In The Land of Ancient Egypt

Imagine Cancun, Mexico….replace the smiling Mexicans with often rude, occasionally polite, and always devious Egyptians….and what you get is Sharm El Sheikh. Sharm is located at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula and is the convergent point for the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba. Bonus points for nearly all-year-round sunshine, extra bonus points for bargain rates at fancy hotels, and major point deductions for there not being all that much to do. The Red Sea does in fact some great scuba diving locations, however…during this time of the year the dive companies offer less than regular service to the best spots. So basically we relaxed at the hotel, read books, and enjoyed the sun. One day we did hit the ocean for a dive, which was actually quite nice, but most of the time Dad and I were just plain lazy. We figured that these are our only days of non-activity for the rest of our Middle East/North Africa trip so we took advantage of the free time.

We took a one-hour flight over the Red Sea and landed ourselves in the city of Luxor, located along the banks of the famous Nile River. Life in Luxor is considerably more hectic than Sharm and finally gave us the sense that we had finally arrived in Egypt. “Hello my friend, welcome in Luxor” seems to be the generally accepted greeting in the city, accompanied by countless offers for overpriced cheap souvenirs. Shortly after arriving at the quite grand and historic Winter Palace Hotel (built in 1886) I reunited with my former college roommate, fellow traveler, and dear friend since we met shortly after starting school at UCSB, Mr. Mathew Zalk. Having spent nearly all of my years in Santa Barbara with Mat pursuing countless adventures and great times, it was great to finally catch up with him after a 19-month hiatus while we’ve both been traveling in different parts of the world. As is the case with great friends, we picked up right where we left off as though no time had passed at all.

So for the remainder of our journey in Egypt it will be a party of three. Mat, Dad, and I explored the ancient and grand Karnak temple outside Luxor, rode bicycles through farming villages on the west bank of the Nile, chewed on stalks of sugar cane that had fallen off passing trains, drank coffee, ate yummy food, and spent one whole day visiting the Valley of Kings across the river from Luxor. Beginning nearly 4000 years ago, Luxor was known as the city Thebes and was the ancient capitol of the grand Egyptian Empire. Thebes was the center of Upper Egypt when the civilization was at its highest point, during the Middle Kingdom era (1550 B.C. - 1050 B.C.). During that time enormous and elaborate temples of worship were created, intricately decorated tombs, and engineering marvels were constructed all over this region of country. It’s amazing to think that 3000 years ago the Egyptians pharaoh’s Seti, Ramesses II, Tutankamen, and several other notable rulers oversaw the creation of such an impressive civilization and society. It’s truly a wonder to wander through these ancient structures and marvel at such impressive creations of man that still manage to instill a sense of awe and wonder in the 21st century traveler.

It would be impossible for me to do any justice to the history of Egypt, with its splendid achievements and stunning architectural feats, so I’ve included a link to Wikipedia’s page on the subject for those who are interested in reading more: Ancient Egypt

The sights around Luxor have been really amazing to see up-close in person but it’s time for us to once again move onward in our journey. I don’t mean to sound conceited or trite by saying this but after visiting so many temples and tombs in such a short time, you get “templed out”. They all start looking the same, your attention span in admiring each location’s unique history begins to wane…and the little alarm bell goes off….time to get out of here. The three of us are headed out of Luxor on this evening’s overnight train to Cairo. I imagine the first thing I’ll hear when we walk into the train station is “Hello my friend, welcome in Cairo” as opposed to the generally agreed upon universal greeting in Luxor, but that remains to be seen. Something tells me that the Egyptians and their aggressiveness to sell you something, anything…doesn’t get any less intense in Cairo…I guess I’ll have to wait and see.

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