13: A look into the ancient past in Luxor, Egypt

   November 11: 🚢Luxor (Safaga), Egypt

Shore Excursion: Ancient Luxor

That's us, with remains of King Tut - just some oldies hanging out together

Started the day with views of the sunrising and breakfast in the room. Thinking that we ticked that food order last night before we had dinner - because we seemed to have a mountain of food. Saved the fruit for "later" and headed out with great enthusiasm for a day that promised to combine lots of bus travel with the excitement of a dip into the glory of Ancient Egypt.

First glimpses of Egypt with neighbours

Blogger's advantage of views and I think we may have over ordered

Right up front today

Getting there

It was a long haul - some 250 kms through the starkness of desert to the green of the Nile. Our tour leader today was @Mona and we were also accompanied by two drivers and two security guards. The drivers did a change up at various stages to keep them fresh no doubt on this long day and the security guards were a "show" of safety and a reassurance for the passengers that they were "protected." We sat in the second row today, right behind the security guard and did have a laugh - he settled in his seat, pulled the curtain to block out the light and promptly went to sleep! Guess he too will be "fresh" later in the day if needed.

Admitting that we were taken a little by surprise. This turned out to be closer to 4 hours of driving - and @Mona provided a 10-minute intro to the itinerary and then was silent until we approached Qina (another 5 minutes) and only came to life with info as we approached Luxor. A little different from what we have experienced to date.

We really are in a rocky desert - the Eastern Desert - a combination of mountains and rolling sandy highlands, interspersed with large tracts of flat land (deep suspicion these were mined areas.) Dr Google tells me that it does receive occasional rainfall and is dissected by lots of wadis, is rich in phosphate, asbestos, manganese, uranium and gold. 

Stopped so many times at checkpoints - the driver had to present papers and occasionally the undercarriage of the coach was screened with a mirror. And every intersection along the 250 km track features a double set of speed bumps which necessitates the coach slowing to about 10 kms per hour to make the up down climb of the obstruction.

Did learn that the houses that never seem to be completed are intentionally in that condition. An affirmation that another storey will be added as the sons marry and the family expands and apparently, an incomplete home is a way of avoiding property tax.

As we approached the towns, noted lots of locals going about their daily lives - predominance of women in the burqa, the ever-present black for women and white for the men, farmers toiling in the fields, groups gathered in prayer in open concrete structures, children running barefoot along the side of the road and donkeys tethered to carts or leaning in slumber against a wall.

Up close and personal with history

Saw the transformation of the landscape as we followed the tributaries of the Nile into Luxor. Water and rich fertile black soils are a decided gift. The patchwork of the farmland was dense - with fields heaving with a variety of produce. Such a contrast from the traverse of the desert.

First stop on the east bank was the Luxor Temple. The suggestion is that this temple is not dedicated to a single pharaoh or god but rather may have been the place where many of the kings were crowned, where they "rejuvenated" their reign. The temple was built around 1400 BC and most of the building was done during the reign of Ramesses II with additions being added over time by other pharaohs including Amenhotep III and Tutankhamun and even a chapel built by Alexander the Great (he was everywhere!)

@Mona provided insights into the obelisks, the statues of Ramses II, the avenue of sphinxes, the Abu Haggag Mosque, the Sanctuary, the Sun Court, the Grand Colonnade - we were dwarfed by the size of the structures and amazed at the detail in the hieroglyphics and the colours of the wall decorations.

The massive statues at the front deify Ramesses the Great - and he is seen posed with his left foot forward (this foot connected directly to his heart) ready to "run" and make his way to the afterlife.

There is only one obelisk standing at the entrance - the other was used as a gift to Paris - this giant stands in the Place de la Concorde in Paris - and the Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt received a clock in exchange (@Mona joked that it has never worked - was such a poor exchange!)

Dwarfed in in the Luxor Temple

Lunch was a refresh time in a hotel on the banks of the Nile and then it was time to cross to the west and the Valley of the Kings. You could actually see the red rise of the sand hills on the horizon as we enjoyed lunch.  That small fertile plain on either side of the river is very narrow and it seems as if this were the case in the times of the ancient city of Thebes with these funerary tombs just beyond the reach of the river.

Lunch on the Nile

The distance to the Valley of the Kings was literally "over the bridge." This collection of tombs was for the pharaohs of the New Kingdom (Tutankhamun, Seti I, Ramses II as well as queens, high priests and other elites) who wanted to make their preparations for the afterlife closer to their seat of power.

We had to navigate the entrance of shops before being loaded into electric carts for transport up to the tombs. Our ticket entitled us to visit 3 of the open tombs and for an additional $15 each we could purchase a ticket to enter Tutankhamun's tomb.

The interior of the tombs were amazing - steep ramps and steps take you through the tunnelled entranceway - the walls are adorned with rich text and painted scenes in vibrant colours and featuring lots of gold. 

Tutankhamun's tomb was the smallest one we visited - just one tiny room. It is famous because of Howard Carter's discovery in 1922 - as the only tomb found relatively intact. No worldly treasures in place today though and hopefully the infamous curse of this tomb doesn't touch us! Incredible to think that we saw King Tut's remains in a climate-controlled glass box right there in place in the tomb marked as KV62.

A definite "rush" up and down stairs and ramps to get views inside. Not all tombs were open - got to choose three from the nine open today. And "open" doesn't really mean "open." Enterprising "guards" in the depths of the tombs keep gates closed and deny access to the final steps and views unless you pay a little extra. 

Golden ticket for King Tut - youve come this far - you have to have a look

Lots of steps and ramps - got our exercise in the hot confines of the tombs

Exploring deeper and grander than King Tut - you get up close and personal

Drive by Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon

The drive home

Certainly memorable in its own right. A four-hour adventure IN THE DARK. The first 30 minutes was a go-slow drive with lots of lane changing and flashing of hazard lights as we progressed at a crawl waiting for the "jewellery salesman" to catch us on the road. Some passengers had taken advantage of buying their personally named gold cartouche. It was delivered "on the run." The salesman's vehicle and the bus met up and pulled over - the salesman jumped on board complete with the jewellery and a portable ATM and transactions were completed - although for those paying in cash there was a little bit of a challenge with change. But an appeal to fellow passengers soon had that sorted.

And we were away. Friday night in downtown Luxor is somewhat chaotic. Loads of traffic in all shapes and sizes, people milling on the side of the road, regular stops for checkpoints, speed bumps to control the traffic at every intersection and NO LIGHTS. The vehicles (these could be 12-seater mini-vans loaded with 20 people, bikes, motorcycles, little tuk tuk type vehicles, donkeys drawing a carriage or an open hatchback with 7 children balanced on the back tray legs dangling out - even semi-trailers, heavy trucks and buses approaching us from the port) have no headlights. There's lots of ducking and weaving, braking and acceleration and our bus driver seems to use the hazard lights and the horn as the indicator of intent. We checked in with @Mona on the lack of headlights and were informed: it saves the battery; it is a courtesy not to shine the lights in the eyes of the drivers AND some of them are broken. Go figure. But it was a relief to pass though Luxor and Qina to reach the divided highway of the dessert.

I helped the driver for the first two hours - then plugged in the headset to listen to a few more chapters of the book - needless to say i was sound asleep after only a few pages and didn't come back to my driving duties until we were hitting the last speed bumps on the way back into the port.

Relieved to be back on board

The coach pulled up alongside the Explorer at 9.01. We were glad to be welcomed aboard and invited to go "dust and all" to La Veranda for dinner. We didn't hesitate - toilet and then water, water and water were on the agenda. 

Phew, 19:01 dockside

Oh no, I think I have turned into a carnivore. I have been a definite limited meat eater to date - so it was a real surprise when I lined up a plate of different meats with just 4 circles of cucumber! And I wasn't shy on the drinks - had them lined up too - water, rum and wine! We were parched. Caught up on the adventures of some fellow travellers (they scored the "best guide " award today - and some are fronting up for another 13 hours tomorrow (no - they couldn't - but they will.) I need another gallon of water just to think about that prospect. We tucked ourselves away in the corner booth of the outside veranda, still in our clothes from our dusty day's adventure and even had the opportunity to share some hints with the staff who are booked on the 13-hour excursion tomorrow.

Lined up the fluids and the meats - even consulted Dr Google to see if we can purchase this rum at home

Relocated to Coffee Connection avoided the jigsaw and absolutely were brain dead for Mensa and crossword. Maybe tomorrow.

Showers and zzzzzs rounded out our day AND we have no alarm set for tomorrow morning - our tour is just half day in the afternoon. That is a luxury.

News from Luxor

Meanwhile, @LoRi had opted to join 8 busloads of passengers who were to stay overnight in Luxor and return tomorrow. Was a very popular option with about half the passengers leaving Explorer wheeling their overnight luggage.

On the touring front, @LoRi had the same long-haul trip to Luxor and enjoyed a similar visit to the Luxor Temple.  They did have the added privilege of getting up close and personal with the artefacts in the Luxor Museum and the four sections of the massive Karnak Temple all hosted by some quality time with their tour leader @Maive (a diminutive grandmother in statute, but a megastar of knowledge about and love for Egypt) filling in some information gaps.

They are staying overnight in a hotel with views of the Nile River and have a relaxed itinerary tomorrow morning in The Valley of the Kings which will see them home in the early afternoon in the light of day!

@LoRi taking a wider view of Luxor

PS Things we may have done better: 

needed something WARM for the bus trip - air con was FREEZIE for me

needed more access to cash for tipping and toilets and access beyond the gates

definitely should have used the loo on the bus - over tested our control :)

Weather: 29 degrees 

Steps: 11 301 - many many stairs and ramps and some hill climbs

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