Luxor

Luxor is truely an amazing place. It is an hour from Cairo by plane or you can do the 6-8 hour train ride. Most people do the train but due to a time shortage, i chose to fly. It is a lot smaller than Cairo- only 600 000 people- and it is much nice i think mainly because it is less busy. The Nile runs through the town and everything is based on the Nile. The Nile is a huge source of life for Egypt- from water that is used everyday, to transport, to fishing, agriculture and especially tourism. I took a felucca ride down the Nile and had a little dip in the water, and apparently, if you touch the Nile you will come back to Egypt. Well, i think it is safe to say, I will be back here. On my felucca ride (a sail boat with no motor) I watched the sunset, and it was beautiful! One of the best experiences I had.

A second highlight was the hot air balloon ride I took. This was incredible but did mean I had to be up at 4am! We watched the sun-rise from the sky over the Nile and the West Bank. It was amazing!

Luxor is divided into two parts- the East Bank and the West Bank. The East Bank is the central town where most people work and is where Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple are. The West Bank is where most people live, is much quieter and where the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens and the Nobel Tombs are. The two are divided by the Nile and you can take a quick ferry ride across.

Karnak Temple was incredible! It is gigantic and so over-powering. It is very much based on Ramses II and his life and legacy and has some amazing statues. The Luxor Temple is too very big but not as impressive as the Karnak one. What is lovely about the Luxor Temple, is the road of sphinxes which one walks through.

To be honest, I do not remember all the stories behind all the tombs and the Valley of the Kings or Valley of the Queens, and unfortunately, you cannot take photos in the tombs, so i do not remember much. What I do know is that the Valley of the Queens has amazing art inside the tombs, which detailed picture history! The tails behind these tombs really is incredible. To think that this was someone's life thousands of years ago!

I would recommend staying on the West Bank as it is much quieter and there are less hassles. Luxor is the kingdom of hassling! I understand that tourism is down and that most people base their income on tourism, but the harassing my the salespeople and horse and cart people is terrible, and actually ruined it a bit for me! It is unavoidable and even if you are a male, it still happens to you.

Besides the hassling, Luxor was really relaxing, breath-taking and is definitely a side of Egypt to see! It is worth escaping the hussle and bussle of Cairo for a few days!

This concludes my travels in Egypt for now. I want to visit the Sinai and Sharm-el-Shiek sometime and hope to do so later this year. They say it is the 'otherside' of Egypt.

I sit here now on the balcony over-looking Cairo and am pondering my next adventure in Paris! Watch this space for how i navigate the metro system tomorrow with all my luggage and in french! Should be yet another adventure for this master's student!