Egypt 2011

The Temple of Hatshepsut was built in the 15th century BC.  It’s built just west of Luxor, across the Nile, making it a very convenient trip from Luxor. Hatshepsut was a female Pharaoh; a rare accomplishment indeed. Hatshepsut’s story, as one could imagine with a female Pharaoh, is filled with intrigue. The temple has three levels above ground, with secret passageways rumored to be below it.   

The oldest parts of Philae date back to the fourth century BC. This temple complex was too close to the Nile, and flooded regularly, especially following construction of the low dam, which was completed in 1902. With the eminent completion of Lake Nasser in the 1960’s the entire complex was relocated to another island near Aswan. However, this is not at all obvious to the visitor.  

The Karnak temple complex is unique in that it was developed over nearly 2,000 years, with Pharaohs building larger and greater temples than their predecessors.  The complex is vast, spread out over 247 acres. Karnak is very close to Luxor, making a trip there very convenient. As the pictures demonstrate, it’s an excellent site to visit in the late afternoon.

Luxor temple dates back to 1400 BC. Somehow this survived being right in the city of Luxor. Excavation of the site started in 1884, and carried on for nearly 80 years.  Interestingly, some excavation work could not be completed due to the historical status of some of the buildings constructed on top of the temple’s ruins.  One of our pictures shows a mosque in such a position.  

Luxor feels like it’s just a small town, but a half-million people live year.  Once called “Thebes”, Luxor is more than 4,000 year old.  We highly recommend the Hilton, but given the amount of time since our visit, that comment should be tempered due to the passing of time.

Aswan is a bit too far from Luxor to make a day-trip of it.  Having said that, there is sufficient history and satisfactory accommodations to justify an overnight trip.