Luxor
We docked at Luxor after several days of a relaxing cruise down the Nile visiting other ancient sites. Luxor, or as it was originally called Thebes, was the ancient capital of Egypt since 2000 BCE, with the city of the living on the east bank and city of the dead with tombs of Pharaohs and Queens on the west bank. There are two great temples on the east bank, the Luxor Temple and Karnak. Karnak is actually a collection of temples dedicated to various Egyptian gods and Pharaohs. For over 1500 years, starting with the Middle Kingdom, Pharaoh after Pharaoh added onto Karnak. The largest section is the Amun temple enclosure which alone is over 260,000 square meters. There are ten huge pylons, many chapels, temples, obelisks, sanctuaries and even the remains of a botanical garden on the site. But it is best known for the great hypostyle hall with its 134 huge carved stone columns. A truly an amazing sight; like being lost in a forest of stone trees.
The Luxor temple to Amun is smaller and younger (being built in the New Kingdom) than its bigger brother Karnak and was primarily built with courtyards and colonnades. The passing years have not been kind to this temple, in the 14th century CE a Mosque was built in the temple and in the central temple chamber there are remains of a 3rd century Christian church with patches of plaster on the walls covered with paintings of saints. Both have night sound and light shows which I found a bit of a disappointment, however moving through the temples at night was worth the price of admission.
On the west bank there is the Valley of the Kings and Queens as well as the Temple of Hatshepsut. You don’t realize that the Nile is truly the life’s blood of Egypt until you take a balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings. There is a clear line that separates the fertile section from the desert. It also gives you a bird’s eye view of the various temples and tombs, right outside the fields of corn and sugar cane. As we floated over the Colossi on Memnon we were reminded that according to legend these 3400 year old statues of Amenhotep III would sing to the sun at dawn.
The Valley of the Kings is the “home” to the New Kingdom Pharaoh’s tombs. Like the pyramids, the tombs are adversely affected by tourist humidity. Only 3 are open each day for visits and they are rotated regularly to allow them to “recover”. We visited the tomb of Tutankhamun, Rames IV and Thutmos III. Thutmos III was one of the greatest Pharaohs in Egypt and is my favorite. He reigned in the beginning of the new Kingdom and was the stepson of Hatshepsut (the woman pharaoh). He’s known to be a fair and just king, expanded the Egypt’s boarders farther than any other Pharaoh and reigned for over 60 years in the golden age of Egypt. The differences in the hieroglyphics and reliefs could not be more different than in the later tombs. While the tomb of Thutmos III is a treasure trove of information as most of the ancient Egyptian “books” were painted on the walls, the painted reliefs were more like stick figures than in Tut’s tomb. Not surprising since was one of the first tombs with painted walls. King Tut’s tomb, while small, was extensively decorated as was Rames IV which was the other open tomb that day. In the valley of the Queens it was much the same with the tombs being rotated. The painted reliefs and hieroglyphs were just as fascinating.
Finally if you get a chance take a balloon ride over the west bank. If give you a different perspective seeing the temple complexes from the air.
Read MoreThe Luxor temple to Amun is smaller and younger (being built in the New Kingdom) than its bigger brother Karnak and was primarily built with courtyards and colonnades. The passing years have not been kind to this temple, in the 14th century CE a Mosque was built in the temple and in the central temple chamber there are remains of a 3rd century Christian church with patches of plaster on the walls covered with paintings of saints. Both have night sound and light shows which I found a bit of a disappointment, however moving through the temples at night was worth the price of admission.
On the west bank there is the Valley of the Kings and Queens as well as the Temple of Hatshepsut. You don’t realize that the Nile is truly the life’s blood of Egypt until you take a balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings. There is a clear line that separates the fertile section from the desert. It also gives you a bird’s eye view of the various temples and tombs, right outside the fields of corn and sugar cane. As we floated over the Colossi on Memnon we were reminded that according to legend these 3400 year old statues of Amenhotep III would sing to the sun at dawn.
The Valley of the Kings is the “home” to the New Kingdom Pharaoh’s tombs. Like the pyramids, the tombs are adversely affected by tourist humidity. Only 3 are open each day for visits and they are rotated regularly to allow them to “recover”. We visited the tomb of Tutankhamun, Rames IV and Thutmos III. Thutmos III was one of the greatest Pharaohs in Egypt and is my favorite. He reigned in the beginning of the new Kingdom and was the stepson of Hatshepsut (the woman pharaoh). He’s known to be a fair and just king, expanded the Egypt’s boarders farther than any other Pharaoh and reigned for over 60 years in the golden age of Egypt. The differences in the hieroglyphics and reliefs could not be more different than in the later tombs. While the tomb of Thutmos III is a treasure trove of information as most of the ancient Egyptian “books” were painted on the walls, the painted reliefs were more like stick figures than in Tut’s tomb. Not surprising since was one of the first tombs with painted walls. King Tut’s tomb, while small, was extensively decorated as was Rames IV which was the other open tomb that day. In the valley of the Queens it was much the same with the tombs being rotated. The painted reliefs and hieroglyphs were just as fascinating.
Finally if you get a chance take a balloon ride over the west bank. If give you a different perspective seeing the temple complexes from the air.
