Egypt - Luxor and Home

Luxor and Traveling Home

We boarded a plane for Luxor.  I was excited to see many of the sites around Luxor.  AJ had been there before and was glad that we would be able to see some of the things he saw as a student.  He had told me about the color that could still be seen in the tombs and how amazing it is.  I was thrilled to actually see it now.

Apartment that we stayed at

We got into Luxor on the evening of 26 October.  Our experience in Cairo had been pretty full on, that we were glad to get in and just rest that evening.  We were able to find a three bedroom apartment to stay in while we were there.  It was away from the hustle and bustle of Luxor and was a nice change of pace.  The owners of the complex prepared a nice meal for us that night.  They were very gracious hosts.    

The next morning began our whirlwind tour of Luxor and the surrounding area.  We started the day by visiting the Valley of the Kings.  They do not let cameras into the area so the only picture I got was of the mountain overlooking the valley.  This place is really dry and barren.  There is no plant life.  So, I guess it is the proper place to bury the dead!  The tombs were amazing.  There is so much color inside the tombs.  There were yellows, blues, reds, greens, whites, blacks, and browns.  The colors were very vibrant still.  

Mountain overlooking the
Valley of the Kings

There was lots of work going on in the valley right now.  They have been going into the tombs and putting up protective paneling.  Many tourists have decided to leave their marks in the area or have chipped a piece of the work off the walls for souvenirs.  To prevent this and to help prolong the natural aging, they are building new walkways, hand rails, and putting up plexiglass.  I find it unfortunate that they need to do this, but there are people who do not respect these sites.

Valley of the Nobles

We then boarded our bus to travel to the Valley of the Nobles.  These tombs were not as intricately done as the king tombs, but still pretty amazing.  It was a warm day, and even warmer in this area.  It was quite tiring hiking up to see these sites.  After walking around the Valley of the Kings that morning and now hiking in this area, the kids were beginning to drop like flies.  So, after visiting for a bit we got on the road again and made our way to the Ramesseum.

From the Valley of the Nobles
towards the Nile

The Ramesseum is the memorial temple of Rameses II.  There were all sorts of his life scenes depicted on the walls and columns.  There were many war scenes and scenes that show his journey to the afterlife.  There were huge statues of him all around the complex.  He must have had quite the self-esteem!

The Ramesseum

Hieroglyphics at the Ramesseum

After walking around the Ramesseum, we felt that we needed to get the kids back to the apartment for lunch.  We made a brief stop on our way back to see the Memnon Colossi.  The kids were glad to get back to the lodgings.  They spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing.

We made plans to go and see the night show at the Temple of Karnak that night.  As you walk around the complex, a recorded dramatization tells you of the history of Egypt and who contributed to the building of different parts of the complex.

Memnon Colossi

After breakfast the next morning decided to go back the the Temple of Karnak to explore it during the day.  It was more fascinating during the day.  There is still a lot of color that has remained on the temple.  While there we ran into many locals.  We were instant celebrities again and were able to have many photo-ops with people.  It was fun to be able meet all of these people.

Column at Ramesseum

Temple of Hatshepsut

Model of the Temple of Karnak

Temple of Karnak

Satellite image of Temple of Karnak

Hieroglyphics at Temple of Karnak

Temple of Karnak

AJ taking pictures with the locals

Color is still found at the Temple of Karnak

Column at Temple of Karnak

AJ and I

AJ and more locals

James and local girl who followed us around

Kids

Obelisk of Queen Hatshepsut

The Curtis Clan

Road to Temple of Luxor

AJ and James on
dinner cruise

Market at Temple of Luxor

Market at Temple of Luxor

Our captain for the evening

In the evening, we took a dinner cruise on the Nile.  Again, we have our meal of chicken, kofta, rice, and different salads with flat bread.  We traveled on a felucca.  Ours did not have a fancy sail like the one in the picture below.  We had a wonderful time watching the sun set and enjoying our last meal in Egypt.  Tomorrow we would begin our journey back to Riyadh.

Felucca boat on the Nile

The flight home was uneventful!  It was a more  quiet flight than our flight there.  I think it had to do with the fact that we were all pretty exhausted from the journey.  I want to share a pretty amazing thing that happened while we were going through passport control in Riyadh.  We had finally made it to the beginning of the line and were having our passports checked when one of the security heads came over to our station.  They love to see large families come through that are non-Saudi.  Every time that we have come back, we always have someone that comes over to see the kids.  This time though, the security guy asked if we were of the Moroni (he pronounced it like macaroni) faith.  We said that it was the Mormon faith.  He then told us that we are good people and welcomed us back to Riyadh.  I think that this is a first with those we know here in the Kingdom.  It will be a memorable moment for us!