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05-04-08
This morning it was another early rise to join the convoy to Luxor. We all decided to get an early start to get plenty of time in Luxor, so with three hours of bus behind us, we arrived in Luxor at 11am. Not having to leave for our next tours until 4pm, we took advantage of our hotel having a pool and relaxed up there for a while.
The tours for the day were of the East Bank of Luxor. Our tour guide for our two days in Luxor was Shama, and she was great.
We first went to Karnak Temple. Just when we thought that nothing would top what we have already seen, we were wrong. Karnak Temple is astounding! It is the biggest temple and it used to cover 200 acres, have an avenue of sphinxes connecting it to Luxor Temple. Only a few of the sphinxes still exist, the others have been built over and the government is working on removing all the buildings that have done so, to restore this one day. Good luck to them, as there are some mosques in the pathway.
One of the most amazing sights in Karnak,
is the Great Hypostle Hall. This contains 134 towering papyrus topped columns. Absolutely amazing to see. There is still colour remaining in the hieroglyphs at Karnak, so this let you image what the place would have looked like in its full glory. Karnak also has many obelisks and great stories. Of course our friend Ramses II featured heavily again, just keeping up appearances. No photos of this place will ever do it justice.
After Karnak, we went to Luxor Temple. This was interesting because there was a mosque built inside it. As most of the temple was buried underground, the mosque starts half way up Luxor Temple. At the back of the temple there is also a Christian alter and paintings, making Luxor incorporate quite a lot of the Egyptian religious evolution. Luxor Temple also had great stories and was a good example of Ancient Egyptian propaganda. We also saw massive monuments by no other then…Ramses II.
06-04-08
Our tour of the West Bank was another early start. We were all grateful for this, as it was our busiest day yet and when the sun came up, it was HOT!
The day started with a quick
stop at the Colossi of Memmon, then it was our Donkey Ride! This was a lot of fun, but my donkey did like to stop and sniff, even sometimes eat, other donkey’s poo.
Our donkeys did well though; taking us right up the top of the massive mountain that is above The Valley of the Kings. The views were amazing! Definitely worth doing. It only just started to get really hot once our ride was over, so we were grateful for the early start then.
Once up the top, we then walked down into the Valley of the Kings. Now, this place is very hot! No breeze gets in and the ground is practically white, so the reflection is intense. Here we saw three tombs, one from each the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasty.
Tuthmosis III (18th) was the first and this was deep in the ground. The colours were still mostly there and it was amazing to see. Most of the hieroglyphs on the wall were just painted on and looked like stick figures, which surprised me, but was no less impressive.
We then went on to see Seti II (19th). This had more hieroglyphs
that were painted on, with some of the scenes carved. The overall effect of these places is something else, and you could only imagine what everything would have been like when it was made with all the colours still in tact.
Ramses IV (20th) tomb was the last. This was a rather big and wide tomb and had traces of Greek graphitti in it, as well as the cross symbol. This was unfinished, with some work rushed, but the colours were still much in tact.
We then went to the Temple of Hatshepsut. This was rather impressive from the outside, and unfortunately is much the same as other stuff we have seen on the inside. It was still interesting to see, especially the statues of her, which depict her as a man of power.
Last we went to the Tombs of the Artisans. The builders of the tombs. As the Valley of the Kings was to be a secret from the public, these people were not allowed to cross the river Nile to main Luxor. Therefore they had their own village. Foundations of their houses still remain, but their own tombs were fascinating to see. The condition
was still great and the colours so vivid. It was also interesting to see the scenes on their walls from their lives.
We then went to Shama’s house for lunch. This was great food, once again, and it was good to see how they live, and a good time to ask questions about lifestyle in modern Egypt. For Shama to be a tour guide she had to study four years at university and two year in Tourism College.
After lunch it was back to the hotel for pool time, getting snacks for the train ride ahead and then eventually dinner.
That night we caught the train to Cairo, then Alexandria.
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