Today we visited sights on the East Bank of the Nile river. These included the Temples of Karnak and Luxor. These are two of the best preserved and largest in all of Egypt. The photos don't really do it justice.
Karnak is actually a blend of temple, sanctuary, kiosks, obelisks and pylons. It took hundreds of years to complete and when finished was 1.5km x 800m (about 1 mile x 1/2 mile). Trying to describe the place has vexed travelers for centuries so I have pilfered a description by the 19th century writer Amelia Edwards who said "It is a place that has been much written about and often painted, but of which no writing and no art can convey more than a dwarfed and pallid impression. The scale is too vast; the effect too tremendous; the sense of one's own dumbness, and littleness, and incapacity, too complete and crushing." Ummm, well said!
Luxor Temple was no less breathtaking! It has a rich history that includes a time when the Romans added their own embellishment to it. There are places where a scim coat of plaster was put over the walls and Romanesque paintings were added. Much of this has come off, but there are still signs of this in some locations.
The two temples are located a few kilometers apart and were once connected by the 'Avenues of the Sphinxes'. Much of that has been destroyed, but there is a plan to restore this. Knowing how well things work in this country, it may be another millennium before this is finished.
Tomorrow we leave Luxor and head for Hurghada and some diving and snorkeling. It will be nice to be away from the desert and the crowds for a while. Hopefully it won't have as many hawkers and touts trying to separate us from our money:)
Until next time,
Eric
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