Luxor and the Nile River

Yesterday began early with an hour-long plane ride south to Luxor to see some of the most magnificent structures yet.  It has been called the "world's greatest open air museum" and the name is fitting.

In Cairo, the pyramids were the burial grounds for the royalty.  In Luxor, tombs were hidden inside man made caves in the mountainside.  Sixty-three have been found, with the latest discovery as recent as 2008.   Pictures weren't allowed in or out of the mountain, but I found some online that are below.

Walkway to the Valley of the Kings

Entrance to one of the tombs

The video is of Ramses IV's tomb.

These sights were incredible.

We then went to Luxor Temple, where in contrast to the tombs, everything was outside and massive, with columns and structures reaching for the sky.  

Luxor Temple

The speck just right of center in the foreground is a person.
I wanted to show just how enormous these structures are.

The next temple is dedicated to a woman whose name I can't remember.  It was so hot here my iPhone camera flashed an overheated warning sign.  The temperature was 111, but it must have been at least 20 degrees hotter at the monuments.  It was blistering hot.  This was a case of going from the frying pan (Abu Dhabi) to the fire (Luxor).  Thankfully, Cairo is a much cooler 95 or so.

Too hot for words!  I walked up and came right back down.

The last place we visited sits on 62 acres in the heart of the city, across the street from the River Nile.  It contains 134 extraordinary columns and statues and monuments of Kings and other royal folks.

These are over 30 feet tall!

Not sure who these folk are.
I lost track of the names and I'm blaming it on the heat.

If it wasn't considered holy ground,
it would be a great place for playing hide and seek.

Along the way, we stopped at a family owned shop that had been in the carving business for over 250 years.  The things they made was incredible.

Man grinding stone

My day trip to Luxor was wonderful, but I was happy to get back to "cool" Cairo.

Today I ended the guided portion of my tour of Egypt, with the most relaxing hour-long ride on the River Nile.  It runs right through the heart of the city, and in fact, it runs through the heart of the country.

Riverboat captain - he's done this for 50+ years!

My  great guide Hany!

Me on the riverboat

Let me give an unsolicited endorsement for Ramses Tours.  They were fantastic from start to finish.  They were recommended by one of my teachers, who visited here earlier and thought they were awesome, and they were even better than that.   

Tomorrow I sleep in and pack and I'm back home in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

As always, thanks for taking this ride with me.

Inshall'Allah