On the evening of Wednesday, November 29th, 2017, we flew about 1 1/4 hours south to Luxor. We were met by a tour rep and driven to the dock where we boarded the Semiramis II Nile River cruise boat. We were very tired but managed to stay awake for a drink in the bar. After that, we retired to our room where a tray of sandwiches awaited us, since we had missed dinner. The boat was clean but getting a little older looking. Our room was on the 4th deck just below the sun deck that encompassed the whole top of the boat. To ensure that we wouldn't be too hot, the AC in our room was set to 12C. We adjusted that but were still cold that night. Usually, daytime temperatures were in the mid to low 20s C and at night it was mid-teens Celsius. Luxor to Aswan, being farther south, was warmer than Cairo. Throughout our trip it was great traveling weather. Since it's all desert, there is a noticeable fluctuation between daytime and nighttime temperatures.
The next morning we were assigned to a table in the dining room which we would occupy at all meals during the trip. We met the only other couple at our table: Mark and Lynne from Los Angeles. The four of us were a group for that day. After breakfast, we met our new Egyptologist tour guide, Mohammed, who escorted us off the boat to our van that took us to our first site of the day, the Karnak Temple.
The Karnak Temple on the outskirts of the city of Luxor is the largest temple complex in Egypt. There is an open plaza in front. Inside the walls are two more areas that were once roofed with big slabs of stone held up by massive round columns. Finally at the back is the sanctuary. Ancient Egyptian temples usually follow this same general design. Our guide, Mohammed, proved to be just as knowledgeable as Sahar, our guide in Cairo. We learned far more than we could absorb every day on this trip.
Our next stop was the Luxor Temple, which was not as big but was still impressive. Excavation is currently proceeding on an ancient road paved with stone blocks and lined with sphinxes that led straight from Karnak Temple to Luxor Temple. One of two original stone obelisks still stands at the entrance to Luxor Temple. The other was taken by the French and stands in Paris.
Eventually the Luxor Temple, somewhat buried in the sand, was used by the Christians who repainted parts with scenes of early Christians. Later, in other temples we also saw Christian crosses and graffiti from early travellers carved into the walls.
We were back at the boat for lunch. The boat was secured to the dock among about 50 other similar boats. We later learned that of the 400 similar Nile River cruise boats on the Luxor to Aswan stretch of the Nile, only about 60 or 70 are still in use, due to the downturn in tourism caused by security concerns.
At first, we were apprehensive about security in Egypt. However, we soon felt very safe. All major installations like the airports and the Aswan dam are heavily guarded at the road access points. Even at our hotel, every vehicle has to stop at a guardhouse where steel and concrete bollards block access. Every vehicle is scrutinized. The passengers are all accounted for, the trunk is searched and an explosives sniffing dog is led around the vehicle. Then the bollards are lowered and the vehicle can pass. Entering the door of the hotel, all bags are X-rayed and all people pass through a metal detector and may be frisked as well. This security procedure is similar at all tourist sites. The police and soldiers carry automatic weapons but they're generally friendly. There are snipers stationed behind metal shields just beyond the airport and dam checkpoints. Other than that, it was rare to see security personnel on the streets, except at major intersections or bridge crossings. We've been treated with less courtesy at American airports, in particular.
Back at the boat, we spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in the sun on the top deck while we remained at anchor for another night.
The next morning we were assigned to a table in the dining room which we would occupy at all meals during the trip. We met the only other couple at our table: Mark and Lynne from Los Angeles. The four of us were a group for that day. After breakfast, we met our new Egyptologist tour guide, Mohammed, who escorted us off the boat to our van that took us to our first site of the day, the Karnak Temple.
The Karnak Temple on the outskirts of the city of Luxor is the largest temple complex in Egypt. There is an open plaza in front. Inside the walls are two more areas that were once roofed with big slabs of stone held up by massive round columns. Finally at the back is the sanctuary. Ancient Egyptian temples usually follow this same general design. Our guide, Mohammed, proved to be just as knowledgeable as Sahar, our guide in Cairo. We learned far more than we could absorb every day on this trip.
Our next stop was the Luxor Temple, which was not as big but was still impressive. Excavation is currently proceeding on an ancient road paved with stone blocks and lined with sphinxes that led straight from Karnak Temple to Luxor Temple. One of two original stone obelisks still stands at the entrance to Luxor Temple. The other was taken by the French and stands in Paris.
Eventually the Luxor Temple, somewhat buried in the sand, was used by the Christians who repainted parts with scenes of early Christians. Later, in other temples we also saw Christian crosses and graffiti from early travellers carved into the walls.
We were back at the boat for lunch. The boat was secured to the dock among about 50 other similar boats. We later learned that of the 400 similar Nile River cruise boats on the Luxor to Aswan stretch of the Nile, only about 60 or 70 are still in use, due to the downturn in tourism caused by security concerns.
At first, we were apprehensive about security in Egypt. However, we soon felt very safe. All major installations like the airports and the Aswan dam are heavily guarded at the road access points. Even at our hotel, every vehicle has to stop at a guardhouse where steel and concrete bollards block access. Every vehicle is scrutinized. The passengers are all accounted for, the trunk is searched and an explosives sniffing dog is led around the vehicle. Then the bollards are lowered and the vehicle can pass. Entering the door of the hotel, all bags are X-rayed and all people pass through a metal detector and may be frisked as well. This security procedure is similar at all tourist sites. The police and soldiers carry automatic weapons but they're generally friendly. There are snipers stationed behind metal shields just beyond the airport and dam checkpoints. Other than that, it was rare to see security personnel on the streets, except at major intersections or bridge crossings. We've been treated with less courtesy at American airports, in particular.
Back at the boat, we spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in the sun on the top deck while we remained at anchor for another night.
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