Luxor and the Nile

Our Egyptian adventure began with a short stay in Cairo (read about that here) and then continued with an obscenely early departure (4:00 am) from the St. Regis back to the Cairo Airport. Audley had everything arranged, including a nice take-away breakfast bag, and we seemingly had loads of time to spare. Our Egypt Air flight to Luxor was scheduled for 6:45 but it seems that every other tourist was on the same schedule. The airport was absolutely jam-packed to the point that the lines to get to the boarding areas were so long that people had to be turned back from the moving sidewalks and it became a public sport to shame anyone who tried to jump line. It was complete chaos but at last we boarded, and the short flight soon deposited us at Luxor Airport, where the reverse scene unfolded - a million people waiting for their luggage and transportation. While in flight, it was easy to see how the Nile River really gave life to the country - the green, fertile strip of land on each side of the river was in sharp contrast to the endless miles of arid, brown desert.

A mesmerizing staircase at the St. Regis; The fertile, green Nile; Major sites from Luxor to Aswan; Jam-packed lines at the Cairo airport

As before, all logistics had been arranged and there were loads of handlers with outstretched hands for tips from door to door. We also met our guide, Mishmish, who would be with us for the remainder of our Nile River cruise. We’d landed relatively early and the embarkation time for the boat was not until noon so the guide recommended that we go on to visit Karnak and Luxor Temples. We were initially a little perturbed about this (we were hot and a bit worn out from the day already) but this turned out to be an excellent idea and a theme for the rest of the trip - early days out and relaxed afternoons on the boat.

Scenes from Karnak and Luxor Temples

Luxor is a major Egyptian city and significant historical center of Egyptian pharaonic and spiritual life. Originally known as Thebes, it was home to the rulers of Upper (and ultimately all) Egypt for about 1300 years. The start of our cruise adventure would be Karnak and Luxor Temples, the over 4,000 year old monuments which became a bit of a vanity project for the rulers of Egypt who would each add extensions and embellishments over the centuries. For the purposes of this blog, I won’t describe all the nuances, treasures, and amazements of each historical site that we visited. It would be too difficult to describe and do justice to everything we saw. These Wikipedia pages do a nice job, Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple, and it was really incredible to see the sophistication and artistry of such a long-ago and significant culture. Walking in the same footsteps was a bit surreal to be honest. I can’t recall how many times we said “This is incredible!” throughout the trip. One standout from this start to our Nile cruise was the processional way from Karnak to Luxor on “opposite” sides of town, lined by small sphinx-like statues. Karnak temple also had a small and unusual harbor from the Nile to the temple which allowed for boats to bring royalty and goods alike close to the temple itself. One of the most interesting things about Luxor was to see the layers of ancient Egyptian, Christian and Muslim history and architecture intermingled and often superimposed on each other.

Photos from our cruise ship, the Sonesta Sun Goddess

After taking in these two amazing temples, we headed to our boat, the Sonesta Sun Goddess. Working with Audley, we had a number of boats to choose from and this was one of the more luxurious ships. I have never been on a cruise of any type but my expectations were surely exceeded as far as the cabin goes (and I may be forever ruined for cruise ships). The boat had recently been renovated from a 60-cabin ship to just 30 cabins, each a suite with balcony. The suite included a small hallway into a living area with couch and armchair; a separate, large bedroom (with a TV that swung between the two room as a bit of a divider); a large bathroom; and a small balcony with two lounge chairs and a table. Loads of storage everywhere and, with huge windows, it felt spacious and bright. A very happy home for the next four nights. I was delighted!

Additional photos from the ship, including how close we were to the next ship while docked; entertainment on board and a view of Luxor from the boat.

The ship itself was well appointed and less “casino”-like than I had expected, with fairly sedate Egyptian art and color/design schemes throughout. The lowest level housed the restaurant, the next the bar and entertainment area, and above our cabin level was a small souvenir shop, gym, and massage area. The upper deck held an additional seating area and outdoor bar as well as a number of lounge chairs, a small pool and and small jacuzzi. I don’t think I saw anyone in the jacuzzi but some children played in the pool a bit and we all enjoyed the loungers. Throughout the remainder of the trip we had all of our meals on the boat, and all-in-all the food was pretty good, standard affair for what you’d expect for something of this level. Both breakfast and lunch were buffet style with a balanced mix of traditional American/European options and a few Middle Eastern dishes from time to time. Dinner tended to be a more formal affair of a set menu with a number of appetizer, entree and desert options. We enjoyed getting to know our waiters, who served us throughout the cruise, and were quite flirty (focusing again on the tips I am sure).

Once we arrived on the boat, settled in, washed up, and had lunch, we had the luxurious afternoon to ourselves. This was the delightfully unexpected part of the trip - we did all of our sightseeing in the mornings and then were back on the boat for lunch and leisurely afternoons. I took more naps and did more reading on this trip than I have in a very long time! It was wonderful to relax on the top deck or on our balcony and watch the life along the Nile go by us so slowly. Between the heat, a few glasses of wine at lunch and the slow pace of the boat, it all felt so decadent and satisfying. Each evening there was some type of entertainment before dinner and most everyone got a bit “dressed up” for the evening. The first night there was traditional belly-dancing and a whirling Dervish, it felt a little odd to have these people “perform” for us - and not terribly authentic - but we chalked it up to supporting the local economy. We collapsed into our cool, air-conditioned, queen bed and quickly feel asleep after a very long, full day. We overnighted at dock in Luxor.

Valley of the KIngs' tombs

The next day we were up and at it bright and early and headed to the Valley of the Kings. Another pleasant surprise of this cruise was that we were not in a group setting with 60+ other passengers but that each set of passengers had their own tour guide. Our guide, MIshmish, stayed on the boat too and accompanied us throughout the four days and he arranged any local transportation or other needs for us. This was a great arrangement in that we got to know him quite well and we had a lot of flexibility to change things as needed. As I mentioned before, the tourist track in Egypt is pretty formulaic and all of the folks on our boat were doing the same things in the same order as we were with their guides - but at least we weren’t in a large group with headphones and following a guide with an orange umbrella (like a lot of others we saw).

The Valley of the Kings (there is one for the Queens as well) is so different from the Pyramids of Giza. At some point, the Pharaohs’ burial monuments changed from soaring, stone edifices for all to see to hidden, below ground secret spaces. The same concepts applied - various chambers and antechambers stocked and decorated for the the afterlife - but everything moved underground. The Valley of the Kings is a very dry and rocky area sandwiched between a few small mountains and, if not for the tourist apparatus, you’d never know there was anything there. Each tomb (there are 64 of them each named with KV and a number) was hidden and sealed off to protect it from looters, even back in ancient Egyptian times. The tombs all follow a similar outline: a small, hidden door; long descending passages covered with vibrant hieroglyphics; and a variety of chambers leading to the primary burial chamber. These were all so much more decorated than the Pyramids where the focus was on the external structures. The storytelling was astounding, and colors were so vibrant even after all these centuries. We visited three tombs while there - KV2 (Ramses IV), KV11 (Ramses III), and KV8 (Merenptah) - each more incredible than the next. We saw the entrance to the tomb of King Tut as well but opted not to go into that one since the majority of the treasures are at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Tomb of Meru

After the Valley of the Kings, we had asked our guide to deviate from the standard route and take us to see a very newly discovered tomb of a high court official named Meru. All ancient Egyptians were focused on the afterlife and burial practices which would assit them in it. Priests, artists, courtiers, and officials all had tombs of various sophistication. This one of Meru has just been recently discovered and opened to the public (we had read about it before our arrival) and even our guide had not visited it so he was very excited to take us there. It was located just outside the very famous Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and was so off the beaten path that we had to get a guard from the temple entrance to take us up with the key. Exclusivity has its price, which was a strenuous walk up a not so tourist-friendly rocky path. The four of us, our guide, the guard, and some strange German were the only ones there. In the context of the other tombs, it was small and modest, but it so was fascinating. To see something so pure and undiscovered felt like a real gift. After this, the Temple of Hatshepsut was a slight letdown (though it’s really amazing in its own right). The most intriguing thing about Hatshepsut was how she presented herself as a male Pharaoh and ruled the country. Controversial then and now, she and her temple continue to awe and inspire.

Temple of Hatshepsut

Another diversion from the tourist path, and my most favorite site on the whole trip, was our visit to the ancient village of Deir el-Medina. This was a village for artisans and other laborers who worked on the tombs in the nearby Valleys of the Kings and Queens. Just over the hill, it was a small, walled village of everyday people. The artisans who lived here were the ones who made the carvings and painted the tombs of the royalty and officials. They spent a lot of time practicing these skills and this village is full of fragments of that work, including incredible tombs they made for themselves. The amazing thing about Deir el-Medina is that some of these tombs are more vibrant than those of the Pharaohs. If you spend all your day working to beautify other people’s eternal resting spots, imagine what you’d do for yourself! The tombs were small and intimate, not grand at all, but so colorful and personal and special. I absolutely loved it.

The incredible Deir el-Medina village and tombs

The end of the second day was a quick stop to see the Colossi of Memnon statues before we headed back to the boat. A fun, traditional boat ride across the Nile and then a short walk to the historic Winter Palace hotel in Luxor to see some of the Victorian grandeur which helped fuel much of the tourist trade here. The evening ended with the Captain’s welcome cocktail party on the boat, with some very strange cocktail combinations (mint and Midori anyone?). The boat had to jockey with many other cruise ships to get through the Nile River locks to Esna so we traveled in the evening which was a soothing way to get to sleep after such a long day.

The Colossi of Memnon, back to the ship, Winter Palace and welcome party

The remainder of the trip would finish the Nile Cruise and return us to Cairo before we departed for the US. I'll cover all of that in my next blog post.