Walk Like an Egyptian

 It is impossible to call yourself a world traveller and not visit Egypt.  It is often the place most people ask if we have visited. Is is the pyramids, the mummies, King Tut or Queen Cleopatra? Friends and family, old and young, this seems to be a dream destination. So here we were starting our exploration in the City of Luxor.

 We chose to spend a few days on the west bank of the Nle in an apartment away from the more touristy hotels  and more modern east bank. Although the apartment came with a kitchen we decided that since it also came with breakfast we would  not cook while we were here (the very small stove also influenced our decision). The apartment had been designed for the brutally hot summer months but was quite cold in late February. Thankfully the heater and blankets kept us warm at night.

 Days however were the perfect temperature for exploring some of the less visited sites on the west bank. We hired a local driver to take us to three places. He was to let us explore them on our own

and wait in the parking lot so we would have as much or as little time at each as we liked. Our first stop was at Medinet Habu a  temple dedicated to the god Amun for the burial of Ramesses III with some above ground tombs for priests. We were amazed at the vividness of the remaining paint, thinking it surely must be a restoration. But no! this was original paint from thousands of years ago. Egyptian law allows for preservation but not restoration. We met a man working on preserving this monument and he told us of the Valley of Rainbows, many miles north of Luxor where there were color producing minerals. Mixing ground minerals with limestone resulted in paint which in areas unexposed to the elements could last for over two millennia.

  Our next stop was at the Ramesseum, a newly re- discovered temple built by Rameses II. Active archaeological work is going on so some of the areas were fenced off. A spectacular statue of Anubis has been reconstructed at the entrance. Originally the entire walkway would have been lined with similar statues.  In addition to being built to honor and record the significant events in the life of Rameses II the recent excavations have discovered evidence of bakeries, kitchens, supply rooms and a school for scribes. At the entrance to the temple are the remains of two seated statues of the king; one in pink granite and the other in black. The head of the black granite statue was removed in the early 1800’s and is currently in the British museum. This is the artifact that inspired the

poem, Ozymandias by Percy Shelley.

  Our third and final stop was Deir el-Bahari. Here there is a collection of underground tombs of noblemen from the middle kingdom through the Ptolemaic period. Until recently egyptian squatters were living in these tombs. Long , narrow and steep stairs took us underground to view the

magnificently painted walls. These walls were covered with plexiglass to prevent damage and there was always someone in these small to tombs to : 1. guarantee no one vandalized the walls, 2. be sure that we didn't take photos unless we had paid the photo fee, 3. explain the hieroglyphics, 4. ask us for money. After three nearly identical experiences and knowing we would be visiting the Valley of the Kings later that week we decided not to climb down to see the remaining  tombs. Instead we walked around the site, seeing the stone outline of what had been homes and shops in the village and over to an ancient temple that had been turned into a church by 1st century Christians.

  It was a mostly enjoyable day. There were few tourists at these sites which was nice allowing us to enter our journey into ancient Egypt without fighting crowds of people.