Day 9 - Luxor - Dendera

It is a beautiful day and we take a few moments on our balcony to just look around and enjoy before leaving the room.

Breakfast is on the deck with Mahmoud and Ragab.  It is scrambled egg, bread, yogurt, cheese, and juice.  I am a bit disappointed that it doesn't include any of the fruit we bought yesterday. Mister asks for some mango to go along with it and Mahmoud returns with a plate full of the best mango we've had.  Time to go downstairs and meet up with the girls and Ragab for the trip into Dendera.  The girls have decided to stay behind today and Ragab is not feeling well and so I give him a DayQuil and hope that he will be able to make it through the day.  The van is ready for us and we head out.  It is about a 45 minute drive so we visit with Ali, the driver, while Ragab sleeps in the back seat. Mister asks about the breakfast Ali is eating, so Ali gives him the third falafel sandwich he had. Mister said it was wonderful.

In a few minutes, we are at the Temple of Hathor.
 

Hathor of Dendera was the goddess of love, beauty, music, and birth.  As a result, there are many images of fertility throughout the temple and the building itself is one of grace and style. The colors of this temple, especially the ceiling, are fantastic.  How do they last for so long with all of their exposure to the elements?  Now that is a question that today's paint manufacturer's should be asking. 

This temple is unique in that it has an underground crypt with images that are still intact (complete with faces) as it had not been found during the Coptic time.  One of the images is believed to be that of an electric lamp -- something way beyond it's time.

On the upper level, carved into the ceiling is  the zodiak, complete with all signs and a place for looking into the night sky.

On the outside of the temple, there is a carving of Cleopatra with her child Julius and it is believed to be the only surviving carving of her.

As we finish up here, we are so glad that we came to this temple.  We had it pretty much to ourselves and enjoyed the peaceful feeling here.  We load back into the van and make a quick stop at a gas station so Mister can get change for the large bills the ATM always gives us (no one will take them). We are soon on our way back to the hostel for a nice shower (see a pattern?).  Mister goes up on the roof to enjoy the view and visit and I walk down to a little local store just around the corner from the hostel.  This adorable little girl comes in and starts picking out what I would call "penny candy" and soon the shopkeeper, a gentle older man, helps her out and she hands over her money and patiently waits for her change.  She is all of about 5 years old, but handles herself well.  I get a juice for Mister, some chips and an ice cream cone and go back to the roof to sit with Mister.  The ice cream is soooo good and I enjoy it entirely. I take a nap and Mister goes for a walk.

The area is very rustic; dirt streets and adobe houses with kids and animals running around. The local motorcycle merchant was very nice. So were the kids that followed him around.

We decide to walk down to the river and take the ferry over into Luxor to get tickets for tomorrow night's train back to Cairo.  The ferry costs 1.5LE each way and so we pay 6LE and receive a piece of paper with a 2x2 written on it. It's our "ticket" for the return trip.

We cross the Nile in a matter of minutes and are soon walking into Luxor, passing horse carriages all along the way. Every driver wants us to use them, and they cannot understand that we WANT to walk.  I remember that we need cash and start looking for an ATM, so I stop in at a tourist information office for directions.  There are people at both machines and they are taking forever, trying over and over again.  They tell us that they are not working and we finally get a chance to use one -- no problems.  With cash in hand we head to get our tickets for the overnight train the next night and then wander the streets of Luxor.  We come across a great little bakery and Mister picks out an assortment of cookies to take back to the hostel and share.The owner leaned in to make sure he was in the picture.

As we are walking around, this young man comes up and starts talking with us saying he wants to practice his English.  He follows us everywhere and finally we ask him to go and yet, cannot get rid of him.  Shortly another man walking down the street yells at him and tells us that he tried to get into our backpack and sure enough the zipper is slightly open.  We send him on his way and head back to the ferry, a little more alert and thankful for the passerby.  We pass the Luxor Temple and know that we are going to visit it the next day.

We do stop and take a good look at the Avenue of the Sphinxes that is being restored. It originally connected the Luxor and Karnak temples. 

The ferry is waiting and we board with our little note, a few looks from the cashier, and me standing firm that it is a proper ticket. I am amused by the people who will run and jump onto the ferry as it is pulling away and when it comes close to arriving at the opposite dock, people are jumping off before it stops as well.  Too funny.  As we walk back towards the hostel, we meet a family with children and visit for awhile, take pictures, and turn down an offer of dinner at their home.

We have a late dinner of kofta on the roof and head for bed.  Whew, I'm beat.