaults that they were buried in. The engineering of these tombs is impressive as is that of the temples with their statues, obelisks, columns and drawings.
After spending a couple of hours at the Valley of the Kings we had a photo stop at Hatshupet’s temple and the Colossi of Memnon. Again the wonder of it all is much more than I expected and we’d been looking forward to this for the whole voyage. I managed to buy two little alabaster statues for Christmas decoration for more than I should have (after serious haggling), but Chris was happy with the result.
Finally we were taken to our hotel which overlooked the Nile where we had plenty of time to shower and freshen up for dinner. Our balcony on the fifth floor looked right over the Nile and as the sun was setting I got some great pictures of the sail boats, the Nile and Chris. We called Grandma Jenny and woke her up to see how she was doing and tell her about our view. In addition, we could see the minarets of two mosques that were lit as the call to evening prayers were sung out. About as picturesque and classic a setting as you could ask for. We had a buffet dinner under the stars on the back patio and then were taken back to the Temple of Karnac for a light and sound show. As we were led through the temple the voices told the story of the temple and the egyptian dynasties as different parts of the temple were lit. What an end to a fantastic day.
We were both exhausted by the time we got back to our hotel at 11 pm, but had no regrets. We slept well.
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