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Published: December 28th 2023
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Anyone seeing the title of ‘cats’ and the location in Luxor may have assumed I was referring to the many sphinxes adorning this town. In fact, there’s a whole avenue of them, recently opened between Karnak and Luxor temples. There are hundreds of them.
But anyone would be wrong. I’m referring to actual cats. Fat ones, almost hundreds of them that we got to hang out with today at the ACE animal sanctuary, a charity on the East Bank that looks after the neglected animals of Luxor. And bloody hell, there are a lot of them. So this shelter takes them in. At this point, you’d normally say ‘there were fat ones and skinny ones…’ but in reality, there are no skinny ones because the ones that are there know they’re onto a good thing. And they’re not going anywhere, except maybe onto the balcony to have a nap in the sun.
So we rocked up unannounced and had a tour of the facility - there’s an avenue of cats, all fat as a house and obviously very much loved. And donkeys and horses that are healing their wounds from years sometimes of overwork. Some of them are obviously
learning for the first time that humans can actually be a source of affection. Then there were the dogs. Some were angry and sad but some were over the moon to see us. And the cats, did I mention the cats? Oh, and the tortoises, more than one of whom was keen to join his marine cousin in the special private time. And one shat on Beeb. She asked me not to include that. And also that a cat peed on her shoe.
So we had a lovely hour shelling out as much affection to all the lovely animals as we could. There was a lot to give and much wanting to be had.
But it’s not all pats and cuddles, there’s shopping to do! So we headed off to the souk, and despite the girls’ trepidation, had a great time talking with the vendors and buying some jewellery. Had a great lunch overlooking Luxor Temple before we had a wander along the corniche. We were not the only wandering to be had, as Eloise attracted the eye of many a lad on our stroll.
We then met our guide for the short trip to Karnak. Tickets
bought and we headed inside. Not as detailed in terms of stories and inscriptions as the previous temples we’d visited (much to the delight of our historophobic companion), but the largest structure we’d visited, having been added to by a variety of kings, notably Ramses II who treated the place much like the cat with Beeb’s shoe.
It was a temple dedicated to Amun Ra, the big man, so there was lots of offering going on. Some more controversy between Hatshepsut and her stepson/nephew Tutmoses III saw the destruction of an obelisk (and honestly, morality) and a structure built to make up for his temper tantrum. Also interesting was the sanctuary which was destroyed by the Persians but rebuilt by the Greeks who were keen to support the Egyptians in their religious pursuits, to the extent that they depicted Alexander the Great’s half brother as the king making offerings to the gods in carvings inside.
We were amazed at how much work had been done uncovering the beautiful colours on the columns and ceiling in the main hypostyle hall since we had visited last so enjoyed some time hanging out there and basically looking up.
Headed back
to our hotel for a relaxing dinner and bed, ready for an early start tomorrow.
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