and they rise up to greet you

so, we are...home....

the first class cabin of Egypt Air was pretty cool I must say.  The seats were the full bed types

and The Lenster practiced being a sleeping Pharoah. Also...when they turned the lights out in the cabin the ceiling had twinkling "stars' that were so cool

it was ambiance to the fullest even if the food was just so-so!!

we are happy to be home now. My cold is still hanging in and we're tired and confused about the time but boy did we ever have the BEST trip. So...let's get back to it...

*******

those fabulous ruins and temples...

Luxor was once called Thebes

It is the City of a Thousand Names

and...they have a sense of humor there

however...we're doing history now....

These pix are in no particular order. I'm not out to give you the Weinberg abbreivated history lexicon all in one blog..you must go there for yourself....I just want you to see and experience a small portion of what we saw...

The signatures on this hieroplyphic is from the last persons who excavated there.

********

now, how did they get up so high...

...well, they made these piles of adobe brick (see below) and climbed up. They used mostly limestone, granite and sandstone to build their pilars and columns which they retrieved from stone quarries. They had great head smarts because they used NO mortar yet they managed to fit all those stones together.

 

The City is so indescrible because everything in it is so extraordinary. You are immediately drawn back into history the second you walk into it.

This is TUT and his wife. She needs to see a good plastic surgeon about that nose though !!

closeup on little statue between feet of bigger statue (on top photo)

columns show the varying architecture from different dynasties. A dynasty can also be thought of as the era in which a person & his family reigned. Sometimes it's called a house as in "House of Windsor".

There is an entire section dedicated to items that are currently being excavated. They are all carefully labeled.

we found one such gal doing a restorative project and she was painstakingly chisling and blowing away the dust

she said she'd been coming here to work every summer for the last 15 years. She lives in NY.

these were her tools

Islamic Water jugs

there were other workers as well

when a new Pharoah would come into power his tomb was immediately started.

The building of a Pharoahs tomb took his entire lifetime and so if he reigned a long time he probably had a big elaborate tomb.

 

the granite is clearly visable here (below).

Hey it matches my kitchen counter..think they might have let me take it home ???

This is the entrance into the Temple of Karnak

The reason TUT's tomb is famous is not because it was so big or elaborate but because it was the only one found intact...nothing had been robbed or removed.

Here are some shots taken on the Avenue of the Sphinxes

 

they plan to keep excavating here so the rows of Sphinxes can connect the grand temples of Luxor and Karnack to the east bank of the River Nile. Many are still buried under thousands of years of evolutionary sands.

and I freakin' stood here and touched them !!!!!

 

why do civilations collapse?  first we had the Egyptians. Then along came the Greeks. Egyptian civilation was 'primative' according to the Greeks. They felt they were the ones who had culture and they conquered.

then the Romans conquered, and eventually the Muslim faith spread through the Eastern world. Egypt today is mostly Muslim. Cairo is the capitol of Egypt and the word means "victorious".

During the time the Romans came they tried to erase the walls and decorate them with their own imagry

this was really historically fascinating to me.

as time has also taken much of that away....

lastly...for todays blog (yes..there will be more)

A live statue...yes..honestly...there he was...

and now..I am off to....

or was that Too Much Information......!!!!!

 

 

Comments

[Jane S]

Fabulous pictures and loved your perspective. The last shot made the LOL. Looks like you had a fabulous trip and made me want to see if for myself some day. Thanks. Jane

[Nikki]

Glad you are both home safe, loved all the pics and info you blogged.

[Glen]

WOW Suze...what a fabulous journey into the past. I always love to view your photos, you have so much to share and your memory is amazing to remember so much of your trip. The sunrise and sunsets were so beautiful. My father was born in Cairo and my grandfather is buried in Alexandria, so I do have some kind of connection. I went to Egypt and Israel via Cyprus back in 1992 and like you, the camel ride around the pyramids was awesome...like I was on a film set. I couldn't bring myself to crawl into a pyramid at Giza as I felt it would have been too claustrophobic but my husband went in and then the courier told us we had to leave the area to go for a photo shoot. I told her he wasn't out of the pyramid and she said we all had to leave and that he would be picked up by another coach! He didn't know that but thankfully, we drove back down to see if he was there and he was. Phew! *Ü* Thank you so much for sharing your photos and bringing back some wonderful memories. ~Glen~

[betty]

Thank you for sharing your incredible photos! What a great experience--and inspiration! (I suspect we'll see the influence in some of your projects.) Welcome home.

[Lee]

m so tired...fell asleep here!
WELCOME HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Susan Holton]

Thanks for sharing Suze...your photos are incredible - and awe inspiring. It's hard to wrap my brain around the thought of so many years ago....

[Sandi M]

Hope you feel well quickly. Thanks for sharing. It was like being in Luxor all over again. I loved that amazing place!

[Carol Hart]

Thank you so much for sharing your trip with all of us. I feel as though I've walked in your Toms!
Very educational as well. Amazing experience for you. Glad you made it home safely. Take care of that cold!

[Kathyk]

Glad to hear you made it home safely but sorry your cold is still hanging about - feel better soon.

Kathyk

[JoZarty]

Glad you are safely home and even happier that the holiday continues for us. I'm sure it will be with you for ever too. Wonderful episode! Thank you......
JoZarty x

[Nancy]

Welcome home. I am glad you extended your trip so I could see Luxor. Amazing!

Thanks for all of the photos, the next best thing to being there.

[Kathy Gledsdale]

Wonderful pictures Suze and I hope you had tissues with you for your last photo!

[Linda Cain]

Always amazing and so much fun. You teach and entertain. Thanks a million.
Linda

[ann]

loving the photos - Egypt is magical.