Wednesday, April 12, 2023 - Egypt - Part 1

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Wednesday, April 12, 2023 – Egypt        Part I 

This is another photo intense day, so I have divided it into two parts. The morning through lunch, then the afternoon by itself. I usually keep 30-50 photos of any one stop, sometimes less. I am keeping 154 photos from this one-day excursion. 

We arrived in Safaga, Egypt this morning on the Red Sea. Disembarking was a bit of a zoo. First, we had to retrieve passports from Viking in the Star Theater, then get our bus assignment on the pier, then clear customs (which included TSA type scans of bags), before boarding our bus. Trying to retrieve passports was a mess as the entire ship seemed to be in the Star Theater at the same time, and the staff that were assisting us had no idea what was going on on the pier nor did they have any information about the excursions. They did their best, but . . . We were on one of the earlier departure times, and were a bit concerned about making our bus. 

Viking had set up a buffet line on the pier so we could take along sandwiches and other assorted snacks for the long day. We had a good breakfast, and we were supposed to have a buffet lunch, so we opted to not take any of the snacks. It was a good decision. It would have required us to handle too much. 

We know the bus ride to Luxor will be between 3 and 4 hours. There is a great deal of haze in the air, so there really isn’t much to see. We had expected flat sand. It was sandy alright with only a rare bush or weed, but it was rather mountainous and monotonous. We went through several security checkpoints (4). They would ask of the driver where we were going, who was on the bus, and other assorted questions. Then we would go on our way. These check points appeared to be well manned and well-armed. We also have a well-armed security individual aboard. Does Egypt have a security issue? Or is it just that unsafe? 

Mid-morning, we approached a community North of Luxor on the east bank of the Nile. Lots of what we would call truck farms. Alfalfa, sugar cane, wheat, and other row crops. 2 wheeled carts pulled by donkeys were everywhere. And lots of sugarcane is being harvested. It seemed to take forever to get through this community with frequent speed bumps (about every ¼ mile) necessitating coming to a full stop. Each of these were guarded by police officers with automatic weapons.

Sugar Cane

Farms on both sides of the road.

The water is an irrigation canal from the Nile River.

More sugar cane.

Frequent sight

 

Not sure what the crop is he is transporting, but we saw lots of this.

Finally, we were in Luxor and made our way to the Temple Complex. Luxor was also known in ancient time as Thebes. Our guide was off and running before all the people were off the bus. She was about 4’ 10” and rarely did she have the Viking lollipop high enough for us to see where she was or had gone. She did sound very knowledgeable and shared a great deal of information with us. It was just very difficult to keep track of her. At this point we must add that we had the slowest bus of the 10 buses.

3-D plot plan for the Complex

 

The Complex is amazing and massive! It was built about 1,400 BCE. And we saw only a small portion of it. There is another temple (the Karnak Temple) over a mile away. The two are connected by the Avenue of the Sphinxes, with sphinxes lining both sides of this broad avenue. We wandered with our guide through a good portion of the Luxor Temple Complex and then were given a few minutes on our own. We were there for probably 1-1/2 hours. There are hundreds of columns heavily inscribed and they were originally painted. There is still paint on many of the surfaces. What is there today has been reconstructed. Pieces put back where they belong, filled in with smooth material. Unbelievably large statuary, hundreds more of the sphinxes. This was a temple where only the priests and royalty were allowed. Hard to grasp what it might have looked like when it was in use.

Just a few people visiting the site today.

Detail of one of the sphinx

Massive walls

The left foot is always leading

Row upon row of columns. At one time there was a roof over this area.

Notice the paint

Truly amazing with all the carving and paint

 

Spare parts that they haven't figured out where to put them

Yet

Beautiful granite

Every surface heavily inscribed

Interior of a room that still has the roof.

A single block of stone.

The temple had many obelisks. Most have been sent abroad

Following our time at the Complex, we headed for our lunch sight which was a hotel on the banks of the Nile. The buffet that was served was excellent.