Trip Report: Egypt, July 2012: Day 1 (Cont.), Luxor Temple

By the time I arrived in Luxor almost all of the historical sites were closed for the night, but Luxor Temple stays open later and it is lit.

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Luxor Temple is the ultimate add-on construction with a small central temple that was engulfed by a larger one and yet another and another.  Each new pharaoh would add a new and grander facade to embellish on the old.  Early Christians played a role by defacing the idols of the past and changing the central holy of holies into a church, and Muslims added a mosque.  Each generation has left its mark on the place and the history is rich.

Wikipedia does a good albeit brief job of documenting the history of the site.

To facilitate the trip, I was met at the airport by a local guide, Gerges Hasan and a driver from ToursbyLocals.com.  They were very appreciative of the business.  Tourism has dried up since the Arab Spring conflict a year and a half ago.  It was interesting to me that Gerges and others in Egypt refer to Arab Spring and the resulting conflict as “the Revolution”.   That is, this was a local event unique to Egypt, and not part of a larger, multinational movement.

Egyptian Temple converted by early Christians into a place of worship.

Baboon Guardians

Entrance to the Luxor Temple

I don’t want to point out Gerges views specifically, because I wouldn’t want to cause him harm should his views not match the current or future administrations of Egypt.  However, all the locals I spoke with were quick to voice their opinions about what happened in the Revolution and what will come to pass in the next few months.

Heavenly transportation: a boat for the Gods

Opinions about the situation tended to fall into two major camps, and distribution among those camps was mainly due to socioeconomic status.  The poorer and more downtrodden people (greater population) that I spoke to were strong supporters of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.  They spoke of the good things to come: a more even distribution of wealth, a greater voice, and freedom to say what they thought.  They also tended to be more militant and had a greater tendency to speak of violent means to force societal change.  The other camp spoke of a conspiracy by the US government and the Egyptian Supreme Military Council.  The story recounted independently by people in Cairo, in Luxor and Aswan was very similar.  Fearing civil war, the US and the Military Council rigged the election so that Morsi would receive just over half of the vote.  People told of letters mailed to people throughout the country stating that Morsi supporters has amassed weapons and would take to the streets in a violent revolution if he was not elected as the new president.  They were upset that Hilary Clinton was meeting with Morsi the next day, but seemed to trust that the Council would find a way to rule to the “middle” with help from the US.  In general, this second camp tended to express that a peaceful transition would take place enabling stabilization within the next year; however, some people were clearly scared by what they had seen from militia groups.  They had either been beaten, or seen others who had.  One example of a woman and her fiancé being beaten to death because she had not covered her face in public was of particular concern.  In any case the consensus from both groups was that a resolution would be in place by this time next year.  I am hoping that it will be peaceful.

I mention the Revolution here, because it was a theme throughout the trip.  Many things had changed for better or worse since the Revolution and the topic was top-of-mind for our hosts and for me.

Capitals are closed lotus blossoms

Column filled hypo style hall.

Capital is an open papyrus blossom.

Taking pictures at Luxor Temple was a great experience, but challenging.  The temple is grand in scale with many columns and tall walls in small spaces.  I used a wide-angle lens and tried to limit my use of flash to maximize contrast for the relief carvings with mixed results.  I also tried taking a few shots with a small point-and-shoot camera, but the images from the small camera were plagued by dots resembling water spots.  Gerges (the guide) said that the spots were the spirits of past pharaohs and kings, but I think it was due to refraction.

Ghosts of pharaohs past or refraction? You decide.

After touring the temple, Gerges and his driver dropped me off at the Sonesta Moon Goddess for a trip up the Nile to Aswan.  The boat was also the place where I met up with longtime friends.