Day 8 - Luxor, Egypt

Early this morning we flew to Luxor, where we were picked up by our guide. While it was still cool (i.e. less than 100 degrees), we visited the Temples of Karnak and the Temple of Luxor.

They were amazing. The temple complexes were huge, with one engineering feat after another. Both temples were built mainly by King Ramses II for the god Ammon-Ra, during the 19th dynasty of the New Kingdom (sometime around the 1300 B.C.) Hieroglyphics were everywhere, and even in some places, you could see traces of the original colors.

A highlight for me (the nerd that I am) was seeing what appeared to be the world’s first spreadsheet - a table of how many offerings to the Gods were required on certain days.


The statues below depicting Ramses II stand at the entrance to the Luxor Temple.


It was a good thing we finished the tour fairly early. Not only did we miss the hottest part of the day (110 degrees plus), but Brian also got inflicted with the “Pharaoh’s revenge.” We spent the rest of the day resting and recovering in our air conditioned room along the Nile.