Though this day was so full that my head is spinning, I’m going to try to keep this short – I am exhausted, and we have to catch our ferry across the Red Sea at 4:00 a.m.
I didn’t go to bed after I finished writing last night. Going out to the bathroom, I met Hanan in the hall, and we talked for an hour or so. Then I returned to our room to find Shannon awake. We talked for another hour. So I only got 2 hours of sleep.
We woke up before sunrise this morning and gathered out in the hall to watch the sun come up. From the train station, we went to Luxor’s Rameses II hotel to wait for our new guy. We took pictures in front of the Nile.
With our new guide, we took a 30-minute bus trip and stopped first at the funerary monument of Amenhotep III (the Colossi of Memnon). From there we went to the Valley of the Kings. I went down into the tombs of Thutmoses III and Rameses III. The walls were just breathtaking, covered completely with full-color heiroglyphics. I couldn’t go to King Tut’s tomb because it was an extra 40 pounds to enter.
Courtney and I hiked up to find the tomb of Hatshepsut, and a man showed us the way. Maybe they’re in the process of restoring it, I don’t know, but it was awful. The sign was on the ground along with piles of trash. We were quite disappointed at this treatment of the only women who served as pharaoh!
From the Valley, we briefly visited Hatshepsut’s restored temple (this, at least, was worthy of her) and the temple at Medina Habou, Valley of the Queens.
We visited an al (darn, there went my good pen) an alabaster shop, where we saw a demonstration and got to see their selection. After that, we had a buffet lunch and went to the temple at Karnak. WOW. Massive, heiroglyphics everywhere, hundreds of gigantic columns. Dr. Browning showed us the depiction of "Shishak" leading his captives – among them, Rehov.
I went around with Hanan and Kristi, searching for headless statues to take funny pictures with.
We finished early, so we went to the shops nearby, where I got my second marriage proposal. The man said, "Ah, I did not expect to see Nefertiti in my shop today." Hardy har. He asked me a few questions, told me several times of my beauty, and then said, "If you ever come back to Egypt, I want to marry you." Well, I gave him what he really wanted – I bought something from him, a pretty doll for Martha.
After Karnak, we went to the Luxor temple, which is a smaller copy of its neighbor. It actually had cooler stuff, such as several Greek inscriptions which Will and I photographed. Also, there was a deserted mosque way up at the top; it had been built before the temple was completely excavated, so now it’s about 15-20 feet in the air.
We visited a couple of jewelry shops, then took the bus to the Aqua Fun Hotel. We left at 6:30, and arrived at 10:00, when the hotel served us a very late supper. I was happy to take a shower.
On a sad note, I went through my film, and I think I lost a roll. In fact, I'm pretty sure I did. As long as it's not the pyramids . . .
Well, one hour of sleep awaits me.