Egypt - Luxor - Travel Story

Written by Dorothy Pan Sunday, 22 May 2011 15:43

User Rating: / 0
PoorBest 

Luxor, Egypt, Travel Story

Late Night Arrival in Luxor

When we arrived we watched as the passengers from our flight all scattered to their respective buses and personal drivers. It seemed as though they all knew to arrange for a driver ahead of time. As we walked out into the dark dingy parking lot at 1 AM and saw the hoards of taxi drivers waiting to pounce on anyone without a driver (in this case we were the only ones), we knew we had made a mistake in not having the hotel pick us up. Note: if you are going to be arriving at night, make absolutely sure to arrange for a driver to pick you up. You will save yourself a lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety.

 

Negotiating a Cab Ride

At this point we were exhausted and nervous so we haggled a bit with the swarms of drivers and decided on one particularly pushy one. We asked if he knew where the hotel was and with barely a glance at our hotel itinerary he nodded his head enthusiastically and grabbed our bags. One thing you will find is that the drivers will always tell you they know where they are going, but in the short time we were there we found that most of the drivers did not and would often have to stop to ask for directions, driving up the meter.

First Impressions

Seeing Luxor at night and driving along the barely lit streets did not help calm our nerves. As we continued we realized our hotel was much further than we expected and it seemed as though we were headed to no man’s land. Luxor was not nearly as developed as we thought it might be given the booming tourism industry and the further we drove, the more nervous we got. When we got closer to the hotel we noticed that our driver suddenly seemed very unsure of where he was going. To our horror, he stopped in the middle of the road, rolled down his window, and asked a young boy wandering the streets where this hotel was. Before we could protest, the boy jumped into the car, and guided us into a pitch-black alleyway. At this point we didn’t know whether to be annoyed at our driver for putting us in this situation or scared for our lives. Then, like a beacon, we saw the gates to the hotel hidden at the end of the alleyway. We breathed a sign of relief, but as we went to pay the driver he took one look at our bill and refused it. He said it was far too tattered and wanted a brand new bill. It was the only one we had, but he insisted we give him another. He started to get angry, so we quickly decided to ask the hotel if they could exchange the bill. Before we could, however, our young navigator jumped out in front of us hands outstretched, expecting payment for services that he forced onto us (which you will find happens a lot in Egypt). We shook our heads and walked past him, but he followed trying to take our bags for us, hoping that there was something he could do to change our minds.

 

The gentleman at the front desk of the El Nakhil Hotel was very helpful in defusing the situation. When we explained what was happening he quickly called the bellboy to take us to our rooms while he dealt with the driver. We never found out what happened, but the way he handled it was very telling of the level of service at this charming hotel.

Luxor Temple & The East Bank

The next morning we had breakfast on the hotel’s beautiful terrace overlooking a lush green field on one side and the streets of Luxor’s West bank on the other side. The West bank is much quieter than the East as this seems to be the rural area of Luxor, where the East is the main city centre. It has its advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage is that the West bank is very peaceful, the disadvantages are that there are not nearly as many amenities, and when the lights go down it can get quite daunting, but in terms of sights, they both have their significant attractions.

After breakfast we decided to take a trip to the East bank to see Luxor Temple. The local residents’ ferry (baladi ferry) dock is a less than 10 minute walk from the hotel and cost us 1 L.E. each (about 15 cents) to board. Until recently there were 2 ferries, one for locals and one specifically for tourists, but now a road bridge has replaced the tourist ferry. On our way to the dock an aggressive, albeit friendly taxi driver stopped us to ask if we needed a guide for the day. We told him we were not touring the West bank until the next day, so he asked us to meet him at the same spot the next morning. We wouldn’t normally agree to such pushy peddlers, but his rate was so cheap that we couldn’t resist. We agreed on a time and left feeling good that we had gotten such a great deal.

Arriving at the Temple early in the morning was definitely a blessing in disguise. There were hardly any tourists, and the weather was still relatively 'cool'. Luxor Temple is simply breathtaking. It's like an open air museum and everywhere you look there is a fascinating well-preserved piece of history. 

Karnak Temples

Our next stop was the Karnak temples. The two sites are not very far apart and will not cost you much at all if you take a taxi. Much larger in size than the Luxor Temples, Karnak's massive complexes house exceptional hieroglyphic depictions and beautiful architectural ruins. These complexes are so large that often times you will find yourself completely alone and your space and photos free of large groups of tourists. This also means there are plenty of resting spots in the shade! The Hypostyle Hall, made up of 134 columns (picture on the right) is an amazing site. when you look at the man in the photo you can get a sense of how tall the columns are. The majority are over 10 metres, while 12 of them are over 20 metres high!

 

Snack Time - Tasty Egyptian Fast Food!

When lunchtime came around we were hot and famished so we wanted to find a restaurant close by that offered relatively clean surroundings and air conditioning. We were hesitant to try the Mcdonalds-esque fast food joint, Snack Time, but it offered everything we needed so we decided to give it a shot. Surprisingly the food was quite tasty, much better than North American fast food restaurants. Once we were full and refreshed we made our way over to the market ready to fend off the hagglers. The market, as with all Egyptian markets, was a flurry of activity, filled with vibrant colours of spices, textiles, and other handicrafts. It was not nearly as hectic as the Khan al-Khalili market in Cairo, which was a nice change.

 

We took some time to wander the streets of Luxor, but found it difficult to go very far due to the immense heat, so we made our way back to the hotel for dinner since we did not see anything that interested us on the East bank.

Nice Gesture Turned Buggy

When we got back to our room the hotel staff had made a wonderful little towel figure that was wearing my glasses and holding a gorgeous pink flower. I removed the figure from the bed and was shocked to find the swarm of ants that had taken over the bed. I was confused at first as to how they got there considering there was nothing on the bed to attract them, and then I figured out that the flower they put in the towel figure was infested with them. We quickly went to the front desk to explain what was going on and instead of putting us in a new room they gave us a can of insect spray. As unenthusiastic as we were about the idea of inhaling poisonous bug spray in a confined room and then sleeping on it, we also had to remember where we were and didn’t bother to complain. We did what we could with the can of poison, shook out the blanket in the hallway in case we missed any, and hoped for the best.

The Sites of the West Bank

The next day we went to our spot to meet with our driver and tour guide for the day, but he was nowhere to be found. Mere seconds into our waiting we were approached by a gentleman wanting to take us around for double what we had agreed to with the other man. We told him this and he said he couldn’t give us that price, but he dropped his initial price significantly. We still wanted to wait for the driver that we had the agreement with, but after about 15 minutes we still had not seen him so we just bit the bullet and went with our new driver.

Colossi of Memnon

On our way to Hatshepsut Temple we stopped to see the Colossi of Memnon, which stood just on the side of the road. The two enormous statues were meant to be a depiction of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, though they are so badly damaged that you would never be able to tell. They once stood guard at the entrance of Amenhotep’s memorial temple. When the temple was built it was the largest and most magnificent temple complex in Egypt, but due to its proximity to the water it deteriorated at a rapid rate and today only the two statues remain.

Hatshepsut Temple

Hatshepsut Temple, also known as Djeser-Djeseru (Holy of Holies), was located at Deir el-Bahari, or “The Northern Monastery”. This temple complex was built by Hatshepsut, the fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty, and regarded as one of the most successful pharaohs, ruling longer than any other female ruler of their time. As we walked up to the incredibly well preserved complex I was suddenly taken aback by the remarkable structure and the magnificent cliff that it was attached to. It was quite different from other Egyptian temples and is considered to be almost Classical in its architecture.

 

It was hard to picture how such an incredible and peaceful place could have been the chosen site for the horrific massacre that occurred in November 1997. Since that incident, as well as the more recent bombings in the Sinai region, tourism in Egypt has changed considerably. It has not slowed, but the government now insists on taking excessive precautions so that tourists can feel safer. This was most evident on our trip to Abu Simbel, which I will talk about later.

Valley of the Kings

After the Hatshepsut Temple we made our way eagerly to Valley of the Kings. We were told by our guide in Cairo that the interiors of the tombs at the Valley of the Kings were far more fascinating than those of the pyramids. Because these tombs were structured in a way to be hidden from robbers, the money and efforts were spent on adorning the interior of the tombs, making them far more vibrant and interesting than the interiors of the traditional pyramids. The Valley of the Kings looks like nothing more than desert hills and sand mounds. It’s really remarkable that people were able to find these tombs considering how unobtrusive they were.

 

The general admission will get you in to see 3 tombs, which I thought was adequate since most of the tombs look more or less the same. To see King Tut’s tomb there is a separate ticket you have to purchase. The tombs are rather narrow so walking in to see them feels a bit like being on a conveyor belt. It can also get incredibly stuffy inside so make sure you have something that you can use to fan yourself. If you don’t have anything the guards will be more than happy to supply a small piece of used cardboard for a price. Also take note of the ‘no photos’ sign. The guards take this very seriously; unfortunately it is not for the right reasons. If you take a photo you will be given a chance to bribe the guard and even then it’s not guaranteed that they will let you off the hook. One thing you have to understand about citizens of Egypt is that many of them will take advantage of any opportunity to swindle money from tourists, so don’t make yourself an easy target.

Valley of the Queens

Nearby was the Valley of the Queens so we stopped by there afterward. It wasn’t nearly as impressive and there wasn’t as much to see so we did not spend much time in this area.

Alabaster "Factory" Tourist Stop

Before heading to our next destination our driver decided to take us to his “family’s” factory, where they specialized in making alabaster pottery. First, he brought us to a corner outside of the building to show us how it is all done. The 2 gentlemen sitting on the ground seemingly working away did not seem impressed. He then took us into the building and said that the prices here are lower than anywhere else in Egypt because we would be getting it direct from the factory. DO NOT FALL FOR THIS. The prices here are much higher than the prices you will find at the markets, even with aggressive haggling. We politely declined his offer to reduce the prices, which was a good thing because we ended up getting all of our souvenirs for nearly half the price of his lowest offer.

Medinet Habu

After our small shopping break we proceeded to Medinet Habu, or the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III. Its walls were fairly well preserved and held reliefs depicting the victory against naval invaders (“Sea People”) who made attempts to enter and control Egyptian territories during the 19^th dynasty.  There was much more architectural interest and artistic significance at this temple. It contains over 75,350 square feet of decorative wall reliefs, and closely resembles the mortuary temple of Ramesses II (or the Ramesseum), which was our next and final stop.

Ramesseum

The Ramesseum was almost entirely empty when we got there. There was one older couple there that were just about done. The first thing I noticed when I got close to the structure was the enormous torso of one of the fallen statues. Much like the statue in Memphis near Cairo, it is hard to imagine the impressive size of these sculptures until you are standing in front of one. The rest of the temple was similar to Medinet Habu, but not as large or intricate.

Back to the East Bank

Because we had started so early in the morning we also managed to finish up the entire tour by lunchtime so we decided to make another trip to the market on the East bank, and to find lunch there. We didn’t want to spend too much time looking because it was already a fairly late lunch, so we went back to Snack Time and had lunch there before heading to the market. We took our time wandering and relaxed a bit in the main square to take photos and do some people watching. After spending the afternoon on the East bank we headed back to the West to try a restaurant that was recommended by our Lonely Planet guidebook.

Tutankhamun Restaurant - Top Restaurant Choice in Luxor!

We were very excited to try this restaurant, but first we had to get there, which was quite an adventure involving camel dung and complete and utter darkness along the West bank of the Nile just south of the ferry dock. There was not a soul in sight, but as we looked to the right we could see the silhouettes of resting camels, which was quite cool. Our nerves were put to rest when we started to see street lamps ahead, but confusion set in when we saw signs for apartment rentals in the place where the restaurant was supposed to be. It had the same name as the restaurant, but no resemblance to one. We took a chance and went up the stairs to see what we would find. Once on the rooftop we saw that we had indeed arrived at a restaurant that overlooked the Nile. There was only one other couple there when we got there, and it looked nothing like we imagined. We even questioned whether or not we were in the right restaurant, but at this point we were starving so we decided to give it a shot.

Let me just say that this was the best meal we had on our entire trip. Not only was the staff incredibly friendly and helpful, the atmosphere, while not fancy by any means, was charming and romantic and so peaceful. The best part, however, was the food. We were expecting good food after reading the reviews for the restaurant, not this went far beyond our expectations. We had only ordered 2 dishes since there were only 2 of us, but the chef insisted we try some of his other surprise dishes so we ended up with 8 in total! Absolutely everything that they served us was incredible. It was a surprising and wonderful experience and I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for outstanding food and exceptional service.

What an amazing way to end this leg of the trip.