Luxor by Ann & Steve

April 8.
Egypt...where to start? Everything seems to be going as planned. The trip from Nepal to Egypt was smooth if a bit long. We got flights with Air Arabia, the deep discount airline of the middle east, (in flight service is one glass of water) to Sharjah, where we ate the last of our Nepali sandwiches and waited 8 hours till midnight to get our connection to Luxor. The flight took 3 hours but each of us snapped up three seats to sleep on. We got into Luxor at 2 am which was 5 am Nepal time, found a cab to the hotel and collapsed. In the morning we were disappointed to find out that the pool was closed so we moved down the street to the St. Joseph Hotel whose pool is open. It is soooo hot here, up near 40 degrees in the pm, that afternoon swims are much appreciated.

Luxor is the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, famous for its grand monuments and we have managed to get a good overview. We get up with the call to prayers at 5 am and head out to see the sights while it’s cool. We have seen the Valleys of the Kings, Queens, Nobles and Workers as well as Karnak and Hatshupsut’s Temple. The first day we went to Karnak, a temple complex that was started over 4000 years ago and added to by successive pharoahs each trying to outdo his or her predecessor. The scale of everything is mind-boggling and we had fun playing tag in the the famous hall of pillars which I am sure was used for chase scenes in James Bond and Indiana Jones movies. By 11am we were feeling baked and headed for lunch at Chez Omar, a small cafe with French speaking waiters serving Egyptian fare. Then to the pool and a nap.

Next morning we started with a ferry ride over the Nile where we rented bicylces to tour the tombs of the West Bank. As it was Friday, the muslim holy day, the streets were particularly quiet with not many cars or buses, in fact there were more donkeys with wagons bringing things to the market. We started at some tombs of of the workmen who built the Pharoah’s tombs and were most impressed by the tomb of an artist who had painted very detailed, bright and lively scenes on his small and otherwise humble resting place. Next, to the valley of the Nobles where the tombs were a bit bigger, and mercifully easier to get into, but with amazingly clear paintings depicting their lives. Finally we saw two tombs in the valley of the queens which had much larger rooms with complex paintings, but were more deteriorated than we had seen earlier, probably because they had been looted and open to the elements much longer.

By noon we were hot and hungry, but soon found a terrific place for lunch in a shaded spot under a 600 year old tree. Mohamed’s is a typical Egyptian restaurant with big setees under an outdoor arbour. There were only two choices on the menu- chichen or lamb- each with a salad, rice and vegetables plus cake and tea for dessert. The food was delicious, the surroundings so relaxed that we could have had a nap there, but instead we got back on our bikes, took a quick ferry ride home and plunged into the pool. Our hotel rooftop has an amazing view of the Nile. In the morning you can see the hot air ballons floating tourists around and at sunset there are a flotilla of faluccas cruising the river.

Next day we went back to the west bank to see the star attraction of Luxor, the Valley of the Kings. Hidden in the most desolate spot imaginable it is an amazing that the little doorways into the mountains lead into such huge marvelous rooms all carved out of the rock. The three tombs we chose to visit all had exquisite paintings of elaborate scenes adorning the walls of the many halls that one held the possesions and remains of the Pharoahs. Only one still had the sarcophagus, a ten tonne piece of sculpted granite that was more than 100 m underground. Having done a brief tour of a few tombs I could imagine reading up and going for a longer tour with an expert guide, but that will have to wait for another visit. We chose not to see Tutenkamun’s tomb as our book said it is not as spectacular as many of the others and probably not worth the extra $25 entrance fee.

Getting to Valley of the Kings early was a good idea as we were ahead of the crowds and done by 8:30 am when it was still cool enough to climb up over the mountain and down the other side to Hatshepsut’s Temple. The book described it like walking on a lunar landscape, very stark and barren (and hot even at that hour) but the view of the Valley of the Kings on one side and of the green fields adjacent to the Nile and Luxor on the other side is breath-taking. Coming down the views of Hatshepsut’s Temple were terrific too, better than our actual visit inside the temple.
That afternoon we went to lunch at an Egyptian family’s home. Our waiter from the night before, Mohamed, had extended the invitation and although we were a bit unsure, he seemed genuine so we accepted. He met us near our hotel with his 2 year old son and we drove to his village, which was only about 2 km, but a world away from the tourist strip of Luxor. We had an amazing lunch with a salad, rice, bread and a beef stew cooked in an earthen pot called a tagen, along with watermelon and ice-cream for dessert and of course tea. He has four kids from 2 to 16. His wife is a lovely woman with a beautiful smile and perfect teeth (how is it that everyone in India, Nepal and Egypt has lovely teeth?) who wore lots of gold jewlery (which Mohamed said was her dowery) and who makes the most delicious bread! It was so good, we asked her if we could take home a loaf.
Mohamend joined us at the table to be polite but he told us that he had eaten before he picked us up. His wife, having spent the morning preparing the food. relaxed on the floor watching television with the kids. After lunch the kids played together. Mohamed showed us around his simple 3 bedroom appartment and graciously answered all our questions about life in Luxor. Tourism is the only industry and when it is down (as it has been the last few years because of the bombings), everyone is affected. Hence, Mohamed’s side-line business of inviting tourists into their home for an ”authentic Egyptian” experience. That evening we were still full so we ate the bread for supper with cheese, vine ripened delicious tomatoes and cucumbers and baclava for desert which we had bought in the souk. We are enjoying the abundance of fresh veg and fruit after Nepal.

This morning, the Easter Bunny found us in Luxor and after a chocolate high, we retired to the pool for an hour before hitting the school books. Today is a day off from touring to relax. Tonight we are going out to a fancy restaurant for our Easter Dinner with Rob Switzer and his family. Rob is a friend of Steve’s who lives in Cairo and is in Luxor for the long weekend.

Our introduction to the ancient monuments of Egypt complete, tomorrow we leave Luxor by overnight train to Cairo. Rob has arranged for us to have the AUC flat for visiting professors for a week (not sure if I will have to give a guest lecture) and we are looking forward to our time in Cairo, (we hear it is cooler!) where we will see the Pyramids, the Egyptian Museum, and many other sights in that city of 14 million.