The Kings of Luxor and Final Days in Cairo

Karnak Temple. This place is huge!
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Luxor is a touristed city on the beautiful Nile.  There are five star hotels that line the shores of the powerful river, and shops filled with souvenirs.  The streets are all paved around the main attractions, and there are even sideways most places.

I arrived into this city of the past from Cairo at 6:30 am after a bumpy ride on the night train.  I was able to sleep in my cabin to myself, but it was not that comfortable!  My tour operator picked me up, and checked me into my new hotel.  My room had a balcony overlooking the Nile!  Pretty incredible.  The felucca boats fill the water with their tourist passengers at sunset here, and the view is amazing.

A view of the Nile at sunrise as the hot air balloons are flying. This was the view from my hotel in Luxor!
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Later in the afternoon, our tour started with a trip to the temples.  We went to Karnak Temple, a giant structure of columns, obelisks, and statues.  There is even the holy waters and a sacred scarab (beetle) statue.  It is said that if you walk around the beetle seven times while stating your wish, it will come true.  Yes, I did join the throngs of tourists pacing in time together around the alabaster insect!  Why not!

After sweeping through all the columns and relics of Karnak, we headed to Luxor Temple.  It is quite a bit smaller, and Alexander the Great has changed some of the carvings in the main temple to tell the story of himself.  Oh how like all the rulers of the past.  He even had it said that he was born of the sun god Ra, and therefore could be a true ruler of Egypt.  Ha.  (It seems many former kings and queens of Egypt did the same thing!)  Anyway, the giant statues of Ramses II guard the corridor into the temple.  It was night when we saw it, and the glowing lights on the enormous structure is quite overwhelming.  There was also one obelisk outside the temple, and one platform where another obelisk stood.  That obelisk can now be found in Paris, right by the Lourve.

These statues line the entrance to Karnak Temple. They are the Ram, and represent war and fighting.
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We retired to the hotel for some dinner and bed, and started exploring again the next day.  The bus picked us up early to head to the West Bank.  We first went to the Valley of the Kings.  There are 62 cataloged tombs of the former kings found in this valley.  We only saw three.  They were elaborately decorated with paintings and hieroglyphics.  Each tomb told the story of the dead king and spoke of what he hoped for in the new life.  They all paid respect to the many gods as well, such as Ra (sun god), Anubis (god of mummification), and Osiris (god of death?).  We couldnt take pictures inside the tomb for fear they would damage the paintings, but but you can take my word on it, they were beautiful even as old as they are!

Giant columns are found within the temple. They are all carved with hieroglyphics and painted in colors.
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After the tombs, we headed to Queen Hasphetut's Temple.  It is a giant structure built into a cliff soaring three stories high.  Queen Hasphetut was the only woman to rule Egypt.  She even played the role of a man to please the Egyptians by wearing a fake beard and wig in public.  The temple is very impressive, and hard to describe.  The pictures do it some justice, but the enormity of it really needs to be seen to be believed.  We were driving along a pretty deserted rode, and curved around into another valley in the hills when the temple rose out of the distance.  It was hard to believe your eyes.

I never knew the hieroglyphics were colored. They were are originally beautifully painted in temples and tombs.
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After wandering the sands around the temple, we head to the tombs of the workers (Medina).  Here is where the workers for the kings, sometimes slaves, lived while building all the tombs, pyramids, and temples.  The house are still there, although half buried in sand.  We also were able to see some of their tombs.  The workers decorated the walls of their tombs with beautiful paintings of what they hoped the next life would bring to them.  They were stuffy and a bit cramped, but amazing to see.

An obelisk at Karnak Temple. There were originally two, but one was taken down by a jealous king.
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We then headed to the Nile, where we took a boat across the river to our restaurant for lunch.  The food was okay.  I have found Egyptian food to be a little lacking.  The view however, was incredible.  We ate ride on the edge of the Nile!  Hard to believe.  After lunch, two other tourists and I strolled the path along the river heading towards our hotel.  We looked in the shops, and said Happy New Year to all the passing children.  They all seem to know that phrase in English, and said it to all the passing tourists.  Once back at the hotel, we checked out, and headed to the train station for our overnight trip back to Cairo.  Yes, I did ride the night train on New Year's Eve.  What a way to kick in the new year!  Ha, ha.

The sacred lake at the temple.
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Cairo was pleasant for the final two days.  I saw the Egyptian Museum with its cluttered collection of the artifacts.  They have a room of 11 mummies, and you can even see their teeth and hair!  Creepy, but definately cool!  We also strolled through Old Cairo.  The hidden neighborhood of churches and temples that existed during the pursecution of Chrisitians in Egypt.  We saw the Ben Azar Synagogue, the first Jewish Synagogue in Cairo.  It is small, but nicely decorated.  I also was able to stand in the Hanging Church.  It is built on one column, and the rest of the structure dangles out in open air!  Architecturally it is called a miracle.  I dont know about that, but it was pretty amazing.

A giant statue of Ramses II.
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Later we went up the hill to the giant Muhammed Ali Mosque.  It is built more like a Turkish mosque, since it was built by a Turk, but it is incredible.  We had to take our shoes off before entering, but I didnt have to cover my head.  The building is now only for tourists, and not worship.  Inside, there is a spiral of lights twirling up to a giant chandelier.  There are 365 lightbulbs to represent the days of the year.

After the mosque, my tour guide took me to get a true Egyptian falafel.  We went downtown to a local shop that was packed with hungry Cairoians.  She ordered me a falafel, and it was delicious.  Way better than the stands in New York!  Too bad it was my last day.  I would have eaten more of them on this visit.

Luxor Temple at night. It is not as big as Karnak Temple, but still very impressive!
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I fly for Nairobi next.  Safari for 10 days, so postings and emails will be scarce for awhile.  No worries.  Pictures may not happen until CapeTown.  Sorry.