At about two o’clock at night, the engines are started and we start our journey upstream, back to Luxor. The noise wakes me and feeling fairly refreshed and discovering that the Internet is working again (albeit rather slowly) I do a bit on the computer. My cabin is now facing east and I watch the sun come up with the sliding window fully opened. At 7.15 I take breakfast.At 9.45am, we're back at Luxor and manoevre towards our mooring - a different one this time.
We’re scheduled to leave the boat at 10.30am for another visit to the West Bank. All the places of interest cluster fairly close together, a couple of kilometres inland from the village of Gezira. Gezira is on the bank of the Nile, directly opposite Luxor with a local ferry connecting the two. Our route by road is south from the boat, across the Nile on a fairly new bridge and north to Gezira along the main road which runs parallel to the El-Fadiya Canal. This time, we should visit the Tombs of the Nobles, Dier el-Medina (the site of the village used to house the workmen who constructed the tombs) and the Temple of Hatshepsut.
Our guide decides to take us first to the Temple of Hatshepsut. Set against cliffs on the west bank, on the opposite side of the ridge from the Valley of the Kings is Deir el-Bahri. The design of the temple is unique, which is fitting as it is the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, the only woman to rule Egypt as a pharaoh, around 1500 B.C. To overcome the prejudice that a pharaoh must be a man and force acceptance of her claim to power, she must have been a remarkable woman. The site exploits the massive limestone crags as an imposing backdrop and the building itself is limestone which glows white in the sun. The design is arranged in three beautifully-proportioned terraces, each with a colonnade featuring rectangular columns. Each colonnade is set back relative to the one below and long ramps connect the levels. From a distance, the effect is very modern – I was reminded somehow of United Nations buildings in Geneva. Closer, you can admire the statues and the stories relating to Hatshepsut’s life in painted murals and hieroglyphs covering every vertical surface. Access to inner parts of the temple is very restricted because of major conservation work in progress, in which a Polish organisation is involved. Because it is such an important site, there were a lot of visitors there. Pictures of the Temple of Hatshepsut.
In contrast, there were very few visitors at the area of the Tombs of the Nobles. These tombs were created by government ministers and similar. It’s necessary to park on the plain and then walk up a twisting dirt road which climbs the steep hillside and gives access to the tomb entrances. We visited the two best-known tombs – the Tomb of Rekmire and the Tomb of Sennofer.
The Tomb of Rekmire is level with the entrance and features a long passage leading to a carved false door with two side passages. Painted murals and heiroglyphs describe Rekmire’s life in government. Sennofer was Mayor of Thebes and beyond the entrance you descend a narrow, twisting tunnel by uneven steps cut into the rock until hyou reach the level of the interconnected burial chambers. Every inch of wall is covered with painted murals and hieroglyphs and the ceiling features painted grapes and vines since Sennofer was responsible for viticulture. Pictures of the Tombs of the Nobles.
Finally, we move on to Dier el-Medina, the Workmens' Village. This is where the craftsmen building the Valley of the Kings lived with their families. The walls of their houses still exist, to about waist level, so it's easy to get an idea of what it was like. I think there were 67 families, masons, painters and sculptors and there are 67 tombs, on a smaller scale than the Tombs of the Nobles but elaborately decorated with painted murals and hieroglyphs. Pictures of the Artisans' Dwellings and Tombs.
Then it was back to the boat for lunch and a bit of a rest before the evening trip to Luxor Temple. Well, not too much of a rest, because I'd arranged a visit to the Engine Room of 'Zahra' with the charming and helpful Ship's Engineer. Engine Room pictures.
In the evening, we went in our convoy of 'Sprinters' to the temple at Luxor. This large temple sits on the Corniche (the 'promenade' facing the Nile) near the middle of the city. It was still packed with visitors when we visited. Luxor Temple pictures.
By the time we returned to the boat, we were ready for dinner and, once again, the Chef delighted us with a splendid A La Carte menu.
[Additions 13-Mar-2009, 15-Mar-2009, 16-Apr-2009]
