So in Luxor and ready to explore we set off to see a guy about arranging a tour. The Korean guy from Casablanca airport had recommended a guy who did cheap tours so we headed off the train station area to find him.
We were approached on the street by people offering the same services. I asked a guy his name since I knew he would claim to be who we wanted. It wasn't the guy. But then it turned out he knew who we were seeking. So off we went to see him.
The guy said he could hook The Gherkin and I up with student identity cards which would save us some money (with half price entry the cards soon pay for themselves). He was even nice/dodgy enough to lend us a couple of cards to use before ours were ready. With cunning we came up with a sneaky plan to use these cards with the images of strangers upon them. We would send The Brazilian to buy the student tickets with his card (he already had a real one from home) and the 2 extras. Then he would come back with the tickets and we would split up and enter separately. It worked. Well not at The Luxor museum which would not accept student cards at all, and is not worth the price. Go to the museum in Cairo and skip this one.
We first executed our sly scheme at the Luxor temple which as well as the usual Egyptian temple stuff (I must admit it’s all
getting a bit same old, same old) also has some roman paintings on the walls.
The Mummification Museum is fascinating in a horrifying way, creepy to see the instruments used to scrape brains out through nostrils. I do like the canopic jars with the four different heads though. They are the jackal head that contains the stomach, the falcon head with the intestines, the baboon with the lungs and the human that had the liver stored inside it. The brain was thought to be useless and thrown away. Oh those silly silly ancient Egyptians. These days we know that most people use their brains, well some of the time at least…
While at the museum I ever so helpfully pointed out how the labelling in English was wrong on a wall display. It was in the wrong order. The guy I told got a manager but I am not sure she really understood what I was saying. Ah well I tried to do my bit for accuracy of the display.
We returned to the Luxor temple to see it lit up at night. We were able to use the tickets we had purchased earlier in the day again. So it didn’t cost anymore and it was very nice to see the place lit up at night. Much cooler.
With our newly minted student cards in hand, we got an early start. The tour we booked started with the Valley of the Kings.
I really liked the model in the entrance area. Especially how when you looked underneath you could see how deep the tombs are in the earth.
We saw three tombs plus paid extra to see King Tutankhamen’s, it’s really not that interesting (all the treasures from it are in the museum in Cairo) but his mummy is in it.
I don't have photos from inside as they are not allowed. So I just took photos of the names of the tombs we saw so I would remember them. Ramses I, Ramses IX, Ramses IV (but I will spare you photos of signs). Going inside some of the tombs involved steep steps and they were all hot and crowded.
Leaving the Valley of the Kings the vendors have it well planned. You have to walk down a corridor of shops and they come out and stand in a line that you have to somehow get past. I ran this gauntlet by covering my head with my hands and repeating my two words of Arabic, no thanks: La shukran.
We then saw the temple of Queen Hapsepha a female pharaoh. The design of the temple is
different from the usual and very impressive. But it was also very hot there and I had forgotten to bring my hat.
In the shop there I was amused by the special flavour of Pringles, hot Holland hot. I wonder what hot Dutch guy would think of them!
In the valley of the queens I learnt there is a difference between Nefertiti and Neiftari.
We went to a shop that sold alabaster items. I looked but did not buy. Bad tourist!
The Gherkin was most happy that he gave a guy working there a hair tie and the guy gave me a stone that I passed on to The Gherkin so he was like I traded a hair tie for a rock! The gherkin likes to carry rocks around with him. He has others from somewhere else in Europe. I personally felt my pack was heavy enough without lugging around rocks!
The last stop was a couple of statues called The Colossi of Memnon. Big statues that used to make strange whistling sounds (due to cracks after an earthquake or something) but don’t anymore. They were quite quiet for me.