Luxor, Egypt

We are back in Egypt once again.  My thumb is on the mend, my right hand and finger is still swollen and hurts if I hit it or bend it.  The knees are working today and it is a good thing because we are off for many adventures on back-to-back days. 

After packing a suitcase last night, we were ready for our first overnight excursion off the ship.  Both Michael and I were escorts for our two day trip to Luxor but on different buses.   We arrived in the port city of Safaga and ¾ of the guests on the Quest were headed out to Luxor, many of them staying overnight.  It is a three hour drive over sometimes dirt, always bumpy and mostly jarring roads (they were doing road work).   Driving is not recommended for visitors:  traffic lights are only a suggestion, while the lane lines are just for decoration. 

As you know, I take notes on all excursions and here is what I wrote about the bus ride:  “miserable road through rocky, barren grey and brown hills.”  Yes, that sums it up.  We climbed up the mountains that separate the coast from the desert then descended down to the flat desert.  Egypt is 96% desert.  We ran the gauntlet of security checkpoints with their huge speed bumps. Speaking of security, we had an armed guard on the bus as did each of the buses.  Since I was the escort, I got to sit in the back of the bus – all the way in the back.  I had the entire back row to myself and spread all my junk out.  I brought my knitting and actually was able to do a few rows as I observed the countryside and wondered if my sitting in the last row would stop any bullets from reaching the other passengers.  However, Michael’s guide told him it was now safe to tour Egypt as all the people that were blowing up the buses were now in control of the government.   So I felt safe, and for miles and miles, there was nothing to see, except a cement plant and an occasional abandoned looking cement/brick/stone structures with rebar sticking out of the cement support columns or the miscellaneous camel.  The closer we got to the Nile, we saw fields green with tomato plants.  There were also sugar cane and banana trees.  Villages looked like ruins. 

Barren, rocky mountains

Unfinished building; this happens to be a nice looking one

We arrived in the town of Luxor.  Our first stop was to have lunch so we could be fortified for our visit to the temples.  It has only been three or four hours since our last meal.  Our hotel was the Sonesta St. George, located on the Nile River.  We were very lucky today as the weather was wonderful; it was warm and sunny, but not too hot.  I carried my trusty umbrella with me today but used it sparingly.  Our last visit here was unbearably hot, over 118°.

After lunch, we headed to Luxor Temple to explore the ruins.  It is awe inspiring to see such huge pieces still standing after 3,500 years.  The ruins were wonderful.  The Luxor Temple was for the wife (forgot which one) and the Karnack Temple was for the husband.  The avenue of the sphinx (2 miles long) connected the two temples.  Sphinx statues lined both side of the boulevard; what a beautiful sight.  Buildings were demolished so this site could be excavated.  There is excavation everywhere in the city of Luxor and we saw many statutes and sphinx that have recently been uncovered.

Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and I feel like I had been through a four year college course in Egyptology in just two days.  Whew…. I won’t bore you with facts and figures, but the stories he told were quite interesting.  There was the usual royal intrigue and who offed who to succeed to the throne, who married to forge alliances as well as incest to keep the royal blood lines pure.  Royal lineage was always passed down from the female because you don’t always know who your papa was.  My head was spinning.

Then it was back on the bus and off to Karnack Temple (we didn’t see Karnack the Magnificent, but we certainly felt his vibes).  This temple took over 2,000 years to build.  Add a wing here, add a wing there.  They were always tweaking it seems.  The excavation has been going on for 200 years.  The archeologists knew it was here.  So far, they have excavated only 63 out of 200 acres. 

We learned about the engineering feats of moving huge solid rock blocks up to the top of 67’ towers:   they would pile up sand and then building mud ramps at a 6° angle, wet it down to make it slippery and then oxen and men would pull them up.  The colors used in the cartouches and carvings were still quite brilliant.  They used minerals to get the color:  lapis, coral, limestone, soot, malachite and turquoise.  If the material to be painted was porous, they would apply a coating of beeswax, then paint the image, and then seal it with the wax.  Consider this:  the Sistine Chapel needed repainting after only 450 years; after 4,500 years, the Karnack Temple has never been touched up.  The artistry was quite incredible and very detailed.  Protruding reliefs were placed in the sun, and indented reliefs were placed in the shade so every image was seen at its finest.

Again, after running vendor alley, we made the usual customary stop at the government store to buy stuff.  And buy our people did (including me)!  We made it safely back albeit a few dollar shorter, to the bus for the return trip to the hotel where we freshened up and had dinner out on a pontoon platform on the Nile.  There was a gorgeous sunset and a light breeze.  It was a very cool and lovely evening; dinner was unfortunately, cold.  With dinner over, we got back on the bus.  I digress here because each up and down off the bus was a killer on my knees.  The steps are very steep.  I don’t think the bones in my knees are really the problem, it’s just the steps are too damn high.  Really, my tendons around the knee are very tight as I have not had my regular massages to keep them loosened up.  So why back on the bus after dark?  There was a light show at Karnack Temple and we went to see it.  The ruins are not well illuminated and the stones were uneven and broken, making walking quite hazardous.  The guide handed out the tickets and flashlights, and of course, ran out by the time it came to me.  Like the boy scouts motto says “be prepared,” I was.  I had my own flashlight! 

It was a star-filled night and we could see the western hills all lit up.   The temple itself was bathed in eerie light and then the light and sound show started.  Booming voices told of the history of Karnack.  We stood for 15 minutes, and then walked to the next station for another 15 minutes.  We then walked to the purification pool (where there were seats) and watched the rest of the show.  In all honesty, we did not expect much from this light show (friends told us about it), but at least I can say “I came, I saw.”  Our return trip to the bus had us walk on loose pea gravel that made walking difficult.  We walked a good three miles over uneven ground visiting Karnack two times in one day.  We were really exhausted after the long day and looked forward to sleeping in a real bed.

We were sleeping on a real bed, with really bad pillows, but at least we were sleeping.  The phone rang and Michael answered it thinking it was our wake-up call.  There were no clocks in the room, so I checked my iPad and saw it was around 1:45am!  I told Michael to check his iPad, and yes it was 1:45am!   Who the hell was calling?  He said someone spoke Arabic.   Well, that was the end of sleep for me.  Michael managed to get back to sleep and I managed to toss and turn, never really getting to sleep.  The real morning wake-up call never came.  But since I was already up, it didn’t matter.  I had to drag my sorry butt out of bed.

After a buffet breakfast, we boarded a water taxi from the hotel to the other side of the Nile where our bus was waiting for us.  This was an unexpected bonus.  This was my first time ON the Nile.  

Sonesta St. George Hotel on the Nile River

Water taxi on the Nile River

Back on the bus again for the visit to the Valley of the Kings, which was magnificent.  The pyramids were first used to bury pharaohs along with riches so they would have supplies for the journey to the next world.  But looters were able to get into the pyramids and remove the riches and destroy the mummified remains.  The pharaohs then decided to hide their bodies where no one could find them, thus the Valley of the Kings. It is located on the west side of the Nile and in ancient times, the regular folks were not allowed on this side of the river.  The west side was the necropolis, meaning only the dead lived there; the east side was for the living.  This was a great ploy to keep the riffraff away from looting the tombs.  In addition, this location was chosen for four reasons:  (1) crooked roads we designed to deceive the looters; (2) it was on high ground so there was no chance of flooding from the Nile River; (3) there was good quality limestone; and (4) the top of the tallest peak on the mountain looked like a pyramid.  

There have been 63 tombs discovered so far.  I toured the tomb of Ramses IV and I have got to say WOW!  They are now charging an additional fee of $20 to view King Tut’s tomb; since he was a minor ruler, his tomb was not as grand as some of the others. Ramses IV’s tomb was FABULOUS.  The etchings, carvings, drawings, paintings, hieroglyphics were pretty much still intact and the colors were just as rich as when they were originally done.  We were not allowed to take pictures; we had to leave the camera in the bus.  Michael had more energy and toured a few other tombs (Ramses III and IX).  The weather was soooo much different from last time.   I didn’t even break a sweat, how sweet is that?  We then returned to the bus but first had to run through the annoying group of pesky vendors.   About the only Arabic we know is “la shock ron,” but it is very important.  It means “NO” and it generally seems to work.

Next, we visited the 3,500 year old palace of Hatshepsut, a queen who masqueraded as a man so she could be ruler.  Intrigue, murder, incest.  These folks made for some really good stories and gossip.  It was supposed to be a photo stop, but no, we walked on, climbing many stairs going higher and higher up the mountain.  I am the escort, so I have to go where the group goes.  It was getting warm and I was dead tired.

We took the water taxi back across the Nile to the hotel.  There was time for a shower, buffet lunch, and then it was back on the bus for the three hour ride back to the ship.  I didn’t think this ride could be any bumpier than the trip coming, but it was.  It was so bumpy – how bumpy was it? – it was so bumpy, I couldn’t even knit!  Besides, I was worn out from lots of walking, climbing stairs, romping over ruins, and lack of sleep. 

The crew was out on the dock welcoming the weary traveler’s home with cold towels, a drink, and loud music.  Michael’s bus was the last one in.  Since he is an escort, he was the last off the bus.  Last off the bus, last one to check back on the ship.  The crew pulled in the gear, the captain started the engines, and off we took toward Jordan.

I must get some sleep for tomorrow we have another adventure.