Dear Friends and Family,
Luxor, our first stop in Egypt, was originally only a tentative on the trip itinerary. A colleague at work made it seem like such a chaotic and dangerous place I was a little scared to go and to bring P. It turned out to be an amazing place with a very laid back vibe. I think I saw the most and learned the most while in Luxor. I'm glad we spent two days here.
What We Did
First stop was the Valley of the Kings, a must see in every guide book. Armed with a list of tombs in order of build with little plus and minus signs next to the names of pharaohs based on state of their tomb, we approached the ticket office to see which tombs were open for the day. Our ticket got us entry to three tombs. We picked Merneptah, Ramsses III and Ramsses IV. All three tombs were amazing in the level of detail you can see. Just thinking that the tombs are over two thousand years old and that you're still allowed to walk in them and marvel at the carving and the color made me realize how fortunate we are.
Sarcophagus of Pharaoh Merenptah
Tomb of Ramesses III
Tomb of Ramesses IV
Next on our itinerary, Temple of Hatshepsut. Temples are nice because there's daylight and you can bring your camera. But, because it's exposed, most of the colors are faded or washed away. It's still amazing to walk through the temple and see the carvings.
We made a quick stop afterwards for some souvenirs and lunch. Then, we headed out for our afternoon adventures.
Next on our itinerary, Tombs of the Nobles. Not as highly rated by the guidebooks, we opted to see the Tombs of the Nobles instead of the Valley of the Queens. And, are we glad we did. The tombs are in excellent shape. You have the place to yourself. And, you get to see a different style of tomb. Instead of religious carvings, the tombs are painted with scenes of everyday life in Ancient Egypt.
Tomb of Rekhmire
Tomb of Sennefer
Also not as highly rated in the guide books, Medinet Habu was our last stop for the first day. I can't imagine what the other temples must look life because this one took my breath away. Yes, the text was repetitive, talking repeatedly about the wars Ramesses III won. But, still, the state of preservation made it the best temple on my list.
Day 2 in Luxor started with the Temple of Karnak. Another must see Luxor site, you can't take in the full scope of the detail in one trip. Recognizing that, and recognizing our time limitations, we saw enough of the temple to get the general idea down, but this is a place I could explore for a week and still discover new things.
After Karnak, we went to another classic East Bank site, the Luxor Museum. Any piece in this museum, in any other museum would be behind glass with a long queue of people waiting to see it. Here, you almost have the place to yourself. It feels almost criminal.
To finish off, we went to the Temple of Luxor. Just the right end to a perfect two days in Luxor. It left us enough time to go back to our hotel, relax on the balcony, and finish packing our bags before heading to the airport.
What We Ate
We went easy on P.
Day 0. When we arrived, we went down to the hotel restaurant and ordered pasta for P. Mr. mouse and I shared a plate of Middle Eastern dips followed by a plate of fish and chips.
Day 1. We ate breakfast at the hotel. We had chicken with eggplant and rice for lunch. We ate dinner at the hotel. I don't remember what.
Day 2. We ate breakfast at the hotel. P had pizza for lunch. We ate pizza at the airport. We had pasta and another plate of Middle Eastern dips for dinner in Cairo.
What I Learned
Egyptians are truly generous. Our guide kept us stocked with water and snacks. Outside of restaurants, we didn't have to buy water on our entire trip. We had water left over when we were done.
It's completely safe to visit the tourist sites. There's the usual swarm of people trying to sell you postcards and trinkets, but nothing like what I encountered in India.
A guide really helps. They know where to buy tickets, who to give the tickets to, and they keep ad hoc guide offers at bay. They also explain things I would have missed if I was looking on my own.
The Egyptians love P. Several asked if they could take pictures of her. They were constantly petting her and trying to get her attention. They also all assumed she was a boy.
$4.50 gets you pictures inside of a tomb. Sad, but true, it's still a country that is developing infrastructure around how to preserve it's unique history.
And, last, but definitely not least, I learned that human beings are capable of amazing things. The scale of the ruins, the beauty of the artwork, the fact that it's all lasted this long, it made me realize what we can do when we set our hearts and minds to any task.
Cheers!
mouse
P.S. all of the indoor pictures were borrowed from wikipedia
Luxor, our first stop in Egypt, was originally only a tentative on the trip itinerary. A colleague at work made it seem like such a chaotic and dangerous place I was a little scared to go and to bring P. It turned out to be an amazing place with a very laid back vibe. I think I saw the most and learned the most while in Luxor. I'm glad we spent two days here.
What We Did
First stop was the Valley of the Kings, a must see in every guide book. Armed with a list of tombs in order of build with little plus and minus signs next to the names of pharaohs based on state of their tomb, we approached the ticket office to see which tombs were open for the day. Our ticket got us entry to three tombs. We picked Merneptah, Ramsses III and Ramsses IV. All three tombs were amazing in the level of detail you can see. Just thinking that the tombs are over two thousand years old and that you're still allowed to walk in them and marvel at the carving and the color made me realize how fortunate we are.
Next on our itinerary, Temple of Hatshepsut. Temples are nice because there's daylight and you can bring your camera. But, because it's exposed, most of the colors are faded or washed away. It's still amazing to walk through the temple and see the carvings.
We made a quick stop afterwards for some souvenirs and lunch. Then, we headed out for our afternoon adventures.
Next on our itinerary, Tombs of the Nobles. Not as highly rated by the guidebooks, we opted to see the Tombs of the Nobles instead of the Valley of the Queens. And, are we glad we did. The tombs are in excellent shape. You have the place to yourself. And, you get to see a different style of tomb. Instead of religious carvings, the tombs are painted with scenes of everyday life in Ancient Egypt.
Also not as highly rated in the guide books, Medinet Habu was our last stop for the first day. I can't imagine what the other temples must look life because this one took my breath away. Yes, the text was repetitive, talking repeatedly about the wars Ramesses III won. But, still, the state of preservation made it the best temple on my list.
Day 2 in Luxor started with the Temple of Karnak. Another must see Luxor site, you can't take in the full scope of the detail in one trip. Recognizing that, and recognizing our time limitations, we saw enough of the temple to get the general idea down, but this is a place I could explore for a week and still discover new things.
After Karnak, we went to another classic East Bank site, the Luxor Museum. Any piece in this museum, in any other museum would be behind glass with a long queue of people waiting to see it. Here, you almost have the place to yourself. It feels almost criminal.
To finish off, we went to the Temple of Luxor. Just the right end to a perfect two days in Luxor. It left us enough time to go back to our hotel, relax on the balcony, and finish packing our bags before heading to the airport.
What We Ate
We went easy on P.
Day 0. When we arrived, we went down to the hotel restaurant and ordered pasta for P. Mr. mouse and I shared a plate of Middle Eastern dips followed by a plate of fish and chips.
Day 1. We ate breakfast at the hotel. We had chicken with eggplant and rice for lunch. We ate dinner at the hotel. I don't remember what.
Day 2. We ate breakfast at the hotel. P had pizza for lunch. We ate pizza at the airport. We had pasta and another plate of Middle Eastern dips for dinner in Cairo.
What I Learned
Egyptians are truly generous. Our guide kept us stocked with water and snacks. Outside of restaurants, we didn't have to buy water on our entire trip. We had water left over when we were done.
It's completely safe to visit the tourist sites. There's the usual swarm of people trying to sell you postcards and trinkets, but nothing like what I encountered in India.
A guide really helps. They know where to buy tickets, who to give the tickets to, and they keep ad hoc guide offers at bay. They also explain things I would have missed if I was looking on my own.
The Egyptians love P. Several asked if they could take pictures of her. They were constantly petting her and trying to get her attention. They also all assumed she was a boy.
$4.50 gets you pictures inside of a tomb. Sad, but true, it's still a country that is developing infrastructure around how to preserve it's unique history.
And, last, but definitely not least, I learned that human beings are capable of amazing things. The scale of the ruins, the beauty of the artwork, the fact that it's all lasted this long, it made me realize what we can do when we set our hearts and minds to any task.
Cheers!
mouse
P.S. all of the indoor pictures were borrowed from wikipedia
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