Safaga, Egypt

Safaga, Egypt. We had to board a bus at about 9:45 AM for a three and one half hour drive to Luxor. Shortly before, Muriel called to say Art was not feeling well enough to make the trip. They had been there before.

We had to wait for all 20 buses to leave. We were going in two convoys of ten buses each. There was a pickup truck with armed soldiers in front of the convoy and another in the rear. Each bus also had an armed guard aboard. He always sat in the first seat behind the driver. No one could sit next to him or behind him. The mid east is such a nice place.

The road was pretty well paved but only two lanes. This however did not keep anyone from making a third lane when passing slower traffic. Every few miles there were permanent road blocks with concrete gun towers, a maze to drive through, and lots of soldiers with machine guns. At these road blocks they would have all other traffic stopped to let our convoys by. There must be a lot of good friendly people about that only want only to share things with you, like your belongings and or just kill you.

We got in to Luxor at about 1:00 PM. There were four different hotels being used. None were supposed to be great but the Sonesta was the best and that was where we stayed. As we approached the hotel we drove down a main street that ran along the Nile River. Almost all store and building signs were in English and some had Arabic also. Lining the river front were many dozens of river cruise boats.

We left our luggage aboard the bus and went into the Sonesta for lunch. It was a buffet in a very large room just behind the pool. It was a very nice room with all marble floors and columns. The furniture was nice but did not fit the room. Along the back wall were stuffed couches to sit on while all other seating was on open style chairs. The food was pretty good and there were quite a few choices.

After lunch it was back to our bus for a couple of miles ride, on the same street, to the Temple of Karnak. This was built over a period of 1,300 years and covers a vast area. It would take volumes to describe what we saw. Statues, buildings, columns, pylons, rock carvings, and on and on. You could stand there and look at and touch these things and still not believe it’s real. We, like everyone, have seen these things in books, pictures and movies, but those are nothing at all like seeing the real thing in person. We have seen a lot of amazing stuff all over the world, over many years, but never anything as outstanding as this.

This complex of buildings and forms went on for at least 1.2 miles but the center section had been built over with modern buildings even though artifacts were dug up during construction.

Next we got back in the bus and went a mile or so back, in the direction from which we had come. This was the opposite end of the same complex where the temple of Luxor was built. This was more but different artifacts of the same kind. Some of the carvings and statues were amazing. Just looking up close at a round column was unbelievable. They were made of granite. The only natural element harder then granite is a diamond. These columns were perfectly round. Some were about 100 feet tall. How did they cut them? They had no hardened steel or diamond tools.

We got back to the hotel at about 5:30 PM. Our room keys were laying on a table and we had been pre registered. We had been warned this was the best hotel in town but not to expect anything like the Peninsula. They were right, but I admit I have been at worse. We did have a nice balcony with views of both the Nile and the main street. I got some great pictures of a couple of Dows, (small Egyptian style small sail boats) on the Nile just after sunset.

We had to be cleaned up, dressed up and ready for dinner at about 6:45 PM. We had a 45 minute ride to Habu Temple. We crossed a bridge over the Nile to the west bank and traveled the country side. There were numerous donkey and mule carts on the way.

By the time we arrived it was very dark. First there was an outer temple area and then the inner temple. From one end to the other was 3 or 4 blocks. Then entire length had a Persian Rug carpet runner covering a very uneven walk with many holes. Lining both sides of this carpet were pots of fire from burning oil or wax. Every so often and especially at the many stairs and platforms, along the way, there were men dressed in various soldier costumes from thousands of years ago. They were just standing there silent with their spears and the fires eerily shinning on them.

Once into the main temple the entire football field size area was carpeted in the same Persian rugs. The walls and many columns were dimly lit with colored flood lights. The tables filled the entire area and all had candles. There was no ceiling on this temple and you could clearly see the many stars in the sky and a quarter moon. At the end of the room was a six foot high stage like platform from one end to the other. In one corner of it was a five piece string orchestra playing softly. Everyone I spoke to said this was the most magnificent thing they have ever seen. Again, there is no way to describe the scene with the figures carved into the walls and lit up with the colored lights playing on them and the columns. All have said this alone was worth the trip. This is not something regularly done. Everything had to be brought from the hotel including all the food. This only happens once a year if at all.

At 10:00 PM we got back to the hotel for a much needed nights sleep.

Amazed Sherm Out