EGYPT: LUXOR TEMPLE

The Luxor Temple was our sixth Egyptian Temple in three days. We had already been to the Philae, Kom Ombo, Edfu, Ramses III, and Karnak temples. It was also our third major event on a single day, following a very early-morning hot air balloon ride and a visit to Karnak Temple. To say this trip was intense is a huge understatement. A trip like this pretty much has to be intense, however. The likelihood of returning to this area of the world is pretty slim, partly because of the length of our bucket list and the limitations of our finances, and partly because of the general turmoil in the region, so we (and our tour company) felt the need to cram as much into the allotted time as possible.

No worries. I at least had some context for the Luxor Temple, for I had seen its reproduction in Las Vegas many times:

Picture from here 

Imagine my surprise when it didn't look like that at all. In fact, Las Vegas Luxor = Cairo's Great Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx, 313 air miles away. Someone really needs a geography and history refresher.

I had to start at ground zero, which meant looking at this map, which helped a little bit:

This temple was built mostly by  Amenhotep III (1391-1353), completed by Tutankhamun (1332-1323 BC) and Horemheb (1306-1292 BC), and then added to by Ramses II (1279-1213 BC), who many believe was the pharaoh in Moses's story, and, whose gigantic statues we had seen near the Valley of the Kings. Amenhotep and Ramses each had his own courtyard, as shown in the diagram above, at the back end is a shrine dedicated to Alexander the Great (332-305 BC), and somewhere in the Ramses II section is an Islamic mosque that is still in use.

This was once a happenin' place. In fact, it still is.

I found these instructions from the Luxor Temple Inspeection [sic] people helpful, although I was puzzled by the random use of capital letters. However, since I can't write a single word in Egyptian, I shouldn't be critical.

Did I give them a "tine"? I don't remember that.

 A broad avenue once connected Karnak and Luxor, a distance of about two miles:

In ancient times, the entire length was lined with sphinxes. Many sphinxes still stand as sentries at Luxor, just as we had seen them at Karnak.

The head of one of the sphinxes, sans body and cobra head piece:

I do like the effect of the palm tree growing out of this head in the photo on the left:

  

Ouch! That's a serious stubbed toe!

EGYPT: A HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE OVER LUXOR AND VALLEY OF THE KINGS

When we were in Kenya last year, we had an opportunity to take a hot air balloon ride over the Masai Mara for $500/person.  That was much too steep for our bank account, and we declined. When we heard a balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings was an option for this trip, and that it cost a much more reasonable $135/person, we were among the first in line to sign up. When we got the 4:00 AM wake-up call, however, I was questioning the wisdom of that decision.

We left our cruise boat at 4:30 and headed for the barque that would transport us across the River Styx Nile to our heavenly transport:

 We look perky, don't you think?

It's a good thing they provided us with a nutritious breakfast:

When we arrived, the crew had just begun to inflate the five or six enormous balloons that would carry our group and some others aloft:

A burst of flame shot into the void:

. . . and one by one the balloons rose up like oddly colored specters into the pre-dawn grayness:

EGYPT: A CARRIAGE RIDE THROUGH LUXOR

Earlier in our Egyptian travels we had been given a carriage ride from our boat to Edfu Temple as part of our tour package. We got a second opportunity for a carriage ride in Luxor on our own dime. The plan was to drive around for an hour and a half to give us a closer look at the city, with a short stop to stretch our legs in the market. 

We left our cruise boat, not always docked in the most pristine of places:

And met the men, horses, and vehicles to whom we would entrust our lives for the next two hours:

From a respectable distance, the carriage above looks like Cinderella's coach, but our jalopy wasn't quite that nice. The wooden wheels were padded with strips of uninflated rubber, which cushioned the ride only so much.

Julia waves from another carriage (We liked taking pictures of each other):

Our driver told us his name was Mustafa and the horse's name was Cinderella. (Hmmm, a possible Disney fixation?) That was about the extent of his English, but he was friendly and tried hard to please, stopping once to chat with a friend and buy a street snack of some kind of bean that he insisted we share with him, pulling over later to pick a bouquet for me, and letting me sit in front and "drive" the carriage on the way back (when the horse was on auto pilot).