We only stayed in Luxor for 3 days which was not nearly enough time, although we were all glad to not be woken up by the dawn call to prayer located directly next to our hotel. Even the Queen of Belgium, who was there on our first day, could only manage a day of it. The highlight of Luxor is the antiquities, hundreds of temples (we only saw the two main ones – Luxor and Karnak) and many, many tombs.
Luxor is situated on the site of the ancient capital of Egypt, Thebes. Tourism in the town has still not recovered since the revolution in 2011, and the sites were not nearly as crowded as anticipated. Photography was limited in the tombs, so we have very few pictures (especially since Cole and Lena insisted on having the photography ticket). The tomb of Seti I, in which we were the only visitors ($50 per person entrance!) was incredible. That alone was worth visiting Luxor. Many of the reliefs in Seti I were life size and in incredible condition as they were restored in the last 10 years. The reliefs – falcon headed gods, jackal headed gods, pharoahs and their wives, and many other deities – seemed as though they would jump off the walls and come alive . Truly spectacular.
Statue of Ramses II, one of Egypt’s most powerful pharoahs, at the entrance to Luxor TempleOne of the chambers at Karnak TempleKarnak TempleAvenue of the Rams – entrance to Karnak TempleThe roofs of Karnak Temple were covered with planks made from giant ancient Lebanese cedar treesThe grounds of our hotel – the Winter Palace, former winter palace of the Egyptian royal familyInterior of the Sofra restaurant in LuxorThe valley of the kings – tombs dug into the cliffs high above LuxorValley of the Kings – on our way to the Ramses V tomb. Wearing scarves for the sun!In front of King Tut’s tomb – it was nice to be out of the sunIn one of the tombsThe tombs were enormous, stretched on for 100s of feetSeti I tombSeti I tombSeti I tomb – life size images of the pharaoh and a goddessLunch overlooking the Nile after sightseeing at the tombsThe food was so good!Catching the boat back to the East Bank where our hotel is. To our left is Luxor temple, to our right is our hotel, the Winter Palace.On the Banana Boat back to our hotel! Statue of Akhnaten (creator of the first monotheistic religion) at the Luxor MuseumSpear and arrow tipsSobek, the crocodile headed god, with a pharoah, this statue is about 7 feet tallRamses IIWalking back to the hotel through Luxor – shop selling dates and karkadeh (hibiscus leaves)Fruit and vegetable stand in LuxorHeading to Al Zaeem for a koshari lunch!Eating a plate of koshari – happy bellies!
