FELUCCA FRENZY ON THE NILE - Luxor East Bank, Egypt

.....our previous blog post about arriving in Egypt and our time in touristy Hurghada......

The majesty of Karnak Temple, Luxor

Luxor gave us energy from it's bustling streets and busy residents. The difference from the slower paced Hurghada was pronounced, and welcomed by us, somehow making us feel at home. The streets seemed slightly chaotic with honking minibuses and motorized tricycles, weaving bicycles and motorbikes, donkeys and carts, all set to the background noise of the call to prayers from the numerous mosques and the very loud voices many Egyptians have!

Setting up for the morning, Luxor East Bank

We settled into our Bob Marley themed hostel with it's friendly staff, and fantastically social roof top terrace. This was much more our scene than our fancy, but supremely comfy, digs in Hurghada. Our arrival coincided with the president Abdul Fattah el-Sisi's visit for the long awaited opening of the Avenue of the Sphinxes. While this was exciting for archaeological types, for us it meant that for a few days, many streets, shops and sights were closed, with an enormous police, military and security presence. 

Our Bob Marley-themed hostel, Luxor East Bank

These few days were quite happily spent chilling on the hostel rooftop, chatting with some real travellers, and catching up on much traveller news from around the globe- something we haven't been able to do in ages. 

Relaxing rooftop at our Luxor hostel

We did enjoy early morning walks, and exploring back streets, although the charm was more limited than our wonderful expeditions last year in Cairo. When the day got going, it was also exhausting to answer copious people asking about rides on caleche (horse and carriages), feluccas (sailboats), perfume shops, and what our names were. People were obviously used to foreigners around here after so many years of tourism, and were mostly very comfortable approaching us, which was welcoming, but also slightly wearisome after days of the same questions. We always tried to be polite and smiley, apart from when a shop or boat owner was being particularly pushy. After all, in an already poor country, the residents of tourism-reliant Egypt must have had a difficult past couple of years. We certainly loved the giant smiles on people's faces- particularly children as they giggled and waved at us.

An early morning wandering, Luxor East Bank

Spring onion seller, Luxor market

In our neighbourhood, Luxor East Bank

Back streets of Luxor East Bank

A proud butcher, Luxor

The Coniche was the main road that ran along the Nile, between the magnificent Luxor and Karnak Temples. A walk along involved politely refusing offers of a felucca boat, or a ferry crossing, or a trip to Banana Island, or a myriad of other offers literally every few steps. The further away from the town centre one walked, the more peaceful things became. 

Felucca on the Nile, Luxor

Having visited Luxor before, we didn't feel rushed to see all the sights immediately. The president's visit slowed things down, and the huge price hike for entrance fees had us choosing which sights we really felt an urge to revisit. 

Karnak Temple was a given. We remember the awesome feeling of grandeur at the place on our first visit, and dragged ourselves out of bed early one morning in order to walk to the temple and arrive at the 6am opening time. We were so glad we had made the effort, as not only was the light of the rising sun sublime, the were barely any other visitors there for at least the first hour. 

Nearly the first ones in the gate! Karnak Temple, Luxor East Bank

First rays of sun, Karnak Temple, Luxor East Bank

Karnak Temple is so huge and awe-inspiring, it is difficult to explain the scale, or indeed to take it all in when physically there. It had been added to, restored to and enlarged for 1500 years by many powerful pharaohs with varying ideas and styles, and all wanting to make their eternal mark. Most of what is left today is from the New Kingdom era (between 16th and 11th centuries BC- doesn't that blow your mind?!), and was the most important religious building of those times. Some older Middle Kingdom structures also remain further into the complex from as long ago as 1965 BC, and we found these to be in much worse shape and less decorative than other parts. 

Mixture of styles, Karnak Temple, Luxor East Bank

Pharaoh, Karnak Temple, Luxor East Bank

Goddess Hathor in the light, Karnak Temple, Luxor East Bank

Victorian-era graffiti, Karnak Temple, Luxor East Bank

Remains of once grandiose figures, Karnak Temple, Luxor East Bank

The main attraction as one entered was the magnificent Temple of Amun, the cult God of ancient Thebes represented by rows of ram-headed sphinxes. The standout monument was the astounding Hypostyle Hall. It's said the hall is big enough to contain both St Peter's in Rome and St Paul's Cathedral in London. Whether or not that is true, the space is truly colossal. The 134 papyrus shaped columns represented life, and many still retained ancient faded colours. They rose like giant trees in a forest, and pulled the eye upwards to the beautiful engravings and elaborate pinnacles. 

The view from the ground, Amun Temple, Karnak, Luxor 

Catching the sun, Amun Temple, Karnak, Luxor 

Great Hypostyle Hall, Amun Temple, Karnak, Luxor 

Detail at the top of the pillar, Amun Temple, Karnak, Luxor 

Ram-head lined entrance, Amun Temple, Karnak, Luxor 

As the tours and crowds started to arrive, we moved further out to lesser visited parts of the complex, which were pretty much deserted. We were particularly enchanted with the Temple of Khonsu, a beautiful, calm building with some clear engravings and tranquil feel. This was the place the son of God's Amun and Mut resided. We returned to the Amun Temple to sit and contemplate the beauty. For a while we watched tourist groups enter the main hall, listen to a two minute spiel from their guide, whilst simultaneously taking selfies, before being whisked away to another part of the temple, and then out the exit via the souvenir stalls. It's such a strange way to see things- we spent nearly four hours at Karnak, and revelled in every minute.

Diminutive baboon statue, Temple of Khonsu, Karnak, Luxor

Sublime glimpses, Temple of Khonsu, Karnak, Luxor

The God Amun, represented by a ram, Temple of Khonsu, Karnak, Luxor

Many faces of the Pharaoh's bearded prisoners,  Karnak Temple, Luxor

An unbelievable amount of inscribed stones just sitting about, Karnak Temple, Luxor

Lake with outlying off-limit temples, Karnak Temple, Luxor

Luxor souq was a busy street of clothes, kitchen ware, live chickens, fresh veggies and spices galore. We enjoyed the  feeling here, with good natured calling out to us and genuine greetings. 

Laid-back street seller, Luxor souq, Egypt

Cheeky little kid, Luxor souq, Egypt

Market stall, Luxor souq, Egypt

One strange thing that had thrown us at first in Egypt was the change of daylight hours. The sun rose around 6am, but disappeared before 5pm! It took a slight adjustment to our body clock in order to become used the change. The weather continued it's wonderful habit of hovering around 30 degrees during the blue-skyed days and cooling down to around ten at night. No fan needed. Perfect. Admittedly, we did check the weather in Belgrade from time to time, and the descent into a snowy winter convinced us (not that we needed it) that we had made the right move to leave in October.

Boats on the Nile, Luxor

Food and drink in Luxor was basic, but adequate. Once we had found a good cheap cafe we could hang out in and watch the street scene, and a fresh sugar cane/orange juice shop, as well as a few delicious food options, we were happy. We unknowingly stepped into a koshari joint on our the first day, and ended up with a delicious fresh lamb macaroni dish piping hot straight from the oven. Rich has a severe koshari aversion, after becoming violently sick on our first trip to Egypt after consuming the dish from an unhygienic place in the backstreets of Cairo. The meal, a mix of rice, lentils and chick peas is a national staple, but when it's left in a glass box in the sun for hours, as it was in this establishment, the results were less than ideal.

Lamb macaroni, Luxor

Happy at Karnak!

.......next, we cross the river to spend the two months of winter on the West Bank of the Nile......