Egypt – The ancient Land of Mystery (Part 2): Luxor and Aswan

We reached Luxor airport around 10 at night, flight was of 45 minutes, but both of us were exhausted from our respective rendezvous during the day. Our guide for Luxor, Tareq came to receive us at the airport. It was a clean, picturesque city along the eastern bank of Nile; we could trace the river on our way to the hotel which was also on the bank of it. The beautiful waterside promenade was still lively, the well-lit roads were thriving with tourists mostly Europeans. We were told it was a safe and tourist friendly place.

Next day early morning, we woke up with the chirping of birds and the first ray of Sun dazzling on the Nile water. It was a beautiful sight, with the valley of Kings visible on the other bank.

We had an early start after a quick breakfast by the river, our first destination being the valley of Kings, the desert valley of mountains that housed the Royal tombs. Luxor was known as ‘Thebes,’ the capital of the ‘New Kingdom Era’ (16^th to 11^th Century BC) when the Pharaohs discovered the pyramid like shape of this mountain valley and decided to build tombs underneath. From that the name arrived.

At the Valley of Kings, the Entrance fees included any three of the tombs except, Seti I and Tutankhamun’s. I was keen to visit Seti I’s tomb also for its exquisite paintings, as Gamal made me aware of it earlier. So, we bought a separate ticket for that too. Tareq gave us a brief idea about the tombs we were to visit, those were of Ramesis IV, Ramesis I and Ramesis II. He wasn’t very amused with my idea of visiting Seti I’s tomb, as he seemed to be of controlling nature and accustomed to handle a category of European tourists who mostly came for photoshoots rather than having any real interest in history. We visited first the tomb of Ramesis IV, this became a refuge for the Christians during Roman rule, as the state was anti Christianity at that time. There were several cross marks to be traced in the encrypted walls of the entrance tunnel, the traditional paintings and inscriptions were also in quite good state retaining original colors. Tombs of Ramesis I and II were also well decorated and in reasonably good state, though Ramesis I’s was a steep decline, hence needed maneuvering of a good number of not so friendly stairs.

At Ramesis IV

At Ramesis II

Ramesis IV

Seti I’s tomb, as I imagined was spectacular with bright colored wall paintings almost intact; a particular one of Seti and his queen caught my fancy for its bold colors and romantic pose. In earlier tombs I did not notice any such couple painting, though later in many temples found such engraves of the God couples.

Seti I and his queen Tuya

Seti I tomb

Our next destination was Hatshepsut temple which was dedicated to the first female ruler of Egypt of the same name. The terrace temple structure was rebuilt by Polish archeologists' team during 20^th Century, though gave a fantastic feel of ancient time in the desert valley background.

Hatshepsut seen as a man and woman

After taking lunch break at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the temple, we took a short boat ride to cross the river and reach the Eastern bank to visit Karnak temple at a shorter time. Our car would join us later, we were told. Karnak Temple was a UNESCO site and the second most visited historical site in Egypt after Giza Pyramids. The beautiful column in the temple with their perfect alignment and colourful paintings stood out.

Karnak temple columns

Lines of Sphinx at the entrance

Later, we visited the Luxor temple site, which was not much than a ruin. Though, from the promenade in front we could witness a beautiful sunset on the Nile water.

Luxor temple

We bought papyrus paintings from one of the certified shops in Luxor, they also explained us the process and showed different stages of the weathering. Luxor was known for authentic papyrus.

Tareq was insisting on a very early start with breakfast box next morning, we were to reach Aswan via road with a diversion to visit Edfu and the town of Kom Ombo. We were really tired from last few days of ruins visits and the desert heat in Luxor further added to the misery. I negotiated to start post breakfast, even if that meant omitting a site on the way.

Edfu was two and half hours of drive from Luxor, excellent road and picturesque landscape made it quite enjoyable, though constant jabbering from our guide was quite irritating. He expected me to be amazed seeing truckload of sugarcane or a herd of cows; unfortunately I could not oblige (being from a country known for both). The temple at Edfu was for the Falcon God Horus who was the symbol of protection and war. Horus’s wife Hathor represented cow, as in ancient Egypt like India cow was considered a sacred animal symbolizing wealth and prosperity. The Edfu temple and the Philae temple in Aswan were built in the Ptolemaic and Roman Era and showed the same pattern of having a birth house for the Son of the House God at the entrance. In this case, it was the birth house of Imsety, the son of God Horus and his wife Hathor. The entrance to the temple had two massive statues of falcon and several others inside which were awe inspiring.

Edfu Museum, Boat of Horus

Inside the temple

Outside wall engrave

The Kom Ombo town was further one and half hours of drive and a very old settlement with distinct middle eastern influence unlike Luxor. The temple there was merely a ruin, not much could be deciphered from a layman’s perspective. Our guide took leave from us at this point, as a new local guide, a lady was to join us the next day. I was more than happy to get rid of this clown, who by then managed to put me at my wits’ end.

Kom Ombo Temple

We reached Aswan around four in the afternoon, exhausted yet welcomed by a hilltop hotel with a Nile view. I was determined to make this stay a relaxing one feeling the essence of the place rather than running after touristy sites mindlessly. We communicated to our future guide accordingly. The hotel had a beautiful terrace restaurant, we had a lovely candlelight dinner there under the starry night, overlooking the illuminated city landscape.

Next day we started late after a leisurely breakfast; a short boat ride took us to the island of Philae Temple. On the way I noticed an interesting Nubian structure motel at one of the smaller islands. Aswan became a settlement for the Nubian community from North Sudan, after their uprise during 25^th Dynasty around 8^th Century BCE. The Nubians had distinct appearance and mostly they were Christians unlike the rest of the population. 

The Philae temple was dedicated to the Goddess Isis, the mother of Horus and the wife of God Osiris and she was the Goddess of healing and medicine. This temple was also constructed during Ptolemian Era, hence had a birth house for Horus at the entrance. The beautiful temple surrounded by water was truly a place to visit and also enjoy the scenic beauty.

Philae Temple

Perfume grinder at Temple

Isis and Osiris

The rest of the day we indulged in some interesting shopping, be it perfumed oil, spices, and some silver jewelry, especially one that replicated a piece from the Cairo Museum which belonged to Queen Nefertari. Our guide Rasha, being a woman loved helping, not only by taking us to the choicest shops, but also giving valuable suggestions.

That day evening, based on Rasha’s recommendation we went to dine at ‘Nineteen O two’ restaurant at Sofitel Old Cataract Hotel. The hotel was a heritage one that historically housed many celebrities, my favourite being Agatha Christie. The fine dining restaurant also carried the same lineage and still maintained the standard of discretion and quality. It was truly an experience to dine there with live piano, pure silver cutlery, delicious food and choicest wine.

Next day we took the flight to Cairo in the afternoon post another round of shopping of Egyptian cotton wares.

An Egypt tour would have been incomplete without visiting the two ancient cites Luxor and Aswan who distinctly represent the era of Ancient Egypt or Misr as the country was referred then. Interestingly, in Sanskrit we refer to the country as Misr Desha that reflected on the ancient sea trade tie India had with Egypt.

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