LUXOR-THEBES

O and on eating- we were advised to not eat anything that wasn't hot and cooked. We could only drink bottled water and drinks.
Ok We took a plane to Luxor from Cairo and checked into the Sheriton Hotel overlooking the Nile. HOLY COW. the NICEST hotel I have ever been in! It was beautiful! as fun as it was to share a room with two friends, it would have been so much more fun to share it with someone else... So romantic. We had a balcony overlooking the nile- even pictures will not do the place justice.
We hit the valley of the kings in the first morning. I saw Ramses 9, Rames 4, Horemtep, and Tutenkamen's tombs. holy cow! it is unreal how well these places are preserved. The valley of the kings is incredibly narrow- all the tombs are literally next door neighbors. The tombs are hewn from the rock and many go hundreds of feet into the rock with all sorts of chambers, passageways and tombs. My favortie was Horemteps. He died unexpectedly, so his tomb was not completed before they had to seal it up. consequently, you can see the process they used to create the tomb and the hieroglyphs and the paintings. it was incredibly! It put personality into the dead culture. You could see the sketches on the walls, then the fine chiseling, etc. This process could be witnessed in room after room. The granite tomb inside is massive- well over 8 feet tall and 12-15 long. The wealth of this ancient nation is unfathomable, but in contrast, the poverty of the nation now is undescribable. sad! King Tut's tomb is really small, but his mummy is there! I saw king tut! he is very small- 4 foot somethin small. There were only 2 main rooms in his tomb but the wall hieroglyphics were vivid.
We next hit up the temple of Hatshepsut and the pit tomb 33 where the mummy containing the papyrus of Abraham wrapped around his chest, was probably found. We had a really intriguing mini-fireside there. From Hatshepsut's temple, the contrast between the fertile land of the nile and the sourrounding desert is apparent. You can literally walk 3 feet from lush to arid. No wonder the obsession with Nile life and fertility in the culture! The Nile basin and flood plain are GORGEOUS though. I didn't quite expect that, but is is the most fertile land on earth.
We got back in time to go out on the town!! Driving in Egypt is very different than anywhere else I have seen. Rome driving was insane, but now through in HUGE buses, donkeys, carriges, pedistrians, camels, street vendors.... ha it is comedic. We had to go out with at least one guy and good thing they told us that becuase it would have been a nightmare otherwise. The street vendors are desperate sharks who live dollar to dollar. It takes so much energy to enter a market, a shop, or even to walk down the street. Vendors will follow you for streets yelling in your face, saying lewd,rude, or hilarious thing, grabbing your arm, etc. Luxor was just as bad as cairo, which makes sense since 50% of the coutry's income is tourism, and the literacy rate is 49%. yikes. Little children swarm around Americans and beg for money with their beautiful eyes and scrawny arms. It breaks my heart! My friend gave one such little girl a granola bar. She looked at it, then threw it on the ground and held her hand out for money instead. This country has serious problems.
One night in luxor, we crammed 8 of us into a little horse drawn carriage and headed for a market. we were taken on quite the ride! How do millions of people not die every year from traffic problems?? No idea.
We also saw Karnak and Luxor temples- the number one thing I was looking forward to. These 4000 year old structures are massive. detailed. preserved. AWESOME. Sorry my descriptions are lacking a bit... i will add pictures that will help!