Luxor........

…………was the beginning of the Nile Cruise for us and it is a perfect way to see Egypt. You are cocooned in the relative comfort of a floating hotel and can view the Nile as it’s been for thousands of years. Some hardy souls ‘do’ the Nile in ancient feluccas which look very romantic, but in temperatures of 45degrees, no loo’s and dodgy food, we decided prudence was the better part of valour. Our boat was very comfortable. The cabin staff did our room twice a day and each day folded our towels and extra blankets into hilarious ‘art works’.
Nobody was constantly asking us for money….. (tips were paid in a lump sum to be distributed at the end of the cruise……civilised!). We had trips each day to major sites along the way, accompanied by an Egyptologist, these were fantastic, but it was always good to come back to the air conditioned boat and a cold drink
Luxor depends on tourist trade and is rapidly resurrecting ancient sites – it is currently uncovering an 3 kilometre “Avenue of Sphinx” linking the temples of Luxor and Karnak. The avenue had been previously covered and subsequently built over. The down side of this is that the people living in the buildings along the site area were given no consultation and 2 days to clear out before the bulldozers demolished their homes with little or no compensation. The missing Sphinx in the Avenue have been commissioned to be rebuilt in China! ????????? What can you say………………