February 27, 2022

February 27, 2022

We got up well before dawn at 3 am for our journey to the Cairo airport. Halfway there we stopped at the Unknown Soldier Memorial. It is a modern pyramid dedicated to those killed in the 1973 Yom Kippur War with Israel. It also contains the tomb of Anwar Sadat. He is a personal hero for our Egyptian guide. Sadat was gunned down in 1981 across the street during the October 6 parade celebrating the war. He was assassinated by the Muslim Brotherhood for making a peace treaty with Menachem Begin and Israel.

At the airport, we boarded our Egyptair flight to Luxor 400 miles due south on the Nile River. We arrive too early to check into our hotel so we detour to the Luxor Museum to learn about the local history. The original name of the city Luxor was Waset. When the Greeks took over they named it Thebes. When the Muslims took Egypt, nobody could read hieroglyphics any longer so they thought all the temples were palaces, so they called it ‘al Uqsur’ (the Palaces) which was Anglicized to Luxor. 

During the New Kingdom (around 1500 BC), the Kings (now referred to as Pharaohs) moved their capital here, probably because it was safer from invading armies from the Mediterranean. With the move, the Pharaohs adopted the local god Amun as their chief deity (hence they took names like Tut-Ankh-Amun, living image of Amun) and Amenhotep (beloved of Amun).

The Luxor Museum is not very large, but it has outstanding samples and unlike the Cairo Museum, they are all documented. It has the requisite Egyptian statues, which must have been produced in the thousands because examples are all over the world. We have even run across granite Sphinxes from Egypt along the riverfront of St Petersburg, Russia!

It also has collections of Egyptian weaponry, especially bow and arrow. This was the height of the Egyptian Empire's expansion abroad. Surprisingly it also has architect tools that would be necessary for building tombs and temples. There are two well-preserved mummies of Ahmose I (first New Kingdom Pharaoh) and Ramses I (founder of 19th dynasty).

Afterwards we checked into our hotel room and had a big buffet lunch. Since we got up early today Aimee took a short nap while I checked the news and did chores. Then for some exercise we walked north along the river corniche. The river is lively with boats probably not much unlike ancient times. There are mountains in the distance on the far side of the river. After a mile we reached Luxor Temple. We just take some photos from the outside.

We return to the hotel for a lecture on the archeological status of the area. The New Kingdom Pharaohs were buried in the City of the Dead on the West Bank. Unlike Memphis with its pyramids, here the Kings were buried in hidden tombs cut into the mountain. Our lecturer manages dozens of digs sponsored by countries from all over the world. It seems to be a never-ending task.

We then walk to the riverfront where we load onto two Feluccas for a sunset sail on the Nile. A felucca is a traditional Egyptian lateen-sail wooden boat. We don’t go very far as the air is very calm.

Back ashore we return to Luxor Temple with our Egyptologist for an evening tour. The Entire complex is lit up making it feel magical. Unfortunately, the onslaught of tourists breaks the spell. Karnak Temple, a mile to the north, was the home of the local god Amun. After harvest season an Opet Festival of fertility would be celebrated. During this multi-day holiday the statue of Amun would be transported to Luxor Temple to meet with his goddesses and rejuvenate the world. Our first stop was the Avenue of Sphinxes, the long processional way that Amun would travel to Luxor Temple.

We then approached the facade of the Pylon or entrance gate. Two Obelisks once flanked it; only one remains. The other was moved to the Place de la Concorde in Paris almost two hundred years ago. 

Past the pylon, we enter a courtyard encircled with dozens of columns. Every wall and column surface is richly carved with figures and hieroglyphs. We follow a colonnaded hallway to another courtyard before reaching the Inner Sanctum with dozens of rooms. Every ruler would add on to the temple. Many would assume responsibility by recarving the cartouches with their name. Humorously Alexander the Great even added on when he was crowned King of Egypt. We are able to find his image and cartouche.

After our temple tour we returned for a late dinner at our hotel.