I've started leading excursions to Luxor for my countrymates. I had two days off in a row (normally only one per week), so I decided I'll explore a new city during this mini-vacation.
Bus tickets are sold on the day of travel. The bus was to leave 7am, so I had to fetch the ticket 6 am. I was in queue early to make sure I got the ticket. It was pitch-dark, and at 5:45 I was the first one - there wasn't anyone else even around. The bus left 7:30, and 4 hours later I arrived in Luxor. The scenery on the way was breathtaking: sandstone mountain peaks rising to 1,5 km on both sides, and endless plains of Eastern Sahara sand. Halfway to the town the landscape changed dramatically, as we reached one of the watering channels of the Nile: lush, green sugarcane, sesame and aubergine fields, donkeys pulling wooden carts, and farmers strolling in long calabeya dresses.
I hitched a horse and kitch-decorated carriage for 10 LE (1,5 euros) to reach my hotel. Warm sun felt blissful after freezing cold air-conditioning in the bus. I had been shivering the whole journey and loaded on all my winter wear: woollen socks, double-layer sports pants, scarf and wind-proof jacket. Egyptian buses are notorious for their effective air-conditioning, and this one had been no exception. After few days I was diagnozed with bronchitis, so no wonder I had felt sick.
I hadn't even finished checking in the hotel, when my phone rang. My agent called and wanted to finalise the arrangements for next morning's hot air balloon ride, the highlight and main purpose of my visit. Soon my local colleague was waiting for my downstairs with a car and chauffeur. We were on our way to animal hospital. We drove through the streets of Luxor, and my colleague was greetings ackquaintances and neighbors here and there from the open window.
The hospital housed donkeys (cute little white ones) and horses. The establishment in run by donations, and the services are free for the owners. The objective is to improve the conditions and treatment of the work animals. They are fed and cured, also operated on, if necessary. Anyone could bring his donkey and horse to be washed. The vets also visit surrounding villages to educate farmers and lead animal clinics.
Next I visited the Luxor temple. It used to be connected to Karnak temple with a 1,6 km long sfinx alley. Then I had the 5-o'clock tea in Winter Garden, the best hotel in town. When Tutankhamon's grave was discovered in the King's Valley by Howard Carter in 1922, the sensational press conference was held in this hotel. It is built in Victorian style and it features a large botanical garden, where I had my 5-o'clock tea.
After all this I felt quite sick, so I returned to my hotel room. I realized I needed some medicine, but I couldn't locate an open pharmacy. I later discovered that the were all closed because of the Coptic Christmas on Jan 7. I kept walking and looking, and eventually took a microbus downtown. I ended up in the bazaar area, and bought few beautiful hand-stiched pillow cases. I asked for a pharmacy, and one stall owner pointed to a dark alley. I said I was not going there, but he sent his 11-year-old son to go with me. After several turns in the sandy backstreets we arrived at pharmacy, and I got my cough drops.
Back in the hotel room I enjoyed from a long, hot bath. When I had left my apt, we didn't have much warm water in tap, just few drops, and my flatmate said while I was gone, there had been no hot water at all!! I went to sleep early, because the next morning I would be picked up 5:25 am for a hote air balloon ride.
A minivan whisked us to Nile river bank, where we got into little open-air boats. We had tea and cake, and crossed over to the Western bank. After another short journey on microbus we arrived on a field. Several hot air balloons towered above us, as the crews funneled hot air from gas bottles. The flames went high inside the balloons. The daylight was beginning to show.
We were given a short briefing on safety instructions. Then the 22 of us climbed into a large, wowen basket with several compartments. The ground crew let go of the basket, and in few minutes we were hundreds of meters high in the air.
The sun was beginning to rise, but there was a thick mist on the sugar cane field near the river bank. The scenery was magnificent. King's Valley as the backdrop, we first sailed towards Hatsepsut's terrace temple, dating 3400 years back, then towards the columns on Memnon, built around 1300 B.C. We then made a plunge in the sugar cane field so that we could touch the plants with our hands. The we took off to the sky again. The crew was letting out hot air from gas tanks every now and then, and they made whizzing noise. I was standing next to one of the gas bottles, and despite cool morning air it was warm. After 50 minutes of flying, the captain dropped down a long cord. The ground crew pulled us down and we landed on the same plot we had taken off. The landing was very smooth, and in no time the crew had emptied and packed the balloon away. We headed back to hotels, and as we said good-byes to the captain, we were given certificates for flying on one of the world's largest hot air balloons.
I went back to sleep after a lavish breakfast. Then I visited a one-room mummification museum, featuring mummies of a baby crocodile, a baboon and some birds. A driver took me to bus station outside the city. We still had extra time, so he drove me to nearby village and showed the countryside. Everything was green, because of the Nile watering channels. He said his friend lived nearby, and asked if I wanted to see his house. I was delighted to see how the locals lived. I was shown calves and goats on the back yard, and then we went on the roof. It was a place where corn was dried for poultry. I took my turn feeding them by throwing a handful down to chickens, ducks, pigeons, and one rabbit.
Then I was introduced to the couple who lived in the house. The wife showed me around their the 3-room house and gave me some freshly squeezed lemon to drink. Then we said good-byes, and they welcomed me back.
The bus arrived 30 minutes late, which already seemed to be a norm. This time we stopped on several cities on the way. After one hour several local men came onboard. One of them, wearing long grey dress and white turban had 12 men seeing him off. Each of them came inside the bus one by one and wished his a nice journey and kissed him goodbye on both cheeks as the local custom goes. I gathered he was going for a long journey, maybe even on pilgrimage, or that he was a man of significance. Six hours later I arrived back home, so many experiences richer than when I had left.
Bus tickets are sold on the day of travel. The bus was to leave 7am, so I had to fetch the ticket 6 am. I was in queue early to make sure I got the ticket. It was pitch-dark, and at 5:45 I was the first one - there wasn't anyone else even around. The bus left 7:30, and 4 hours later I arrived in Luxor. The scenery on the way was breathtaking: sandstone mountain peaks rising to 1,5 km on both sides, and endless plains of Eastern Sahara sand. Halfway to the town the landscape changed dramatically, as we reached one of the watering channels of the Nile: lush, green sugarcane, sesame and aubergine fields, donkeys pulling wooden carts, and farmers strolling in long calabeya dresses.
I hitched a horse and kitch-decorated carriage for 10 LE (1,5 euros) to reach my hotel. Warm sun felt blissful after freezing cold air-conditioning in the bus. I had been shivering the whole journey and loaded on all my winter wear: woollen socks, double-layer sports pants, scarf and wind-proof jacket. Egyptian buses are notorious for their effective air-conditioning, and this one had been no exception. After few days I was diagnozed with bronchitis, so no wonder I had felt sick.
I hadn't even finished checking in the hotel, when my phone rang. My agent called and wanted to finalise the arrangements for next morning's hot air balloon ride, the highlight and main purpose of my visit. Soon my local colleague was waiting for my downstairs with a car and chauffeur. We were on our way to animal hospital. We drove through the streets of Luxor, and my colleague was greetings ackquaintances and neighbors here and there from the open window.
The hospital housed donkeys (cute little white ones) and horses. The establishment in run by donations, and the services are free for the owners. The objective is to improve the conditions and treatment of the work animals. They are fed and cured, also operated on, if necessary. Anyone could bring his donkey and horse to be washed. The vets also visit surrounding villages to educate farmers and lead animal clinics.
Next I visited the Luxor temple. It used to be connected to Karnak temple with a 1,6 km long sfinx alley. Then I had the 5-o'clock tea in Winter Garden, the best hotel in town. When Tutankhamon's grave was discovered in the King's Valley by Howard Carter in 1922, the sensational press conference was held in this hotel. It is built in Victorian style and it features a large botanical garden, where I had my 5-o'clock tea.
After all this I felt quite sick, so I returned to my hotel room. I realized I needed some medicine, but I couldn't locate an open pharmacy. I later discovered that the were all closed because of the Coptic Christmas on Jan 7. I kept walking and looking, and eventually took a microbus downtown. I ended up in the bazaar area, and bought few beautiful hand-stiched pillow cases. I asked for a pharmacy, and one stall owner pointed to a dark alley. I said I was not going there, but he sent his 11-year-old son to go with me. After several turns in the sandy backstreets we arrived at pharmacy, and I got my cough drops.
Back in the hotel room I enjoyed from a long, hot bath. When I had left my apt, we didn't have much warm water in tap, just few drops, and my flatmate said while I was gone, there had been no hot water at all!! I went to sleep early, because the next morning I would be picked up 5:25 am for a hote air balloon ride.
A minivan whisked us to Nile river bank, where we got into little open-air boats. We had tea and cake, and crossed over to the Western bank. After another short journey on microbus we arrived on a field. Several hot air balloons towered above us, as the crews funneled hot air from gas bottles. The flames went high inside the balloons. The daylight was beginning to show.
We were given a short briefing on safety instructions. Then the 22 of us climbed into a large, wowen basket with several compartments. The ground crew let go of the basket, and in few minutes we were hundreds of meters high in the air.
The sun was beginning to rise, but there was a thick mist on the sugar cane field near the river bank. The scenery was magnificent. King's Valley as the backdrop, we first sailed towards Hatsepsut's terrace temple, dating 3400 years back, then towards the columns on Memnon, built around 1300 B.C. We then made a plunge in the sugar cane field so that we could touch the plants with our hands. The we took off to the sky again. The crew was letting out hot air from gas tanks every now and then, and they made whizzing noise. I was standing next to one of the gas bottles, and despite cool morning air it was warm. After 50 minutes of flying, the captain dropped down a long cord. The ground crew pulled us down and we landed on the same plot we had taken off. The landing was very smooth, and in no time the crew had emptied and packed the balloon away. We headed back to hotels, and as we said good-byes to the captain, we were given certificates for flying on one of the world's largest hot air balloons.
I went back to sleep after a lavish breakfast. Then I visited a one-room mummification museum, featuring mummies of a baby crocodile, a baboon and some birds. A driver took me to bus station outside the city. We still had extra time, so he drove me to nearby village and showed the countryside. Everything was green, because of the Nile watering channels. He said his friend lived nearby, and asked if I wanted to see his house. I was delighted to see how the locals lived. I was shown calves and goats on the back yard, and then we went on the roof. It was a place where corn was dried for poultry. I took my turn feeding them by throwing a handful down to chickens, ducks, pigeons, and one rabbit.
Then I was introduced to the couple who lived in the house. The wife showed me around their the 3-room house and gave me some freshly squeezed lemon to drink. Then we said good-byes, and they welcomed me back.
The bus arrived 30 minutes late, which already seemed to be a norm. This time we stopped on several cities on the way. After one hour several local men came onboard. One of them, wearing long grey dress and white turban had 12 men seeing him off. Each of them came inside the bus one by one and wished his a nice journey and kissed him goodbye on both cheeks as the local custom goes. I gathered he was going for a long journey, maybe even on pilgrimage, or that he was a man of significance. Six hours later I arrived back home, so many experiences richer than when I had left.
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