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Published: February 24th 2012
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If things are going well just wait it will change. (Murphy’s Law)
I thought Catholics were weird; they have got nothing on Ancient Egyptians. These guys were serious about the afterlife and building monuments. The centre of Luxor has temples and ruins on every corner. One becomes rather blasé about them after a while.
Our hotel, the El Gezira Garden Hotel is on the West Bank of the Nile, while the main city of Luxor is on the east bank. The Nile is not as pretty here as Aswan, but still impressive. Tombs ,temples and other assorted ruins on both sides.
The famous Valley of the Kings is on the west side. It is amazing, stuck in the barren mountains. Each tomb has been incredibly constructed and decorated. Each seeming to surpass the previous one. Sure beats Demondrille! This is a fair dinkum cemetery. Probably a work for the dole scheme or maybe to stimulate the economy - not sure. Sure beats the schools programme. Maybe Julia should have a yarn to Ramsees the I, II, III etc.
Down the road is the Temple of Hatsheput (hot chicken soup)- on every postcard and
every travel picture book. It was hot and the touts were annoying. Have I mentioned Egyptians men? Maybe later on. The temple was superb though.
Dining has been at restaurants overlooking the Nile. Great Egyptian food; Kofta sausage, shwarmy chicken, shisha kebab, curry chicken, sharshoka egg and beef, pita bread, battered eggplant, sautéed potato washed down with mango and lemon juice. Portions are large. Only order for two.
Wandering and wondering through Karnak Temple is the ultimate archaeological (tourist) experience. Situated a few kms down the river from Luxor it is spread over a couple of square kilometres. The first section was built for the God Amman and managed by the high priests who ruled over hundreds of thousands of hectares of agriculture land here. The Temple than being added to by different dynasties right up to the Roman and Christian times. Rows of columns, rows of statues of rams, monkeys and lions. Carvings of people, Gods, keys and ducks. Hieroglyphics of who knows what, where, when.
Some of the more interesting features though are blue turbine officials, charging 5 pounds for their photo. Machine gun wielding soldiers charging 5 pounds to show you that special “panorama”.
Sunburnt, skimpy clothed, cruise liner young girls wishing the world would swallow them up. Hyperactive, camera wielding Japanese taking extraordinary pictures of themselves. Passionate, temple guides boring the hell out of groups of overpaying tourists. Reliable Germans, looking very reliable. Spanish couples loving everything about each other. And hot, bored Australian’s sitting waiting while Mum gets that perfect shot.
Our boatman has been patiently waiting for us to return. We have purchased him and his boat to take to and from Karnak for 40 pounds. The locals are really doing it tough because there are supposedly not many tourists.
The air is hot, humid and hazy as we cruise back along the Nile. Pass the banana trees; the moored Feluccas and the boys who are throwing stones and swimming along the banks. The call for prayers is blaring in the background as we arrive back at Luxor, where the huge cruise ships are tied to each other against the bank. Their human cargo living in another world only a short distance from the dirt, the touting and the reality of the real Egypt.
Once the greatest nations on earth for thousands of years seems to have lost
its way. Treading water as the world moves on, Egypt still thinks that the deeds of the past may pay the bills. But with the social upheaval the tourists have gone. It seems law and order is on a knife’s edge and the people don’t know what to do. Their lives are about to go through a great upheaval and it is not going to be pleasant.
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