Upon arriving in luxor we were taken to the princes hotel. This was expected as even before I left my hotel in Aswan they were pushing it, on the way to the felucca from my hotel, then on the felucca, then on the bus and now in Luxor. They were cheap and probably were probably quite good but on principal alone i insisted they take me to my hotel of choice like they said they would. Two others were in the same position and it took some argument to finally get moving. Two of the people there even claimed to be from our chosen hotels (what are the odds of two different hotel owners being in the same hotel let alone the same two we wanted to go to) and that they were fully booked.
The hotel i was staying at had great views over Luxor temple and the avenues of the sphinxes. It would have had great views over the Nile and the west bank as well but a thick smog blanketed over everything. The sun even had a hard time shining through and you could easily see the outline if you looked at it. (I know I Know, you shouldn't stare at the sun).
On the East Bank i went to Luxor Temple right in the middle of town, the Museum and Karnak temple. All interesting.
But the West Bank was the draw card. The Valley of the Kings was worth the price but only just. I visited two of the more popular tombs, Rameses III and Thutmes III and the less visited tomb of Thutmes IV. Most of the tombs I wanted to see were disappointingly closed to the public. Tutankhamen's tomb was open but you needed an extra ticket and given the tomb was more popular for Recent history than anything else I gave it a miss. You couldn't take cameras into the tombs so you might want to see this sight.
The Valley of the Queens was also good but the tomb of Nefertari - the best one - was closed.
Between these I visited Deir al-Bahri, Deir Al-Medina and Medinat Habu.
The morning I left the smog cleared so I finally got those views over to the West Bank.
The hotel i was staying at had great views over Luxor temple and the avenues of the sphinxes. It would have had great views over the Nile and the west bank as well but a thick smog blanketed over everything. The sun even had a hard time shining through and you could easily see the outline if you looked at it. (I know I Know, you shouldn't stare at the sun).
On the East Bank i went to Luxor Temple right in the middle of town, the Museum and Karnak temple. All interesting.
But the West Bank was the draw card. The Valley of the Kings was worth the price but only just. I visited two of the more popular tombs, Rameses III and Thutmes III and the less visited tomb of Thutmes IV. Most of the tombs I wanted to see were disappointingly closed to the public. Tutankhamen's tomb was open but you needed an extra ticket and given the tomb was more popular for Recent history than anything else I gave it a miss. You couldn't take cameras into the tombs so you might want to see this sight.
The Valley of the Queens was also good but the tomb of Nefertari - the best one - was closed.
Between these I visited Deir al-Bahri, Deir Al-Medina and Medinat Habu.
The morning I left the smog cleared so I finally got those views over to the West Bank.
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