Luxor

Luxor Temple

Nicole, my long time friend and traveling companion came to visit. When most people are fleeing Cairo, she chose to come. Nicole is brave.

Nicole and I  have a history of train travel in Kenya during vet school where we met our long time friend Chris from the UK. Nicole cheerfully claims to be able to sleep anywhere and has finally found the place that she cannot – the so-called “deluxe sleeper train from Cairo to Luxor”. I  make no such claims and the outcome was predictable.  

“Deluxe” is also a somewhat misused adjective here. The porter announced dinner and to our queries of what was on the menu - reported that the meal consisted of a “surprise for you” and indeed it was.  Since I wish to banish it forever from my memory, I will not venture to describe it – life is too short to dwell but will include a photo for your viewing pleasure and see if anyone can venture a guess as to what this “surprise” is.

If our porter friend had announced the next morning that our breckfast would be an assortment of viciously stale bread with 2^nd rate processed cheese triangles  with a  packet of honey that thankfully saved the day…he could not have been more spot on! Well enough of that….and on to the wonders of Luxor!

We visited tombs and temples rode horses and took a hot air balloon ride. Yes, quite touristy, but the horse and ballon rides were so much more than the touristy adventures.

For some unexplained reason (because he liked him – he said) our guide rode a donkey named Bob Marley while Nicole and I rode horses with classy Egyptian names like Amira. For 3 hours we rode  through the west side village of Luxor, past temples and out into the desert.  We rode along narrow village streets peered into the open doors of homes,  saw workers planting rice, talked and waved to children and saw a side of rural Luxor life that we wouldn’t have known existed if we stuck to the tombs of the beaten path.

The hot air balloon ride began before sunrise and took us over tombs, the Nile, sugar cane fields on the east side of Luxor, and the city rooftops that are all open or half-thatched with scurring chickens, goats, occasional dogs and the obligatory plastic bags and garbage. Many people keep their animals on the roofs of  their flats. Being who we are…we wonder where the waste goes and feel sorry for the scurring animals because these balloons must be freaking them out and that is why they are scurring.

We finally landed in a sugar cane field surrounded by alfalfa and our balloon driver told us to “pay no attention to the angry farmer that might appear”. As if by cue the angry farmer appeared, much discussion occurred and 20 or so people showed up out of nowhere, pulled us out of the field, wrapped up the balloon and drove us back to town.

So nice to get out of Cairo for a few days!

Boats on the Nile

"surprise for you"

Avenue of Sphinxes

Nicole and Sancho Panza riding through Luxor

Practicing English, practicing Arabic

Taking my turn with Bob Marley

Getting ready for take off

East bank of Luxor just before sunrise

Rooftops of Luxor

Boats on the Nile

"Temple"
because I am a heathen and can't remember which one