Blogs from Luxor, Upper Egypt, Egypt, Africa - page 5

From Cairo, we flew on Air Memphis to Luxor (Thebes). We arrived at our hotel and then proceeded to the Karnak Temple. It is a vast open air museum and the largest ancient religious site in the world. Karnak is from the era of Ramses II in 1391-1351 B.C. It is located on the West Bank of the Nile River and consists of three distinct sections. The Precinct of Montu (son of Amun-Re and Mut) near the front. The Precinct of Amun-Re in the center and the Precinct of Mut (the wife of Amun-Re) near the Sacred Lake (used by priests for purification). On a frieze there are many battle scenes and many sections of sandstone with very clear images of ancient characters. After the Temple of Karnak, we proceeded to the Luxor Temple. It was ... read more

After the rush of our first couple of days in Egypt we slowed it down a bit and spent some time floating down the Nile on a felucca. The weather was perfect for it! Not too hot with a bit of a breeze and bright sunshine in a deep blue sky. We cheated a bit and had a second boat with some facilities meet us as designated spots for lunch and supper. It was a luxury that we all appreciated! The boat ride was a good opportunity for us to chat and get to know each other better, and to just sit back and watch the scenery go by. Or nap. Whichever. I can't say that a lot happened on the boat, but it was nice. Feluccas aren't allowed to sail after dark, so in the ... read more

This morning we had a very early flight south to Luxor which is situated in Upper Egypt. For some reason the idea that Upper Egypt is south from Cairo seems illogical. Unlike most, if not all, rivers in Europe, the Nile flows from South to North rather than North to South. Therefore the part of Egypt that is upstream is Upper Egypt. We had to meet Amal at 6.30am in the foyer of the hotel. Le Meridien's breakfast buffet is open from 3.00am each morning so we were able to have a quick breakfast before our departure for the airport. After a very short flight with Egypt Air we landed in Luxor. Once again we had a Bunnik's representative to meet us and assist us with our luggage. He escorted us out to the minibus where ... read more

Luxor: Friday, Oct 19 Remember that oh-oh. First the completely bloated feeling at midnight, then the pain and murmurs as I tried to sleep and hope this would pass. On our way home from the restaurant I remember momentarily wishing I was one of those people who could vomit at will since I was so full and had really overindulged. Be careful what you wish for. It happened within minutes that I was in the washroom from 12:30 until 3:30 emptying my body from all directions. From shivering cold to baking hot. And guess what, in only 4 hours we catch a flight to Luxor!!! I tried Imodium but it just came right back up. At 4 I finally fell asleep until our 5 am wake-up call. At breakfast I only had ... read more

Wednesday - October 17th - On the Nile from Luxor to Edfu Am splitting up this day as entries as visited two different places and there are hundreds of photos of the Nile and sites of the Temples to share between them. There is a videographer on board, Peter, and we give him a hard time whenever we can. He is very funny. We often feel like we really stick out..…tall blonde women travelling on our own. All the staff onboard and all the people we have met have been really amazing and kind. Our guide Alaa, is incredible, very nice and very knowledgable. He has his masters degree and is a fountain of information. Only problem is I am worried about a test at the end of this. He likes to ask us questions to ... read more