Travel Tips

The attractions of Luxor are on both sides of the Nile, the west bank is where the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens and Deir el Bahari Temple are located. The east bank (where the downtown Luxor is) has Luxor and Karnak temples. All are must-sees.

This Parthenon-like structure is Deir el Bahari Temple more popularly known as the temple of Queen Hatshepsut whose mummy was recently discovered and identified in another place. It reminded me of the Treasury wonder in Petra, Jordan that I saw a week earlier although that was of a smaller scale and was carved out of the mountainside rock.

On the way to the Valley of the Kings at the West Bank, you first get to see this pair of giant statues called the Colossi of Memnon which is said to mark the entrance to the Valley of the Kings -- the final resting place of the monarchs.

These stone figures appear to be sentries guarding the entrance to the temple. If you challenge them they might just whip you on the butt with the things they're holding.

When in the Cairo museum, you are not allowed to take a photo of any of the displays. I can understand such restriction when it comes to paintings that might be affected by camera flashes, but stone figures? But what we failed to shoot at Cairo, we more than made up for at Luxor. All the statues, columns, ruins, etc. that couldn't fit in a museum can be seen and touched on the very sites where they stood for centuries. Incredible, huh?

Asked why these statues typically have the left foot forward, our guide said that explanations vary but these may signify the pharaoh's balance, power or heart...if not all 3. Neat!

There's practically nothing to see in this arid landscape, but that's because the attractions are all underground. The admission ticket allows you entry into any 3 temples except for King Tut's where you pay an extra 50 LE. Photos or videos are absolutely banned into any of the crypts. The crypts are all the same: long and narrow corridors where the walls and ceilings are lined with hieroglyphs. The corridor ends in a chamber where the tomb or sarcophagus of the pharaoh were enshrined. Going in is like entering a sauna: it's warm enough as it is, it gets even warmer when a long line of slow-moving tourists are around. Believe me, you wouldn't want to spend more than 5-10 mins. inside these ovens.

Luxor and Karnak temples are 3 kms. from each other, but in ancient times the 2 were connected by a street that was lined by hundreds of these stone beasts. This has since been referred to as the "Avenue of the Sphinxes".

This hall inside Karnak temple has 134 monumental columns which depict the papyrus flower. They tower over you and you get this eerie feeling that they might topple and fall on you should a strong earthquake suddenly hit.

The street by the river has a wide and clean boardwalk where you can promenade and stroll especially in the evenings when it's cooler. You can view the many cruise ships docked along the banks, or take a ride on the horse-drawn carriages that pass by.