Our tour started at 6:30 in the morning; it is a 3 ½ bus ride to Luxor.Not many options at this port… you either went on the 4 day overland or the 15 hour tour to Luxor or stayed on the ship. Since we have already been to the Pyramids and Cairo we didn’t do the overland.
Right after we went through the small city of Safaga, we were into the mountains; big, dry desert mountains with no vegetation and few signs of life - but the highway was good. We wound around through the mountains for about a two hours and then were into the valley. Slowly it turned from desert to the green Nile valley. Once the farmlands started, it was beautiful and extremely interesting. The farmers still use donkeys and work the fields by hand; great photos!
Luxor is a huge modern city and our first stop was at the ancient ruins of Karnak Temple. So much to see and only an hour to see it, but in the 102 degree heat 1 hour turned out to be just fine! Huge columns (134 of them) and statues… all the stuff I love. The ram-headed sphinxes were wonderful. After Karnak we had lunch at the Sonesta St. George. It was a very nice buffet lunch overlooking the hotel pool with the Nile in the distance. All along the Nile in this area were the huge Nile River cruise boats - wow, they look really nice, but there were so many of them I’m wondering if the river doesn’t look a bit like the freeway at rush hour.
After lunch we went to the Valley of the Kings. This is where the Pharaohs decided to be buried after the pyramids… people kept digging into the pyramids and stealing the treasures - just digging hidden tombs into the mountains seemed a better idea. It must have worked as they have only discovered 67 tombs so far. Our entrance ticket allowed us to visit any two tombs except for Tut’s tomb. Luckily they had a little tram that took you up the hill from the entrance. Our guide told us about 4 of the tombs and then we had our hour. We chose one easy one and one a bit more difficult. They only allow 10 minutes inside the tombs and they really keep the lines of people moving - aaack, no pictures allowed! The original paint colors are still brilliant - it was amazing. Apparently one guy (not on our tour) took a picture with his cellphone and they immediately took it away from him. As we exited the tomb, he was still there arguing with the guards to get it back.
Next we went to the Temple of Luxor. That was my favorite of all the stops on this trip. More columns and statues. There was a row of human headed sphinxes. More rooms many areas where the original paint colors could still be seen.
We also had quick photo stops at the Collosi of Memnon and Queen Hatshepsut’s Tomb and then it was time to start the long drive back to the ship. The Sonesta had provided boxed snacks for our dinner. It was 10:00 when we finally got back to the ship and probably close to 11 before we got through security and back to our cabin. We had a couple cocktails on the balcony and watched as we sailed away from port. Then I hit the bed and slept like the dead until 7:00 in the morning.
I would like to spend a week at Luxor sometime in the coolest month and really take some time to see the area… then do a Nile river cruise on one of the luxury cruise boats.
Right after we went through the small city of Safaga, we were into the mountains; big, dry desert mountains with no vegetation and few signs of life - but the highway was good. We wound around through the mountains for about a two hours and then were into the valley. Slowly it turned from desert to the green Nile valley. Once the farmlands started, it was beautiful and extremely interesting. The farmers still use donkeys and work the fields by hand; great photos!
Luxor is a huge modern city and our first stop was at the ancient ruins of Karnak Temple. So much to see and only an hour to see it, but in the 102 degree heat 1 hour turned out to be just fine! Huge columns (134 of them) and statues… all the stuff I love. The ram-headed sphinxes were wonderful. After Karnak we had lunch at the Sonesta St. George. It was a very nice buffet lunch overlooking the hotel pool with the Nile in the distance. All along the Nile in this area were the huge Nile River cruise boats - wow, they look really nice, but there were so many of them I’m wondering if the river doesn’t look a bit like the freeway at rush hour.After lunch we went to the Valley of the Kings. This is where the Pharaohs decided to be buried after the pyramids… people kept digging into the pyramids and stealing the treasures - just digging hidden tombs into the mountains seemed a better idea. It must have worked as they have only discovered 67 tombs so far. Our entrance ticket allowed us to visit any two tombs except for Tut’s tomb. Luckily they had a little tram that took you up the hill from the entrance. Our guide told us about 4 of the tombs and then we had our hour. We chose one easy one and one a bit more difficult. They only allow 10 minutes inside the tombs and they really keep the lines of people moving - aaack, no pictures allowed! The original paint colors are still brilliant - it was amazing. Apparently one guy (not on our tour) took a picture with his cellphone and they immediately took it away from him. As we exited the tomb, he was still there arguing with the guards to get it back.
Next we went to the Temple of Luxor. That was my favorite of all the stops on this trip. More columns and statues. There was a row of human headed sphinxes. More rooms many areas where the original paint colors could still be seen.
We also had quick photo stops at the Collosi of Memnon and Queen Hatshepsut’s Tomb and then it was time to start the long drive back to the ship. The Sonesta had provided boxed snacks for our dinner. It was 10:00 when we finally got back to the ship and probably close to 11 before we got through security and back to our cabin. We had a couple cocktails on the balcony and watched as we sailed away from port. Then I hit the bed and slept like the dead until 7:00 in the morning.I would like to spend a week at Luxor sometime in the coolest month and really take some time to see the area… then do a Nile river cruise on one of the luxury cruise boats.
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