Tag: Luxor

Valley of the Kings by Air

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Our wake-up call was 4 AM, and the last thing on my mind was a boxed breakfast to go. I also decided to pass on coffee, thinking I couldn’t risk the chance of floating over the Valley of Kings in a wicker basket (invented by the Egyptians 5000 years ago) and needing to puke or pee.

Meanwhile, Leah had prepared for flight with Dramamine as her go-to prophylactic.

This was not our first ballooning adventure. A few years ago, Leah and I got to float over the Okavango Delta at sunrise with a pilot and 4 others (see Botswana by Balloon). But this time around, we’d be floating over the Valley of Kings, and it got my adrenalin pumping.

The desert air was cool, and the winds were calm–the perfect forecast. We arrived by boat to the east bank of the Nile,

and boarded a sprinter van that dropped us at a vast open field where teams of wranglers were already preparing for launch.

We were given our balloon assignment, and climbed aboard with 25 other “ballunatics.” After a safety drill of “hunker down and brace,” we were ready for lift off.

We felt so small standing under a canopy of hot air and rainbow-colored nylon fabric…

rising 60 feet above us–

not unlike the early morning visitors who had come to gaze at the gargantuan relics of Amenhotep III at his nearby necropolis.

In time, we were joined by so many other aeronauts gliding along the thermals,

that it seemed like heavier traffic in the sky…

than on earth.

Our birds eye perspective brought us closer to the Theban Mountains,

with views of Medinet Habu,

the verdant fields of sugarcane,

and a volume of unfinished housing–a deliberate work-in-progress ploy by locals to avoid paying property tax on completed homes.

But mostly, flying high prepared us for the forthcoming sunrise…

that blossomed before our eyes.

A sight to behold!

Forty-five minutes of fly-time flew by, until it was time for our descent…

at which point the wranglers took over.

Just watching them wrestling with the deflated balloon and lines gave me an appetite.

Breakfast never tasted so good, although the requisite champagne that usually accompanies one’s flight certificate was absent.

Perhaps, the authorities reasoned that our afternoon visit to Dendera Temple in Qena would be best experienced sober.

Karnak Temple

Posted in Adventure, archeology, Architecture, Art, culture, Egyptology, History, landscape, Photography, travel, wanderlustTagged , , , , , 2 Comments

After 3 days in Cairo, Leah and I were on the move!

We boarded a chartered prop jet with our fellow river cruisers and flew to Luxor,

to greet the Viking Ra–currently tied up alongside the Nile’s east bank. Ra was to be our floating hotel through the following week.

After attending an obligatory safety briefing aboard Ra,

we were soon exploring Luxor and it’s ancient counterpart, Thebes–home to kings and queens from the Middle Kingdom (c. 2000–1700 BC) through the Ptolemaic Kingdom (305–30 BC)–spanning 15 centuries of rule, until Egypt surrendered to the Romans.

Our tour of Luxor began with a visit to the Karnak Temple Complex, encompassing 247 acres, and considered the largest religious structure ever built.

Ram-headed sphinxes (called criosphinx) adorn both sides of the avenue leading to the unfinished, first pylon to honor Amun-Ra, Egypt’s most powerful god and Thebe’s patron deity of the Great Temple of Karnak.

The criosphinxes continue inside the Ethiopian Courtyard (IX Dynasty)–each one cradling an erect statue of Ramses II (c. 1279-1213 BC) between its forelegs.

It flanks the entrance to the temple of Ramses III.

The most impressive feature of the temple of Amun-Ra is the Great Hypostyle Hall, a forest of 134 sandstone columns centered by 12 colossal columns soaring 69 feet,

which supports the remains of a stone roof enclosed by massive walls,

and features intricately carved relief sculptures and hieroglyphs of religious and historical significance…

to honor each of the 30 kings who once ruled the imperial city.

After 3300 years, the site remains substantially intact, yet benefits from painstaking restoration.

After listening to commentary from our onboard Egyptologist, Leah and I strolled the grounds of the ancient temple trying to imagine the enormity of its scope:

while realizing that 3 other sections–the Precinct of Mut, the Precinct of Montu, and the Temple of Amenhotep IV–are also part of Karnak, and still under excavation and reconstruction.

Next stop–Luxor Temple after dark.