Nile Cruise: Luxor

We arrived in Luxor in the dark and the first experiences of the city were at night. The desert air was cold (but not as cold as UK) and the sky clear; the streets were busy and golden lights glowed from both street lights and buildings. The 'porters' did everything - and then demanded backsheesh, the tip! You almost had to tip to breathe the air. The pestering was bad - almost as bad as our experience on Hai Van Pass in Vietnam. But we got through the phalanx a couple of pounds sterling lighter. The first morning required a 5.30am wake up call with a 6.30 post breakfast departure so we could visit Luxor and Karnak Temples ahead of the crowds. And what awe inspiring places. The creative genius and engineering feats of the early Egyptians can only be marvelled at. The blend of the spritual with the ordinary daily lives where social structuring saw the separation of nobility/priests and other people was expressed in the monuments (big seemed best), especially those dedicated by Rammeses II to himself and his family, and in the hieroglyphics etched onto walls, obelisks and support structures. We enjoyed a thoroughly informative tour of both temples with our guide, Achmed, who was a great font of knowledge on the ancients of the area. Our worst experience at Karnak Temple was being yelled at by an armed Tourist Policeman, from a distance, to get off the mud brick wall which surrounded the temple. We didn't argue!! Back to the boat for dinner (the full board which was included in the price meant three sumptuous buffet meals per day) and then a visit to the Luxor Museum, a relatively new museum in which, apart from several interesting artefacts, there were two well-preserved mummies. It was kind of an honour and a privelege to be able to look in on these two people, preserved in death for the world to see.