LUXOR (THEBES).
What an incredible day! Karnak was excellent, although overwhelming. My pictures of Sekhmet were superb, thank goodness. I will have to think how to display them. Perhaps a whole wall can be devoted to Egypt when we get home.
The day went on forever and we all began to flag by the time we reached Luxor temple.
This was somewhat of an anti-climax after the splendours of Karnak but the plan to re-connect the two across the three miles between them, should make an impressive entrance. For now the partial avenue of sphinx-like ram statues with a tiny Ramses (here again!) between the front legs is remarkable. The ram is the animal symbol of Amun.
Once again Ramses dominated this temple, from the remaining three (of six original) statues at the entrance, through to the scenes of his great battle with the Hittites which we had seen before at Abu Simbel.
It was interesting to see wall carvings of the Opet festival in action. Amun’s wife Mut and their son Khonsu made up another trio of gods; father mother and child, which is traditional here. Perhaps the common people could better relate to these distant gods if they were formed into families. The idea of parading statues, dressed in clothes and make-up, through the streets is peculiar to me but, on reflection, there are some religions that do this even today.
I think we must have been delayed in our tour schedule. It was hours since we had had breakfast and Alina was not the only one complaining of fatigue. She gets hypoglycemic if she goes too long between meals. Elaine was smart to cut the tour of Luxor short at this point and take us by bus to the Sheraton Hotel where we had lunch served to us immediately on arrival.
The quick glimpse of the hotel was a good start to our stay. We were welcomed at the entrance by a band playing local instruments and ushered through the two-storey marble foyer to a spacious terrace overlooking the circular hotel pool with the Nile visible beyond it. We sank down gratefully and were plied with food and drinks until we had to ask them to stop.
The thought of moving to our rooms was more than some of the group could contemplate.
Washrooms were near at hand and Alina and I just sat at our table admiring the views until we had recovered and the temperature had finally begun to cool. The staff left us in peace so it was quite late before we approached the reception desk and requested our keys. A charming young lady escorted us onto the elevator, along a quiet hallway and opened the door to our room.
The luggage was waiting (always a pleasant surprise when it has been out of our control for so many hours), but we strolled past it and straight out to the marble-floored balcony where we had a fabulous view of the Nile traffic and right over to the west bank where the hills had turned eraser pink in the afterglow of the sinking sun.
Honestly, our accommodations have been in all respects superior. When we had absorbed some of the amazing view and turned to thank the receptionist, we found the door closed, the air conditioning turned on and terrycloth robes spread out on the beds ready for us.
All this rejuvenated us completely and we hugged each other in delight.
Alina was anxious to shower, change, and look around the hotel, our home for the next week.
I agreed and let her go first while I caught up with my journal which I wrote while seated on the balcony watching the light change. I am more and more certain these notes will be invaluable for keeping track of our trip highlights.
The next day was an ‘at leisure day’ on the schedule. Elaine had arranged a list of choices for those who wished to venture out of the hotel grounds. A few people took the suggestions and set off after breakfast. Anna and Alina declined.
The Karnak restaurant had a buffet set-up, similar in style to The Old Cataract. They decided to take it easy for most of the day, and sampled fresh-squeezed orange juice, cereals with a variety of fruits, followed by delicious pastries and copious amounts of coffee which they drank from the carafe on their table until it was empty.
“You know, I think it’s a good thing we have perspired so much and been so active on this trip or else we would be unable to fit in our clothes by now.”
“That’s true!” Anna observed. “I don’t know about you, but my waistline has actually shrunk by some inches. I may have to buy a new leather belt in that great little shop we saw last night.”
“Now that is the worst excuse for spending money I have heard for some time!” laughed Alina. “But seriously, you should catch up with my spending. I am way ahead of you on that score so far.”
“Don’t worry! The trip’s not over yet! There could be some special objects at the Luxor Museum later this afternoon.”
“We’ll see! At least I won’t be tempted to buy more textiles there. I am warning you, Anna, no buying of stone artifacts is allowed. We would never get them home.”
Relaxed laughter drew a waiter to their table.
“Ladies, am I speaking with the party who are to meet Mr. Philip Purdy?”
“Oh yes!” replied Anna. “That’s us.”
“Would you be so kind as to inquire at the front desk where some mail awaits.”
“I will do that at once, thank you!”
Anna hoped no change to their plans had occurred while they were out of contact. She stopped by the desk on their way upstairs and sat on a leather sofa in the foyer to read the note aloud.
Looking forward to meeting you tonight at your hotel.
Delayed until 8:00pm unfortunately.
Have a good day.
Philip
“Well, short and sweet describes that information!”
“Do you want me to stay upstairs and leave you two to get re-acquainted on your own?”
“Heavens no, Alina! I will need all the support I can get. Philip is not an easy conversationalist at the best of times and he is a working architect here, who is bound to be tired out at the end of a day. Please come with me.”
“Whatever you wish, my dear. For now, let’s take care of some more mundane matters.
The sun will be full on our balcony by this hour and I think we could dry some clothing there, if we are discreet about it.”
“Excellent thinking! I need some choices for tonight and I am down to my last outfit at this point, I fear.”
“Right then! Washing, photographs and a light lunch before we visit the town. That’s the order of the day!”
“Yes! Oh trip guru! Let’s march ....... but slowly, please. I am awash in coffee!”
A taxi to the Luxor Museum, in the late afternoon, was accomplished very easily. The desk manager called one of a line of taxis to the front of the hotel and a note of their time and destination was made at the front gate where a guard stood on duty with a clipboard.
“Nice to know someone is aware of our movements,” stated Alina.
The driver introduced himself as Hassan, asked where they came from, and invited them to come to his village for tea, which they politely declined. Hassan volunteered to be their driver for the rest of the day, if they wished, and only if they were entirely satisfied with his service, of course.
He continued to talk rapidly, commenting favourably on Anna’s few words of Arabic, all the way into the main town so the women had no chance to look around them before they arrived at the entrance to the Luxor Museum.
“Very fine place, very fine!” was Hassan’s verdict as they paid the reasonable fare in Egyptian pounds.
“Hassan will wait for you, ladies?”
Anna could not see where on the busy Corniche street he would park but she asked him to return for them in two hours, which seemed to be agreeable to him.
Passing under tall palm trees, they approached a modern building with glass entrance doors but no other windows on the facade. As soon as they entered the doors, cooled air met them and a shop display of exquisite jewellery and well-crafted replica objects caught their attention.
Admission was expensive, but the foretaste of what was to come, as supplied by the shop’s high standards, promised a visit that would be well worth the price.
A sense of calm enfolded them. The lighting was subdued overall with concealed spotlights sending shafts of light down onto the exhibits. Each item was accorded space and emphasis, so that visitors could stand and stare, or read the information plaques without the sense of hurry that many museums instill with their noisy clatter of moving feet as a constant background.
The atmosphere was hushed. It was obvious that the displays were of the highest quality and the few visitors spoke seldom, and in low tones, to maintain that atmosphere of reverence.
Without consulting each other, Anna and Alina took different paths through the museum as their interest was piqued by exhibits.
Anna was drawn to the gilded cow’s head with extended black horns in a glass case. It came from the tomb of Tutankhamun. She was reminded of the many images of Hathor they had seen so far.
On the entrance level, were statues of pharaohs in polished granite of hues from pink to lightest grey. No chips or missing limbs here. These were the finest and best–preserved statues she had seen anywhere.
A rubber-padded ramp led up to the second level and a statue of a seated Sobek with a pharaoh by his side. The crocodile head was detailed and Anna smiled, remembering all she had learned about his fearful worship in Kom Ombo.
Funerary objects like coffins, jewels, amulets and tiny shabti servant figures were displayed, but it was the insight into daily life of ancient Egyptians that moved Anna the most.
Scribes, always seated on the floor with knees drawn up supporting papyrus and pen, seemed to epitomize their duty as ears and hands intended to record silently and never to speak or divulge the contents.
A beautifully-painted wooden carving of a man and woman smiling toward the visitor, but with arms and hands linked together, expressed human emotion in a way the more formal portraits of palace life could never do.
Scenes of hunting and fishing in the Nile were common but Anna found one with dancing girls in skimpy costumes and cones on top of their long black hair. Were these headdresses or some religious symbols?
Anna found a stone bench on the upper level and sat down, happy to rest and absorb the beauty around her. Nothing could be more different from the hot, dusty, exhausting temples she had explored on this tour. She sat silently, considering whether quality might be more important than quantity in life.
She must have dozed off for a moment.
Suddenly, Alina appeared by her side, shaking her shoulder and making signs that Anna should follow her at once. She was too dazed to protest and allowed Alina to lead her through another section of the museum and into a cafeteria where Alina began to speak hurriedly.
“Anna! Something extraordinary just happened! I know you won’t believe it so I took a dozen pictures when he wasn’t looking. I can hardly believe it myself. It’s the most unlikely thing you could imagine. Here! Look for yourself!”
Alina pushed her camera into Anna’s hands but she put it down on a table and grasped her friend’s hands firmly, saying, “What’s wrong? I have never seen you so agitated. Please calm down. Sit here and we’ll have a drink and you can tell me what happened.”
Alina took a deep breath and apologized. “I am sorry, Anna. This isn’t the way to introduce this tricky subject. I was just shocked.”
“Well, I am listening now. Sit here and I will bring us drinks and a snack. When we’ve had something to eat you can tell me what upset you so much.”
By the time Anna returned with tall glasses of lemonade and a fruit plate, Alina was much calmer. She began by setting the scene.
“I was reading the information about the reconstructed wall figures of Akhenaten’s era that had been assembled after they were found buried beneath a courtyard, when I saw a reflection in the glass just behind my shoulder. I moved over to let the man read and just glanced at him in passing. I thought there was something familiar but I couldn’t place him at first so I stood back and watched for a minute. He bent down to read, then he turned so that the light shone right on his face.” She hesitated before going on.
“Anna, it was Richard!”
“Richard? Richard who? Wait! You don’t mean that Richard? My ex-husband? Richard Mason? You are joking and it’s not at all funny, Alina. I am surprised at you!”
“You see, that’s what I thought your reaction would be and that’s why I took the pictures.
Go on, check them out for yourself.”
Anna shook her head in disbelief at this turn of events but she picked up the camera and flipped the switch to see the most recent photographs Alina had taken.
She chuckled out loud at the first three which were out of focus and obviously taken quickly, but the next two showed a man’s face in profile. Could it be her ex-husband? It had been years since she had seen him but it was impossible to imagine him here in Egypt. Impossible.
The man may have had some slight resemblance to Richard but that was all.
She dismissed the whole idea immediately and handed the camera back to Alina.
“Look, the lighting is dim in here and I don’t blame you for jumping to conclusions. It couldn’t be him, of course. Just forget about it. Egypt is beginning to affect us both and we haven’t even been to the Valley of the Kings’ tombs yet. Let’s walk along the Corniche for a few minutes. I think I saw a row of shops nearby. We’ll return here in time to get a ride back with Hassan.”
Alina was still convinced she had seen Richard but she did not want to contradict Anna’s logic.
They finished their snack before exiting the museum and their conversation turned to the safe topic of the superlative exhibits they had seen.
But Alina was still thinking about the pictures in her camera.
And Anna was wondering how it was that her past and her present were colliding in this most unlikely location in all the world. Nigel, Philip, and now the ghost of Richard had appeared.
What mystical influences did this ancient land bring to bear on its visitors?
She tossed a scarf around her shoulders and walked briskly along the sidewalk with a silent Alina in tow. Retail therapy was what she needed to clear her head of these fantasies. It was time to spend some money.