The long overdue post on the Eid alAdha Luxor-Aswan Nile Cruise!
Itinerary:
Friday, 27 November
- 2:30am: Depart Dokki for Cairo Internationl Airport
- 4:35am: Depart Cairo for Aswan on EgyptAir Flight 090
- 6am: Arrive Aswan Airport, Drive to Nile
- 7am: Check into Nile Cruise (boat M/S Domina Prestige Emilio)
- 8am: Visit Philae Temple & High Dam
- noon: Lunch on board
- 3pm: Navigation to Kom Ombo
- Dinner on board & overnight
Saturday, 28 November
- 8am: Visit the Kom Ombo Temple
- Navigation to Edfu
- Visit the Temple of Edfu
- Navigation to Luxor with passage through Esna Lock
- Dinner on board and overnight
Sunday, 29 November
- 8am: Visit West Bank (of Nile)
- Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple & Memnon
- Afternoon free on board
Monday, 30 November
- Visit the temples of Karnak
- Afternoon free in Luxor
- 6pm: Proceed to Luxor Airport
- 7:50pm: Depart Luxor on EgyptAir Flight 167 to Cairo
- 9:00pm: Arrive Cairo Airport, transfer to Dokki
Nile Cruise
On the Nile
Ancient Pharaonic Homes on Nile
Grazing Land on Nile (between Luxor and Aswan)
Karnak
Karnak comprises a vast conglomeration of ruined temples, chapels, pylons and other buildings, notably the Great Temple of Amen and a massive structure begun by Pharaoh Amenhotep III (ca. 1391-1351 BC). It is located near Luxor, some 500 km south of Cairo, in Egypt. The area around Karnak was the ancient Egyptian Ipet-isut (”The Most Selected of Places”).
A model of the Karnak Temple near Luxor
Amusement park status entrance to Karnak Temple
Entrance to Karnak
Dumbstruck tourists...
Pillar
If only the Pharaoh's had cranks...
Luxor Temple
A panoramic view of the interior of the Luxor temple, just inside the entrance. The mosque built over the ruins is on the left.
Luxor Temple (Inside)
Remains of a Church Mural from Christian Era of Egyptian History (Inside Luxor Temple)
View of Entrance from Inside Luxor Temple
Mosque in Luxor Temple
View of Mosque from Ground Floor of Luxor Temple
Mosque built on top of Luxor Temple
Minaret of (Luxor Mosque?), Street View
Outdoor Prayer Area
Remains of the Temple are quite visible from within the Mosque. The pillars of the Temple are essentially used as foundations of the Mosque.
Window looking down into the Temple
Mihrab carved into a pillar
To top off the awkwardness, images from the temple are preserved in a luminiscient case in the direction of the Qibla
Minaret
Outdoor Prayer Area
Left: Temple ruins, Right: Mosque window
Entrance of the Mosque (same level as street). The temple is actually a few hundred feet below the Mosque, which is built on top of the temple's pillars.
View of Temple from Mosque Above
Evening View