Over the MLK weekend, I flew to Luxor and was blown away by the ancient ruins I visited there. Luxor, by far, had the most spectacular preservation of ancient ruins I've EVER seen... and over the years, I have seen quite a bit. These beautiful ancient ruins of Luxor will be blogged separately, and hopefully I will do them justice. In Pharaonic times, Luxor, was the ancient city of Thebes and was the great capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom. (Pharaonic dynasties are broken down by Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms. For example, the Great Pyramid (oldest pyramid) in Giza was built during the Old Kingdom. The New Kingdom was made popular during the reign of Ramses (whose family adopted Moses) and Tutankhamun (King Tut) - recognizable kings of the last dynasty.The first thing I noticed about Luxor was how green and lush the surrounding countryside was and unlike Cairo, it was devoid of smog, pollution, and reckless congested traffic. A virtual oasis paradise.
I stayed at the Steigenberger Nile Palace Hotel; one of many beautiful hotels found along the Nile River. My accommodations exceeded my expectations, and I highly recommend it for anyone planning a trip to Luxor.
My room had a beautiful view of the courtyard below along with beautiful cascading bougainvillea hanging from the balcony, which made me think of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Various scenes of Luxor had the melding of new and old; rich and poor; and the wonderful city was its center stage.
There were plenty of markets that provided a host of handmade bounty. I quickly learned the word, "bikam", meaning "how much?" LoL. One of the popular items was the Egyptian Shisha (known in India as "Hookah"). While it has negative associations with smoking hash or opium, it is a common household item in Egypt for smoking herbal fruits or tobacco. I have heard that apricots and apples are pleasant to smoke. Who woulda thunk it?
One of the stops on my tour was at an "Alabaster Factory" or shop that makes handmade alabaster items, and then sold on the premises. As is the custom here, shop proprietors will expect you to haggle with them, hence they will mark up their items at least 50%, so they can sell their items at a handsome profit. Stay true to your final offer, and you will come out ahead.
On my last night in Luxor, I returned to my hotel too tired to eat out. I was grubby and exhausted from touring the ruins and wanted to eat in my hotel room. To my surprise, I was afforded a perfect courtyard view of the hotel's dinner entertainment below. For the next two hours, I was able to sit through a spectacular dinner show consisting of multiple costume changes that executed dance and music numbers from Western influenced styles to more traditional dances.
It was fantastic! I had a bird's eye view from the lofty seat of my small balcony terrace. And the best part was that I was able to enjoy the show in the comfort of my pajamas!!! It was the perfect ending to a perfect week-end.
