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.

Day 8 - Luxor - The Theban Necropolis

Breakfast on the roof, met Catherine, Eva, and Jeanette who are college grads from Maryland and Connecticut.


We meet downstairs and load into the van to start our day.  We are headed to the Theban Necropolis on the West bank.  The city of Luxor, on the East bank, was originally called Thebes (or the City of 100 gates) and was the capital. Across the Nile on the West bank, they created the City of the Dead - one huge cemetery.  The reason for creating these underground tombs was to prevent the grave robberies that were taking place at the pyramids.  The hill is also pyramid shaped. We are able to visit three tombs here:  Ramses I, II, and V/VI.

The entrance has police guarding it (like the other places we visit) but they just sit in the shade by their vehicles.

No cameras are allowed in the tombs, so Mister leaves his camera in the van. Ragab explains the history and what to look for at the entrance to each tomb. No guides are allowed in the tombs, to reduce the noise and crowding inside and  (supposedly) to reduce talking which causes moisture contamination in the tombs.  Each tomb entrance is above ground and then a descent into the chambers.  Picturing the effort that it must have taken to build and decorate these boggles the mind, but the fact that each one has this massive sarcophagus made of granite deep in the interior is absolutely overwhelming.  How in the world did they get them in there?  The artisans of the time were perfectionists and it shows in the colors and detail of the work inside the tombs -- simply incredible.  As we are entering the 3rd tomb, Eva has managed to lose her ticket and the guard is not going to allow her in.  Mister tries telling him that she has been with us all along and as I offer to give up my ticket for her, he relents and she is allowed in.  We meet back up with Ragab and grab a tram to head to the exit.  Young boys are hopping from tram to tram trying to sell "souvenir" items; they can be very persistent.


We return to the van and drive through the Valley of the Nobles, seeing various tombs from the road and stop in at an alabaster shop where local craftsmen carve figurines and dishes from alabaster found in the area.



We are given a short lesson on alabaster and shown how to tell the difference between the real thing and the fake items we see in the souvenir stands.  They treat us to a drink and I find a cool hand-carved white alabaster sea turtle to take home with me.

 I ask the price and feel that it is too much so put it back.  The shopkeeper starts asking me why and I try to explain that I HATE the haggling.  Just give me a fair price and I will pay it.  I give up and go sit down to visit with Ragab and Mister continues the haggling and gets the turtle for me.  I just dislike the whole process so very much and share that with Ragab who tells me that it is in all aspects of life here -- not just for tourists.  He says if he even stops for a bottle of water -- he has to haggle each and every day as well.  I think it would get so old.

Back into the van and our next stop is Deir-al-Bahri or The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut (pronounced like Hot Chicken Soup), the most important woman ever to rule over Egypt as Pharaoh.  Although she only ruled for 7 years, it was a time of peace and construction for her people.

The Temple is a sublime piece of architecture and I am astounded with the size of it.  Another incredible moment in Egypt.

We return to the van and our next stop is at Medinet Habu, The Mortuary Temple of Ramses III.  It is a very large complex in which Hatshepsut built the oldest chapel.

The carvings were deep and still very easy to read.  Ragab said that rulers wanted the carving and cartouches deep so they would be hard to alter by future rulers.


We notice that many of the carvings and statues have been defaced.  We discover that it was done by the Coptics in order to not have any idol worshiping in the land.  It is sad to us though -- as one religion fears something, it takes a large chunk of history away along with that fear.  It is time to return to the hostel, but a quick stop at the Colossi of Memnon shows us statues over 50 feet tall.  One is made of a single solid piece of stone and the other is pieced.  They were the gateway to the Theban Necropolis and are said to sing softly at dawn due to a fracture in one of them.

The site is undergoing archaeological work and so quick look is all we are able to have.  We are back at the Cleopatra and it is definitely time for showers. We go up for a lunch of Koshary on the roof, enjoying the view of the rural setting.

Mahmoud gives Mister a quick shoulder rub, then we go back to the room for a nap and to cool off a little.

Our afternoon activity is a felucca ride on the Nile, so we walk down to the river, passing local shops and restaurants along the way.

We settle in on the boat and glide out onto the river as the boat captain raises the sail.

It is a beautiful evening (down to about 95 degrees) and we relax as we sail towards Banana Island, so named since it has banana plantations on it.  We dock at one of the farms and tour the banana grove, learning all about the way that these trees grow.


After walking through the grove, we are seated under an awning along the shore of the Nile to sample the bananas and have a drink.  We visit for awhile before boarding the boat and making the journey back to the main dock for the return walk to the hostel.

As we are walking, we stop at a fruit stand and Mister buys a watermelon and other fruits to share with all at the hostel.


The day comes to an end with visiting on the roof, snacking on watermelon and mangoes, and bed.  It is another busy day tomorrow.