A Day in Luxor

I spent a day in Luxor, stopping on my way back from Aswan to Cairo. A MEDA employee, George Saliib, arranged a tour guide for the day. It was great to have my own personal guide! First, I visited the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el Bahari which is pictured at right. This is a mortuary temple dedicated to the longest ruling female of Ancient Egypt, Queen Hatshepsut. Later, I went to the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens where there are numerous tombs that are basically catacombs. Egyptians abandoned the pyramid style tombs because the catacombs were harder to rob and were more easily concealed. Most of the tombs were cut into the limestone following a similar pattern: three corridors, an antechamber and a sunken sarcophagus chamber. Construction usually lasted six years!

Luxor is also home to Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple. There were both impressive, but by golly, one can get templed-out … especially when temperatures reach mid-40s (celsius)!