We boarded the bus at 7:00 am for the 3 1/2 hour drive to Luxor. The desert sand and the contrasting blue sky was beautiful. The cities we passed through were very interesting. First, you will note that not many houses have roofs, just rebar sticking out of the top. Egypt has a “no roof – no tax” rule. They say they MAY add on to the top for relatives, so intentionally leave it unfinished, thereby paying no taxes.
I loved all of the donkeys on the roadway.
About an hour into the trip, we had a medical emergency on the bus. A vehicle had to come and take the lady back to the ship. About an hour after that, our bus broke down so we boarded Back-Up Bus #2!
Our first stop was Colossi of Memnon where we saw 2 statues of Amenhotep III. Next stop was the East Bank were we visited the Luxor Temple. The sphinxes go for over one mile. They are moving everyone out of Old Luxor and into New Luxor as they continue to excavate and find new sphinxes daily. All buildings over 100 years old shall remain intact.
The hieroglyphics are amazing, and all of their drawings are symbols that depict their next life. The birds or feathers represent the scale of righteousness. If you have a pure, clean heart, it is placed on the scale on judgment day. It has to be lighter than a feather to proceed on. The pyramid shape represents the sun’s rays. The boats represent the heavens as when you look at the horizon (where the water meets the sky) you will need a boat to get there.
This is our guide Weil.
We went to Hatshepsut’s Temple. She was both a woman and a Pharaoh. She wore a beard and dressed like a man, otherwise would not have been accepted to rule. Here’s Jolly at the Temple. Our “Back Up Bus #2” would not start, so they sent back our “fixed” Bus #1.
The main attraction of the day was the Valley of the Kings. The limestone hills are known today as Wadi Biban el-Moluk. The valley is surrounded by high cliffs, dominated by a natural pyramid shaped peak. This was a secret spot when burying the kings, so thieves wouldn’t come for their after life treasures. Today, there are 63 tombs for the kings, but they continue to search for more. These were built between c.1550 – 1070 bc. We were able to go into four tombs. Ramesses VI; Ramesses III; Ramesses IX and Tutankhamon. We paid extra to see King Tut. His mummified remains were in a small burial chamber. Cameras are not allowed at the Valley of the Kings.
This is the Nile River.
Again this evening at sundown, the Muslim’s prayers and chanting were heard over a loud speaker. Workers stopped what they were doing and participated.
That evening we went to the Luxor Sound and Light Show.
On the 3 1/2 hour bus ride back to the ship, Bus #1 broke down AGAIN! We were to arrive back at 11:30 but were over one hour late. Thankfully the ship waited for us!
. We hung out at the pool the rest of the day.
