Discoveries continue in Luxor, site of Thebes, capital of Upper Egypt’s Middle and New Kingdoms. Embarking on River Tosca, the busy waterfront, temple ruins, and reedy shorelines slip past dining room windows. Settled in a comfy cabin, the Nile lulls us asleep. Hearty breakfasts begin our days.
Mooring at Dendera, we’re shuttled to a temple dedicated to Hathor, goddess of love and fertility. Topmost capitals display her pretty cow-eared faces. Inside, 24 columns support a 20-metre-high ceiling. Gods, pharaohs, and hieroglyphs are inscribed on every surface.
“These immense ceremonial halls are called hypostyles,” explains Egyptologist guide, Ahmed. “Above us, Isis embraces rows of ceiling images. The vulture goddess protects temples as if they are divine nests.”
A staircase spirals to the rooftop. Elegantly horned, Hathor adorns one wall. Beside her stands ram headed Amun, her godly consort. “During love festivals, priests dressed their statues and placed them together in the corner atrium,” grins Ahmed. “Look at the deck’s interlocking tiles. They provide structural strength…exemplifying highly skilled masons.”
In a dark rooftop chamber, Ahmed’s flashlight focuses on the ceiling, “Here, Nut, goddess of the universe, curls her wings around the 12 zodiac signs. By observing the sun, astrologists also developed a 365-day calendar.” Downstairs, vivid gods and pharaohs decorate two chambers. And one exterior wall reveals Egypt’s last true pharaoh: Cleopatra with son Caesarea named after his father.
Next morning’s route parallels Luxor’s ancient road to Karnak. There, Ahmed interprets a model of this sacred compound. “Dedicated to Thebes’ patron deity, Amun, he’s embodied here as rams.”
A wide promenade ushers us between rows of noble rams and into a spacious courtyard. Stone figures of Ramses II front his temple. Passing through Karnak’s hypostyle, we pause to contemplate its mysterious symbols and beauty. Outside, two obelisks soar above honey-hued limestone structures. Like the earlier pyramids, once gold-capped obelisks were beacons for early travellers. Bas-reliefs on the hypostyle’s exterior portray Seti I and Ramses II battling enemies in Syria, Canaan, Lebanon, and Libya.
Directed inside a small chamber, we find a painted rendering of Alexander the Great wearing a pleated pharaoh kilt offering food to local gods. Our walk culminates beside Karnak’s Sacred Lake, gazing upon a granite scarab atop a pillar. This too represents Amun.
Later at Luxor Temple’s entrance, four gigantic figures of seated Ramses II indicate his role in building this temple. Inside, double rows of columns surround an exquisite sun courtyard evoking Amenhotep III, another creator. And along an open corridor, a charming marble sculpture identifies Luxor’s third builder, Tutankhamen, seated with his wife Ankhesenamun. As Luxor encompasses an early mosque and chapel, we suspect priests accommodated new faiths.
Next morning’s bus route skirts the Nile, crosses a bridge and continues through cane fields to the edge of the Sahara Desert… and Colossi of Memnon. Representing Amenhotep III, these huge sandstone statues once guarded gates to his enormous mortuary complex.
At Valley of the Kings, tickets admit us into three of 63 underground mausoleums built between 1500-1070 BC. Only Tutankhamen’s tomb contains a mummy. From each entrance, pictures of attending animal gods, funeral preparations and imagined heavenly journeys cover long descending tunnels. Ideograms of life, ankhs appear frequently alongside Anubis, guardian jackal, Thoth, scribes, ibis and baboon, Osiris, supervisor bull and Isis.
Knowing goddess Ma’at’s demand for rigorous structural symmetry and precision in temples, here she enacts supreme justice. Wearing ostrich plumes, she weighs each heart to determine who deserves an afterlife.
Hatshepsut’s sweeping two-level mortuary temple borders a nearby mountainside. Wide stairways ascend to upper chambers. Goateed statues of Hatshepsut line the open corridor, suggesting she ruled with the full authority of male pharaohs. “Her son-in-law nephew resented her reign,” says Ahmed. “So, following her death, Thutmose III removed her images throughout the Kingdom… and built his own temple on higher ground!”
At workshops, artisans sculpt alabaster, produce papyrus art and showcase Egypt’s esteemed cotton products. Such stops allow worthwhile shopping ventures. For our cat-sitter, we purchase papyrus emblazoned with Bastet, feline goddess, and protector of homes. A T-shirt sporting embroidered ‘eye of Horus’ proves a fitting souvenir.
Next morning’s outing begins in a granite quarry. Its enormous Unfinished Obelisk spurs thoughts of pharaohs’ challenges, accomplishments… and failures. Stopping next at Aswan High Dam, Ahmed describes King Farouk’s exile and President Naser’s success. His diplomacy swayed Russian support for the dam resulting in needed hydropower and irrigation. As Lake Naser’s waters rose, international aid helped relocate several threatened temples to higher islands. A boat takes us to one, the beautiful Philae Temple.
Familiar figures decorate stone surfaces. Yet profiles are softly rounded with protruding navels. Ahmed notes how Ptolemy’s Hellenic artists influenced this classic touch of realism. We learn Isis was hugely popular at Philae. Augustus Caesar created its enclosed Roman temple and dedicated it to Isis, reinforcing her importance to his imperial soldiers.
Our afternoon fills with a leisurely sail on the Nile in a felucca, followed by high tea on the terrace of the Old Cataract Hotel. These grand experiences recall Agatha Christie’s novel Death on the Nile and her stylish stay there.
Onboard, lounge entertainment varies from a dramatic whirling dervish to Nubians playing haunting music and performing folk dances. For the Nubians’ finale, lads wear zany horse costumes and clip-clop amid the audience, pausing to congenially nuzzle the willing!
Moored near our destination, a shoreline sidewalk takes us into Kom Ombo Temple and medical sanctuary. On one wall, pharaohs are depicted standing with acclaimed healing gods: falcon-headed Horus and crocodile-headed Sedak.
Recounting the New Kingdom’s advanced medical procedures, Ahmed points out a wall’s pictured surgical scalpels, drills, lancets, and balances for measuring precise dosages. Birthing techniques and treatments for mental patients are illustrated on columns. Noting a recurring hieroglyph, he tells us the familiar ‘eye of Horus’ represents both good health and truth.
A small site museum exhibits Sedak’s profiles on stone tablets, bronze statues of crocodiles and croc mummies. Sipping tea later in a Nubian home, we encounter a rare Nile crocodile. Their unusual pet lives in a courtyard barrel.
Docking at Esna, we stroll through old town. Steep stairs lead us down into the courtyard of a temple completed during Roman times and buried for centuries.
The façade features Esna temple’s principal god. Crocodile-headed Khnum faces lion-headed Menhit, Nubian war goddess and Ptolemy’s descendants. We learn these two pharaohs represent Egypt’s thirtieth and last dynasty.
The hypostyle’s interior is being restored. Vibrant lotus flowers top the capitals of its forest of columns. We learn hieroglyphs describe religious festivals and include depictions of ruling Roman Emperors interacting with Egyptian gods.
Docking again in Luxor, we attend Karnak’s evening lightshow. Winding through dimly lit ruins, pictures of eminent pharaoh are projected onto stonework. A dramatic voice outlines their triumphs in pushing Egypt’s boundaries into Nubia, the western Mediterranean, and east into modern-day Syria. Sitting on tiers above Karnak’s Sacred Lake, commentary and vivid projections continue acclaiming early Egyptians’ achievements and Thebe’s glory.
Guided through seven World Heritage Sites, we’ve gained insights into Egypt’s New and Middle Kingdoms. Enduring structures have conveyed the nature of intriguing gods, prominent pharaohs, and skilled artisans. We return home with a deeper appreciation of Egyptian imagination, determination, and intellect.
When You Go:
- www.uniworld.com Check out Nile cruise itineraries.
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