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Published: January 17th 2006
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I am totally exhaused today... totally tombed and templed out... tired of the constant harassment for baksheesh for "services" we didn't want and didn't ask for.
Shane and I are staying at the East Bank of the Nile and today we made the trip to the West Bank to see the Necopolis. Apparently, Luxor area has been inhabited for at least 6000 years. It is the site of ancient Thebes, which was the capital of Egypt under the reign of Montuhotep II (2055-2004 BC). The Necropolis of ancient Thebes consists of spectacular tombs and temples. The pharaohs from the New Kingdom period saw how the pyramids failed to protect the tombs and mummies of the Old Kingdom pharaohs from theft. So they decided to conceal their tombs in the arid Theban hills. In addition, they built huge mortuary temples to perpetuate their memory.
We arranged for a personal taxi driver to take us to the different sites. First was the Colossi of Memnon which stand 18m high and was the front of what used to be the mortuary temple of Amenophis III, but the rest of the temple was destroyed by later pharaohs who wanted the building materials. Interestingly,
Tomb
Shane entering one of the tombs (King Tut's, I think). the nothern statue used to "sing" at dawn after it has been cleaved at the waist by an earthquake in 27 BC. The sound was thought to be the voice of the legendary Memnon (whom Achilles killed outside the walls of Troy) greeting his mother, Eos (the Dawn). The phenomenon attracted many visitors during antiquity, including the Roman emperor Septimus Severius, who ordered the statue fixed (199 AD), after which it never sang again. (The "singing" was thought to have been caused by particles breaking off as the stone expanded or wind reverberating through the cracks.)
The Valley of the Kings contains over 60 tombs. We saw the tombs of Ramses I, Ramses III, and Tutmosis III (you can see three tombs with your ticket). Shane also shelled out the extra cash to see King Tut's tomb (although there really isn't anything left in it). The murals inside the tombs were fantastic and - you guessed it! - no pics allowed. Although some people managed to sneak pics while no one was looking or for baksheesh while others had their cameras confiscated for taking pics. Shane and I were too scared of having the latter happen so we didn't
King Tut's Tomb
Entrance to King Tut's tomb - that was about all the pictures of it you were allowed. even bother trying.
Next we hiked across the hills for Deir El-Bahri. At the start of the trail was a "guide" whom I made clear to from the start that we did not want his "services" (the path is very clearly marked) but he stuck with us despite our attempts to shake him. We did, however, take up his offer to take some pictures of us and gave him some baksheesh for that but then he demanded more for his "guide services." We told him no. Everywhere we went, people were demanding baksheesh for being your "guide." Often they would come up behind you and point out a god in the mural you were looking at and then want baksheesh. Or as you were walking towards another part of the temple, they would tell you which part you were heading off to and then ask for baksheesh. One of the tourists at the last temple we were at actually started screaming "No more guides! No more guides!" at one of them (six hours in thirty degree celcius weather and continual "guides" will do that to you). I understand these people are poor and rely heavily on tips from foreigners
Valley of the Kings
Shane and I hiking the path to Deir el-Behri with views of the Valley of the Kings below us. to supplement their meagre incomes and it must be awful to have to essentially beg for baksheesh and have people ignore you or yell at you. On the other hand, I just wanted to relish in these magnificent ancient monuments without having to continually ask someone to buzz off.
Anyways, we reached Deir el-Bahri after walking for 45 minutes. The views were fabulous! Deir el-Bahri is the Arabic name for the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, the only female pharaoh (1503-1482 BC). You may know it from the tragic massacre of 58 tourists in 1997 by Islamic extremists. Since then, Egypt has been heavily guarded by tourist police.
Hatshepsut called her temple Djeser Djeseru, the "Splendour of Splendours" - it was yet another splendid temple to look at.
By this time, Shane and I were feeling quite tired so our last stop was Medinet Habu, which is the Arabic name for the gigantic Mortuary Temple for Ramses III, second in size only to Karnak (which we were seeing the next Valley of the Kings
More breathtaking views of the valley. day). It was really breathtaking! I wish you could all experience this - pictures really haven't done Egypt and the temples justice.
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Jesse Hirvelä
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Luxor is just great
It is the largest outdoor museum in the whole world. Please, check out some quite fresh pics from my trip over there: http://www.pbezone.net/pbe.juthi/page3.html