After a super long day of traveling we woke up in a wonderful hotel and after several hours of rest we were ready to hit the town. We had both studied about Luxor in school and the closest we had come to see something similar so far was in Vegas, at the Luxor Casino! But now we were going to be able to see the real thing with our own eyes.
Luxor has so many things to see that it certainly deserves several days, so we had to be pretty organized to be able to cover as much as we did.
The town was easy to navigate and although we walked most of the time, we took several taxis and even a carriage to go around. The first thing that can't be denied is the fact that the Nile River cuts the city in two, and it adds a decor of feluccas (sailboats), yachts and fishing boats that add life to the terracotta color buildings. So much to see, where to start but by visiting the amazing Luxor Temple where just walking through the avenue of the sphinxes makes you feel like a triumphant Roman coming back from another conquest.
The Temple was originally built by Hatshepsut but Amenhotep II (grandfather of Tutankhamen) greatly enlarged it and then Tutankhamen, Ramses II, Alexander the Great and various Romans contributed to its expansion. The Romans constructed a military fort around it that the Arabs later called "Al-Uqsur" which means "The Palaces".
It was just amazing to walk around this structure that goes back to 1300s BC. I literally turned Japanese there and couldn't stop taking pictures. The 24 meter high pylon with Ramses' II military exploits, the colossal statues of Ramses II, the pink granite obelisk (only one is here, the other one is at the "Place de la Concorde" in Paris), the Great Court, hundreds of reliefs, columns with lotus bud tips, huge statues, papyrus columns, and the list goes on, everything captured with my camera. It is just an amazing experience.
We were there for hours and finally the sun set and the lights came on and it was even more beautiful as the shades almost gave life to the sculptures and statues.
There was a lot more to see and we knew we were going to enjoy Luxor very much.
Gaby
Luxor has so many things to see that it certainly deserves several days, so we had to be pretty organized to be able to cover as much as we did.
The town was easy to navigate and although we walked most of the time, we took several taxis and even a carriage to go around. The first thing that can't be denied is the fact that the Nile River cuts the city in two, and it adds a decor of feluccas (sailboats), yachts and fishing boats that add life to the terracotta color buildings. So much to see, where to start but by visiting the amazing Luxor Temple where just walking through the avenue of the sphinxes makes you feel like a triumphant Roman coming back from another conquest.
The Temple was originally built by Hatshepsut but Amenhotep II (grandfather of Tutankhamen) greatly enlarged it and then Tutankhamen, Ramses II, Alexander the Great and various Romans contributed to its expansion. The Romans constructed a military fort around it that the Arabs later called "Al-Uqsur" which means "The Palaces".
It was just amazing to walk around this structure that goes back to 1300s BC. I literally turned Japanese there and couldn't stop taking pictures. The 24 meter high pylon with Ramses' II military exploits, the colossal statues of Ramses II, the pink granite obelisk (only one is here, the other one is at the "Place de la Concorde" in Paris), the Great Court, hundreds of reliefs, columns with lotus bud tips, huge statues, papyrus columns, and the list goes on, everything captured with my camera. It is just an amazing experience.
We were there for hours and finally the sun set and the lights came on and it was even more beautiful as the shades almost gave life to the sculptures and statues.
There was a lot more to see and we knew we were going to enjoy Luxor very much.
Gaby
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