The Sights in Luxor Egypt

I'm writing from Alexandria on the Mediterranean, where we arrived today. We rode the overnight train from Luxor, where we had spent the last 2 and a half days, to Cairo, then boarded another train to Alexandria. In Cairo, we re-connected with Samah, a new Egyptian friend, who has been very gracious to us during our stay. He has been immensely helpful in making sense of the many things are are not accustomed to here. More on that later.

But first, I need to fill you in on our adventures in Luxor, what was the ancient city of Thebes. There is an icredible concentration of sights, and history in this area. Some of the largest and most spectacular temples are here, along with the Valley of the Kings. This is where many of the mummies and tombs (including Tutankamen) have been found over the last 150 years or so.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the journey from Aswan to Luxor was difficult. So the following day the girls rested while I visited Luxor Temple (picture above) and Karnak, both of which lie within the bounds of the city. Can you imagine? Anyway, those were both incredible and I will have photos and stories to share when we return.

The following day, we rented a taxi for the day and went to to other sites in the West Bank of the Nile River. The first , the Valley of the Kings, was really amazing. None of us knew quite what to expect. There are a series of tombs in a rather concentrated area where a number of pharaos were buried over several hundred years. These are accessed by small passages, some of which extend quite far underground. Unfortunately, no pictures allowed. But many consist of several interconnected rooms, decorated in various fashion. Most of the riches were plundered by robbers, or other pharaos over the following decades and centuries. A few, including Tutankamen, lay undicovered until fairly recently.

Second, we visited Hedjthipsut temple, which is carved into the rock above the Nile Valley. Hedjthipsut was the wife of Ramses II, one of the longest lived pharaos of ancient Egypt. I believe he ruled for over 60 years and died at 96!

Estelle says hi to all her classmates and can't wait to share stories and pictures when we return.

My time is up on the computer, so must log off for now.

Tom

Tom