Egpyt - Cairo & Luxor

2009 was the year of venture for me. The first trip was in April. We went to Egypt for our annual sales conference. Egypt was never on my travel radar but honestly, Egypt is fascinating and worth visiting. We started our trip from KL to Dubai, Cairo and Luxor.

We arrived Cairo in time for dinner. Immediately after dinner, we rushed over to Giza to watch the Pyramids Sound and Light Show. The Sphinx plays the role of storyteller, narrating the history of ancient Egypt. The show lasted for 50 minutes and was both informative and interesting but quite uncomfortable as it was cold in the dessert even in April. Ensure you bring warm colthings. The next morning, we went back to see the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx in daylight. It was a totally different experience, dusty and hot but worth the visit.

Shopping is a must and the place to visit is the Khan-el-Khalili Market. It is a 14th century Souq, made up of 900 stalls connected by tight alleyways where it is easy to get lost. The bazaar sells perfumes, jewelry, clothes, souvenirs, antiques and has an entire section devoted to spices. Like many markets of this sort, the prices are not set and you have to bargain your way down. Very stressful for me! There are lots of restaurant and cafes in the area for a cuppa, smoke a Shisha and watch people.

When in Cairo, another must see is the Egyptian Museum, situated at Tahrir square. It was built during the reign of Khedive Abbass Helmi II in 1897 and opened on November 15, 1902. It has 107 halls with sections housing Tutankhamon's treasures, pre-dynasty and old kingdom monuments, first intermediate period and middle kingdom monuments, modern kingdom, late period and the Greek and Roman periods, coins and papyrus, sarcophagi and scarabs. We did not have much time to spend in the museum and were advised by our guide to first see the objects of the early dynastic period at the main entrance of the museum. We then proceed clockwise direction until we reached the main entrance and then up the stairs to visit the Tut Ankh Amon collection in the northern and eastern galleries.


Another interesting place is the "City of the Dead". We passed by "City of the Dead" numerous times as we toured around town but we did not stop. Our guide told us that due to housing shortages, overpopulation and the rising cost of living, the cemeteries have become home to over millions of Egypt's urban poor. These people have turned the tombs of the dead into residences for the living. Creepy!

We continued our journey from Cairo to Luxor via an overnight train. Just before we arrive at Luxor, our cabin steward woke us up and served breakfast. Like many Malaysians going to foreign lands, we must have our "comfort food", instant noodles, brought all the way from Kuala Lumpur by our tour guides. After that, we will be ready for anything.

Luxor is commonly known as the world's largest open air museum. Our first stop in Luxor was a visit to the Luxor Temple, situated in the centre of town, built by the New Kingdom Pharaoh, Amenophis III. The entrance to Luxor Temple is flanked with two large statues of Ramses II and an obelisk at the side. Our guide told us that there is a matching obelisk, standing at the Place de Concorde in Paris, France. Luxor Temple was discovered by archaeologist Gaston Maspero in 1881, laid under a village. The village built on the site was moved but till today, the 14th century Abu al-Haggag Mosque was left intact as a reminder of how things changed over the century. There are many carvings in the pillar and walls of Luxor Temple and each tells a fascinating story. It is spectacular and can be visited in an hour.

Next was a stop at The Temple of Deir El-Bahri. Temple of the Northern monastery in Arabic, was built on limestone unlike most of the other funerary temples of the New Kingdom period which was built on sandstone. The Temple was built for the great Queen Hatshepsut (18th Dynasty) to commemorate her achievements and to serve as a funerary Temple for her as well as a sanctuary of the God, Amon Ra. Hatshepsut named her temple "Djeser Djeseru", a hieroglyphic expression meaning the Splendour of Splendours. The temple sits on a steep half-circle of cliffs on the west bank of the Nile River, guarding the entrance to the great Valley of the Kings. After her reign, Hapshetsut's temple was damaged; her cartouches and images were chiseled off some stone walls. In 1967, the Egyptian Antiquities Organization in coordination with a group of Egyptologists and restoration experts from Italy and Poland managed to restore the temple and opened it to the public. If you are visiting in the summer, like myself, best is to go in the morning when it is much cooler and remember to bring an umbrella, cap or hat as the heat can be scorching.

After visiting The Temple of Deir El-Bahri, we stop at a alabster shop. In front of the shop, workers were demonstrating the process on how vases were made using traditional hand craving techniques. Picture taking is free but sometimes, the workers will ask you for a small token in return for the photo shot or alabaster chipping as souvenirs. Here the prices are also not fixed and make sure you bargain to get the best deal.

We then adjourned to The Valley of the Kings, where pharaohs were buried and hoped to meet their Gods in the afterlife. Not all the tombs are open to the public in the Valley of the Kings. The queues for the more famous tombs can be quite long and standing under the hot sun, did not go down well with me. Once inside, it only takes less than 10 minutes to tour the tombs. Here's a tip. Check out which tombs are open and worth seeing before joining the queue. Since I only saw the tomb of Ramses IV, I decided to buy postcards of the tombs that our guide offered.

One can also visit The Valley of the Queens where the queens and their children were interred. Our guide told us that it is worth visiting Queen Nefetari's tomb at the Valley of the Queens but unfortunately we did not have enough time to do that.

On the way to the Valley of the Kings, we stop at The Collossi of Memmon. Two ruined giant statues, around 17m high stood at the entrance gate of the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III. Today, very little of the temple behind them remained. The legend behind their name is interesting. After an earthquake in 27 BC, part of the northern colossus collapsed and from then on, each morning at sunrise, the statue produced a strange musical sound. Early Greek and Roman tourists came to hear the sound and gave the statue the name "Memmon", a Trojan hero, the sons of Eos and Titan, who sang to his mother each morning at dawn. In reality, it was thought that the effect of the sun heating up the stone produced the sound. In the 3rd century AD, Septimus Severus attempted to repair the damaged northern statue and the mysterious "singing" was never heard again. The statue is always open and no ticket is required. There are many peddlers selling Egyptian stone paintings around the area. Remember to bargain if you have intention to buy.

We ended our unforgettable journey to Egypt with a visit to Karnak Temple. Karnak Temple's ancient name was Ipet-isut, meaning "The Most Select (Or Sacred) of Places". Although badly ruined, I believe no site in Egypt is more impressive than Karnak. Built along two axes (east-west and north-south), Karnak Temple represents the contribution of thirty different pharaohs and the combined achievement of many generations of ancient builders. It is reputed to be the largest ancient temple complex ever built by man.

An avenue of ram-headed sphinxes (a symbol of the god Amun) leads visitors towards the massive front of the first pylon. The first pylon, though unfinished, is still pretty impressive. It is not certain as to who built it but the remains of a mud brick ramp seen on the inner side of the pylon shows how the pylon was constructed. As we entered the second pylon, we saw the famous hypostyle hall. We were dwarfed by the 134 massive columns (12 of them are 21m high and the other 122 15m.) One could not help but be awed by the grandeur of the place. The hall is considered to be one of the world's greatest architectural masterpieces. Moving past the third pylon, we came to the older part of the temple. Between the third and fourth pylon, stands one of a pair of Tutmose I's obelisks and the bases of a pair belonging to Tutmose III. As we get closer to the sanctuary area, the original Temple of Amun, the pylons get smaller and closer together. To the south, is the Sacred Lake.

The buildings in Karnak Temple spanned over a long period in Egyptian history and can be confusing. Many visits are needed to get a brief idea of the temple as a whole and best seen with a local guide. There are Sound & Light Shows as well but I was told that it was not as good as the Great Pyramids Sound & Light Show and it is expensive (100LE) compared to the day entrance of 65LE.

So if you are planning a visit to Luxor, don't miss Karnak Temple. A well-worth visit.