Luxor!!

So you remember how long June 18th was? Well, June 19th started at 3 am and didn't stop until after midnight for me. We got up early to catch the first flight out of Cairo to Luxor for a full day's worth of sightseeing. I didn't realize it until we were waiting to disembark, but we shared the plane with one of the most important Egyptologists in the world. Dr. Zahi Hawass was at the very front of the plane, and unfortunately he was the first off the plane and was whisked away by a private car :( If you have ever seen anything on the history channel or the national geographic channel about ancient Egypt, he is the go-to guy for ancient Egypt. Missed my chance to get his autograph, but I can still say I shared the plane with him.

Geeky I know, but the entire day at Luxor is a history nerd's dream. Fully a third of the world's monuments are at Luxor. I didn't see them all, but the one's we did get to visit were absolutely amazing!!

First a little drive through the Egyptian countryside. Immediately it felt as though I had traveled back in time, because it certainly doesn't look like much has changed for the people along the Nile...
If what you want to see and do is all things Ancient Egypt, the Luxor is where you want to go immediately after seeing the Pyramids. Tropical plant life, giant statues, all with the desert in background...
After a brief stop to see that statue and get some background from our amazing guide, Saad, it was off the the Necropolis, the City of the Dead. Actually, there was a necropolis for most ancient Egyptian cities. The City of the Living was on the east bank of the Nile (where the sun rises), and the City of the Dead was on the west bank (where the sun sets). It is the same in Cairo; Giza is the west bank, where the pyramids guarded the remains of the pharaohs. The necropolis at Luxor, however, is much, much, bigger. The ancient name is Waset, the Greeks called it Thebes, and the Muslims Al-Uqsur (Luxor). It was the spiritual capital of Egypt for a large portion of the Middle Kingdom, and almost all of the New Kingdom. Every pharaoh and conqueror of Egypt, like Alexander the Great, had to come to Thebes to leave their mark, or they were never going to be accepted by the people. Big important cities, get big important cemeteries...

Tombs are everywhere!! Every little hole in the ground was a tomb. The big ones are likely the tombs of nobles or other court officials. Not far from this picture the ground was pock marked with sunken depressions where the commoners were buried. And up this road...
is the Valley of the Kings. No pictures are allowed, PERIOD. Cameras had to be left on the bus or they would be taken at security. If you took a cell phone picture, you better make it worth it, because it is a 500 pound fine if you violate the rule. Luckily for all of you, what you see in the picture above, is largely what the Valley itself was like. Imagine a 100 degree sun pounding down on you from above, and the limestone rubble reflecting it up at you from below. Ungodly hot!! For me though, it was totally worth it!! I saw five tombs including the tombs of Ramses I, VI, IX, Seti I, & Tutankhamen. That's right, King Tut's tomb. He's in there to. A small little man he was, but then again he was only about 19 when he died. All the tombs had beautiful carvings and paintings, but it was interesting to see how only a few tombs were completed. Apparently, each pharaoh wanted to outdo the others, so they planned huge extravagant tombs. Of course, Murphy's law applied then to; i.e. they died ahead of schedule and parts of the tomb that weren't finished were rushed. 62 pharaohs were buried in the Valley, but only a few tombs were open, most are simply not safe enough. Oh well, one day perhaps. They are still digging, and still finding things.

Its that way at almost every Egyptian site. They are still finding things everywhere. Quite often, people homes built over the top of the sites, so the Egyptian government relocates them to new housing. Most of digging is funded by foreigners and especially UNESCO.

Anyways, after a brief stop at an Alabaster workshop we moved on to the temple of Hatshepsut, a famous queen of Egypt who actually ruled as a man. She went on an enormous building spree. One of her projects has been partially rebuilt...

I thought it was really cool how it was cut into the mountainside. Let me tell you though, when we were that deep into the desert the 115 degree air temperature was horrible. Imagine a hot wind coming down off the mountain, with all the sunlight from above and below. It is completely irrelevant that it is a "dry heat." Being in that valley with the wind swirling around you is a lot being in an oven. I mean we were a long was from the Nile...
Well, back to the story. Hatshepsut ruled as a man, here she is looking like a pharaoh...

After her death, her angry stepson, Thutmose III, took over. He hated her greatly and destroyed many of her monuments and paintings. Like this one...

After that brief photo op, we went to lunch at a hotel. For ten bucks we got lunch, a bed for napping, and a pool. Relaxing in an Egyptian pool on a hot afternoon is something that wasn't on the bucket list, but it should have been.

After two relaxing hours we picked up the sightseeing trail again. We were of to the Temple of Karnak. Here is the map room, I kinda wished I had a scepter with a crystal.
I know it doesn't look like much, but this complex is over 40 square kilometers. It is the largest man made religious complex in history. Every pharaoh of a united ancient Egypt added something to this temple. This included foreign kings like the Nubians, Alexander, and the Romans. It took twenty centuries to complete. Here is a little more perspective...



You get the idea :) I was really excited to see this place. There is so much to see and so much going on. So many historical figures made a point to come to this location. All because the Egyptians were so devoted to Amun Ra. If a ruler didn't make an addition to the Temple of Karnak, they wouldn't be accepted. Amun Ra was the god of the sun. The symbol of life for the Egyptians. There are three main depictions of Amun Ra at Karnak. One of the symbols of Amun Ra was the ram, and at the entrance to the temple are several ram's-head sphinxes...
The main incarnation of Amun Ra is a man with a double feather headdress, you can see him on the second column on the right...

The third and most scandalous incarnation of Amun Ra is actually a second god, called Min, or Amun-Min. Remember, Amun-Ra was the symbol of life and fertility. So you can probably guess why this guy is associated with that idea...

There are so many other things to see at Karnak, my pictures go on an on & it would take far too long to do the place justice. I encourage you all to go, it is a wonder of the ancient world that never got its due.

After that stop, we were off to another temple. This one was smaller, but better preserved.

Its the temple of Luxor, built by Ramses II, that's him in front there, and here are all of us with Saad, our guide...

Although smaller than Karnak, it has its own impressiveness and allure...

One of the special attractions of this temple are the extraordinarily well preserved statues of Ramses inside the temple itself. That's them in the center of the last picture. Here is one of them up close...

What makes them special is that they are solid blocks of granite. Not only does this make it an impressive feet to move them from their quarry at Aswan to Luxor, but because granite is such a hard stone, the carvings have really stood the test of time...
The other neat thing about Luxor temple is that every culture to occupy Egypt has left its own special mark, which can still be seen. The Ancient Egyptian stuff is obvious, but they aren't alone. Here is a statue of Aphrodite from a chapel right outside the main temple complex...Here is an ancient Roman chapel with frescoes...


Finally there is a Mosque built right on top of a Coptic Christian Church...

Five cultures, one location. Pretty cool.

The final thing that makes Luxor special for me, as law student interested in international law, is the story etched on the front facade of the temple...

What you see is a series of carvings that show Ramses II fighting the Hittites at Kadesh in 1274B.C. Unlike many other rulers, Ramses II did not hide the fact that he was almost defeated. Instead, the story tells how he courageously fought his way out of a Hittite ambush. That's him in the chariot. It's probably one of the most famous images from ancient image because Ramses had the story emblazoned throughout the kingdom, from Memphis to Abu Simbel. While this story is probably embellished a little, it is the story of the battle's aftermath that makes it so important to those interested in international law. After fighting to a draw (both sides claimed victory, so neither could have won outright), Ramses II and the Hittite king created the first international peace treaty. The text of which is preserved at Abu Simbel. Guess I'll have to come back to Egypt :)

That was the last stop of a very long day...