Luxor, Day 1

It is election day in Cairo. On the way to the airport, I passed buildings with armed guards stationed around them behind barriers with slots with rifles pointing through And there were many of them. There are cops everywhere—often several per block. And the banks have chained barricades in front of them. Every bank machine I tried is broken, and all my American cash was stolen inn Marakesh, so I was counting on the machines at the airport working. Voila, money in my pocket and anxiety reduced.

I was worried because last night, reading my itinerary, I have a felling that all th e site seeing on route on the Nile is not paid for. I will find out in Luxor when I arrive and meet my guide there. I know that the cruise is paid for, but I suspect I will having to buy all the access trips to the sites along the way, so that is why I was keen to have some cash in my pocket. There will probably be cash machines on the boat or at the sites, but just to be safe, I wanted some cash now.

Driving to the airport allowed me to see some surprising things such as the sea of satellite dishes. Emanate hey are as numerous as starlings at home. Satellite dishes and air conditions and dirt—the dominant exterior decoration. And it is quite something to be sitting in the airport listening to calls for boarding for flights to Khartoum, Tripoli, Riyadh, Baghdad, Kuwait, Amman, Dubai etc.

Luxor.....

Tis being met is still amazing convenience to me, and once we are in the car, Luxor reveals itself to be lovely, and passing the temple to which I will return later, of course brought on the silent tears. Finally, to see, even in passing, the real thing, in situ, is just overwhelming. The driver says I am in for a very good trip because of the lack of tourists. He says we will have a quiet tranquil trip. I am sitting in the lounge. I am waiting to get my key to cabin 305.

Tis ship is very luxuries. There are little post-bath slippers and a nice robe, scales, a hair dryer (and you know how important that is for me), TV, water and coffee, a bath tub, nice. Beds,engraved wood interior—this ship is fully loaded.Internet is $5 for a half hour. Half of my windows open giving me fresh air and an immediate view. It is weird, it is not me to do t his, but I am stoked for this part of the trip.






Now I am in the sun on the roof. There are, only two other people here. Tere is a large wading pool and TINY deep pool and acres of upholstered lounge chairs—mostly in the shade and with the wind, it is cool. It is 17 degrees. In the sun, it is heaven. I love the solitude.



I have learned that lunch is at 1:00 and that at 2:30, Osama is coming to take me to the temple at Luxor. The couple just left; I am completely alone and loving that. Not even any staff who will likely be present most times serving stuff. I have also learned that Osama is coming with me in the cruise. Talk about overkill. So now I assume that I have paid for the sites so only a massive tip may be required instead of a lot of transportation and admission fees.

I just looked up, and maybe 500 meters away is the obelisk of Luxor Temple, and the north end of the temple itself, is maybe 150 meters from where I am sitting. It is 11:30 am, so I have an hour and a half to chill in luxury until lunch. I'll be back, acting the Temple and drying my eyes. Poor Osama has no idea he's going to have a basket case on his hands for five days.



(Above is directly cross the street from the dock.)

5:00 pm

Can you feel my bliss? To my left, is a glass wall through which I overlook the Nile at dusk. A blanket on my lap, a bath drawn and I discovered a fridge which is now stocked with diet coke. And, AND, I have just spent the afternoon at the Temples of Karnak and Luxor. Karnak is acres of what you see in one room in the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. My photos will say much more than I can with words.



Luxor is just beautiful. I am on the east bank and there is a long, lovely boardwalk along the river that I would love to use, but honestly, the touts make it so unpleasant that the bath, blanket, view, coke (and the soft fluffy terry towel robe) win. The food at lunch was abundant and fine—the squash and orange soup was really great and there was a fantastic assortment of breads.

This boat and this city and these sights could be my greatest travel experiences that I have ever had. I can touch the walls and feel the designs, and the scale, which cannot be captured in the photos, absolutely overwhelming. Whereas Greek and Roman historical sites are also overwhelming, the exoticism of Egyptian mythology and design, and their unparalleled iconic status in history, make them, for me, unimaginably powerful.

I wish I had more time, but the guide is on a schedule. His delivery is a study in disengagement. There is no eye contact. Osama is a tape recorder.

And again, the stunning lack of tourists is shocking. t lunch, I would say that the room was, perhaps, 15% full! And this is high season. I'm sorry, I can't remember what Osama said, but there are either 185 or 285 (and I think it is the latter; I just can't believe it), of these cruise ships on the Nile.

Luxor's population is about 1 million. Half work in agriculture; the other half work in tourism. It can reach 53 degrees here in summer. Tis afternoon it was 25. Today was one of the most fun days of my adult life.

I've been reading The Last Wilderness by Peter Matthiesson in an anthology of New Yorker travel writing. It was written in 1961; I thought it had been written in, perhaps, the 1930s. His epic journey is humbling and masterful writing. Reading it, makes sitting in this luxury seem obscene as a methodology of discovering a foreign culture. Chris the dilettante. But I'll say it agin—this is a FABULOUS experience! Made even better, I'm afraid, by the absence of tourists within the envelope of the tour. But on the street, there being no tourists, the touts are like flies on me and they make life, for me, intolerable.