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Luxor, the Tourist Mecca of the Nile Valley (2 day tour from Port of Safaga)
Today, our ship docked in Safaga, a major city along the
Nile that servers as a popular port for accessing numerous Red Sea resort towns
(for sunbathing and snorkeling coral reefs) and Luxor, for those wishing to
visit ancient Egyptian sites such as temples, tombs and monuments of Karnak,
the Valley of Kings, and Hatshepsut.
Departing at 8:30 AM, we (four American couples) embarked on
a 3 1/2 hour journey through the Eastern Desert to the city of Luxor, where 75%
of Egypt's ancient monuments are located.
Dalia was our Egyptologist and tour guide who passionately described the
history, culture, and sites we would soon visit.
The scenery consisted of large patches of desert with
varying hues of tan and brown with mountains in the foreground, dotted with
occasional Bedouin villages complete with camels, tents, and residents dressed
in local Egyptian attire (The galabeyya,
a traditional ankle-length gown worn by Egyptian men)
Our tour guide was magnificent.
The heat was absolutely oppressive. That is all I'll say
about that subject except I'm happy I purchased a wide-brimmed hat at our first
rest stop. I paid too much, $20, but since tourism in Egypt has declined from
25million to 2million visitors annually, since the revolution ( and global
economic meltdown), I surrendered to the seller's appeal to help him out
financially.
Our next stop was lunch in a five-star hotel between 2-3PM.
I ordered the mixed grill meal. They served soup, salad and dessert. I did not
want the eclairs, so the waitress guided me to the dessert display and asked me
which dessert do you prefer? Although
I really did not want dessert, (I barely ate lunch because I was so
overheated), I chose the chocolate triangle shaped item that turned out to be a
delicious chocolate mousse!
Our next stop was to the Temple of Luxor from 330 until 4:45
PM
Dominating the banks of the Nile in the center of town, the
Luxor Temple is an elegant example of ancient temple architecture. As with many
temples, it is approached by an avenue of sphinxes, which stretched all the way
from Luxor to Karnak. The obelisk was originally one of a pair; the other was
removed in the early 19th century and we erected in the Place de la Concorde in
Paris, a gift from Mohammed Ali to the people of France.
Fortunately, the sun had begun to descend, making this visit
less painfully hot.
We arrive at our hotel, the Sheraton Luxor on the Nile, at
530 PM. We had planned to go on the sound and light show at Karnak; the group
would meet at 615 in the lobby. However, we decided to relax at the hotel, instead. We were exhausted!
The Sheridan Luxor is an attractive resort hotel located
right on the Nile River. The scenes are very tranquil and the sunset views are
spectacular. I would stay here again!
Joel showered, ate food from the ship, and watch TV. I
decided to explore the area on my own. After watching the sunset over the Nile
from our hotel outdoor restaurant, I explored the area around our hotel after
dark. I found little activity other than a few clusters of men here and there;
horses, donkeys and taxis for hire; and a few open shops. I grew more and more uncomfortable as men
kept approaching me to offer me rides or taxis. It was quite annoying and I
wish I had someone to walk with me.
I came back to the hotel ambivalent about dinner. I wasn't
quite hungry. But, I was afraid to go to bed without dinner. My dilemma was we
had to get up at 4 AM for hot-air balloon ride over the Valley of Kings and Luxor.
Yes everyone in our small group of 8 agreed to go on the once-in-a-lifetime
journey.
The hotel restaurant looked appealing but I didn't want to
dine alone so I ordered a Middle Eastern appetizer plate from room service. I
paid $10 in cash. I had a nice long hot shower and slept like a baby. We slept
from 8 PM until 4 AM-the required eight hours of sleep.
Getting ready was easy the next morning because I had only
one change of clothes.
At 5 AM, we left the hotel for the experience of a lifetime.
They handed us a bag breakfast since we were up too early to
enjoy the hotel's bountiful buffet breakfast overlooking the Nile. We took
small vans; to a ferry; to the other side of the river; to more vans; to a vast
area to meet our hot air balloons. There
were at least 10 gigantic multicolored hot air balloon setups (in the middle of
the dessrt) in various stages of preparation. At each site, there were teams of
men assembling a hot air balloon complete with 16 passenger basket, the balloon,
burners/“fire-breathing dragons”, and helium. Groups of passengers clustered
around each site.
There was such excitement in the air as we watched our team
assemble our balloon. The pilot
introduced himself and provided safety instructions and specific directions on
how to position our bodies for a safe landing. One of the men lifted me up and
bored me into one of four quadrants in the passenger basket.
Here are some of my observations/thoughts:
the views were magnificently breathtaking. It was indescribably
tranquil!
We watched the sun rise slowly over the Nile as we rose
higher and higher. The colors were spectacular.
It was really hot, as the pilot periodically pumped more
fire from the burner into the balloon. We were right next to the firing
mechanism.
The pilot pointed out different sites including the imposing
Hatshepsut Temple in its stunning setting at the foot of a sheer limestone
cliff, rising from the desert plain in a series of imposing terraces; The Temple
of Ramses II (Ramsesseum; and the Colossi of Memnon (which we visited later, up
close and personal).
The image of multicolored balloons (close but far enough
away) was majestic and the images of some balloons in front of the firey, orange,
rising sun were stunning!
We responded to our signal to assume our landing positions.
We enjoyed a flawlessly smooth landing!
After we climbed out of the basket, the workers began to
sing and drum; the men grabbed one of us girls and danced with us; yes the
videographer was recording the $20 DVD. It was really corny, but fun. Of
course, a few Bedouin men and boys also met our basket with hopes of earning
money for photographing them with their donkey.
We all agreed we had made an excellent decision. The entire experience
lasted from 5 AM to 7 PM.
A sunrise, hot-air balloon-ride over Luxor, The Valley of
Kings, and the Nile River, is a lifetime experience NOT TO BE MISSED!
Our next stop was the Valley of Kings, the necropolis where
pharaohs had buried their tombs deep into the hills, in hopes of preventing robbers
from stealing their priceless treasures within. Of course, every burial chamber was eventually looted except for only those
of King Tut and 2 others.
The entry price entitles you to visit three of the eleven
open tombs. Our guide chose for us the tombs
of 1)Sety II, 2)his wife/and usurper, 3) Ramses III (With its bas-reliefs of
two blind harpists in one of the side chambers). We all agreed we preferred the
tomb of the wife of Sety II.
Each tomb has dramatic corridors, burial chambers stunningly
adorned with symbolic accounts of the journey to the underworld, and ritual
paintings to assist pharaohs in the afterlife.
A visit to the mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut was next. This
was another impressive site-the site of the first Temple and to tomb connected
to the Valley of Kings. We climbed all three tiers and saw all of the colorful
and well preserved statues, paintings, and chapel of Anubis, at this centuries
old structure (1475BC).
Our lunch buffet was good.
We made one final quick stop at a stone factory for Michael Wendler
to purchase an obelisk. Just prior to this, while walking through the bazaar in
front of Hatshepsut Temple, I spotted a lovely, white, 14-inch, alabaster obelisk. I offered to pay five dollars. The vendor
proceeded to follow me back to the bus. Beginning with a price of $25, $20,
then $ 15. (his final offer), then $12, then $10, ( his real final offer) then
$7s, and then, I heard the magic words. OK five dollars. I turned
around and handed him the five dollars. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't give
him more.
Our long journey back to the ship was bittersweet as we were
leaving a city that houses some of the most revered ancient sites in the
world. In addition to small sandstorms,
we actually ran into a couple of rain showers, something that is virtually
unseen in the desert.
What a great two days!
Karank temples, valley of the kings, Deir El Bahari , Colossi of Memnon, Luxor temple .
