Our trip to Luxor, Egypt

Luxor, Eqypt

Monday 22nd October

Last night we arrived in Luxor, Egypt. It was a quick flight from Cairo to Luxor. Getting to the Cairo airport took a whole two hours due to the traffic but the main thing was we made our flight and we enjoyed waking up to explore the Jolie Ville kings Island Hotel where we were staying.

The Hotel itself is on a small island which had wonderful views of the Nile River.  Our room was quite large but it needed an up date in decor inside as it was very 80's looking. Today we enjoyed one of the pool areas. In the afternoon we decided that because we had a full day of tours tomorrow we would explore the local tourist market. We headed into town to find the market closed and only opening up again at 5pm so we headed back to the hotel for some more lounging by the pool.

Our night plans didn't turn out that well as we arrived back to the market and after a short time the power in the area went out so that put a dint in our plans. Exploring the market wasn't meant to be.

The outside of our room

One of the pool areas

Paige watching the sunset on the Nile River

Sunset on the Nile River

Tuesday 23th October

We had a full day of site seeing today as we tried to fit as many sites in as possible. We had booked a tour with a private tour guide to ensure we went to see what we wanted to go and see. It is suggested to do your tour in the morning of the Valley of the Kings as the heat does take a toll on visitors.

Our first stop was the Valley of the Kings, visitors are not allowed to take photos but I was able to find some on the Internet to go with our blog. We relied on our guide to suggest the best extra tombs to see and on his recommendation we paid the extra cost to visit Ramses 3rd which we saw some amazing hieroglyphics. We had already seen all Tutankhamun's treasures in Cairo so we gave his tomb a miss.

Looking down the Valley of the Kings

Valley of the Kings

 

The Valley of Kings is the ancient burial ground used by the Pharoahs and dignitries from the 18th to the 20th dynasties. Among 63 royal tombs is the famous Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV 62) that was discovered virtually intact in November 1922.  Ticket (80 LE) is valid for entry to three tombs.

Extra tickets to visit the tomb of Tutankhamun can be purchased at a cost of 100LE, Ramses V and VI at 50LE and the tomb of Ay in the Western Valley costs an extra 25LE. Ticket for electric train (LE 4 return) . Not all tombs are open to the public, but the valley is open daily though Tutankhamun's tomb closes for an hour between 1 and 2pm

hieroglyphics

hieroglyphics

Our next stop was visiting the Temple of Hatshepsut. The day had started to warm up and without any shade we found ourselves glad we were not here in the heat of summer. We found our guide was very informative which made our visit more interesting. Paige really liked the nick name of "Hot Chicken Soup" the guide had given the temple a lot easier to remember.

Temple of Hatshepsut

Temple of Hatshepsut

A mortuary temple dedicated to the longest ruling female of Ancient Egypt, Queen Hatshepsut. The temple is decorated with statues, sphinxes, and reliefs, which have been meticulously restored over time.

Bernadette, Ben and Paige standing in front of  the Temple of Hatshepsut

Paige waiting for us to finish looking at the temple

On the move again we headed to have some lunch and a quick rest at a local restaurant. On our way we made a quick stop to see the Colossi of Memnon.

 

Colossi of Memnon

 

Two enthroned statues of Amenhotep III, each soaring more than 60 feet into the sky, are the first monuments visitors see upon arrival at the West Bank. Standing sixty feet high, they originally guarded the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III, thought to have been the largest in Egypt, but plundered for building materials. 

Bernadette and Ben standing in front of the Colossi of Memnon

Another stop on our tour was to visit a Alabaster Carvers and shop. It was interesting to see how the process of how Alabaster was carved.

One stage in the process of Alabaster carving

Paige and Bernadette watching one of the stages of carving

Bernadette and Paige watching the man shine a light in one of the stone carved vases

Our tour continued and we went on to see the Karnak Temple and Luxor Temples. Both temples were amazing to see. So much history an we were glad to have the tour guide as he pointed out interesting aspects of both temples. I think if we had of visited the temples on our own we wouldn't of found out many interesting facts.


Karnak Temple

The temple of Karnak was known as Ipet-isut (Most select of places) by the ancient Egyptians. It is a temple complex, where pharaohs built for over 2000 years. The temple is dedicated to Theban triad of Amun, Mut and Khonsu.

This derelict place is still capable of overshadowing many of the wonders of the modern world and in its day must have been awe inspiring.

For the largely uneducated ancient Egyptian population this could only have been the place of the gods. It is one the largest religious buildings ever made. Todays pilgrims are mainly tourists. It covers about 200 acres 1.5km by 0.8km The area of the sacred enclosure of Amon alone is 61 acres. The Hypostyle hall at 54,000 square feet with its 134 columns is still the largest room of any religious building in the world. In addition to the main sanctuary, known as the Precinct of Amun, there are several smaller temples and a vast sacred lake.

One of the several smaller Temples, is The Temple of Ptah, for any traveller visiting the temple this is a must see! The temple is small and set on the North Eastern boundary of the complex. To get there you must go through the pillars on the north side of the great court (left as you walk in) and travel through what appears to be ruins to the outer wall. Near a large gate there will be a small set of pillars and at the end a small closed temple. Unless you are travelling with a guide you may have to tip to get in but it is part of the temple you are allowed to visit. The reason it is so special is because it has the only remaining statue of Sekhmet still in place. The room is small and dark and provides a real insight into what temples may have looked like in the past. The light shines down on her wonderfully carved head and lights it up as any priest would have seen it thousands of years ago.

The row of Spinx

One of the statues

Hieroglyphics and the original colours

Obelisk

Luxor Temple

Built during the eighteenth dynasty by Amenhotep III and added to by Ramses II, Luxor Temple was built to celebrate the annual Opet Festival when the statues of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu were taken in procession from Karnak to Luxor. The temple features colossal seated statues of Ramses II and large open courts surrounded by elegant papyrus columns. Open daily.

The temple is open after dark and the special lighting makes many of the stone inscriptions easier to see and read. If possible, view it both during daylight and at night for 2 different perspectives.

Of particular interest are the reliefs covering the side walls of the Colonnade of Amun-hetep III which, although userped by Hor-em-heb, are the major surviving monument from the reign of Tut-ankh-amun.

Luxor Temple

Our tour guide showing Paige and Ben part of the temple

After finishing our day of touring the amazing temples we headed back to the hotel for some down time and some swimming which Paige couldn't wait to do.


Wednesday 24th October

Today was an early start as we went Hot Air ballooning over Luxor area. We were picked up at the hotel by the Ballooning company and taken to the Nile to cross on on of the local boats.

Our boat for crossing the Nile

Paige and Bernadette waiting for our boat crossing

One of the Hot Air Balloons taking off

We arrived at the Hot Air balloon area to find around ten other companies readying the balloons for other tourists. It was great arriving with some darkness as the effect from the balloons being heated was really interesting.

Another of the Hot Air Balloons taking off

Paige and Ben waiting for our Balloon to be ready

Looking up at the balloon

Paige, Bernadette and Ben in the balloons basket ready to take off

We climbed into the basket and waited for the take off. The ride was wonderful we floated over a part of Luxor were we saw many of the temples from the day before. To see the sunrise from the balloon was amazing even if there was a bit of haze in the air.

Ground Crew as our balloon took off.

Sunrise

Ben in the hot air balloon basket

View of the Valley of the Kings

River boats

After a perfect landing we made our way back to the river for another crossing and we went back to the hotel for our last breakfast and to get ready for our next leg of our holiday and our flight to Amman, Jordon.

 

It was worth travelling to Luxor as we got to see another part of Egypt which had more of a country feel and seeing other temples and the Valley of the Kings was worth every minute of travelling.