Luxor and Edfu, Egypt
After our relaxing stay at Le Meridien Pyramids Hotel near Cairo, we flew to Luxor via EgyptAir after a very early morning which started with a 3:30am wake-up call in order to catch our 6:30am flight.
Unfortunately, we realized that we had left our entire itinerary and paperwork for the Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan at home in Seattle. We weren’t quite sure what to expect, but were happy to see a man in a business suit holding up a sign for ‘Mr. and Mrs. Kurtz’ at the Luxor Airport. En route to the boat, all we could think about was how nice it would be to just sit on the boat all day, relaxing in the sun in our swimsuits and getting some rest. Our boat was beautiful and our anticipation built as we were welcomed with a refreshing glass of cranberry juice and seated in comfortable couches in the lounge. However, our dreams of cocktails and poolside lounging soon vanished as we were introduced to a personal guide and whisked back off the boat to go tour the sites of Luxor, without so much as seeing our room or eating breakfast. Little did we know at that moment that we would have a full 12-hour day ahead of us, with not so much as a moment on the sundeck. In fact, we learned that our boat didn’t leave until the next morning and that our first day and night in Luxor was just for sightseeing. We also didn’t realize that our travel package came with a guide–not to mention a private guide just for us. We had a huge air-conditioned van with a private driver and private English-speaking Egyptologist assigned just to us. Throughout the day, we kept saying “Maybe they think we are someone else? Everyone else is touring in large groups of 10-30 and we have a guide and private driver all to ourselves. How did we get so lucky?” It was definitely a luxury to have that type of personal attention and our guide Robert was really knowledgeable about all aspects of ancient Egypt. It was very helpful to get some context and perspective about what we were seeing besides just great photo opps. But, it was a very physically and mentally exhausting day to say the least. Our senses were fully overloaded with so many amazing sites and incredibly detailed explanations by Robert about all of the history of the various Egyptian pharoahs, structures, and gods. Even our noses were overstimulated by the smells of ancient Egypt as we toured a perfume factory to learn about the essential oils and perfumes that the Egyptians created. All of that, plus an alabaster factory, and a lightshow at the Karnak Temple, with very little sleep, and spinning heads, not knowing what was coming next.
But, it was all worth it to see the things we saw and do the things we did. We were able to see the tombs of many kings including Ramses II, Ramses IV, and even King Tut—-his unwrapped mummy and all!!! Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside the tombs. But, here are a few pictures from some of the sites in Luxor and Edfu (further down the Nile).
A statue for the Egyptian God Horus, God of Protection
Luxor Temple in Luxor
A statue of Hatshepsut (a female pharoah, who took the thrown and ruled as a man)
Tags: Edfu, Luxor, Travel
nkurtz
FANTASTIC BLOGGING!! Your experiences are bring back so many delightful memories of our week in Egypt last year. The amazing people, the incredible history, the wonderful attitude toward life and the sensory overload — especially the smells and colors. Can’t wait til you return to the US and we can hear so much more.
Keep having the time of your life and a belated happy birthday, Shelly.