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.
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.