Luxor - Tomb-Raiding and Temple-Gazing

Luxor. What can I say?

This place was heaven. I've wanted to come here since as long as I can remember, and here I was. Not as I imagined before I started planning this trip, but I was here nonetheless, and I was going to savour every minute of it.

The day started early - our plan was to try and avoid the worst of the sweltering Egyptian sun by visiting Thebes in the morning, then Karnak in the late afternoon. Hah. Even by 9:00 am, the sun was searing hot - the wind like air from a blast-furnace against our faces. We rode to the Collosi of Memnon, took our requisite bike pics, and then made a beeline for the Valley of the Kings. This amazing place - the necropolis of countless pharaohs from Egypt's New Kingdom period - including Amenhotep I, Ramses II, and Tutankamon, just to name some of the more famous ex-denizens. We traipsed around Al-Qurn, the residual pain in my knee all but forgotten. The entry ticket allows you to enter 3 royal tombs - we randomly chose Tuthmose IV, Ramses I, and Tuthmose III. The first of these was by far the most rewarding. Tuthmose IV had apparently died before his tomb could be completed - as such, the painting was only partially completed, and the pillars and walls rough-hewn in parts. But the depth, the extravagance, the measures employed by the engineers to discourage tomb-robbery were fascinating to say the least. We walked down 2 steep flights of stairs to a causeway built over a deep pit, and through a narrow (previously walled over) doorway in the far wall. The antechamber inside was beautiful - a deep blue sky, filled with golden stars, had been painted on the ceiling, and the walls were covered with images and heiroglyphics depicting the deceased king and the gods he would encounter in the afterworld. Down another flight and we were in a pillared hallway - a bit further and we were there. A massive sarcophagus, by far the largest I have ever seen, commanded centre stage at the far end of a second hall, its sides completely engraved with images of the pharaoh alongside gods and godesses. Isis and Nephthys, if I recall correctly. It was awesome to see this monolithic coffin in its intended context - stark, dim, and claustrophobic.

Our next stop was the tomb of Ramses I, which we reached via a long, broad flight of stairs. Not nearly as dramatic without the twist and turns of the first tomb, but the crypt was complete in this case, and the paintings were stunning. the air was hot and heavy, fairly smothering us as we trudged around the sarcophagus. Finally, we made our way to the tomb of Tuthmose III - the entrance was built high up on the side of the mountain, and was reached by a long steel staircase. We ascended it in the blistering heat of the midday sun, sweat stinging our eyes and pouring down our backs. The air from within the entranceway was stale, humid, and cloying, but we pressed on regardless. Similarly to that of Tuthmose IV, this tomb wound a winding course to the sarcophagus hall. Here, the walls were completely covered by hieroglyphics and images from the Book of the Dead - not an inch of wall space was left unadorned. They looked as if they were painted only a few days ago, so well preserved were the colours. I lingered here for many moments, braving the stifling, heavy air. The guard, noticing my interest, led me to a few of the side chambers (which were closed off and unlit, showing me the beautiful images embellishing their walls. These rooms would have kept many of the pharaohs treasures, which he would need in the afterlife, and the walls illustrated their usage. Finally, he showed me the inside of the sarcophagus - both the floor and ceiling were engraved with the image of the deceased pharaoh - the one on the bottom as he was in life, and the one on the lid as he would be in the life to come.

We left the Valley of the Kings, and headed off to visit some of the funerary temples nearby. The temples of Seti I and Ramses III were foremost on our list - the former was nearly intact, whilst the later has been famously depicted in many historical books on Egypt - Ramses III was by far the most extravagant of Egypt?s pharaohs. Indeed, his ruined temple still reflects its former majesty - massive colossal statues of the pharaoh lie in huge, awe-inspiring pieces about the massive forecourt.Unfortunately, the day was no longer young, and Karnak called from across the Nile. As such, we left the necropolis (without seeing the funerary temples of Hatshepsut and Amenhotep, unfortunately), ate a quick, but delicious lunch, and hopped aboard a boat for the short ride to the famous temple - the largest in all of Egypt. And what a sight it was. The complex was massive, and a good portion was relatively intact - the entrance façade, the stunning pillared hall, and many of the side rooms were well preserved over the vast chasm of time. The pillared hall was particularly impressive - I lingered long within the forest of massive, petrified trees as the sun began its laborious journey through the underworld. We closed the place down.

Luxor. What can I say?