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Statue of Ramses
This is a towering statue of Ramses in front of Luxor temple and me standing next to it. Once one has been in Egypt for a period exceeding two weeks, one finds oneself using every ounce of self control to keep from knocking the next person who starts screaming in ones face, flat on his ass. I love Egypt, it has many beautiful and amazing things to see and if you go to the parts of the country that don't have tons of attractions, most people are genuinely nice. With this in mind most places I have gone have been very touristy and everyone seems to know Canada dry once I mention I am from Canada.....which is kind of weird, since Canada dry is most certainly not the first thing I would think of when I think of Canada. Everywhere you go everybody wants to "help" you, however, everybody also wants money, Luxor and the Tahrir district of Cairo are especially bad for this and people are very persistent. The best way to get away from this is to walk straight, don't talk to anyone and don't even look at them. Even this doesn't work at times and then it is best to start speaking a very foreign language to them, I started speaking German, unfortunately most people here
Part of Luxor Temple
A view of Luxor Temple from an overlooking Mosque also speak some German and so then I started speaking Spanish, this had a faster removal effect. Keep this in mind when I write my blog, as I try to write as honestly as I can, however, much of the time I find myself getting very annoyed and frustrated by people constantly walking up to me, beside me and everywhere around me trying to sell me everything from fake papyrus, to perfume, to taxi rides, horse rides and everything in between. Besides these negatives I have talked about there are many many positives. Egypt has amazing historical architecture and are in the process of restoring many more architectual marvels. I spent the next two nights in Cairo and the two night after that in Luxor. Tonight I leave for Aswan. During my remaining days in Cairo I didn't do much. I spent most of the time relaxing in my hostel and talking with the staff there. The staff at the Australia hostel are really amazing and very helpful. I would highly recommend staying there to anyone planning on staying Cairo. They have double beds, fans, wifi internet, heated showers and one nights stay, if staying in a dorm room, you
With Friends in Luxor
These are some friends I made while in Siwa who I met again in Luxor and then again in Aswan, Ross and Karina from Scotland. Enjoyed spending time with them. can expect to pay less than seven dollars a night. My last few days were spent walking around Cairo, taking it easy and finding out facts about upcoming places that I will be visiting. On Wednesday night I left Cairo, taking the overnight train to Luxor. I took second class, which much cheaper than first class or sleeper class and although it was not all that comfortable it did the job and I arrived the next morning in Luxor at eight oclock. That same day I went and visited Luxor temple, which was amazing and funny enough I bumped into the Scottish couple I met earlier in Siwa and ended up spending the afternoon with them. I went back to my hostel later on because the heat was stifling me and I just couldn't stand being in the heat anymore, so I ended up taking a nap that turned into an extended sleep. The next day I got up early and went to the west bank in Luxor where the dead were buried. I saw three tombs in the valley of the kings, three tombs in the valley of the queens, Hatsheput and the collosi of Memnun. This areas were
Yum Dinner!!
this is how meat is hung...so much for a refrigerator. amazingly beautiful and also amazingly hot. I don't know if I have ever excreted this amount of sweat anywhere before. You honestly couldn't walk more than a few meters before looking for a shady spot to rest. During high noon most Egyptians are not outside, but rather inside their house or their shop or lazing under a tree. This is because there is not a lot that can be done before you feel the energy drain out of your body. When I went to the west side, I drank three litres of water in three or four hours and soon after needed more. That evening I walked around town a bit before going home and relaxing. In the evening I had a meal at a local shop and bought some water and had a restless sleep due to the heat. Luxor really was amazing and all that was left to see was Karnak, which is supposed to be the most spectacular temple in Luxor and maybe all of Egypt. More on that next time as well as Aswan and Sudan.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
You made me laugh this morning.
I'm glad you are using self- control and not knocking anyone "flat on their ass". Enjoying your honesty. I'm going to nominate you for blogger of the week.