Our excursion today started at 4am with a wakeup call and a coach to Sharm-El-Sheikh airport where we boarded an Air Cairo flight to Luxor. It was an A321-200, SU-GBV and took about half hour.
God knows what time we arrived, but by 9 we had arrived at the Valley of The Kings after an amusing ride through the city of Luxor. In the ancient times, it was the capital of Egypt and was known as Thebes. The Valley of The Kings was a burial site for the Pharoes where they were buried in huge tombs dug out specifically for each ruler. To date there are 63 tombs that have been discovered, the most recently only a few months ago which was still being excavated while we were there to discover the identity of its occupant. We spent an hour exploring the tombs and burial chambers. Some of them had been discovered before Roman times and so have been open for a long time, but those more recently discovered revealed vivid paintings and carvings on the walls to help send the dead king to the afterlife.
The next stop on our journey was a temple built by the only female Pharoe, Hatchepsut. By now it was getting towards midday and the sun beat down on the desert and the rocks of the temple were hot to the touch. Looking back from the ruined temple, which was seated in the side of a mountain on the west bank of the Nile river, it was strange to see an expanse of desert surrounded by the green fertile area of the Nile where crops were growing.
After a quick photo stop on a bridge crossing the Nile, we were on our way to a hotel on the more populated east side for lunch. Following this welcome break from the sun, we were now to spend the rest of our day in Luxor frying in the heat visiting Karnak and Luxor Temples. At about 60 acres, Karnak Temple is the biggest temple in the world, and consists of various buildings which are now in a state of ruin, dedicated to the worship of a specific ancient Egyptian God. We stood for a while listening to the tour guide in a huge room with tall pillars, each of which was covered in inscriptions and hieroglyphics from top to bottom. The heat was an immense 42°C with very low humidity, resulting in a very dry heat that was almost unbearable to stand in for long periods.
Linking the Karnak and Luxor Temples in the ancient times was a 3 km long avenue, lined on both sides by Sphinx’s, the head of a man and the body of the lion to protect the Gods as they went between the sites. Most of these are yet to be uncovered, buried under houses and roads in the city, but some have been excavated. Luxor Temple was much the same as its neighbour down the road, but one thing that took my attention was the remains of a painting on one of the walls – of the last supper. The Christians had used a part of the Temple in the early years AD, covering the walls in plaster and redecorating with their own paintings.
At about 6, we went back to the airport for our flight back to Sharm-El-Sheikh. It was exactly the same plane again, SU-GBV.
One of the things that stood out for me during today’s trip was the way over 4000 years of history, different civilisations and religions had left their mark in such a small area. One third of the world’s monuments are to be found in and around Luxor, and they say only 20% of the ancient Egyptian treasures are yet to be discovered.
Our next trip we have booked is to Cairo and the pyramids at Giza next Monday and Tuesday, which should be good. A lot of things the guide referred to today were to be found in the Cairo museum which we will be visiting.