[We have photos for this post, but our internet connection is so unstable that Blogspot times out before we can upload them. We're trying!]
Barely underway from Esna, the Sudan slowed to a near halt as it entered a lock in anticipation of being lowered 21 feet to continue on our way. Seeing opportunity, a fisherman passed us rowing his dory, making him first into the lock. We stood on the bow and watched the crew toss and secure lines while fishermen waved from quayside. Down and out the other end we went once the lock gate opened and resuming our glide down the river, we watched fishing boats, sailboats, villages and towns slip gracefully by for long lazy hours. Late afternoon on the sundeck, we noted an end to the string of sleepy villages and verdant palm shored islands. With a population of 250,000, Luxor (ancient Thebes) loomed, a metropolis that has grown up around the mammoth temple complexes of Karnak and Luxor. Leaving the boat for the corniche, I was afraid that the hustle-bustle of the city would diminish the Temple experience but that fear was quickly put to rest. If anything was going to feel overwhelming, it was these temple complexes. We were both awestruck.
Books on Karnak feature photos of the huge columns in the temple of Amun Ra, whose enormous hypostyle hall contains 134 colossal columns carved and decorated with remnants of original paint in the image of papyrus. It is reached by walking down an avenue of ram-headed sphinxes, the processional approach to the unfinished yet massive first pylon and that causes me to pause because of two points: everything is on a massive scale, and everything has been built and rebuilt over 1500 years. We see original mud brick ramps for the assembly of massive walls. We see obelisks, standing, fallen, and one on original blocks waiting to be moved. We see temples in their original form, or taken apart and rebuilt or sacked and left in ruin. The further in we go, the older the temples are and on the way we see a ceremonial sacred lake. Reaching the quiet of the easternmost Temple of Rameses II gives us a chance to ponder in the ancient Middle Kingdom temple while looking at the section made into a crude Christian chapel, representing an amazing chunk of history. Whether in very good condition or in ruin, whether original or rebuilt, this two-kilometer-square complex is jaw-dropping and way too big to absorb in one brief tour, which brings up another point; we had a tour guide. Voyageurs du Monde provided us with Eid, an English-speaking tour guide. Earlier excursions leading up to Luxor made it clear that for all his knowledge, his tour style was something of a forced march, so we went our own way to photograph in peace during those forays, reading the history while cruising. But thinking tactically here, we stuck to him like glue, gleaning and photographing what we could while knowing in advance, we'd come back. Dare say, it was a challenge what with the magnificence before us. We continued into the evening past sunset but most of the monuments were lit, and as individual columns were for the most part monumental, they too were individually lit. In the light of day or the black of night, this place is awe inspiring. The worst thing about it is trying to describe it without using words like "awesome," "massive," and "colossal," but everything about Karnak is beyond measure.
Barely underway from Esna, the Sudan slowed to a near halt as it entered a lock in anticipation of being lowered 21 feet to continue on our way. Seeing opportunity, a fisherman passed us rowing his dory, making him first into the lock. We stood on the bow and watched the crew toss and secure lines while fishermen waved from quayside. Down and out the other end we went once the lock gate opened and resuming our glide down the river, we watched fishing boats, sailboats, villages and towns slip gracefully by for long lazy hours. Late afternoon on the sundeck, we noted an end to the string of sleepy villages and verdant palm shored islands. With a population of 250,000, Luxor (ancient Thebes) loomed, a metropolis that has grown up around the mammoth temple complexes of Karnak and Luxor. Leaving the boat for the corniche, I was afraid that the hustle-bustle of the city would diminish the Temple experience but that fear was quickly put to rest. If anything was going to feel overwhelming, it was these temple complexes. We were both awestruck.
Books on Karnak feature photos of the huge columns in the temple of Amun Ra, whose enormous hypostyle hall contains 134 colossal columns carved and decorated with remnants of original paint in the image of papyrus. It is reached by walking down an avenue of ram-headed sphinxes, the processional approach to the unfinished yet massive first pylon and that causes me to pause because of two points: everything is on a massive scale, and everything has been built and rebuilt over 1500 years. We see original mud brick ramps for the assembly of massive walls. We see obelisks, standing, fallen, and one on original blocks waiting to be moved. We see temples in their original form, or taken apart and rebuilt or sacked and left in ruin. The further in we go, the older the temples are and on the way we see a ceremonial sacred lake. Reaching the quiet of the easternmost Temple of Rameses II gives us a chance to ponder in the ancient Middle Kingdom temple while looking at the section made into a crude Christian chapel, representing an amazing chunk of history. Whether in very good condition or in ruin, whether original or rebuilt, this two-kilometer-square complex is jaw-dropping and way too big to absorb in one brief tour, which brings up another point; we had a tour guide. Voyageurs du Monde provided us with Eid, an English-speaking tour guide. Earlier excursions leading up to Luxor made it clear that for all his knowledge, his tour style was something of a forced march, so we went our own way to photograph in peace during those forays, reading the history while cruising. But thinking tactically here, we stuck to him like glue, gleaning and photographing what we could while knowing in advance, we'd come back. Dare say, it was a challenge what with the magnificence before us. We continued into the evening past sunset but most of the monuments were lit, and as individual columns were for the most part monumental, they too were individually lit. In the light of day or the black of night, this place is awe inspiring. The worst thing about it is trying to describe it without using words like "awesome," "massive," and "colossal," but everything about Karnak is beyond measure.
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