Luxor

 In the morning, I decided to explore a while. I went to the town centre to check out the stores and markets. Within 2 minutes, I ended up having a man follow me around and had to tell him 4 times not to follow me or walk with me. He kept saying he was walking home, that he lived this way, not trying to bother me. But, then he kept trying to ask me questions. I kept a weary eye on him at all times and was glad to not have anything on me but one bill of 20 EGP tucked in my bra. Nothing to steal. As soon as I ducked into a store, he'd be right there beside me. *Sigh* I wasn't sure what he wanted, but the fourth time I was getting angry and told him if he didn't want any trouble, he'd better leave now. That finally got through his think skull and he wandered off. Great start to the day, ha!
I bought some snacks of nuts, fruit and biscuits and them headed to the Nile to see the bazaar down there and fancy hotels. Busy place. So many horse carriage rides around. I found one street just lined with carriages... wow, I mean, wow, there was a lot. I was able to see Luxor temple while walking along the street. It had a fence around it but I didn't want to spoil the surprise for later so I turned around and head back towards my hotel, going into more stores to window shop and drink tea (as tradition, most stores offer guests welcome tea).
After my snack lunch, I was picked up by my tour. A minivan with about 6 other tourists and our guide. Our first stop was Karnak Temple. It was huge! On the way to the entrance, there was a row of ram headed sphynxes, that looked incredible (and this wasn't the only row, there were a couple going to the sections of the complex as well as leading to Luxor temple). The deity Amun was identified with the ram and goose so that was why these sphynxes had the head of a ram.
Once inside the pylon entrance, there were huge pillars covered in hieroglyphics. The parts of it in constant shade still had it's original colouring. This was called the Great Hypostyle Hall and is the Precinct of Amun-Re. There are 4 main parts to this great complex, making it the largest ancient site in the world. However, only the Precinct of Amun-Re is open to the public. The others, Precinct of Mut, Precinct of Montu and Temple of Amenhotep IV, haven't been restored and some were used for buildings elsewhere from back then. There are even other smaller temples and sanctuaries outside the enclosing wall of the main city. Big place. Seeing how around 30 pharaohs have contributed to building it since the time of the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC), I can see why.
There were a total of 134 columns placed in 16 rows. 122 were 10 metres high were the other 12 were 21 metres tall with a diameter over 3 metres. It was first built by Seti I and then completed by his son Ramesses II.  The outer walls have scenes of battles of both the pharaohs, though on opposite sides of the Hall.
Off to the right side of the Hypostyle Hall was the Temple of Ramesses III. There were large statues of the pharaoh and inscriptions of him slaying his enemies. Then it opens up into a court that has many doorways to walk through. Most of the areas were closed or partially closed off due to excavation, but I walked through the left side and came out to where the narrow court with the obelisks were. One was 21 metres high  and the other 30 metres. Up close they looked the same height, but as you moved father away you could see the difference. Neat trick of the eye.
I walked back and made my way to the Sacred Lake. This was where the priests bathed themselves before doing any rituals within the temple. Nearby was a huge stone scarab beetle. Rumour had it that if you made a wish and walked around it 3 times, your wish would come true. Lol, of course many tourists were walking in circles.
From there I walked back to the middle and went into the Festival Hall of Thutmose III. Many colourful inscriptions here. Amazing how long the original colouring from mineral paint lasts. Thutmose III collected all kinds of different plants and animals and the royal artists engraved the beauty of such things in the sanctuary. It was lovely.
There were many more temples, sanctuaries, chapels, pylons and statues. All walls were covered in hieroglyphics or scenes of offerings, battles or love stories. This great temple of Thebes was phenomenal. My favourite of the temples I've seen so far.

Our next stop was Luxor Temple. This one isn't as large as Karnak, but still nice. Sphynx Avenue was the ancient road between Luxor and Karnak temple and the way is still lined with the statues of sphynxes. What remains of this pathway is incredible. What a sight it must have been back in the time of the Middle Kingdom.
Before passing through the grand pylon entrance, a tall obelisk stood before it along with sitting statues of Ramesses II. Once through, more colossal statues of the pharaoh were throughout the temple, including his wife by his side and inscriptions. Below one of his seated statues in the central corridor, was a drawing of his battle victory with his prisoners bound by the arms. After passing that, a small modern Islamic mosque was built over a part of the temple that is currently used today by the locals.
The complex opened up to the large peristyle court of Amenhotep III where a colonnade led to the inner chambers. Many inscriptions and carvings of offerings and deities. And one of the walls of the inner chambers had a Roman mural that had covered part of the hieroglyphics. I reminder that in older days, kingdoms were conquered and old kings erased to show the valour of the new rulers.
As the sun set and we saw the lights shine upon the temple, our tour was concluded and was time to head back to the hotel. I stopped over at the market for some cool water and fresh fruit and then a good nights rest for the next day.

In the morning, I headed in my mini van tour to the West Bank. On our way to our first destination, we stopped at an alabaster factory to learn how alabaster sculptures and bowls were made. We even got to take a try at an old-fashioned grinder to hollow out a bowl. Many souvenirs with such beautiful work. Even had sculptures made of phosphorus that glowed in the dark.

Our first stop was where the massacre in 1997 occurred where 62 people, mostly tourists, died by the hands of Islamic extremists. Deir El-Bahari, the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, the first female pharaoh from the 18th Dynasty in 1479 -1458 BC.
Her temple was built in a valley basin at the base of surrounding steep cliffs. It was a beautiful view. There were two staircases, one for each level of the temple that lead to colonnaded terraces. On the first level to the left was a complex that was attributed to Hatshepsut. Her face was carved in many pillars along with inscriptions and scenes decrypted to Amun-Ra. Many falcon drawings as well to honour the deity. A pictorial of her famous expedition to the Red Sea Coast "Land of Punt" was also etched. Showed her people out in boats to trade, bringing wealth to her kingdom. Plants were a big thing she received from her trades and many pictures of that was on the walls as well. Supposedly, she was the first to have recorded planting of foreign Myrrh trees by bundling the roots in baskets during the voyage. On the right side of the staircase were many colourful scenes of offerings (as in the shade, the sun hasn't diluted the colours).

On the second level were numerous standing statues of Osiris in front of the pillars with his arms crossed over one another. And off to the side was the chapel. Unfortunately, like many places, the temple has been vandalized. Many sculptures, statues, the sphynx avenue and portraits were destroyed by her successor, Thutmose III, after her death. I did see 2 sphynxes in an enclosed space outside the tourist area though. I wondered if they were ones discovered belonging to Hatshepsut's temple.
Next stop was the Valley of the Kings. This area consists of 63 tombs of the male pharaohs and nobles from  around 1539-1075 BC. Including the famous Tutankhamun. Long tunnels link many tombs together including the numerous chambers where riches, personal belongings, offerings and food were left for them to use in the afterlife. Of course, it's all been looted, but one can use their imagination.
Heavy security here forbidding any photography. And they mean it, if you sneak a camera in and take a picture, they'll take away either your camera, memory card or phone (if you used that). The reason behind it is that the tombs are only exposed to low light in order to preserve the natural colours of the inscriptions. And after going inside the tombs, I appreciated their effort in preservation. The colours were magnificent. We were permitted to see 3 tombs. There was the option to see 3 more but it cost extra, Tutankhamun being the most expensive (100 EGP). I didn't bother as I heard there wasn't much to see in Tut's tomb as it's all in the Cairo museum. But, I was very happy with the 3 I saw.
There were many pictures of the deities, Egyptian mythology, funerary rituals, the judgement in the afterlife and offerings. I now know where all the pictures on the souvenir papyrus came from. All those beautiful images are found here, in these tombs. I was so glad to have been able to see these images. I was in absolute awe.
After, we headed to the Valley of the Queens. Same idea as the Valley of the Kings, only here is were the wives of the pharaohs and their children lie. One of the tombs even had a fetus in a transparent box that was found herein. Again, we were permitted to see 3 tombs. I have to say, my favourite was still the Valley of the Kings.
On our way back to Luxor, we made a quick pit stop at 2 colossal pharaohs in the midst of being restored. Neat to see the process on how it was done. Sure is a lot of work.
I got dropped off at Sun Set Hotel were I quickly gathered up my belongings and met up with my agent so he could take me to my bus. Another long overnight journey. Heading to the Sinai Peninsula to Dehab for some sea air.
The bus was alright. I was the only tourist in amongst the Egyptian people but I was looked after. The assigned seat I had was broken and didn't recline, so the man sitting next to me switched seats so I could rest. When he noticed no one sat behind us, he moved back there to let me have the two seats to myself. I was the only female on the bus, and I had 3 passengers around me that appointed themselves as my protectors. They made sure no one bothered me. When we had a pit stop, they let me know so I could have a bathroom break. Very nice of them. Wasn't until we were at the Sinai border and had our police checkpoint (we all got sniffed by a police dog) that one other lone female got on the bus, and of course, sat with me. Yay, another female!
I was the last person on the bus when we arrived at Sharm-El-Sheikh. So, I moved up front to chat with the bus driver as he drove me the rest of the way to Dehab. My new agent picked me up at the depot and drove me to Bishbishi Garden Village hostel. It was nice outside with a covered comfy cushion square to eat, relax or play games as well as some table settings. After meeting the friendly staff, I put my belongings in my room and was so happy to see the bed. I was ready for a nice 4 hour nap. Figured, that would tie me through the rest of the day and then I'd just go to bed early. And, my lovely friend Ehab (from Brother's Hostel) managed to rummage through my large backpack back in Cairo, found my dive licence, arranged for the private mini bus driver of Bishbishi hostel to bring it all the way back to Dehab and personally place it in my hand, as I forgot to bring it. What service! I couldn't believe how wonderful they were to do that!
I talked with Jimmy here, and he told me he'd take me to the dive shop after my nap so I can arrange my day tomorrow. Yes, now for some much needed sleep!