Amarante Osiris Luxor

... we brought ear plugs! We arrived in Luxor at 6am and our hotel was there to pick us up! We stayed at "The Bob Marley House" such an awesome place!
Bob Marley paraphenalia everywhere! The guys who own and run the place are super nice!
They pride themselves on a no hassle, no asking for baksheesh (tips) environment. They have a free dinner for guests on friday evenings, free pick up from the train station or airport. The owner got us a cheap cab ride to and from ...

... the pillared hall had to be hastily turned into the burial chamber.
If you were caught taking a photo inside a tomb you most likely would have your camera confiscated. We saw many people hurrying to follow guards with cameras in hands. But when has anything like that ever stopped Dino, it just makes it into a challenge for him.

With finally a nice day under our belts we headed back to our hotel to freshen up before the overnight train to Cairo.

... at the food and tells its every meat but what it is and when you look at him confused he laughs! Anyways, did I mention the word BUFFET. This is not a good word considering how little clothes we must fit into for the next 3 months. Dan is exhausted, he didnt sleep well on the plane and hasnt caught up yet. He also ate something he shouldn't so is frequenting the bathroom alot. He's just fallen asleep fully clothed whilst I am typing this, so it's time for bed and a 5am start tomorrow!

... convinced it was just a ploy to get us to like them and have us spend our money at their shops. It was too hot to argue... No, I didn't visit Cairo during the Bush years, but I highly doubt that say, in 2005, right after Bush's reelection, Cairo vendors professed their love of Bush knowing that the majority of Americans supported their president. People really do like Obama if you actually delve a little deeper...and they HATED Bush...I will discuss this more later ...

... awed look on his face. Then he would laugh hysterically at himself. It was pretty funny. haha. Excavations in the Valley of the Kings are still underway and a new tomb was just found actually. They were digging old fashioned style while we were there, with spikes, mallets, and hammers. After that we went back to the boat for lunch. It was buffet style and they had all kinds of things from cheeses to pasta to potatoes and vegetable casseroles, soups, meat ...

... just in time as one of our group members was getting hassled by security upon getting into the gate area.  We arrive to Abu Simbel where we took a rather rickety bus out to the temple site.    For those that are unaware of Abu Simbel, it was a temple made out of a solid cliff in the 13th century BC.  The great temple was dedicated to the patron deities of Egypt's great cities, Amun of Thebes, Ptah of Memphis and Ra-Harakhty of Heliopolis and was built to honor the great ...

... All the antiquities described above are on the West bank of the Nile, about an hour's drive from Luxor, which is principally on the East bank, via a bridge some way up river. In Luxor, we stayed in the Iborotel, alongside the Nile and with gardens leading down to the river and a large swimming pool actually floating on it. Being a modern block, it didn't have a lot of character, but it did us OK for a reasonable price. We did enjoy watching the sun setting over the ...

... se mêlent religion et vie sociale, un concept qui ne nous est pas si étranger si on le compare au tintement des cloches de nos églises.


Le vent est chaud ce soir au bord de la piscine. Le soleil nous quitte dans un salut orangé. Lui aussi finalement modèle le pays autant que le Nil. À cette latitude, il engendre le désert, irrémédiablement. Il se trouve d'ailleurs qu'après la séparation du Gondwana, lors de la dérive des plaques, le continent européen a connu le désert.

... some very heavy restoration as many parts of it looked relatively modern.

Last stop on the tour was the Valley of the Queens. As the name would suggest this valley housed the tombs of the wives of the Pharaohs. There are only 4 tombs here however, with only 2 being open to the public. One of the tombs was really quite incredible and was surprisingly much better than any of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. So that was the end of the tour which ...

... The scarab became an important symbol of creation, resurrection and everlasting life, with mummified scarabs often being placed in Egyptian tombs as part of their ancient funeral rites to ensure eternal resurrection. Venturing back to the hostel we pass a pharmacy and I try my hand at buying some Xanax before our impending marathon bus ride. Of course at 200 Egyptian pounds it is no problem and I am soon issued ...