Luxor Egypt, Not Vegas

Even though it was hot (110ºF), dusty, and a long day (we flew into Luxor at 7am and out at 6pm), this day trip from Cairo was something I’m really glad we did.

The entire tour of Luxor was a highlight, but the two things I enjoyed seeing the most were Hatshepsut’s Temple and Karnak Temple

Plus, I can’t leave out seeing King Tut’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings. I even got a King Tut bruise when I fell down inside the tomb!

Not that it will take you long to visit, but you'll pass the Colossi of Memnon, two HUGE statues of Ramses II, which look suspiciously like Storm Troopers.

I would recommend that if you have more time, spend a few days in the Luxor area, and maybe even take a Nile cruise down to Aswan.

Quick Tips:

1. Wear a hat. It’s HOT.
2. Bring water with you. Get cold water at every opportunity. Drink it.
3. Wear comfortable walking shoes, you’ll be doing a lot of it.
4. Wear sunscreen.
5. Take frequent shade breaks.
6. Bring a small flashlight to look at different items in the tombs. BEST thing we did.
7. Bring small denominations of money or items like pens to tip the Bedouins in the tombs.

Check out my Cairo journal also.

Best Way To Get Around:

Driving in Luxor is much less traumatic than driving in Cairo, though the no honking signs aren't really that effective here either. You'll need good walking shoes, because there is a lot of that (if you were really brave and crazy, there's a walking path connecting the Valley of the Kings with Hatshepsut's temple. Why you'd do this, I don't know, but you can.)

The sites are separated by the Nile River, so going over the bridge by car is really your only option.

Queen Hatshepsut was the stepmother to Tuthmose III, who was too young to ascend to the throne. Hatshepsut was to serve in his stead, but was able to draw enough supporters and become queen in her own right—one of the few female rulers of Egypt. She even dressed in the male ceremonial garb. She built her temple in Luxor to reinforce her claim that she deserved the throne because she was a direct descendant of the sun god. Her temple was built by her lover (she couldn't marry or else lose her title to him).

As you can imagine Tuthmose III wasn’t happy about this, as he grew to an age where he could assume power. Hatshepsut died mysteriously, and when she did, he took back the kingdom that he thought had been ripped from him. He wanted revenge, so he set out to destroy all references to Hatshepsut—including “redecorating” her temple, scratching out her cartouche in all the reliefs on the temple walls.

Hatshepsut, however, had built the temple for the god, and to destroy her temple completely would be to disrespect the god, drawing the people’s anger. So he couldn’t erase her totally from history, so she lives on.

The temple is built into the rock, and has three levels for worship for the sun god. It also had a room dedicated to Anubis, the funerary god. The reliefs still show vibrant colors (where Thutmose III didn’t scratch them out) and are just beautiful (we were told that they were the originals)

There is an admission charge of about 20 Egyptian pounds, but you can take your cameras in. A little tram train will save you the walk from the admissions booth to the entrance of the temple. It’s not an unreasonable walk, but save your energy when it’s hot.

This is a must see in Luxor!

I say you’d be hard-pressed to find a more impressive temple complex in Egypt. Dedicated to the sun god, this complex wasn’t built by just one pharaoh, but by many. Each successor to the throne just kept building on to the previous structure, and now it covers over 200 acres.

As you enter, you walk down the avenue of ram-headed sphinxes, impressive in itself. But if you look past the entrance, you can see the huge pylon columns that would’ve supported the roof structure. Just past the main gate, you can see remnants of the same kind of ramp that was used to build the Pyramids, also used here to get the stones atop the colossal walls. The hieroglyphs on the columns are astounding, and on the underside of the capstones on the columns you can still see brilliant paint colors.

There are two obelisks in the courtyard here, and you’ll notice one is a different color half-way down. That’s because Tuthmosis III was so vengeful against Queen Hapshetsut for “stealing” his reign that he built a wall around it. He couldn’t destroy it completely because it would disrespect the gods, but he also didn’t want anyone to acknowledge Hapshesut.

It’s a small miracle that the complex exists at all, as a British archaeologist flooded it to remove the salt deposits, and actually destroyed about 30 percent of it.

If you’re single, be sure to touch the, um, “part” of the fertility god in the corner, as legend has it you’ll find your significant other by doing so. In addition, in one of the courtyards, there is a statue of a scarab (beetle) and if you make a wish and walk around it counter-clockwise, your wish will come true. I’m not sure if the guides invented that to laugh at the tourists or not, but we walked around 3 times (7 for bigger wishes).

To really see Karnak, you’ll need at least half a day, if not a full day. I couldn’t get enough photos, and I couldn’t capture its enormity on film. It’s well worth your time to visit.

There's an entrance fee of 20 Egyptian pounds.

The Luxor Temple was the site of a yearly festival that brought the human part and the divine part of the king together, reiterating his divine rule. The temple was connected by the sphinx-lined entrance way to Karnak Temple, and the statues of the kings and the gods were brought from Karnak down the Nile river and paraded in front of the Egyptian people. (The sphinx heads are of Ramses II). The festival began as only a week-long party, but it evolved into a 2-plus day festival!

The temple was built for the Egyptian traid, the sun god Amun-Ra, and his wife and sun. Two kings are responsible for what visitors still see, Amenhotep III and Ramses II. (Is there anything in Egypt that Ramses II didn’t build?)

There are many good examples here of columns, with their papyrus and lotus flower capitals (the papyrus was the symbol of upper Egypt and the lotus the symbol of lower Egypt. Lower Egypt is north on the map and Upper Egypt is south on the map, it’s all quite confusing, but that’s the way the Nile flows.)

At the back of the complex, only a foot away from each other, stands a wall from ancient Egyptian times right next to a wall from the Romans, with the Egyptian reliefs having been painted over and replaced with Christian themes, and the wall is currently being renovated. What I thought was very interesting is that Alexander the Great carved hieroglyphics into his wall as well, to gain the favor and support of the Egyptians.

An obelisk stands at the entrance, placed there by Ramses II. There were originally two, but one was given to France early in the 1800s. There are also two large statues of Ramses II at the entrance, only two out of the original five that were there.

To see Luxor Temple is to complete the link between it and the Karnak temple. Of the two, I think that Karnak is the more impressive of but each one is an excellent example of Egyptian pharaoh excess and worship.

Entrance fee: 20 Egyptian pounds.

The kings of Egypt realized that while the Pyramids were impressive burial places, they were easy targets for thieves. The mountains in Luxor had the same triangular shape, and they hoped digging their tombs into the rock would make them harder to find. The only king's tomb that had been found intact was that of King Tut’s tomb. Though a new tomb was recently discovered intact with 5 sarcophogi and is still being excavated as of this writing. But the tomb isn't of a king, but possibly King Tut's family.

Your entrance fee (20 Egyptian pounds) gives you entrance into three tombs. You are not allowed to take photos inside any tomb, but you can take them outside. No camcorders allowed at all. Your guide can come into the Valley with you, but not into the tombs themselves.

There are plenty to choose from, so I’ll tell you which ones I thought were the best.

The tomb of Tuthmosis III is by far the best tomb in the valley—and is the hardest to get to (isn’t that always the way?) If you’ve got a sense of adventure and some strong thighs, climb up the steep stairs and then climb deep down into the rock to see the magnificent reliefs. They are unique in that they don’t look painted on, they look like they were done with and ancient Sharpie marker. The whole tomb is shaped like a cartouche, and the sarcophagus that has been left in the tomb is also shaped like a cartouche. Shine your flashlight into the sarcophagus and you can see the carved outline of the king where he lay. The eyes of Horrace the protector seem to follow you wherever you go. Bring a tip for the Bedouin, because there is no escaping him. I will say that he knew where to look for certain things, and enjoyed shining the flashlight on many surprises (and wanted to keep it).

I’d say Ramses IX would be the next best tomb that we saw. Different tombs are closed at different times. Ask your guide for recommendations.

Also, pay the extra 70 Egyptian pounds to go into Tutankhamon’s tomb. And yes, do the cheesy tourist thing and wait in line to take your photo with his tomb marker. Cameras aren’t allowed inside the tomb, and you’ll be given a receipt for your camera when you leave it at the entrance.

The sarcophagus has been left inside the tomb, along with Tut’s mummy. The bedouin inside took my flashlight and said "come look over here!" What he failed to say was "there's no floor over here" which resulted in my King Tut bruise. The wall reliefs have been restored, and as the king died unexpectedly and so young, many of the paintings were not finished.

It boggles the mind to think that only 70 or so tombs have been discovered out of the estimated 150-plus that should be buried here.

This was an excellent stop on the trip.

The entrance fee of 20 Egyptian pounds, and cameras are allowed into the Valley, but not into the tombs themselves.

Having been first to the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens was kind of a letdown. There were only three tombs open, and Nefretete’s tomb was closed. Most of the tombs in the Valley of the Queens were destroyed, and the tombs that were open did have paintings in them, but they all seemed very much alike. Unlike the tombs of the kings, these tombs are just a simple antechamber.

One of the tombs is that of Queen Titi (no, I didn't make that up), possibly the queen of Ramses III, though there's nothing in the tomb that would confirm that. The tomb is beautifully painted, but not as spectacular as any in the Valley of the Kings.

There aren’t just queens buried here, but there are other members of the royal family. For example; the son of Ramses III, who died at a very young age. The reliefs on the wall show the father helping his son navigate the afterlife, making offerings to the gods. This tomb has a very interesting mummified baby, which apparently had been born prematurely. Combine the gross and the cool factors and it was kind of interesting.

The Bedouins were at the entrance of every tomb handing out cardboard to use as fans, so again, if you use them, you might want to give them a small tip. And they will follow you in and point out the obvious (and to their credit, the sometimes not obvious). It's their way, give a tip and go with the flow.

I say see it if you have time, but don’t pass up the other sites in Luxor to see the Valley of the Queens.