Luxor

When we last left our travelers, they were journeying across the Arabian Desert in a tour bus convoy on their way to Luxor. At Qina, the topography changed dramatically from dry dust to green fields, as the convoy turned left and traveled through the Nile River Valley, along the canal that runs parallel to the river. As the buses pass through villages, all bridges are closed and oncoming traffic must stop, which adds to the whole surreal aspect to the trip and provides some excellent photo opportunities. The largest crop in this part of the valley is sugar cane, which we saw piled on donkey carts, while the robed cart driver waited on the bridge for the tourists to go by. Lot of livestock and houses along the canal -- one dead cow floating in the water -- and lots of life happening there too. Twas cool and reminded me in a strange way of Chama, New Mexico and the people I met there during my two visits for holy week.

Our first stop in Luxor were the Karnak Temples, where I was gobsmacked by the enormity of the buildings, as well as how well preserved the hieroglyphics are. They are so clear and the colors are still in evidence in many places, which surprised me too. These temples are 4000 years old! I can't keep my hair colored for six weeks! Owl figures (hurrah!) are carved into the walls ("M" in hieroglyph), as well as other birds that are instantly recognizable. One part of the temples had some sections devoted to different kinds of birds and other sections devoted to different kinds of plants. These were the original locations of these carvings -- they weren't moved close together later -- so I imagine that this little area was the Audubon book of its time. I really can't do it justice in words. Seeing the huge statues and obelisks and everything else there baking in the sun was fairly amazing. Much different than seeing the same Egyptian treasures in one of many northern museums.

After Karnak Temples we drove through Luxor, which gave us a good view of "real" life; albeit one that depends heavily on tourists. We stopped for lunch and then went on to the Valley of the Kings, a valley in Thebes where the tombs of approximately 63 kings and nobles from the 16th through the 11th century BC are located. We saw two tombs and, again, I was amazed at how detailed the work is and the beauty of the colors. And I loved watching the Russian guy get his camera taken away after he took a photo in one of the tombs, which is a HUGE no-no.

I didn't take this photo inside the tomb, but found it on the website of someone who doesn't follow travel rules. Bad man! Bad!

We then drove to the Temple of Queen Hatchepsut after leaving the Valley of the Kings. This temple, unlike the Karnak temples, is built on three terrace levels directly into the hillside.

Each level is connected with ramps, and from the top-most level you get an amazing view of the valley. It is beautiful and surprising to see such vibrant green in patches of irrigated land amidst the brown of the desert.

There was some driving after this visit, which culminated in a 30 minute boat ride on the Nile as the sun was setting. How cool is that? The boats were small and bright and there was so much to see. After the heat of the day (it was Africa hot, after all), it was lovely to be on the water, even fairly polluted water. And then it was back on the bus for the convoy back to Hurghada.

It was a tiring day that ended at 11:30. There was so much to take in and I look forward to posting some photos to help explain the trip. Well worth while! Tomorrow: snorkeling in the Red Sea. I saw this: