Tour of the West Bank
As promised the next few posts on Egypt will be shorter (with less frills) *smiles*
After the Valley of the Kings, our guide took us to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (otherwise known as Hot Chicken Soup – coz its easier to remember). Queen Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmosis I who ruled Egypt for about 20 years in the 18th Dynasty. She was the only Woman Pharaoh who reigned ancient Egypt.
The structure as you can see is magnificent with the backdrop of the rocky mountains. There are a few 100 columns of either side which make it eerie. The paintings and carvings simply amazing, depict the life of queen Hatshepsut and the stories during her reign. It is believed that there is a connection from one of the tombs (I don’t remember whose tomb) at the Valley of Kings to this temple of Queen Hatshepsut. This is still undiscovered.
From there onwards we went to these two statues - Memnon Colossi.
From here we went to an Alabaster factory. We got to see how the stone is shaped and made worthy to sell. I was very tempted to buy a few things here -
Tour of the East Bank
In Luxor although you could do all the touring on your own, a guided tour is definitely recommended. This gives you an insight to the history and a grasp of the daily lives of the people there.
From the West Bank to the East Bank is a beautiful drive. We stopped for lunch at the Luxor Museum…. The food was amazing. I’ll have to do a separate post on Egyptian food.
Our first stop was at the Karnak Temple. The temple is dedicated to God Amon and his wife Mut. It is by far the greatest example of worship in ancient history. We walked along the Avenue of the Sphinx to enter the temple complex. Don’t forget that the ruins here are over 4000 years old. There is a huge courtyard to the temple and then some 135 columns. Impressive is not the right world. Towards the end of the Karnak temple is the sacred lake.
Don’t miss the Obelisk of Ramses II and the stories behind how this was erected is honestly unimaginable.
From the Karnak Temple, the Luxor temple is about a mile & half away by foot.
In the evening, we took a horse ride around the city of Luxor. This gives you true peak into the lives of the people.
If Egypt is on your list of places to go, do write to me on torresp27@hotmail.com and I’ll guide you through this magnificent and ancient land.
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