The Newer Parts are 3000 years old
Monday, April 24th, 2006
We’re leaving Luxor this afternoon for Dahab. An extra-fun 14 hour bus ride. Very much looking forward to the Sinai, as we’re getting a little tired of the hassle that is everywhere in Upper Egypt.
Luxor has some amazing Pharonic monuments. Karnak temple in particular is quite the complex. It’s actually several temples built over a period of about 2000 years, with even the newer bits being over 3000 years old. The other very famous site here, the Valley of the Kings wasn’t so great. The tombs, while vaguely interesting, are extremely uncomfortable to enter (too many tourists & no ventilation), and, since we can’t read ancient egyptia, after a while all the writing & drawings are just kind of the same.
Luxor has also been the worst stop for beggars & touts. More pushy than most of Egypt, and the beggars are more insistant. Outside of Karnak, there appeared to be a whole family begging/ selling useless junk, but no parents. Stewart, a guy on our tour who’s been living in Kenya and has travelled extensively in Africa, made the comment that Egypts not even particularly poor in the grand scheme of things, and many poorer countries still don’t have people begging the way they do here.
– Neil
Neil & Kathy