Exploring Egypt

We arrived in Safaga, Egypt early on the morning of November 11th with a very long day ahead of us.  We boarded our bus for a 3.5 hour ride to our first destination which was the Luxor Temple.

A good share of the ride was through desert.  Some mountains and an occasional outpost or security checkpoint were the only changes we could see in the terrain.  It seemed so desolate.

We passed a few buildings.  These seemed to be under construction but appeared abandoned.  We came to discover that this was not uncommon in Egypt.  If a building is not complete, then they pay fewer taxes.  Many people live and work in buildings that are not complete.

There were about 25 security checkpoints between Safaga and Luxor.  We had to stop at the first one and after that they let us pass through.  They were each manned by soldiers with weapons.  I would guess about 10-12 men sitting around with their guns.  Usually there was someone in the guard towers.  One of the reasons we chose this excursion provided by the cruise line was so that we wouldn't personally have to deal with the checkpoints.  We were told it often took bribes to get through.

As we got within about an hour of the Nile River, the landscape began to change.  There were more settlements and green areas for farming.  Life seems to be hard in Egypt and the water from the Nile is truly their lifeblood.

We saw many areas sectioned off for farming.  It seemed that each area was farmed by a different family or group.  We saw many small groups working in the fields and many loading their harvest onto carts pulled by donkeys.

You will notice many unfinished buildings.  People live and work on the bottom floors and the top floors remain unfinished.

This is so typical with donkey carts and small motorized vehicles side by side.  It was such a juxtaposition of the old and new.

In the background is one of the beautiful mosques.  Their mosques seem to be well maintained.  Other buildings are not well maintained.  They look like they might fall down easily.

It was very typical to see homes covered with thatch to protect from the sun and rain.  I was happy to get a picture of this one since it is challenging to take photos from a moving bus.

The children were very friendly and usually waved at our bus.  We waved back.  I wondered why there were so many children not in school.  Someone said that it was their weekend and Sabbath.  I hope that is correct.

These are little taxi's for the locals.  They looked tattered and worn much like everything else in Egypt.

It was very warm in Egypt but not the hottest time of the year.  We felt so badly for the women in their black robes and head covers.  They men mostly wore white robes which I am sure were much cooler.  The Arabs talk about how well they treat the women.  We didn't buy that line.
We finally arrived at the Luxor.  Our guide paid for our ticket so we don't know how much it cost to enter this tourist area.  These amazing structures and temples were built for the Kings of course.  It took so many years that when one pharaoh died the next one would have the previous name removed and add his own.

The Temple of Luxor is considered by some to be the world's "greatest open air museum."  It is the site of the Ancient Egyptian City of Thebes.  The modern city of Luxor depends on most of its support from tourists.  The agricultural mainstay of the area is sugarcane.  It is one of the hottest cities in Egypt with an average summer temperature in June, July and August of 104 degrees F. which means some days are in the 120's.  Rainfall doesn't occur every year.

Pictured here is our guide who was very knowledgeable and spoke English very well.  The one thing I remembered was that he told us 80% of the Egyptians smoke even as they struggle to get enough food for their families.  We thought that was very sad. 

A call to prayer occurred during our visit.  They have loudspeakers on the outside of the mosques to call the men to prayer.  It is very loud and goes on for quite awhile.  We did not agree with President Obama that the muslim call to prayer is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world.  They prayer times vary every day as they are based on the rising and setting of the sun.

They are still in the process of reconstructing some statues so there were areas filled with remains that were cordoned off.

This is the Avenue of the Sphinxes.  There are rows of them on each side of this road.
This road was 1.5-2 miles long with an estimated 1350 sphinx statues lining both sides.  It connected the Karnak Temple with the Luxor Temple.  Some historians say it was used once a year for a religious ceremony.  Others disagree.   It was originally constructed about 380 to 362 BC and renovated by Queen Cleopatra 300 years later.

When we left the Luxor area, we drove to a luxury hotel on the Nile River for a wonderful buffet lunch.  We went through security screening to enter the hotel which was common everywhere we went.  The hotel was very nice and clean and it was great to use clean bathrooms.  Many of these carts were parked under thatched covers waiting to take tourists for a ride in the area.  We liked our air conditioned bus.

We asked if we could eat outside near the river since the day was so beautiful.  They didn't love it but they allowed us to do so.  Our attendant said that he was Nabatean which is different from Egyptian.

From our vantage point the Nile was beautiful.  Of course only the wealthy had to opportunity to see the Nile from this hotel.

We saw these ferry boats lined up on the shore as we crossed the river to go to the Valley of the Kings.  We assume they are used more during the high tourist season.  We were not here during high season.

The Valley of the Kings is the place where the tombs for each of the Pharaohs.  There are many, many tombs.  We were allowed to see three of them and we had to leave behind our cameras and phones.  No picture taking was allowed.  We could pay extra to go inside King Tut's tomb but we opted not to do that.  His tomb is not so magnificent but is famous because it was one of the few tombs that was not robbed by tomb robbers.  The contents have been taken around the world for museum displays.  We saw them years ago at BYU. 

When we arrived, we got on little carts that held about 20 people.  We were transported for 10-15 minutes closer to the tombs we would be allowed into.  We saw three tombs--I believe Ramses II, IV and VI.  I have included a couple of photos from the brochure since we were not allowed to take any.

We saw this tomb and it was magnificent.  All three of the tombs we saw had amazing wall paintings.  The figures painted on the walls and ceilings are all symbolic.  

When the buses stop, there are always vendors nearby to sell you their wares.  They are the most aggressive of any of the vendors we encountered on our trip.  They would literally chase you and throw things at you if you show any interest at all.  I ended up with two tunics that I really didn't want but it was worth the $5 to get them to back off.  Their wares are interesting to see but you can't really look at them unless you want to be accosted.

This was the tomb of a woman who was the Queen.  She was literally the head of the government and not just married to a King.  Her name is shown below on a plaque.  This was a different stop from the Valley of the Kings.

These other structures are tombs also.

We made one final stop at this area that had famous statues.  There wasn't much time before sunset so our guide wanted to show us everything he could.

In the Nile valley there were many bright flowering bushes along the roadside.  I tried to capture their beauty and the contrast next to the shamble type structures but the pictures were too blurry.

Our seat was very near one of the bus exits with our toilet nearby.  Steve was fascinated by the toilets.     We were very glad this bus had one as we spent 7 hours on this bus that day.

 Whenever you see the black robes, they are worn by women.  We never saw men in black robes.  They either wore lighter colored robes or western clothing.

Here is one of the tunics I bought from a vendor outside the Valley of the Kings who threw it at me.   In the end I was happy that I bought it for $5.  It was very cheap and I doubt it would withstand a washing but it was also very Egyptian looking. It was helpful as I wore it on several of our "days at sea" walks because the temperatures were so warm and we didn't bring enough clothing for hot days. 

 Here is another juxtaposition - A man riding a donkey and talking on a cell phone at the same time.