This is our second morning in Luxor and we want to give a recap of what we’ve been doing for the last 4 days. We posted pictures of our hotel room in Cairo on Day 1 and we’ve just uploaded pictures for the rest of the days that we’ve been here in Egypt. We don’t have a lot posted right now (only 50 or so pictures total), but it gives you a glimpse at what we’ve seen and experienced. This is a LONG email so I apologize in advance! Day 2We set out in the morning for the Egyptian Museum. No cameras were allowed inside so we tipped the lady at the bag check very nicely to watch our bag (a whopping $3.50USD, but by Egyptian terms it’s a lot of money). This museum is like nothing we’ve ever seen before. First, it’s hot and not climate controlled, except in the area where they house the mummies. The only air that comes in is through the windows that the guards may or may not open each day. The second strange thing is that almost nothing is labeled. Thank goodness we had a great guidebook! The last really strange thing about the Egyptian Museum is that very few things are in cases or cordoned off. The only items that are secured so that you can’t touch them are the items small enough to slip into a pocket and out of the museum and a few famous items. You can touch most of the thousands of years old artifacts. It was a concept that was so hard to comprehend because the only museum we’ve ever been allowed to touch anything in is the Children’s Museum, so we kept our hands to ourselves. We got to see King Tut’s death mask and thousands of other interesting and amazing items from tombs and temples of Egypt. We also paid the additional 100 Egyptian Pounds each (about $20 or so) to see the mummies. This was really creepy, yet really neat. Some of the mummies were better preserved than others, but each was very interesting to see. We had a great time at the Egyptian Museum and it’s definitely the first place to stop when visiting Cairo. After the museum we headed over to The Citadel where we visited two mosques including that of Mohammed Ali. The strangest part of the Citadel is that it is a combination tourist site, religious site and military base, so it makes for an interesting mix of culture. While wandering around we heard the strangest thing so far in Egypt; at an Islamic site, we heard Eminiem blaring on the stereo. We’ve included a few pictures from our visit to the Citadel as well as our third stop of the day, to Coptic Cairo to see the Hanging Church (built over water) and some of the other Christian Churches in Cairo. We decided to go have a late lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and then call it a day. Guess what song greeted us at the Hard Rock…yes; you guessed it, Walk Like an Egyptian. We got our obligatory t-shirts and headed back to the hotel for the evening. Day 3We set out to see the ancient sites on Day 3. We began at Saqqara, the home of the Step Pyramid. We bought our tickets and as usual in Egypt if you are willing to pay a little more, you get a little more. We were taken into tombs that were recently discovered and have not officially been opened to the public. This was our first experience in a tomb and to see hieroglyphics where they were originally created is simply amazing. The Step Pyramid is very unstable and is closed to the public although a man was trying to get us to go inside with him. We decided to trust the archeologists on this one and stay out. We climbed into our first pyramid, that of Titi and wandered for a few hours through the rest of Saqqara. We’ve included pictures of the causeway, the Step Pyramid and a few other tombs and temples at Saqqara. After Saqqara we headed to Dahshur to see the Red Pyramid, Bent Pyramid and Black Pyramid. Dahshur is a U.S. and Egyptian military site, so we got to enjoy the Black and Bent Pyramids from afar. There are very valuable oil fields surrounding these pyramids and the main road only goes up to the Red Pyramid, so that’s why they limit your visit to the Red Pyramid. This was our second pyramid to visit and WOW…it’s a lot of work to climb pyramids. You begin by climbing up 30 or so meters to the entry then you climb down 68 meters into one of the rooms and up a few flights of stairs to the burial chamber. Going down was a bit of work because of the steep ascent, but climbing out was a true challenge. After Dahshur we headed back to our hotel to rest for a few minutes and to get a new driver (long story, we fired our first one) and soon learned that tthe new driver was a guide as well. This part of the day was truly amazing. Each morning and afternoon the Great Pyramid (Khufu’s) is opened to 150 people and when those tickets are gone you cannot go into the pyramid until the next day. We were bummed because we had to be there at 1:00 to get those tickets and didn’t arrive at Giza until 2:00. As we were walking our guide asked if we were interested in going into the Great Pyramid and we certainly said yes, but quickly told him that there weren’t any remaining tickets. He took us to a different ticket booth, one that only the local guides know about, so afterall we got to climb the Great Pyramid. It was different than the other pyramids that we’ve visited. Most burial chambers in the pyramids are under the ground, but Khufu’s chamber is high within the pyramid with 5 small antechambers above it. We climbed to the top and enjoyed the completely black room filled with only a sarcophagus. There are no hieroglyphics or decorations, just stone. We took many pictures of the Giza Plateau including the pyramids, the Sphinx and views of Cairo suburbs from the top of the plateau.Our very gracious guide went from guide to host as he welcomed us back to his home in the village at the bottom of the Great Pyramid. It was amazing to see what people can live without. He does very well for himself but most of his neighbors do not. He built his entire home himself and chose the location for the view; see the pictures we’ve included from his patio. We had a great experience with our guide and would highly recommend him for anyone visiting Cairo. We finished day 3 with a trip to a papyrus shop to see how the paper is made and to purchase a keepsake. It was an exhilarating and exhausting day, our muscles paid for it on day 4. Day 4We flew from Cairo to Luxor and took it easy at our hotel. We enjoyed the Egyptian sunset and we’ve included a picture of the view from our balcony. Day 5We began the day by visiting the Tombs of the Nobles. These tombs are for the men who supported the Kings, the collectors, etc. The 7 tombs we visited were quite hard to locate so we paid a local guide to show us around the village as there are homes build on top of some of the tombs now. This village cannot have running water because the city won’t allow them to with such valuable relics lying beneath their homes. We were not allowed to photograph the tombs in this area, but we did get to see some incredible sites. Two tombs in particular stand out. We visited the tomb of Nakht which was quite beautifully decorated by hieroglyphics and statues of Nakht and his wife. Then the guard told us to follow him as he moved a barricade and led us into a small room and told us to look down. We looked down to see two bodies, Nakht and his wife, this was quite grotesque, but beautiful in a way that they were laid to rest together. This is again something we should not have had the opportunity to see, but since we were not with a guide or a tour group, the locals love to show off their most prized possessions to us. The second tomb that stands out is that of Ramose. Again we were lead to an area that we wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to visit. We went down a very steep shaft (no stairs) to visit the burial chamber. Needless to say I have conquered some of my fears on this trip; fear of the dark and small spaces (especially those hundreds of feet underground). The Tombs of the Nobles were quite interesting, but we would definitely recommend getting a guide from Luxor for this part of the trip since the locals can be a bit overwhelming. After the Tombs of the Nobles we visited the Valley of the Kings. With our base ticket we were permitted to visit 3 tombs. We followed the recommendations of the guidebook and we were so glad we did, although they were the most challenging tombs to climb in and out of. We visited the tombs of Tuthmosis III, Ramses I and Merneptah. They were all stunning and unique. We pushed ourselves to our physical limits with all of the tombs, but we are so grateful that we did, they were well worth the effort! We also visited the tomb of Tutankhamun (King Tut) and we both feel that this is the most overrated thing we’ve ever seen. It’s tiny and just no that impressive especially for the additional 100 Egyptian Pounds each (about $20 each). We visited it because it’s King Tut, but if I had it to do all over again I’d skip it. The Valley of the Kings is amazing, it’s hotter than anywhere we’ve ever visited and looks like the lunar surface. We’ve included a few pictures of the valley. We ate lunch back at the hotel and rested for a few hours. We rode on a caleche (horse drawn carriage) to the center of town to explore Luxor Temple as the sun set. It was a perfect time to visit. Today we will visit the Valley of the Queens and Deir al-Bahri (my favorite temple). We will post pictures as soon as possible. Sorry for such a long play-by-play, but know that this is the abbreviated version of everything we’ve experienced. When I say experienced I mean it. When walking through a tomb you experience it with all of your senses. You can smell and tasted the musty stone surroundings; you can hear and feel the silence of the tomb walls around you. It’s a true trip for our senses. We are having a fabulous time and we’ve been so pleased with the reception we’ve received here. Our guide in Cairo said it and so have many others, the Egyptians miss Americans. Since 9-11 few Americans have visited Egypt and it’s understandable, but know that they take personal security to a new level here, 2-3 police on each street corner, road blocks, etc. The Egyptians love Americans and they miss us. We’ve heard on more than one occasion that they are sick of the noisy French, Italian and Spanish tourists and they want more Americans. So, with that being said if you know someone who is considering a trip to Egypt, pass this along to them and encourage them to explore the idea further. It’s an amazing place to visit. Since we had a nice long day of sightseeing resulting in an early dinner and an early night back at the hotel, I thought I would write my last ‘little’ installation for our trip. We will be heading back to Texas on Friday morning and after we get home I will write about our last day in Rome and an overall summary our trip. If you want the short version of what we’ve been doing, we’ve seen ‘lots of old piles of rocks and stuff’ (as Dustin would say) and if you want the long version, here you go: Let’s see, I left off last in Luxor, Egypt on Day 2; that brings us to Luxor Day 3. We spent Day 3 on the West bank of the Nile at Medinat Habu, Deir al-Bahari, the local handicraft shops and then finished the day back on the East bank over at KarnakTemple. There’s not much more to say about Medinat Habu than the fact that it’s a typical Egyptian temple; courtyards, columns and statues. We took many pictures of the temple and of course we’ve uploaded a few for you to view. Our second stop of the day was actually the Valley of the Queens which we chose to skip when we learned that the tomb of Nefertari was closed. We had heard that it’s the only tomb worth seeing in the VoQ; apparently there are 50+ tombs there and only 2 of them are open. Plus we were a bit turned off from the site when we drove up and didn’t see a single tourist around…just didn’t feel like being ambushed by the local entrepreneurs selling ceramic Ramses heads. We then headed to Deir al-Bahari; my favorite site from my college architectural history class and without a doubt the most beautiful of the ancient Egyptian sites. The symmetry, the geometry and the scale are awe inspiring. I think it goes without saying that this is my favorite temple, tomb, pyramid, etc. that I’ve taken in. On a very random side note: After seeing all of the burial sites for the great kings, pharaohs, etc. we started talking about what type of funerary temples we want. Dustin would like a pyramid larger than Khufu’s Great Pyramid at Giza with the replica of the Trevi fountain inside. He also wants all of the booby traps from all of the Indian Jones movies to keep invaders from entering his pyramid. It’s silly, but it’s what he wants. I have decided that I want Deir al-Bahari. No, I don’t want a replica, I want the real thing. Just so you know, there’s lots of land in front of Deir al-Bahari where you guys can build his pyramid so we are still close to each other. I will warn you, August is HOT (115 degrees) in Egypt, so you may want to start construction a little later in the year. Ok, back to the site seeing… After Deir al-Bahari we stopped in the West bank shops and bought a few souvenirs. I never knew how good I could be at negotiating a price. The guys originally wanted 2200 Egyptian Pounds (385USD) for all of the items we bought and I was able to talk them down to about 800 Egyptian Pounds (160USD). Note: if you are ever shopping on the West bank at Luxor always set your max price in your mind and stick to it. We were willing to pay $175 total for everything and we were able to stay under that with a few extra items thrown in. We finished the evening of Day 3 with the pièce de résistance…the cheesy sound and light show at Karnak Temple. Different sections of the buildings light up as though the walls and columns are the ancient Egyptians talking to you. It was horrible, truly horrible, but so much fun to make fun of. We enjoyed Luxor, it was more laid back that Cairo, but we were honestly ready to move onto to Italy by the end of our week in Egypt. A week in Egypt was the perfect amount of time.
