Luxor & the Valley of the Kings

Temple of Hapshepsut - site of 1997 massacre

[sidebar] Paul Theroux is often cited as one of the best travel writers around. He’s also often criticized for being too negative and critical of the places that he visits. My feeling is that this is what makes him a great travel writer. “Having a great time – wish you were here” is great when you’re in a packaged, all-inclusive, western-oriented, fluently-English place – but navigating the chaos and cultural conflict of the unpackaged world is hard, and for same reasons that it’s fascinating and beautiful, it’s also challenging and at times ugly.

Coming to Egypt has meant balancing the fascinating and the challenging, the beautiful and the devious. Being tricked out of 50 pounds by someone doing a fast switch with 50 piesters (attempted twice – never got me), getting bantered for backsheesh or bigger tips, or being cornered into paying an overinflated bill gives me something to gripe about – but it doesn’t mean that I don’t like or appreciate the place, its culture or its people. No one knows enough in 2 weeks to avoid all of the pitfalls and traps - which seem endless, but the loss of money and/or face are both small and recoverable. Dealing with people who deal in tourism has given me plenty to gripe about, but it doesn’t diminish the greatness of the place and the hospitality and kindness that I’ve found from the real people of Egypt. [/ sidebar]

home on the Nile

Luxor is a prime destination for some, and an avoidance for others (see above on getting fleeced by people working in tourism). Luxor was the former Thebes, the capital of Egypt during the times that upper and lower Egypt were ruled together by the Pharaohs. There are more temples and tombs in this area than my feet, time or budget will allow, but some are must-sees and for good reason. It’s also a city that has had half of its population relocated to “protect the antiquities” and to allow more room for cruise ships to dock. The future seems to be in the hands of the “fun-gineers” (a Disney term), but for now, the city seems real enough to me.

Ginnelle & Nate from California

While staying on the boat moored in Luxor, I was invited by my California friends, Nate and Ginelle to join them and their “Egyptologist” guide, Shenuda, to go to the Valley of the Kings as well as a couple of the big temples in Luxor city. The Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, was visiting Luxor that day, and with several previous attempts on his life, the security in the area was intense. There were guards posted along the roads spaced 10-20 feet apart for miles in every direction from Mubarak’s location. It was easily thousands of men watching every street, every person, every bush, donkey, etc…We were fortunate to leave early and crossed over the Nile to the West Bank in time to miss the closure of the roads and bridge that apparently kept many people away from that side of the river for the day.

police watching the bushes

The Valley of the Kings is a truly amazing collection of tombs dug deep into the limestone where the desert has preserved them for 3500 years. No cameras were allowed within the complex of tomb entrances, so no photos here, but you can see pictures and get more information at http://www.touregypt.net/kingtomb.htm

The entrance to King Tut’s tomb sits directly below that of Ramses V and VI, and apparently was covered by the debris from the construction of these later tombs – keeping it hidden until it was found in 1922. I visited the tombs of Ramses I, Ramses IV, and Ramses III, each unique and incredibly preserved with paintings as vivid as they must have been 3500 years ago. Makes Jesus seems like a modern guy.

going from the west bank back to Luxor city

With the bridge closed, we opted for a boat to get back to the East side of the Nile where we visited the Temple of Kamak. It was here that I reached temple overload – as I knew that I would at some point. Similar to Angkor in Cambodia, you can really only look at and study the ruins of previous civilizations for a limited time (scholars excepted) before it’s time to get back to the living world. Nate, Ginelle and Shenuda were going on to the Luxor temple, but I decided to bail and instead get some rest. 3500 years of history is a lot to swallow in a day, and I had a belly full.

I mentioned before about the last evening before departing company with my California friends and the Spaniards. It was one of the highlights of the trip, and the kind of thing that still stands out from previous travels – hanging out with people from all over in a fun and relaxed place, trading travel tales and what life is like at home.

horse & baby in the street

"bloody" handprints keep the evil out

So now I’ve moved on to quiet time. I’m staying at a small B&B style hotel run by new-agey Irish woman named Mara. Her place is back 5 or 6 blocks behind the train station, which puts it very much out of reach of anyone or anything related to tourism. The street out in front is filled with kids playing soccer, cats and dogs roaming for food or a fight (lots of cat fights), and regular Egyptian families. My very inexpensive room is actually an apartment-sized 4 room suite, there’s a rooftop garden with wifi, and beers are available and reasonably priced. Good chance to get some rest and catch up on my blog…