Today we got to sleep a little bit later (woo!) but unfortunately I woke up with my stomach issues again.Luxor, which means “the palaces,” was definitely a change from the places we have been in the last few days. It seems to be a very desirable place for tourists (there are so many hotels), and there are great markets. We learned that Luxor has been the place where most antiquities have been found all throughout Egypt, over 35% being those belonging to the great King Ramses II. Even to this day there are new discoveries being made.
The first stop of the day was Karnack Temple, which is the largest temple in Egypt. This temple was humongous! It wasn’t in amazing condition because it had been destroyed and was reconstructed, but you could tell that in it’s day it was colossal. It had so many columns full of hieroglyphics and obelisks in amazing condition.There were a number of unique things we saw at this temple. One were the sphinxes at the main opening of the temple in that they all had ram heads rather than the traditional lion heads. Some of the hieroglyphics here are the largest hieroglyphics in all of Egypt. We also saw a scarab monument that belonged to Amenhotep III. Zack told us that if we ran around the monument 7 times, it would bring you love and fertility. Naturally the group of us couldn’t resist looking like doofy tourists, so we all did it!
Next we went to Luxor Temple, which was built by King Ramses II, but like Karnack Temple, other people added onto it. On our way to this temple we learned something very interesting; apparently the 2 temples used to be connected by an avenue of sphinxes, which wasn’t discovered until recently. Many buildings that have been built on top of this avenue will eventually be demolished in order to restore the sphinxes to their former glory. Part of the temple was even built by Alexander the Great, and Zack pointed out his name to us in the hieroglyphics. Up until this temple was discovered, it was completely covered with sand, and therefore, other buildings were built on top of it including a Mosque, which still exists today.
After lunch, we got back to the hotel, and Ben and I were able to finally go to an internet café next to the hotel (at another hotel) and catch up on what’s been going on in the world, and our blog entries. After our glorious hour with internet, we hopped back on the bus to go back to Karnack Temple for another light show. Unlike the lightshow we saw at the pyramids earlier in the trip, we walked through the temple as the lights and narrative told the story of the greats who had to do with the temple’s history. The later half of the show was very cool because it incorporated one of the pools into the show.
After this, Professor Ghaly took a bunch of us to this really great market, but it was a bit overwhelming. These people who own shops in the markets in this country are so impressive to me; the way they lure you in when you’re not interested in buying anything is unbelievable. I bought a few knick-knacks of course.
Hurghada is the next stop for us, which is supposed to be beautiful. Always looking forward to how each day tops the last!
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