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Luxurious Luxor
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We
arrive in Luxor at 7 A.M., after much wandering and trying to get our orientation
we find the Hotel Everest and check in. After refreshing we are off to visit
Luxor's attractions, we take the local bus 25p.t. to the temple of Karanak
situated a few kilometers north of the city. Upon entering the temple we
walk down a avenue of Rams representing Amon: symbol of fertility and growth,)
this avenue used to stretch for over a mile, with identical Rams on either
side leading all the way to the temples entrance. Beneath the head of each
ram is a small statue of Ramses II (this guy is everywhere) The temple of
Karanak was used in the Pharonic days as a museum, in a similar fashion
to the Presidential Libraries in the U.S. While each Pharaoh was alive he
would build an extension, placing statues of his family )
and
of course himself in that wing. Facts: Temple of Karanak covers over
100 acres and was built over a period of 1300 years. The temple is absolutely
amazing and we spend several hours exploring its chambers and admiring the
Hieroglyphics and statues, many Kodak moments. ) |
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La Shookran
On our way back into the city, we are approached by a horse carriage driver who refuses to take 'La' for an answer, he offers us a ride back to the city for 5L.E. each, we unlike most tourist know we can take the bus for only 25 p.t. however he doesn't get the picture and he follows us for at least half a mile bargaining upon our deaf ears, finally coming down to 'ok 2' which he repeats literally one hundred times, it is both comical yet sad. The city of Luxor, unlike Cairo depends solely on tourism, however a 1997 incident in which Islamic Extremists massacred 37 German tourists as they visited a temple severely damaged Luxor's tourism industry and they haven't fully recovered since.
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We have now returned to the city, and we find a food stand that sells cheese and vegetable sandwiches cheap and we devour them. Next stop Luxor's museum.
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After
the museum we stroll along the Nile and wait for the sun to go down to capture
the moment in a photograph, the river is the same river as the one we first
saw in Cairo, however )
the
scene here is completely different, while Cairo's Nile had lights and city
scapes in the background, Luxor's Nile had the Valley of the Kings for its
background and the two cities could not be any more different. While Luxor's
laid back atmosphere and it's palm trees and vegetation might remind you
of the Caribbean, the 'Hassle' here was almost unbearable, the people in
Luxor depend entirely upon tourism as opposed to those in Cairo and they
are even more aggresive than the Caireenes in pursuing the Tourist Dollar.
In the evening we found an entire wall dedicated to Bob Marley at a local
spot called kingshead pub. Bob's music and cold Stella beers make an excellent
combination. Apparently a group of Rasta's had made quite an impression
on this city, wherever I go I am greeted with 'Rasta will never die!'page top