Luxor, Egypt

Travel Dates: November 2022

A continuation of the Intrepid 8-Day Egypt Tour. Check out Part 1 with the start of the trip in Cairo here and Part 2 in Abu Simbel/Aswan here

Day 5: Karnak Temple

After breakfast, we went on the sundeck to enjoy the views as we sailed to Luxor. Passing through the Esna Locks was an interesting experience. The locks are used to help ships navigate through sections of the Nile with different water levels.

To make things more entertaining, there were also small merchant boats rowing aside our ship, selling souvenirs to passengers on the cruise. While they threw packaged shirts and towels onto our ship, I was perplexed how they expected to get paid since we weren’t stopping.

Lunch was served shortly before docking at Luxor. Afterwards, a bus took us to visit Karnak Temple, which is primarily dedicated to Amun (the king of all gods). This massive temple complex is unique because it was built and expanded by multiple pharaohs.

The most famous part of the temple is the Great Hypostyle Hall built by King Seti I, followed by the two obelisks from Queen Hatshepsut. There is also a Temple of Khonsu (hello Marvel fans), located on the far right of the complex. It was near closing time when we got to the Temple of Khonsu, and a guard spotted us since we were the only ones there. He tried to flag us down, but we walked away. This was probably going to be one of the instances where the guards try to get you to pay them, or give you a hard time so you end up having to bribe them to leave; be careful if you’re exploring by yourself. There was definitely more to see at the complex, but our time was limited. Doing some research is recommended before visiting so you can target specific sites at Karnak.

We ended our day with a farewell dinner for the last night on the cruise. There was a belly dancing performance along with Tanoura dance (Egyptian folk dance) prior to dinner.

Day 6: Valley of the Kings & Temple of Hatshepsut

There’s an optional activity (extra cost) for a hot air ballon ride over the Valley of the Kings at 4:30am. Otherwise, breakfast was at 7:30am and then we disembarked the ship.

Once on land, a bus took us to the Valley of the Kings where many pharaohs were buried. The general admissions ticket included visits to three tombs of our choosing, and a separate ticket for the tomb of Tutankhamun. There’s an option to buy an another ticket to visit an additional tomb, but we didn’t do this. The three tombs we visited were: Ramses IX (KV6), Ramses III (KV11), and Merenptah (KV8). Similar to Karnak Temple, it is recommended to research which tombs to visit before arriving. Note that cameras are not allowed unless you purchase a camera ticket (mobile phones are okay).

You’ll be primarily looking at the paintings on the walls of the tombs here because most tombs were raided years ago for their treasures. A few tombs still have the sarcophagus, but any mummies left were moved to the museums.

One exception is the tomb of Tutankhamun, arguably the most important tomb at the Valley of the Kings. In 1922, this was the only tomb found with all treasures still intact and untouched (they have since been moved to the Egyptian Museum). Because the tomb was buried under Ramses V & VI’s, grave robbers were unaware of the extra tomb below. Tutankhamun’s mummy and sarcophagus are preserved in the tomb for visitors to see.

The tombs of Ramses IX and Ramses III were also noteworthy because wall paintings in these tombs stayed the most intact compared to other tombs.

Afterwards, we stopped at an alabaster shop where you can haggle to purchase handmade statues, vases, etc.

Then we headed to the Temple of Hatshepsut (a mortuary temple). Hatshepsut’s story is noteworthy because she had herself crowned as pharaoh when pharaohs were traditionally male, and she was never in line to rule (her step-son was supposed to rule but was only 2 years old). In order to “justify her rights” to the throne, she created a mythological story about her birth as daughter to god Amun. Despite her power-hungry move, her reign was said to bring prosperity and peace to Egypt. After her death, her step-son stepped into power and tried to erase her from history, although clearly not successfully.

Colossi of Memnon was our next stop, though a quick one, to see the two massive seated statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. We then went to a local family’s house for a home-cooked meal before heading to our hotel, Sonesta St. George Hotel.

In the evening, Mohammad took us to Al-Sahaby Lane for dinner (not covered by the tour). Seated at the rooftop, we had a panoramic view of Luxor Temple and the Temple of Hatshepsut in the far distance. We ordered the mixed grill, shish kebab, camel stew, and Egyptian feteer–I definitely recommend the latter as it was delicious (it’s like a crispy pancake/pastry; they have savory or sweet versions). After dinner, we had a chance to walk around a marketplace right next to the restaurant.