20091219 – Esna to Luxor

We had some time this morning to walk around Esna – this time in the daylight. We started by walking through a dark, covered walkway past vendors’ stalls to the temple. We didn’t go in but we noticed that the pigeons were gone. (We learned from other tour members that the temple had some colorful frescos and the temple guide could not speak any English).

The side streets that we walked on were not paved. They were dusty and then muddy where they had been watered down. There was paper garbage and animal droppings everywhere. Most of the buildings were in very bad shape. There were dirty on the outside and some of them were leaning. The vendors were not very aggressive but they tried to lure us into their shops and coffee bars.

We walked away from the temple back to the street lining the river. It was paved but it also was covered with trash. Mustafa, a young boy, walked with us keeping up a constant chatter with words in several languages. He was neatly dressed and clean. He was obviously looking for a handout, but we didn’t give him anything. Suzie, one of our tour mates, slipped him some coins. He had lead her to the temple and back.

Our boat sailed at 9:00. We headed towards the double locks (two ships in each), waited our turn and got through at about 10:30. Then it was free sailing until we arrived in Luxor. Ann and I ate lunch on the deck today. The tables were set up so that the wind was blocked. This made it shirt sleeve and shorts temperature. We spent the afternoon relaxing.

We arrived in Luxor around 3:00 and docked next to four other boats. Walking through them to the dock, we caught our bus and made a very short drive to the Karmak Temple. We arrived there amid several hundred other tourists. This is the first time we have run into any crowds at the previous sites that we have visited. It was no problem for Samy, though. He was able to steer us through the temple and do an outstanding job describing the various points of interest. We were overawed with this temple especially the area with 134 columns.

Tonight was our last dinner on the river boat. Our special meal included prime rib followed by Baked Alaska. After dinner, we retired to the lounge where two of the crew performed twirling dances wearing elaborate skirt-like costumes. It reminded us of Whirling Dervishes in Turkey but with a showy flare and no religious significance.

We were now doing our preliminary packing before our departure from the boat tomorrow. We will be leaving very early for a hot-air balloon ride over Luxor and The Valley Of The Kings.