Blogs from Luxor, Upper Egypt, Egypt, Africa - page 32

Today was one of the hardest times for me to get out of bed, I didn’t sleep for more than half an hour at a time but knowing this day was going to be one of the most interesting parts of my stay in Egypt I had to drag myself out of bed and get going. Today was the day for me to have a hot air balloon ride over Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. After waking up around 5:30am we finally arrived at the hot air balloon site around 7am. The trip was really cool, the pilot was very pretty skilled, he took us in and around trees to show off I guess. The flight lasted a little over an hour and we got to see the Valley of the Kings and Luxor, ... read more

The end of our desert odyssey brought us to the town of Luxor. Located on the Nile river, as are most of the population in Egypt, it is famous for a number of ancient monuments. These include the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, The Temple of Queen Hatshepshut, Luxor Temple and the Karnak Temple complex, as well as a few other temples and monuments scattered around the place. We were to have two nights in the city at this stage of the trip before moving, but we would be returning for a day later on. Obviously a city like this is geared up for tourists and there wasn't a shortage of things to do. Our guide firstly gave us a walking tour of the town, pointing out the major features such as ... read more

An early morning start, we departed the hotel at 6:00 am to arrive at Karnak Temple for sunrise. The rays of the sun were just beginning to peak through sun god Ra’s inner temple as we entered through the Avenue of the Sphinxes. This made our visit particularly memorable as we imagined the ancient Egyptian high priests welcoming the start of each day 3000 years ago. We also appreciated having the temple almost to ourselves, since there was only one other couple and guide besides us. Wiehl described the meaning behind the Temple of Columns: A magnificent structure of large columns with open top capitals, depicting the papyrus plants close to the river Nile, in the center of the temple. The columns became shorter with closed top capitals representing the closed buds of the papyrus further ... read more

I always knew that Thanksgiving was may favorite holiday...but was never quite sure whether it was the food or the people. Just kidding, I knew it was because of my family, but this weekend just justified that completely. My stomach hurt, not for its longing for cranberries and stuffing (though that didn't help), but because I was laughing the entire time. Both my parents, both my brothers, my brother's wife, and my two cousins and I all met up Thursday in Luxor. In the last three years they have never flown across the country to have Thanksgiving with me...but they did fly around the world! We had a great time, smoking sheesha, watching sunsets from feluccas (Nile sailboats), giggling incesently at stories of bodily functions that I will not repeat here...eventhough my meal consisted of a ... read more

My four day three night cruise ended a couple of days ago. I was picked up by the travel agent representative, and we were taken sightseeing immediately. When I initially signed up for this cruise I didn't realy know what to expect, and I didn't realize that the entire time we would be on a fully guided tour. I usually avoid fully guided tours, and it's my first that lasts several days. My guide was very knowledgeable, but he did speak a little too much, too quickly. I don't think he knows how much information he tells me and how little I can absorb at one time. In fact, I had to review what he said each evening by reading my guidebook. We started our trip by staying yet another day in Aswan. Once I saw ... read more