Day 3 – Monday, February 23: Morning Flight to Luxor, East Bank of Nile River: Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple
Today was our first full day, and it began with an early 5:30 a.m. wakeup, 6 a.m. breakfast and an early flight to Luxor. The 9 a.m. flight was only a little over an hour long. When we arrived we gathered our luggage and border our two buses. The weather in Luxor was perfect, with sunny skies and temps in the low 70s in the afternoon. Wha a great first day seeing ancient Egypt at its best!
Temple of Karnak
It took only 10 minutes from the airport to arrive at the Karnak Temple. It is really a massive complex of five temples. This temple was first built around 2100 BC (conventional dating). Many Pharaohs are honored here, including Thutmose III (who had 18 military victorious campaigns and took Megiddo in Israel), Seti I, Ramses II (who reigned 67 years and lived until 91 years of age). We also saw the many pylons, the Hypostyle Hall (built by Seti I, later refined by Ramses II, It consists of 134 columns), the obelisk of Hatshepsut (the largest one), the Sacred Lake, and the relief of Shoshenk. Most suggest he was one in the same as the Pharoah called “Shishak” in the Bible (I Kings 14:25-28, 2 Chronicles 12:3-9, although New/Revised Chronology would suggest Ramses III was the “Shiskak” in the biblical text). The tour of Karnak was incredible given the grandeur of this temple! What a great start!
Nile River Cruise Ship
Following our visit of Karnak, we bussed to our cruise ship for the next four days (the Sonesta Moon). First we enjoyed lunch no board before getting our room keys and enjoying a little rest time before leaving for the Luxor Temple.
“Today’s our first full day here in Egypt. We flew from Cairo to Luxor and enjoyed seeing two spectacular temples – Karnak and Luxor. We are already making biblical connections with ancient Egypt.”
Temple of Luxor at Dusk
We ended the day with an late afternoon visit to the Luxor Temple. This temple is primarily in honor of Ramses II, although built before him by Amenhotep III. Ramses II, one of the most famous of them all, was the great Egyptian pharaoh of the 13th century BC (1280s-1220s, conventional dating). To see this temple eliminated with lights at dusk was spectacular.
Before we drove back to our hotel, we stopped in at a local papyrus store. The ancient Egyptians made papyrus the same way! Once we returned to the boat, some enjoyed watching some Egyptian dancing (“whirling dervish”) before dinner at 8 p.m. It was a cultural experience!
Unfortunately we received word this evening that the western winds will not allow the hot-air balloon ride to take place. These winds have caused the balloon rides to be canceled for the last five days. 52 in the group were planning on doing it.
Day 4 – Tuesday, February 24: West Bank of Luxor, Valley of the Kings, Temples of Hatsephsut and Medinet Habu, Embark on Nile River Cruise
