You Can Keep Cairo ...

It’s early in the morning and I can hear the call to prayer from more than one Mosque.  I’ve found Egyptian paradise and its name is Luxor.  Sure, Cairo has the Great Pyramids and they are not to be missed.   Everyone should spend two days in Cairo, see the sights and move on.  Luxor deserves two months.  Everything is better.  Cairo is half the size of New York City and has twice the people.  It has the worst traffic and the worst smog I’ve ever seen.  Luxor has a small town feel. 

My Cairo guide wanted to sit in the shade, give her speech (uninterrupted) and tell me to go walk around and enjoy.  Mohammad, my Luxor guide, walked with purpose. His mission was to personally show me everything.  He’d stop while I’d take a picture, and then take me to a spot with a better angle.  He’d frequently take my camera from me; he took more pictures than me.  He knew how to get people out of the way in a pleasant but effective manner.  He’d push me to the front of lines, smile and talk with his friends, the gatekeepers, as I slid past the crowds waiting in the sun.  You want the best?  Mohammad is the best.

The West Bank of Luxor is famous for the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple and more.  After fighting through the 100 busses (we walked past 30 busses stacked three deep, I’m not exaggerating) at the Valley of the Kings and the crowds that came on them, we skipped the Valley of the Queens and went to the Tombs of Nobles.  The tourists on the two busses that were there went to the largest (and nearest) tomb.  We hiked up the hill.  It was just us and Mohammad’s friends, the guards, in the tombs we visited.  Photography is prohibited, so my pictures are, of course, from the Internet.  And if I happen to be in any of the pictures, that’s not real.  It’s, um, Photo Shop.

The call for prayer is over and I can hear the birds again … After my morning on the West Bank with Mohammad, I was exhausted.  I’ve pushed it hard these first few days.  We took a three hour lunch break (my Cairo guide skipped lunches) started over in the massive Karnak Temple and followed that up with the Luxor Temple.  Mohammad must have been pleased with my tip.  He suggested we meet up again in the evening at the Luxor Museum – something that was not part of my tour package.  For an additional $14, he gave me a two-hour private tour.   

It’s 5:30 am and the breakfast buffet is about to open.  I’m going to try to get this posted this morning too, and the Internet connections are in my hotel lobby.  It’s time to sign off.  I have another full day today starting with a three hour drive to Aswan.  My Egyptian Air flight was cancelled yesterday and we have to drive.  I will miss Luxor, but I shall return.  Someday, I shall return.