Why visit Egypt?
Luxor
The mysterious middle east
When traveling in Egypt whatever you
do, do not take the train. There is a
regular service that runs from Cairo to
Luxor, but conditions onboard are
primitive at best. Without going into
too much detail, in fear of frightening
the children, the restrooms onboard can
become disgusting and unusable about
halfway through the trip. If you are
headed for Luxor then either fly there
or sail; skip the train.
The ancient and mysterious
Nile River is the life giving artery
of Egypt. Its serpentine flow has kept
the country alive for time in memorial.
And yet even the mighty Nile has fallen
victim to increased population and the
Egyptian knack for making mess. Parts of
the river are used as trash dumps. It is
so sad to see wonderful birds and
animals struggle with the rubbish
floating in the once pristine river.
Balloon flight in the desert
In Luxor the
Luxor Temple is a must see. It is
just a short walk from the river.
However, the thing to do while there is
to take a sunrise balloon flight in the
desert. What a thing it is to hover over
Luxor, the Nile River, and sandy
Sahara Desert in the cold morning
air. Watching the golden sun peek up
from the distant horizon in this place
is a worthy life experience. The flight
will take you over
Queen Hatshepsut's Temple. It will
effortlessly sail you over Egyptian
ruins, local villages, and meander over
the
Valley of the Kings. Balloons are
less like flying and more like floating.
The main issues are with liftoff and
landing. A big crew of people is
required to get the balloon into the
air. And balloons do land where they
want to. As long as an army of handlers
are close by all is safe.
Queen Hatshepsut's Temple
Just a little out of Luxor is the
Karnak Temple. It is a huge site
built by various Pharaohs over more than
a 1,000 year period. It was then buried
in sand for another 1,000 years until
the 19th century when it was
rediscovered. There is so much to see
including strange marks on the rocks
where Roman soldiers sharpened their
swords, and early Christian paintings of
Mary and Jesus are carved on the ancient
pillars like graffiti. There is much
evidence of early politics too. Romans
used to cut off the noses from many of
the statues and hieroglyphics. This was
to destroy the Pharaohs rebirth system,
because Egyptians then believed that the
soul needed to re-enter the body via the
nose. I guess that is as likely a body
orifice as any.
Ancient color hieroglyph
During New Year's Day things are
supposed to be extra lucky at Karnak.
There is a giant scarab beetle statue
that is a symbol of good luck. The
recommended ceremony is to walk around
it three times making a wish. Because of
the history there it is hard not to
think about the meaning of life, the
universe, and everything. One answer to
this eternally perplexing question is:
42.
In my next article we will continue
our trek down the Nile River and
experience more Egyptian wonders.