Luxor...so many ruins!

On we go to Luxor, a city two Egyptian hours north of Aswan. I say Egyptian hours because this country runs on its own schedule which can cause all sorts of problems if you don’t factor in this exchange rate. Our 12 hour train ride from Cairo to Aswan was a 15 hour train ride from Cairo to Aswan. No big deal. No apologies. Just don’t have any plans within that swing window of Egyptian time. 

Kind of a nice concept actually. Most of you know I pretty much operate on Egyptian time all the time, so it seems like the right pace. We are on vacation after all, and nothing reminds you that there’s no need to rush when your two hour ride from Aswan to Luxor takes closer to four. It’s hard to move too fast in a country that takes its time. We are in a new time zone. We move slowly. It is a nice adjustment. 

After a particularly big meal, Karl and dad move especially slowly.

And then we were in Luxor.

Temple of Luxor, sandwiched between the city and the Nile.

The city of Luxor is sort of the middle line between Cairo and Aswan. Life in Cairo moves like Midtown Manhattan, even in Egyptian time. In Aswan life stands still. Luxor, with more than 400,000 people and with a huge number of tourists from all over the world drawn to view the famous Valley of the Kings, has a tempo of its own. With both Aswan and Cairo it seemed to take over a day for us to find our bearings in each city’s distinctive culture and speed. Somehow, maybe because of its similarities to both places or the fact that we had been in Egypt for more than a week, we figured out Luxor right away.

Sunset in Luxor as we explore the downtown on our first evening.

It’s no surprise that Ray rapidly finds work making alabaster vases by hand… And I thought I was supposed to be the business-minded one.

The great thing about Luxor is how accessible the city felt. Once we got off the main tourist drags we were in normal neighborhoods where we appeared to the locals more as an exciting novelty than a financial opportunity. The general hospitality we had experienced all trip remained strong throughout our stay in Luxor.

Having seen one too many sites without a guide en route from Aswan to Luxor, we decided that it would be worth investing in someone who actually knew what they were talking about when it came to the tourist sites.

Amr! In front of the Temple of Hatshepsut

So we hired Amr, an excellent guide whose tours included visual aids and excerpts from several relevant texts. This seems like an apt moment to mention that we know someone else who who uses an advanced repertoire of teaching techniques… Ray is an exceptional NYC tour guide!

We then got busy trying to see as many of the ancient sites as we could. The temples and tombs of Luxor may have been the best of the trip so far.

We decided to stick our heads right in. 

A statue of the falcon god Horus guards the entrance to Enfu Temple.

This 3000 year old marriage is still going strong, though it seems like the wife has finally gotten a little ahead of her husband.

To be a true obelisk the statue must be cared out of one slab of granite. Imagine what a task it must have been to move and raise this enormous piece of granite. Amr told us it took 7 months simply to make it stand up.

During ancient Egyptian times over thousands of these Ram's head sphinxes lined the path between the Nile and Karnak temple

Sometimes the color of the 3000 year old dye remains. I didn’t realize before this trip that all of the ancient Egyptian creations, including the stone carvings, were once painted just as vibrantly with these natural color

The Colossi of Memnon--guardians who once walked this great land but now stay frozen in deep slumber, awaiting the time when their services are once again needed.

Because of the number of ancient sites we saw it is easy to gloss over each individual one. Seen one spectacular ancient ruin seen them all, right? Not really. Though every place we went is not worth mentioning I felt that the more sites we explored the more fascinated we all became with ancient Egyptian history and culture. There is a draw about this civilization—the way they explained the world, the monuments they built to honor those explanations. In the age of information we are much more divided about our beliefs than this great civilization was. Their unity of purpose contributed to their ability to accomplish feats that even today with our modern technology would be nearly impossible.

One of these such constructions is Carnak Temple, the largest temple ever in the Egyptian empire. 

The Hipostyle Hall in the Temple of Carnak...note the obelisk in the background

The magnitude of the columns put to scale with our mom.

Yet even with how amazing the sites we were seeing were, what I valued most about Luxor was the time we got to spend with our wonderful travel companions. Traveling is already an experience of constant alertness. With everything so unfamiliar my mind never has time to calm down into repetition. Every glance meant reexamining normal. This feeling was heightened by our traveling friends who themselves saw the world through a completely different lens. After a long, hot day of adventuring, the ability to go back to the hotel with our friends to do nothing but relax and reflect added a wonderful dimension to the travel experience. Thanks Monika, Karl and Sofia!

The adventurers themselves.

 

Sun five, Sofia!

Ray and Sofia share a Rocket Power handshake in Carnak Temple.

In Egypt a man is allowed up to four wives…

The longer we stay in Egypt the more comfortable we feel. Considering how we felt the trip may seem dangerous this reality is remarkable. We may be getting too comfortable…

As Ray aptly pointed out, in Egypt there is actually no wrong way to wear a scarf.

Unless you think you’re being stylish and wind up looking like a babushka.

Look at these two Egyptians.

And always the Brothers will try to "fly" wherever we go. Sometimes this venture proves successful as it did at Giza. Sometimes it just ends with some fantastic faces.

Lets take a closer look...

Look at those patented McGaughey eyebrows.

We are proud to say that Brothers Unite has led to a laudable spin-off, Cousins Unite.  This photo was submitted by our cousins Sarah and Dave.  Feel free to send in your best Unite photos!

Awesome.  Where is this?

As our time in Luxor came to an end, so did one era of our travels.  Because Sophia was already late for the start of her semester, we were forced to part ways with the Germans who we have enjoyed so much on this trip.  Until next time guys!

SOPHIAAAA!

Aswan

After 15 hours on the sleeper train, we arrived in Aswan, the one-time capital of the Nubian empire. Without much of a plan, we walked through the street and settled on a Felucca—or wooden sailboat—ride in the Nile.  Our captain (and the man who lured us off the street) was Abdullah. 

Captain Abdullah.

He took us around the island of Ellephantine as the sun set behind the west bank of the Nile…not bad.  

The multilevel 10^th century monastery dedicated to St. Simeon with the modern Aga Khan Mausoleum at the top.

Ray and Sophia...photo credit to Dave

A felucca at sunset

Then, casually, Abdullah mentioned that there was a wedding going on that evening in his Nubian Village, Cobani, half an hour from Aswan.  Would we be interested in going?  We had read somewhere that Nubian weddings are open to the whole community and even foreigners—there is plenty food and cheer to go around.  How could we say no?  

Our group with the groom, Abdullah, and other village members. The groom is holding a whip, for good luck.

What followed was one of the most amazing cultural experiences of my life.  We arrived at the wedding to see over 100 men in robes sitting on benches and milling around listening to religious leaders pray and sing through a microphone.  There were exactly 3 women to be seen, Monika, Sophia and my mother.  We learned later that this was the first of two nights of the wedding, the Islamic night.  The following night would be a more “normal party” according do Abdullah.  Inside the house was a large courtyard where food was being prepared. 

Sophia with the kids after they pulled her away to henna tattoo her hand.

They laid our a rug on the sand and served us food.  Meanwhile, shy children poked their heads from out of doorways.  There were still no adult women to be seen.  ALL the women, it turns out, were in a different courtyard with the children.  They were not allowed to join in the religious ceremony or the dancing.  Almost no one spoke English except Abdullah.  But soon the children broke the ice, coming up to us bashfully at first--and then in droves--to shake our hands and speak the few English phrases they knew (how are you? I love you!)

Dave makes friends…without a common language.  Yeah Dave!

Soon we made out way to the front yard where the band had started to play.  Dancing followed which looked something like a lower back stretch: legs stationary with arms, torso and head swinging back and forth in time to the beat.  Naturally, we partook.  Everyone was so friendly and they found it hilarious to watch our back-stretch dances.  It was such a warm and valuable exchange.  There is no drinking alcohol under Islamic law but the tea flowed late into the night…

Despite the fact that Dave took 4 dance classes one semester last year, it was Dad who jumped in first to show off his moves. 

For the next two days,  we hit up archeological site after archeological site.  As far as I can tell, that’s the thing to do here in Egypt.  

Temple of Isis at Philae: We had to take a boat here since the temple is on an island.  When they built the mammoth Nile High Dam in the 1970s, this temple in its original location was to be fully underwater until UNESCO moved the entire site, brick-by-brick to higher ground.

Philae Temple

Fatimid Cemetery...or Tatooine?

Mummified Crocodiles at Kom Ombo...so cool!

Mom and Monika leave Edfu Temple

Herbs and spices at the Aswan Bazaar.  Here we spent 20 minutes haggling over the price.  The shop keeper mentioned he was looking for an American smartphone.  Dave actually had an old Blackberry with him on the trip and he returned later and haggled for an hour before agreeing on a price and selling it.  The true Egyptian experience.

And now for Ray’s wall carving and hieroglyphic interpretation. 

Bro! Why did you eat this cursed block of cheese?  Now you are turning into a crocodile!

No matter what vegetables you put on this table, when I zap them with my wand they become eggplants. 

Want a meatball sub?

Be sure to wear sandals when yous step on the fire-breathing lion.

Soon to come: Luxor and Sinai.