The Best of Luxor, Egypt

On September 27, 2018 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Egypt6 Comments

Luxor is certainly the highlight of any trip to Egypt and there are many wonderful ancient sites to visit. Luxor takes at least a couple of days to truly see and you should divide your time between the west and east banks of the Nile. It is a short flight from Cairo, although it can certainly be reached by bus or car if you prefer. There are plenty of hotel choices in Luxor, but because we were there to start our Nile River cruise, we stayed on board our ship. Out of our entire time in Egypt, many of our favorite memories came from our time in Luxor.

Karnak Temple – After the Great Pyramids in Cairo, this is probably one of the most visited and photographed places in Egypt. We visited both during the day and then again at night for one of the light and sound shows. Regardless of the time of day, it is an amazing location with so many sights to see. From statues, columns, obelisks, to the hieroglyphs and temple walls, it is a labyrinth of fascinating art and architecture.
Empty Tomb in the Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings – If you have watched any mummy movie or ever imagined yourself as an archeologist discovering an ancient site, walking through one of these ancient tombs is a memory that you will never forget. Even though all of the treasures have been removed and can be found in museums throughout the world, seeing where the pharaohs were buried centuries ago is worth the time.
Both of the Colossi of Memnon Statues
Hatshepsut Temple and the Colossi of Memnon – Although these are two separate sights, they are close enough to each other that we are combining them as one attraction. The sheer size of the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut is amazing to see and it is definitely different than most of the other temples that we visited in Egypt. As for the Colossi of Memnon, it will only take about a half an hour to visit, but seeing these enormous statues that face the Nile River is quite impressive.
King and Queen Together in the Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple – Although not as large as the Karnak Temple Complex, it should definitely be on your list of places to see while in Luxor. There is a road between the two temple complexes that is being reconstructed that will be absolutely amazing when complete. By the time you have visited a couple of the temple complexes, your head will be spinning with all of the historical, mythological, and cultural information that you will be told if you use an Egyptologist guide as we did.
Valley of the Kings from the River
Nile River Cruise – Taking a cruise from Luxor down to Aswan is an incredible experience that you will treasure forever. As you leave Luxor and start to head south, you will see the mountains that house the Valley of the Kings off of the banks of the Nile. It is also a great way to get out of the heat of the desert and travel in relaxing style.
Chiseling the Soft Stone
Alabaster Factories – Going to one of the many alabaster factories is certainly worthwhile, even if you don’t purchase anything. Just seeing the artisans who create unique works of art from the translucent stone makes it something that you should do while in Luxor.

There are many other sites to visit while in Luxor, such as the Valley of the Queens or the Luxor Museum, if you have the time. If your time is limited, though, we would certainly recommend that you at least visit these particular places.

Luxor Temple Complex in Egypt

On September 17, 2018 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Egypt6 Comments

The Luxor Temple Complex is certainly a highlight of any trip to Luxor, Egypt. Although, not as large as the Karnak Temple Complex, it is still quite impressive. One can only imagine what it must have been like 3000 years ago when both temples were in use and there was an avenue that connected the two complexes with statues of lions with different heads lining the entire road. Work is currently being done to restore the area between the two temples and it will be another amazing sight to see when visiting Luxor.

Unlike many of the other temples in Egypt, the Luxor Temple Complex is not dedicated to any specific god or specific king. Many of the pharaohs added temples to the complex, as with other temple complexes, including Amenhotep, Alexander, Ramesses II, and Tutankhamun. One interesting feature within the complex is the remains of a statue that was very much in the style of the Greek’s.

The entrance to the Luxor Temple Complex is quite dramatic with the sitting statues of Ramses II on either side. In addition to all of the statues, there were also two obelisks in the complex, one of which is still standing. Another interesting aspect to the Luxor Temple is that there is a working mosque on the temple grounds. It is an example of how the modern world and ancient sites can become merged over time.

With so many different sites to see in Luxor such as the Karnak Temple, Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Colossus of Memnon, and the Temple of Hatshepsut, it definitely takes at least a couple of days to visit. Even with all of these temples, tombs, statues, and historic sites, the Luxor Temple Complex is as important to see as these other sites.

Buying Alabaster in Luxor, Egypt

On September 13, 2018 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Egypt, Uncategorized5 Comments

One of the things that Luxor, and Egypt in general, is known for is alabaster and our guide made sure to take to one of the alabaster factories. At the factory, you can find two types of products, those that are machine-made and those that are hand-made. The differences are fairly obvious as the machine-made products are thinner, lighter, and don’t have tool markings on them while the hand-made are heavier and have distinct tool marks. Alabaster comes in three colors, dark green, tannish-yellow, and white. One of the reasons that alabaster is prized is due to its translucence and the effect of the light passing through the soft stone.

Before going into the store with all of the various products made out of alabaster, we were treated to a demonstration of how the artisans made vases from the stones. It is a three or four step process depending on the product being created. In the first step, the stone is chiseled into the basic shape of the design of the object being created. Next, if it is to be a vase or candle holder, a kind of drill is used to hollow out the stone. Afterwards, the outside of the stone is filed and sanded to make it completely smooth to the touch. Finally, if the artisan desires, images are carved into the surface such as hieroglyphs, scarabs, or an ankh.

Once the workers demonstrated the tools to us, it was our turn to take a turn chiseling and drilling into the alabaster. Although not complicated, it was actually tiring work, so one could only imagine spending a full day of shaping the alabaster. After spending time learning about the process, we went into the store to decide if we wanted to purchase any of the alabaster products. Having seen the process, we focused on those that were hand-made and eventually chose a couple of alabaster vases that we now put on display, lighting candles inside of them to show off their color and semi-transparency.

Going to an alabaster factory while in Egypt is definitely worthwhile and certainly a must if you are in Luxor. There is certainly nothing wrong with getting a machine-made alabaster product as they are uniformly shaped, extremely smooth, and sometimes allow more light to pass through. Every time we see our hand-made alabaster vases, we are reminded of our day in Luxor.