Wednesday 9 January 2008
It’s our last night in Egypt – and to come full circle, we’ll see Luxor Temple. Remember the avenue of sphinxes at Karnak? Well, Karnak and this temple are at opposite ends of this gorgeous, fascinating avenue. At sunset, we stroll the short distance from our boat to the temple. It’s in the middle of town. Talk about living in history.
Two obelisks once stood in front of the pylon here at Luxor Temple. One you may have seen at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, where it has been since 1836. It’s an interesting temple, with depictions of Ramses II’s war with the Hittites (in present-day Turkey). There’s a twelfth century mosque at one corner of the temple – The Mosque of Abu al-Haggag. Even Alexander the Great shows up here, having created his own sanctuary in one of the antechambers.
That’s all I catch before I start to feel faint. Must have caught something. Most everyone does in Egypt. Also, a certain little person has had it with temples. The only thing to soothe her is to be carried on someone’s shoulders. Luckily, big sis is a good sport. Fortunately, this is happening right here in the middle of Luxor. It’s an easy place to return to, so I can get a closer look at what I might have missed.
It appears I’ve got a bit of a fever, so I forfeit the last dinner, the entertainment with whirling dervishes and all, and the farewells on board our little ship. Sad, but unavoidable. The girls do all those things without me. That, at least, is something.
Luxor Temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis.
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