Cruising north to Luxor  – Pharaohs under the stars at Karnak 

▲▲▲ Friday – waking to the sounds of the Nile – we have another great breakfast and we set off again cruising North on our return to Luxor.

After a hectic, but most exciting last few days, we have enjoyed the past day or so just doing nothing more exhausting than cruising, eating, swimming and lying in the sun.  A very busy time you must agree!

As we cruise further South we pass towns and villages that have most probably been here for thousands of years.

The fertile land near the Nile provides valuable land for farmers but it soon gives way to the barren, desolate land not that far away inland.

Our ‘Giselle’  has to pass through a massive barrier on the lake.

It is the lock at Esna where two barrage bridges straddle the Nile at this point; one built by the British in 1906 and the ‘Electricity Bridge’ built in the 1990’s.  A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways.

Navigation, particularly Nile cruisers ferrying tourists from Luxor to Aswan 155km further upstream can be held up for hours while vessels negotiate their way through the lock system.  Doesn’t worry us – we have nothing but time and we put it to good use by just relaxing.

Our boat goes through a section and there are young kids yelling for us to throw shampoo or pens or anything else we have – – I throw them one of the little bottles of Shampoo I got from the hotel in Cairo.  There are also armed guards walking along the walls so we better not look suspicious.  We give them a friendly wave and they smile and wave back all the time with hands on dirty big guns.

Time for a swim and going back to our room – – – the crew have been at it again and have made lotus flowers out of our towels.  Time for some more vitamin D under the Egyptian sun or maybe even sit in the shade and watch the world go by.

After our bit of afternoon relaxation we head back downstairs to freshen up and get for dinner.

We arrive in Luxor right on dusk and of course

 it is time for more photos – the cruise boats have moored – they are not allowed to cruise during the night.

We will stay here for 3 days until we fly to Cairo. 

The sunset after the heat of the day with the feluccas outlined against the orange sky is brilliant.  We enjoy an early dinner onboard and then head off to the Temple of Karnak for the Sound and Light show.  It is a wonderful night – very balmy and the sky is pitch black with the stars glowing – – and there is a full moon – – – – the tourist heart in me is beating 1000 beats to the minute!

We all stand at the entrance to the temple – in the avenue of sphinxes (just like the ones at Luxor Temple).  The crowd is full of nervous anticipation and then the start of the show is heralded by a fanfare of trumpets and the voices of the Pharaohs.

It is hard to put into words what the feeling is at the moment – I am nearly in tears (again). We walk from place to place and the voices of the pharaohs tell us about their lives and how they added to the temple.

The commentary is fabulous – and it is easy to believe that it is the ancient Pharaohs speaking to us.  My imagination is in overdrive.

This is me standing in front of huge statues.    You can tell how black the night is – and you can see how the lights on the statues give them an ethereal glow – – – there are female voices as well and they recite ancient poetry.

When there is total blackness the anticipation builds and then the lights come up on a certain section and you can hear everyone take a sharp intake of breath.

After the main part of the tour we are led into some seating near the Sacred Lake.  There we are told stories of Hatshepsut and her voyage to the Land of Punt.  The lights shine on the parts of the Temple that relate to this story and we realise the size of this complex.

After a very exciting evening we head back to the boat.

It is hard to get to sleep because I keep thinking of the wonderful time at Karnak.  I wish I could do it again and then realise that I really can when I get all the photos developed.

The shows are done in many different languages on different nights.  Somehow I can’t imagine the Pharaohs’ speaking French or German – – but then again they didn’t speak English either.

Highlight of the day : Looking at the moon through the columns in the Hypostyle Hall. 

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