Egypt Day 9

I said goodbye to Lynnell and John last night. I was very fortunate to have met them, and we've spent the last four days together. Great company. I appreciate their patience with my pace. I am definitely slowing down.

Yesterday was great, but long. According to my iPhone I walked 7.5 km, and climbed 22 flights of stairs, including some tricky ones.

This morning I started out by visiting the Luxor Temple. Hotel Nefertiti, where I am staying is right across the street from the temple. During the New Kingdom (1500 BC to 1000 BC) Karnak Temple was the largest temple in Egypt, and the world, 3 km away was the Luxor Temple. They were joined by an Avenue of Sphynxes. These statues lined the avenue, all the way.

During the summer Egyptians celebrated the Opet Festival . In this festival the gods Amun, Mut, and their son Khonsu were carried in a procession from Karnak to Luxor for a ritual rebirth.

Luxor temple was started long before the New Kingdom, and successive kings would add on their own structures.

Even Alexander the Great, and early Romans added to the temple.

So, to no ones surprise Ramses II and his accomplishments are the first thing you see. There were, originally, 6 of these huge solid granite statues of him in front of the temple.

I was there early in the morning, and it was very quiet and peaceful. The columns are immense, but not very graceful.

I have decided to spend one more night in Luxor. My plan was to take an overnight sleeper train to Cairo, but, after talking to Lynnell I changed my mind. When she went to buy their tickets they would only accept US dollars, so she had to change money. Also, because it's an all night train you don't get to see anything.

I checked with EgyptAir, and booked a flight for Friday morning. One and a half hours; and cheaper than the train.

I spent the afternoon walking around Luxor. Not a great thrill. I've been to a few cities in Jordan, and I was in Aswan, but the architecture is very pedestrian, nothing compared to walking in Barcelona, or any European city. There just isn't anything to see.

But the weather is nice, and I like my hotel; very clean, courteous staff, and a great shower.

Life is good.