Saturday 17 September 2011

Luxor – Day 1 (Continuation…)

Tour of the West Bank

As promised the next few posts on Egypt will be shorter (with less frills) *smiles*

After the Valley of the Kings, our guide took us to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (otherwise known as Hot Chicken Soup – coz its easier to remember). Queen Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmosis I who ruled Egypt for about 20 years in the 18th Dynasty. She was the only Woman Pharaoh who reigned ancient Egypt.

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The structure as you can see is magnificent with the backdrop of the rocky mountains. There are a few 100 columns of either side which make it eerie. The paintings and carvings simply amazing, depict the life of queen Hatshepsut and the stories during her reign. It is believed that there is a connection from one of the tombs (I don’t remember whose tomb) at the Valley of Kings to this temple of Queen Hatshepsut. This is still undiscovered.

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From there onwards we went to these two statues - Memnon Colossi.

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From here we went to an Alabaster factory. We got to see how the stone is shaped and made worthy to sell. I was very tempted to buy a few things here -

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Tour of the East Bank

In Luxor although you could do all the touring on your own, a guided tour is definitely recommended. This gives you an insight to the history and a grasp of the daily lives of the people there.

From the West Bank to the East Bank is a beautiful drive. We stopped for lunch at the Luxor Museum…. The food was amazing. I’ll have to do a separate post on Egyptian food.

Our first stop was at the Karnak Temple. The temple is dedicated to God Amon and his wife Mut. It is by far the greatest example of worship in ancient history. We walked along the Avenue of the Sphinx to enter the temple complex. Don’t forget that the ruins here are over 4000 years old. There is a huge courtyard to the temple and then some 135 columns. Impressive is not the right world. Towards the end of the Karnak temple is the sacred lake.

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Don’t miss the Obelisk of Ramses II and the stories behind how this was erected is honestly unimaginable.

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From the Karnak Temple, the Luxor temple is about a mile & half away by foot.

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In the evening, we took a horse ride around the city of Luxor. This gives you true peak into the lives of the people.

If Egypt is on your list of places to go, do write to me on torresp27@hotmail.com and I’ll guide you through this magnificent and ancient land.

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14 comments:

  1. lovely post...very informative...was it a conducted tour by some travels or did u decide the whole iterinary

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  2. beautiful photolog.... loved it!

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  3. Hello, you have the most fabulously wonderful site here and I had to leave this comment for you ! Your posts are beautifully written, creative and original too, and you have interesting pictures.

    It's all perfect !

    Thank you for sharing your site and best wishes.... 'Happy September'....

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  4. I loved the sing-song theatrics of the demo.boys in the alabaster factory ! Din't you ?

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  5. Magnificent stone works... I bet the stories behind erection of these structures would be interesting.The beauty and magnificent splendor in these works of art proclaim the grandeur of civilization that flourished in Egypt. Thanks for sharing the pics and all this information.

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  6. wonderful! they are so impressive! the sheer size and the kind of detail! wow!

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  7. Beautiful post and great shots!

    Have a nice weekend, kisses:)

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  8. Lovely pictures. My daughter too went to Egpyt, and keeps telling us also to visit it. Did you also take the cruise?
    I believe that is the best.

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  9. Fantastic photos. I have always been fascinated by Egyptian civilization and loved this blog post!

    Cheers from Bangalore ,India
    Dr Sonia S V
    http://cardsandschoolprojects.blogspot.com

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  10. Fantastic photos. I have always been fascinated by Egyptian civilization and loved this blog post!

    Cheers from Bangalore ,India
    Dr Sonia S V
    http://cardsandschoolprojects.blogspot.com

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  11. wow a great post...need 1000 eyes to see egypt

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  12. Hi Patricia, thank you for leaving sweet comments on my blog and thank you for this great tour, I have always dreamed of visiting Egypt, I think is beautiful!
    XXX Iso

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  13. Hi Patricia, thanks for dropping by my blog, and leaving those lovely comments! i have just started with blogging. Appreciate it, and yes I do stay in Dubai, u too? You have a lovely space here too, lot of things to see and read, keep blogging and sharing!

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