Even though we weren't going to stay the night we decided to look for a hotel room if anything just to leave our stuff in during the day. We looked online at some of the cheaper places and while reading the reviews I ran across this gem:
“my holiday rep was unhelpful. we only stayed the one night, we arrived on Monday 10th July and booked out on Tuesday 11th July the hotel was called the Tutotel partner the first room had blood in the bath, and the air con didn’t work the toilet was black and dirt all around the skirting. We complained and were moved to a different room. This wasn’t much better the air con worked, but floor and skirting was still dirty and the toilet, the shower didn’t work. We got up for breakfast the next day and the food was like slop and the plates and cups was dirty, I asked for a clean cup and the waiter poured tea into the dirty one I had had enough and we packed our bags we couldn’t contact the rep and the manger tried to stop us leaving the hotel, we was very frightened being two women on our own, we got lots of hassle from the people working there, as they kept following us and was asking for money. We went to look at the pool, which was on the roof, the poles holding it up was thin and the stairs were wobbling as we climbed them. When we saw the pool it was no bigger than a pond and at had a thick slime on the top of the water. We booked into another hotel which was first class had no problems, i enjoyed egypt but if i had to remain in this hotel me and my friend would have got the next flight home. i rate this hotel with a 1 star and that is being generous.”
In the end we decided the only places we wanted to visit that had been the sight of sacrificial offerings also had to be adorned with authentic hieroglyphics. So with that in mind, we looked elsewhere. Our place was nothing special, but it served its purpose.
When most people hear Luxor, they think this:
Minus the pyramid and the sphinx, the gambling, the actual Luxor isn't that different:
But the above photo is from the Karnak temples, which was our first stop. As Tamer appears to be indicating, it was hot, and we were really thirsty.
But seriously, it was sweltering.
The complex was enormous, something on the scale of some of the settings of the Lord of the Rings movies.
While we explored we discovered the secret to how the ancient Egyptians built these huge monuments.
Duh, it's a tower crane. I'm not sure why it took those hotshot scientists so long to figure it out.
Tamer was really taken by some of the statues.
Parts of it that were more sheltered still had the original paint.
Here's Tamer pointing it out:
Archaeologists still haven't figured out what this means:
Looking out over the complex:
A local trying to beat the heat.
After being out in the heat for so long we were both pretty drained. So we headed back to the hotel for a nap. After a couple hours I woke up and I headed to another smaller set of temples right in the city while Tamer decided to stay in and sleep.
I saw this on the way:
The entrance of the complex was quite impressive:
Also, at this point the sun was beginning to set which gave a really cool atmosphere.
The place was crawling with tourists.
Although this one took the award for most ridiculous attire.
Apparently this guy hearts french fries so much that he had to wear a shirt just to share it with the world. It gets better, his girlfriend/wife/whatever had the exact same shirt.
Weird.
The following is an ancient public service announcement. Heiroglyphics were roughly translated to say:
"Be sure to start your day with a complete breakfast. Complete with fruits and grains."
While walking around, one heavily armed guard called me over. Usually I make it a point to disobey people carrying automatic weapons, however this time I felt that he must have something important to say. He then waved me to follow him, pointing out a particular set of hieroglyphics. He then took my hand, touched it to the wall, then to my chest, and over again 5 times. Apparently, this gave me super powers or something, and all it cost me was the 3 pounds or whatever I gave him as I ran away excited to see what gifts the magic of the pharaohs bestowed upon me.
At any rate, here's me in front of the super secret wall.
I had hoped to go out to see the Valley of the Kings, but a combination of the heat plus the lack of time didn't allow it. After I had seen the temple I headed back. Tamer and I took a cab to the Luxor airport to fly back to Cairo.
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