Luxor

Today we're going to Luxor and I do not mean that big black, shiny thing with the light on top, the one on the Vegas Strip, but its inspiration. The original Luxor.

This city in Upper (southern) Egypt has been labeled the "world's greatest open air museum," containing ruins of temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor within the modern city. Across the Nile, the West Bank Necropolis holds monuments, temples and tombs, including the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens.

We're driving to Luxor, checking into the hotel and cleaning up before a tour by calesche (horse drawn carriage). Later, we'll check out the sound and light show at Karnak Temple (a complex of pylons, temples, halls and sanctuaries from the middle kingdom till the Greek-Roman period).

A lifetime ago, when I was six or so, my family went to Mexico for Christmas. It's the first international trip I remember and maybe my only international trip for another decade or so when I went back with school. At the time of the first trip, I was young. I don't remember much - grape bubblegum, a kidney-shaped pool and pyramids.

The light and sound show at Uxmal haunted me for years. I never quite knew if it was a memory or a dream. It wasn't until I went back in high school that I realized that it was something real. A memory. A place I had been. Something I had seen and heard. I had no idea.

I'm a little older now. A lot older. I like to think that I'll remember the sound and light show in Luxor, but maybe I won't. Maybe that's why I'm writing it down. Only time will tell.


(Happy birthday, Autumn!)


Tag: Travel Luxor