New Radwan Hotel Luxor

Overnight our boat crew drifted our boats down the river to our final destination - Kom Ombo. We left the boat to start heading for Luxor and on the way we stopped at the Greek/Roman temples of Kom Ombo and Edfu.

Kom Ombo is a temple dedicated to two gods – the local crocodile god Sobek, and Horus the Elder. The temple is planned to worship both gods, with twin hypostyle halls, two entrances, twin sanctuaries and carvings of the two gods on either side. There ...

... living there and a 3km long avenue of sphinxes link Karnak with Luxor Temple

Out to a local restaurant for dinner then to bed for an early start.

We left at 0615 for the West Bank in Luxor and made our first stop at the Colossi of Memnon, the only remaining part of a huge memorial temple built by Amenhotep III, the temple was larger than Karnak but has disappeared except for the Colossi.

From there we mounted ...

... a stack and post them back.

Now on the plane to Luxor. Bit delayed as we had to wait for connecting flight to come in but will reach there by 6pm hopefully. Mohammed, our driver was there to greet us at the airport and took us to Mara House where we were met By Mara, her son Steve & his girlfriend Sarah. We immediately had a beer and another and another whilst chatting to them and learning lots about the ...

... I was originally upset that I would potentially be missing. For the fact that it was only about $8 US for entry into both, plus about $10 more for transit, I was really pleased. Edfu temple has a similar layout, with some pretty interesting hieroglyphics and color remaining. For those going on this trip, try and see if your guide will bend and take you to these two temples. While not the biggest or the best, they are worth a look.

From Edfu we ...

... off over the Suez Canal, but also managed to lose one of the most embarrassing wars imaginable in 1967... I mean, he lost the entire Sinai in 6 days! Sadat lost a war as well in 1973, which was also embarassing, but his time was really spent making up for Nasser's losses. And yet at the time, Nasser was a hero, Sadat more or less a villian.

Mubarek has ruled in Sadat's vein, more likely to reach out to the West than to fight it. If you can't beat them, why ...

So today we visited the Valley of the Kings...this is where several of the great Pharaoh's of Egypt were buried (as the name implies). The area is dry and basically almost in the middle of nowhere with lots of rock and stone. We were told we could not bring our cameras into any of the tombs as there is a fear that the flash lights are the reason why the paint on the walls is deteriorating. We were able to visit 5 tombs. The burial chambers are ...

... from the stalls, and ask for baksheesh (tips) for every piece of toilet paper handed out.  I have spent more money trying to wipe my own ass than I have on bottles of water, food, and Egyptian trinkets.    Having that said, I am truly glad I am on this trip.  I am learning SO much about this culture, and really want to continue my travels within the middle east.   With that, I am signing off as we are getting ready to pack and leave for the Red Sea.  I will update when I can! 

... and hospitality; I met people who enjoyed life with marihuana and Bob Marley 24/7; I also met a writer who spent his time writing about hieroglyphs and abusing young boys. Different colour of people gave me different flavour of Egypt.

My second time in Luxor was just a day trip from Hurgada where I stayed for a week.

On the ...

... down on the remains of the Temple of Hatshepsut, and from our vantage point the couple of hundred visitors wandering around it looked like a colony of ants. There we left our donkeys and walked over the final ridge and down into the Valley of the Kings.

The admission price covered entrance into our of choice three of the sixty or so tombs, and we went along with the recommendations given to us of visiting those of Ramses III, Ramses VI and Ramses IX. Descending down into ...

Last night I started feeling nauseous. I had cramps by bedtime and didn't have a good night. I’m convinced it was something in the food.

I still wasn’t well this morning, and felt quite weak, so I had to pass on the visit to Edfu, much to my regret. Tatiana stayed with me while Marjolaine and Fiona went on the visit, which they said was very good. All afternoon the Silver Moon ...