Adventure Chronicles™

03.03.01 - More Ancient History
Luxor, Egypt - Luxor & the West Bank

We've really enjoyed our time in Luxor. It has a slower, more relaxing pace than Cairo, but with the same rich history and interesting sites to see.

After arriving early Tuesday, we checked into the Oases Hotel (only $4.00 per night) and took a much needed nap and shower. No toilet paper here either. We were all feeling a little tired after our stay in Cairo, so we spent the afternoon walking through Luxor and exploring some of the Egyptian markets. A sweet Egyptian boy took a liking to Sabath and offered to show us to the "real" Egyptian market. We knew he was hoping for some money, but we liked him and decided to follow. He was quite a character and took good care of us. But, I think he delivered us to a store owned by a family member, versus an actual market. Oh well, it was an interesting trip. It is funny, because everyone tells you to barter with the vendors, but you almost feel guilty doing so. One part of you knows they are trying to charge you double for their goods, but when their goods are only a few U.S. dollars, you feel bad about haggling over pennies. It is an art that I (Lisa) hope to become more comfortable with.

Jay received a compelling offer today - 50,000 camels to marry me. Thankfully, he declined.

By staying at a hotel off the main tourist street, we've had the opportunity to see how the local people live. It makes me sad, because the majority of people here are very poor. The housing is old and rundown, and we saw many kids running through the streets with no shoes. Many people thought that we were rich. Although we are not rich in the typical use of the term, seeing how little these people have reminds me of how rich we really are.

We encountered a lot of pushy sales people in Cairo, but nothing like here in Luxor. The local economy is heavily based in tourism, so you are literally acousted as you walk down the street and in the markets. Taxi and carriage rides, local goods and souveniers, felluca rides, Nile cruises, shoe shine...you name it, they want to sell it to you! It is a little overwhelming at first, but we've learned to cope. The hardest part is avoiding it without being rude. Jay struggles from time to time. He got so frustrated one day that he told one man to just "leave him alone". The man turned to his friend and said, "big man, so angry".

On Wednesday, we headed for the west bank of the Nile river and visited the Valley of The Kings, the site where most of the ancient king's tombs are located. It was a scene straight out of "Raiders of the Lost Ark". High cliffs of light stone, desert, sand dunes, and tomb openings all over the place. We had to choose three tombs to visit, although there are over a hundred in the area, so we saw Ramses IV, Seti II and one that I cannot remember the name of (but it was a tomb of a king and his queen, which was rare). The painting and artwork inside the tombs was amazing. Much of the original color, created by using dust from rock, still remains. We especially enjoyed the hierogliphics, now that we are able to pick out a few characters and know their meaning. (Side note - the hierogliphic symbol for "L" is a lion and means bossy and controlling. I'm not sure how I feel about that)

After the Valley of The Kings, we visited the Temple of Hapshepsut, and the Ramesseum Temple. Both were beautiful, but we especially enjoyed the tranquility of the Ramesseum Temple, which was built by Ramses II, one of the most famous pharoahs.

We found that there are several local people who hang out in the tourist areas and offer friendly advice and guidance through the attractions, but always expect, or should I say demand, a tip. Kind of irritating, but they almost always tell you something useful.

Received another offer, 500 camels. Again, Jay was not swayed.

That evening, we took a night tour of the Luxor Temple.

On Thursday, we visited Karnak, where we met a local man named Muhammed. He offered to give us a tour of the temples for a very reasonable price, which we accepted. He is an Egyptologist and has been giving tours for 18 years. Very nice man. It was wonderful to have someone so knowledgeable point out and explain the stories that were told on the temple walls. Again, I was struck by the amount of work and artistry that went into these massive structures, all in the name of the gods and to ensure prosperity in the afterlife. The ancient Egyptians were people of great faith. Muhammed showed us which rocks created the colors we saw in the temples, and put samples on my hand. At the temple, there was a statue of a scarab (essentially a dung beattle), which was symbolic of good luck. I walked around the statue once for good luck, as instructed, and wanted to go another seven for fertility, but Jay steered me clear of that. He doesn't think we need any increase in my fertility. :)

We logged into email in the afternoon and got word of the earthquake in Seattle. What a shock! We tried to call home, but had a very frustrating experience with the phones here. Fortunately, Mark had a cell phone that I used to call my Mom and make sure everything was okay. We were relieved to hear that there wasn't much damage.

Just before sunset, we took another felluca ride on the Nile, which was peaceful and relaxing. The west bank of the river is green with farming land, and backed by a mountain, which made for a scenic ride.

Yesterday, we went back to the west bank with Muhammed and explored the Valley of The Queens, as well as the Valley of The Nobles, the Valley of The Workers and the Medina Temple. Muhammed was able to secure tickets to the tomb of Nefretari (wife of Ramses II), which people normally have to camp out at 6:00 a.m. for, since they only allow 150 visitors per day. The paintings in this tomb were the most impressive we've seen so far. They were amazingly well done and well preserved. It was interesting to see that although the tombs of the Nobles and Workers were less elaborate than those of the kings, they were still impressive.

We moved to a new hotel, The New Everest Hotel, and upgraded to $6.00 per night. Our other hotel didn't have a mirror, which made me crazy. It is amazing the difference two dollars makes. This room was simple, but spotless. As we left for dinner, we noticed men putting up a tent in the dirt alley leading to our hotel. When we came back, there were many people there, many of them dressed in black and chanting. We asked our hotel manger what was going on and he said it was a funeral. After we went up to our hotel room, we heard the chanting getting louder and louder and when we looked out our balcony, saw a procession of the body (covered in a sheet) going towards the street.

Today, we relaxed and rested up after all the site seeing we've done this week. Mark and Sabath's hotel has a huge pool, so we spent a few hours taking it easy and getting some sun. Jay is already much more tan than I am. But, we are feeling better after all the exercise we've gotten this week. No bad reactions to food yet (knock on wood).

Only 50 camels today...I must be losing my touch.

Tomorrow we are taking a bus to Hurgadah, Egypt, which is on the coast of the Red Sea. We are hoping for warm water and good snorkeling before we head to Nairobi for safari.

Some Arabic words we've learned (forgive me for totally butchering the spelling):

Shakran - thank you
Salam - peace (the Arabic version of goodbye)
Afwan - welcome
Habibi - my love

Want to contact Jay and Lisa?

william.gibson@airtreks.com