We left our hotel in Cairo three hours before the flight and it was a good thing too- it was raining and the traffic was incredibly messed up.  Apparently Cairo only gets rain a few days a year and when it does rain, because road drainage is poor in some places, deep water puddles form on some of the major roads, slowing everyone down.  Thus we sat for a long time in a very long line of traffic to get through bottlenecks caused by vehicles trying to avoid flooding.  By midwestern standards it was not even a strong rainstorm, but it was enough to snarl a city that sits surrounded by a desert.

The flight to Luxor was a quick one hour hop and we went directly to our hotel, the famed Winter Palace on the banks of the Nile, to have a late but very nice lunch pool side.  The Winter Hotel was built in the mid-1800’s and served as the center of society at the height of the archeological revival that occurred in the late-1800’s and early 1900’s.  The hotel still retains much of its original charm and I felt like I stepped back into history as I collected my key and headed to my room.  I only had time to dump my bags before we were out the door, headed to the Karnak Temple.

In front of the Karnak Temple. A huge complex which needs a lot of time to explore. If I had one wish, it would have been for more time here!

The Karnak Temple is a must-see in a visit to Egypt and is the second most visited place behind the Giza pyramids.  Construction started during the Middle Kingdom and continued afterward with over thirty different Pharos contributing something to the complex.  Only part of the site is open to the pubic; archeological work continues in other areas.  Luxor, also known historically as Thebes, once served as a capital of Egypt and it is during this era that significant additions to the temple were undertaken.  (The history and details of the temple can be found online, so I am not going to go into details.)

A close up of the statues at the front.

The temple is huge, not only in extent, but also in sheer size-large columns, towering walls and giant statues immediately make you feel insignificant as you enter.  There are numerous small rooms and open areas dedicated to different gods or Pharos. The walls (and some columns) are covered with hieroglyphics and pictures.  Unlike the scenes of daily life we saw depicted on the walls of the tombs in Saqqara and Dashur, the scenes on the temple walls tell stories of the Pharos engaging with the gods or illustrate the conquests of the Pharos.  The cartouches (of the various Pharos) were repeated all over the place, making it clear who was being exalted (or at least clear to anyone who can read hieroglyphics).  Hossam walked us through the different areas pointing out and explaining the various pictures.  Amazingly enough in some areas the original pigmentation – red, yellow and blue – was still intact, allowing me to imagine what the whole structure might have looked like originally in vivid colors. Interestingly some of the later additions had less refined figures and pictures portrayed than the original part of the temple.

We walked around for a bit over an hour, until the complex closed at 5pm.  I think this is one place where you could probably wander around for half a day to soak in the atmosphere and explore every nook and cranny.

Columns in Karnak Temple to show scale although you have to be there to really feel it. Lots other explore at this site!

When we left the Karnak Temple we headed across town to the Temple of Luxor.  The two temples are connected by the Road of Sphinx’s, a broad avenue just under 3km, which used to be the site of processionals between the two temples.  The government recovered the road by clearing out houses which had been constructed over the original avenue and today pedestrians can walk between the two temples along the original route.  The Temple of Luxor sits close to the Nile and was connected to the river via a canal that allowed boats to deliver materials and people right to the entrance.  Like Karnak, the Temple of Luxor was used continuously since its initial construction in 1400BC and inside the grounds it is possible to find contributions from numerous Pharos, the Greeks, Romans and Muslim communities.  Also like Karnak, the walls are etched with scenes depicting the Pharos interaction with the gods as well as scenes depicting the yearly processional celebration of the local gods.  We toured the temple as the sun set and it was neat to experience a totally different atmosphere—walking through at night with columns and walls lit by spotlights.

Luxor Temple- equally as impressive as Karnak and kind of cool to visit at night.

Another area of Luxor Temple. So impressive!

Both temples were amazing on multiple levels, not the least of which, from an engineering viewpoint, was trying to imagine how they were built and their incredible ability to stand the test of time!

Luxor Temple lit up at night!!!

Ramses II put his name on numerous temples all over Egypt (so everyone would know his name and his association with the Gods). You can see his two cartouches (birth and king name) still showing some of the original color.

An example of some of the columns that dominate several halls at Luxor Temple.