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My life is now complete. I've ridden on the back of a pick-up truck with someone carrying an AK-47. Other than that Luxor still very impressive!
Luxor or Thebes as it was known was at various stages the capital of Pharaonic Egypt. More recently it’s been better known as the hassle capital of Egypt, which would be quite an achievement! Things are supposed to have improved there and I’d say it’s about as bad now as the rest of Egypt.
The sights are split between the east and west bank of the Nile with most of the town on the east side. Luxor temple and Karnak are both on the east bank and are easily accessible. The ruins at Karnak aren’t in great condition but the scale of the place is unbelievable. The temple is said to be the largest religious complex in the world.
I was tempted to hop on one of the tour buses to the west bank but I heard you could get the ferry across and then hire bikes over there to get around. Bike tour around hills in the desert how could I say no... So I ventured across with a Canadian guy
I met on the bus to Luxor. The bikes had no gears or breaks so it was just like being back in UCD cycling around Dublin. We left very early to avoid the heat and made it to the Valley of the Kings pretty quickly. There are a dozen or so tombs there and your entry ticket gets you into any 3.
We decided to hike to the top of one of the sides of the valley as recommended by Lonely Planet. We asked one of the tourist police and he pointed the way. Shockingly this didn’t even require a bribe. Once we started to climb a local “guide” approached us and tried to convince us the mountain was “closed”. A while later some other Egyptians asked us why we were climbing. At least that’s what we thought they said. Completely sick of all the hassle from locals we ignored them. However what they actually meant was why are you going up the wrong path not why are you going up! We made it eventually anyway and the views were breathtaking. You can see the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queen’s, The Hatsheput and Luxor &
the Nile in the distance. I was pretty pissed off though because the guards at the entrance to the valley take your camera off you. We were very lucky though, happened to meet one other person at the top who had a camera, took our photo and then emailed it on!
After that we went to Habu temple which is so well preserved there’s even still some paint on the walls. We arrived late in the afternoon so there was only a handful a people around.
So the bike tour ended up being fantastic (and cost about €3 excluding the 6 litres or so of water I drank). It’s definitely the best way to see the area!
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Ger
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The Camels look comfortable
Are you sharing a ride with the camels in the back of the van. Great blog I am enjoying reading of your travels