Magical must-do in Egypt
When in Hurghada – this is it – ancient wonders in a daytrip!.
Luxor & Karnak
The “day” trip to Luxor was a rewarding experience, though a very long and tiring day – 17 hours on the go with 4 hours per way on the road. We were up at 4 am to have the early breakfast which the hotel thoughtfully provides.
Fortunately, we did not know about the terror attack that had just occurred – or we might have given up the day and missed its treasures. I might also have been more worried about the sudden emergence of a woman in burka from behind a curtain at the back of our bus who stumbled past us at a stop on the way.
The bus actually had amenities – like toilet – and an electronic display about the temperatures. The seats laid back beautifully and my family slept.
I fortunately awoke for the magic of dawn in the desert mountains. To see the light emerge on sand spilling down the mountain to the road edge. To see the extraordinary sky dotted with different cloud. Small army outposts were the only spots where green sprouted – albeit desolately – the desert itself seemed rich with texture, colour and harmony
Finally we lumbered into the Nile Valley …. Travelling parallel to the great river (though it was out of sight) we saw canals or tributaries, palm trees and green fields, as well as shambolic towns bristling with mosques and old fashioned life, far removed from the familiar clichés of our western world. Traffic was full of scruffy old vans and adorable donkey carts, and traditional dress was the norm.
Karnak temple was, more than expected, magnificent. The stony face of our teen (who felt bullied needing to face culture rather than the fun life of the resort) softened as she seemed to grasp this was something worth seeing.
The columns (which have featured in movie thrillers) are breathtaking, for their immensity, solidity and 3d feeling with a deep hue of magic, perhaps due to the engraved symbols (like the powerful ank) catching light and shadow and with it intrigue and a sense of the past lurking tantalizingly just out of sight.
The day included lunch buffet in a small café (nice despite the cappuccino being a cup of hot water and a roll of powder); a taxi ride to the Nile and a boat ride over to the other side – the western sunset side where the Egyptians buried their dead. Behind was the East Bank, a skyline where mosques bristled like the back of a sow – the world of the living. Ahead the West Bank and a rim of mountains that hid the world of the dead. Valley of the Kings.
We walked into a couple of tombs with murals amazingly still so colourful. One proposed tomb was too deep for me as a claustrophobic soul – so I sat and stared at the mountains, the haunting mountains where they burrowed so deep by oil light.
Our next stop Hatshepsut temple was backed by those same strange and brittle mountains. Impressive. She was a rather wicked lady who loved power (they all seemed to drink it like mother’s milk) …. And put the next heir to the throne Thuthmosis on the front for 30 years where he luckily survived. Her temple was the only one built by a woman we were told by our pleasant (Egyptian Swedish speaking) tour guide – and to be allowed to build one she had to persuade herself and others she was really a man.
Wiki says:
Hatshepsut was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the second historically-confirmed female pharaoh, the first being Sobekneferu. Hatshepsut came to the throne of Egypt in 1478 BC.
Ancient Egypt online: She initially ruled as regent for her step-son Thuthmosis III but promoted herself to the role of pharaoh instead of passing power to him when he came of age. After her death Thuthmosis III and Akhenaten both intentionally damaged the monument. The former directed his attacks at Hatshepsut herself, either replacing her image with his own or simply obliterating references to her, the later damaged her temple because of the frequent references to the god Amun.
.
I genuinely enjoy reading on this internet site, it contains excellent content.
I used to be able to find good advice from
your articles. adreamoftrains best hosting
We stumbled over here coming from a different web address and thought I
may as well check things out. I like what I
see so now i’m following you. Look forward to going over your web page for a second time.
Today, while I was at work, my cousin stole my apple ipad and tested to see if it can survive
a thirty foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation.
My iPad is now broken and she has 83 views.
I know this is entirely off topic but I had to share it with
someone!
Секрет евреев: Еврейские мужчины лечат простатит за 2-3 недели!
Один раз в жизни! Раз и навсегда! Узнаем как… https://txxzdxru.diarymaria.com/
I used to be able to find good info from your blog posts.
Hey there ,Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. grazie
I am regular visitor, how are you everybody? This article posted at this web site is in fact pleasant.
Thank you a lot for sharing this with all of us you
really understand what you are speaking approximately!
Bookmarked. Kindly additionally visit my site =). We can have a hyperlink trade agreement between us
I’m gone to inform my little brother, that he should also visit this
weblog on regular basis to take updated from most recent news update.
Greetings! Very helpful advice within this article!
It’s the little changes that will make the largest changes.
Many thanks for sharing!
you’re actually a excellent webmaster. The web site loading velocity is amazing.
It sort of feels that you are doing any unique trick. Furthermore, The contents are masterwork.
you have performed a excellent task on this matter!
Wedding Dresses Are Beautiful And Elegant!
I found a great…
My coder is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP.
I have always disliked the idea because of the costs.
But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on a variety of websites for about a year and am anxious about switching to another platform.
I have heard excellent things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can import all
my wordpress content into it? Any kind of help would be really appreciated!
A big thank you for your article.
A big thank you for your article.
Like!! Thank you for publishing this awesome article.
Hi! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering if you knew where
I could find a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using
the same blog platform as yours and I’m having difficulty finding one?
Thanks a lot!