After a long (and mostly sleepless) overnight train ride from Cairo to Luxor (aka Thebes), I hopped into a taxi and made my way to a nice quiet hotel on the west bank of the Nile River. The hotel was right in the middle of an area full of aincient Egyptian ruins and tombs and farm fields still in use today. Originally built by archeologist in the 1920’s, the hotel later became an artists’ retreat. Most people living around this very quiet area are still riding donkeys and working by hand in the fields.
The location was perfect because it was within walking distance of a number of famous temples and tombs. And it was so nice to breath clean desert air again after all the smoking I was forced to do in Cairo. It was really nice to be able to easily walk to Medinat Habu (an old temple built by Ramses III, Hatshepsut, and Tuthmosis III — each adding their own bits) and places like then Valley of the Queens (where Nefertari, Amunherkhepshef, and Khaemwaset were entombed). It was also close by the Ramesseum and the Valley of the Kings (where lots of the Ramses, Tutankhamun, and Tuthmosis III and others were entombed).
It was really amazing to be able to walk around these old, largely reconstructed temples and through these excavated tombs to see the designs and think about what it might have been like those thousands of years ago. Many of the temples were reconstructed from ruins and excavations and most still had huge yards full of pieces that they hadn’t figured out how to put back together again.
Some temples showed signs of ancient vandalism where one king would have the face of a predecessor chiseled out everywhere it appeared throughout a temple. Many of the tombs were very well preserved with bright colors still in existence among the hieroglyphs used. It was also interesting to try to make out the message they were trying to make with their pictures and symbols. The most amazing temple I toured was the massive Temples of Karnak, which ran about 1 mile by 1/2 mile in size, just north of Luxor.
