January 13, 2026

Luxor, Egypt > sail down the Nile to Edfu

This morning, we are starting at a more decent time, still early 06:30, but not as bad a 02:30. We get up and get ourselves going about 05:30. We are at breakfast in the dinning room at 06:00. They have machine made cappuccino which isn’t too bad, but better than nothing. It is a fairly good presentation with lots of choices. Actually somewhat surprising since the boat is only half full.

We are in the lobby/reception area at 06:30 and our guide is there to meet us. He wanted to get an early start to avoid the crowds, which make good sense to us, especially because the boat sails at 13:00. Today’s tour is about six hours and includes the highlights of the West Bank of the Nile. The Valleys of the Kings, Queens, Nobels and workers.

Our first stop is at the Colossi of Memnon. This is the entrance to Amenhotep III’s mortuary temple. The temple hasn’t been restored yet, but there are several statues standing in a row guarding the entrance. These statues are approximately 18 meters (60 feet) tall and each weigh over 720 tons. This is a very active archaeological site and much of it has just been available this past year. The guide pointed out that the government removed about 600 people from their homes so they could tare down the homes and get to the site. These statues are truly amazing and it is more amazing that they are covered from single blocks of quartzite sandstone which as transported over 600 kilometers from quarries near modern Cairo over 3,400 years ago.

The next stop was the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut. Just standing on the road leading up to the temple you are in awe. It is huge. Our guide pointed out that about 70% of the temple is original and thus 30% is a reconstruction. Following UNESCO, you can tell which is which, but the simple fact this place was built over 3,500 years ago is completely mind blowing.

The Temple of Hatshepsut is unlike all the temples we have seen so far. The design is more open and welcoming. Instead of starting with great pylons at the entrance the temple is built on an eastern facing hill, part way up the hill. When arriving you have no choice but to look up to the temple. There are three consecutive levels of open terraces as you walk up the steps to the temple. What was the function of these various levels and where there any buildings on them is still under investigation.

The temple has several more then life size statues of the god Osiris and Queen Hatshepsut, arranged in front of the columns of the second level. 3,500 plus year later you can see that the statues were once fully painted, in fact there are still traces of the bright colors today. Some of the statues are in excellent condition, demonstrating the elegance and beauty of the temple's design.

There are deeply carved reliefs on its walls depicting maritime expeditions sent by Queen Hatshepsut to the Land of Punt to trade for frankincense and myrrh.  The pharaohs offered incense to their gods to gain their favor, and many Egyptian pharaohs recorded this on stelas in their temples, depicting them offering sacrifices and incense to various deities. In addition to incense and myrrh, Hatshepsut's expeditions also brought back rare woods, trees, and animals not found in Egypt, as well as leopard skins worn by a specific class of the Egyptian priesthood. The Temple of Hatshepsut was built during the New Kingdom, in the eighteenth Dynasty, and was commissioned by Queen Hatshepsut, daughter of King Thutmose I.

Ok, where is the Land of Punt? The Land of Punt was an ancient, wealthy trading partner of Egypt, located in the southern Red Sea region, most likely encompassing the Horn of Africa (modern-day Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia) and potentially parts of southern Arabia (Yemen). While its precise location is debated, recent genetic studies on baboons from Egyptian tombs strongly suggest origins in the Horn of Africa, pointing towards Eritrea and Ethiopia as key areas, though the kingdom likely covered a broader area. 

Unfortunately, the remaining part of this blog was also lost. We did go to the Valleys of the Kings, Queens, nobles and workers. We did go into a couple different tombs. The colors inside the tombs are amazing. Photos wouldn’t give you any idea as to just how amazing they are. Mostly however they are just holes in the ground.

We also visited the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III or Medinet Habu as the complex is known. It is a large, well-preserved New Kingdom complex known as famous for its massive size, impressive architecture, and detailed reliefs depicting Ramesses III's military victories, especially against the Sea Peoples, serving both funerary and divine worship purposes. It features monumental gates (like the Syrian-style migdol), hypostyle halls, courtyards, and rich inscriptions, making it a significant site for understanding Ramesses III's reign and Egyptian temple architecture. The temple is just breath taking, especially when you consider it was built more than 3,000 years ago.

Buonanotte e ciao

Enrico e Maria