Docked in Safaga, Egypt, we had a 3 1/2 hour drive to Luxor City. Of course, that meant the same returning and the tour was a total of over 12 hours. The drive itself was educational as the landscape changed from grubby port town to two-lane road through the rubbly foothills to a "highway" of a sort through the desert and into the plains along the Nile River. Along the road, there are numerous checkpoints and each one has a watchtower with an armed guard and a number of military men around. The last part of the journey went along a canal that feeds the agricultural villages. At each and every intersection, there was at least one man, in native robes and presumably a member of some type of militia, toting a long gun. To protect the village from what? Tourists on a bus? We think that perhaps they have not yet forgotten the invasion of the 1950's.
We'll get to the "wow" stuff below, but we'd like to point out that maybe Cairo is modern, but the rest of the country does not appear to be. Everywhere, the buildings look as though they're either half-built or half-falling down. You know you're in an upscale area when they've cut the rebar off of the buildings. Mostly, it just stays there, sticking out of the sides and roof of the house. And many people live in one-room shacks, where they sit outside because there's no air conditioning and it's 90 plus degrees all the time. Transportation in the villages continues to be donkey or horse and if they're lucky, a cart. Whatever they grow, which is everything from wheat to animal feed, is harvested by hand and a lot of people are seen carrying harvested goods on their backs. The militiamen have the best job, sitting in the shade with a weapon. Maybe that's why the job continues.
So we arrived at Luxor on the East bank of the Nile and there it was, the Luxor Temple. In Luxor, you're not allowed to dig a post hole without a permit, because there are antiquities underneath everything. Some time ago, while tearing down a building and starting to excavate, they found a sphinx. And that sphinx was located right where the Avenue of Sphinxes that supposedly led to the Temple was supposed to be. The result? Keep tearing down buildings and digging up sphinxes!
At the Luxor Temple:
Even the colors are preserved in some areas.
And here's Mr. and Mrs. Tut:
After lunch, we crossed to the West bank to visit the Valley of the Kings. We visited three tombs and it's unbelievable how well the artwork on the walls has been preserved. Most of the writing is the Book of the Dead, and the rest depicts Pharoah's life. If one could read those walls, it'd take years. We passed on paying extra to see Tut's tomb. Obviously, all the good stuff isn't there, so what the heck. Photography is strictly forbidden so sorry, no photos. Look it up online. One other thing: close to the Valley of the Kings there are hundreds of tombs of Nobles, artists, and workmen which are currently being excavated. The entire area is literally covered with burial places.
We stopped at the Hatshepsut Temple for a quick photo. This, by the way, is not a tomb but a funeral temple. She's buried in the Valley.
One final note on Luxor. Our guide, Magdi, was a middle-aged gentleman who holds a Doctorate in Egyptology. And he works as a tour guide.
Leaving Safaga, we headed for the anchor point to join the many ships waiting for the northbound convoy through the Suez Canal. We started into the canal at about 5:00 a.m. and it takes about 12 hours (and two pilots) to pass through. The Suez was built by the same Frenchman, de Lessops, who was the spearhead for the Panama Canal, but the Suez was a lot easier. It's just a long ditch. There isn't a lot to see along the canal. Just the occasional village, ferries, and watchtowers with armed guards.
And one bridge.
Next stop, Israel.
