We had booked a sunrise balloon trip which meant to get up at 4.15 AM in the pitch dark. Chris was grumpy about the early start but was a good sport about it. Exactly on time, at 4:45 AM, we were picked up by a minibus driver who took us to a meeting point for all the balloon companies. We were transferred to another white minibus, where we joined our fellow passengers for the balloon ride. We got a safety briefing from our guide Waleed, had to sign waivers, got an intro of a videographer who was accompanying our group and finally set off once all had arrived.
We had three English, two Germans, and five Americans on our bus. Since there was no balloon ride on Friday, it seemed that everyone had been rescheduled for Saturday. Each person had to send a copy of their passport prior to the flight, and it was up to the Egyptian military to give the green light for the balloons to take off.
A convoy of about 50 white minibuses set off at exactly the same time, racing to their respective balloons at the airfield. There, the balloons were still flat on the ground, and each group was guided to their balloon.
The baskets can hold anywhere from 15 to 30 people. Ours was for 20, with five people assigned to each corner compartment of the balloon. The center was reserved for the pilot.
It was still pitch black and quite cold, so we even wore woolly hats and extra windproof jackets. Egypt in winter is chillier than one might expect, especially before the sun comes up. We felt a bit like a flock of sheep as our group (remember, you’re number 2!) was guided to our balloon. We couldn’t imagine what would happen if you got lost in this bustling place and had to find the right balloon.
The anticipation all around us was palpable. There were so many balloons and baskets being prepared at the same time, it looked like a busy bee hive. All startled when all of a sudden the big generator powered fans started to blow air into the empty lying balloon envelopes.
The noise was deafening, but the spectacle was incredible. Slowly, the flat hulls began to take shape as the burners were lit, pumping hot air into the expanding envelopes. The sound of the powerful burners igniting was like a hissing, fire-spitting dragon contest, briefly illuminating the surrounding area with wild dancing shadows cast all around.
In the dark the sight was mesmerizing. One by one the balloons righted themselves and the basket were filling up with people. We hopped into our basket into one corner with the three English folks.
Once everyone was settled in the basket, the ropes were loosened, the helping hands stepped back, and off we went, ascending into the sky as dawn slowly broke. We quickly gained altitude, and seeing over 50 balloons rise together within 20 minutes was a truly grand sight.
Esther was so glad we decided to take this ride; for her, it was undoubtedly the highlight of the trip. And even though Chris wasn’t particularly keen on getting up that early, he didn’t regret it one bit.
Up we went, and soon the Temple of Hatshepsut came into full view. After 15 minutes, the sun peeked over the horizon, bathing everything in a golden early morning light.
The Valley of the Nobles, with all its tombs, the Habu, Hatshepsut, and the Ramesseum, the fields, and the Nile—all illuminated by the soft light—made the 50 balloons above look like colorful dots in the sky. It was such a wonderful sight, hard to top.
Esther had never done a balloon ride and her fear of heights is well known. Nevertheless the solidity of the basket, the professionalism of the pilot, the smoothness of the ride and the breathtaking views put that fear to the back of her mind.
And once again, we were incredibly lucky. The wind from the previous day had blown away all the smog and haze that usually lingers near the ground, leaving the sky crystal clear.
Our pilot sometimes soared high, then descended again, always watching the movement of the other balloons to gauge the wind direction at different altitudes. Using this knowledge, he navigated us right back to our starting point. Fifty minutes later, we landed exactly where we had taken off.
Great navigation! Other balloons had to land in nearby fields or even farther away, like the one we had seen on Thursday morning next to the Habu Temple. The rule is that any damage done by a balloon landing to fields, crop or property needs to be paid for by the balloon operator company. That led to funny scenes we watched where a balloon could not make it on its own back to the air field but threatened to sink down in a nearby field. The respective balloon ground crew dashed madly to their balloon and from a few meters above a rope was let down. The ground crew grabbed the rope, and the pilot’s only task now was to keep the balloon high enough to clear the bushes and trees on the way back to the field. The crew pulled the balloon like a human tugboat, guiding it back to the airfield to avoid any damage that might need to be paid for. Farmers watched like hawks over their crops, carefully monitoring for any potential damage.
We finished our ride by seven AM. Most of the balloons had returned as well, and some were getting ready for a second flight with another group after the sunrise trip. Occasionally, there are even third trips, but by ten AM, everything is usually wrapped up.
Instead of being dropped off at our hotel, we asked our minibus driver to take us to the Habu Temple ticket office on the way back.
The temple opens at six AM but as by seven AM the ticket system had not been powered up ,we knew that we were the first ones today. We bought two tickets (credit card only these days!) and headed a short way down the road to the temple. We were literally the first ones entering that day.
The ticket office is a five-minute walk from the temple, and as we wandered through the fields, a man carrying freshly cut sugar cane crossed our path. After a brief conversation, he told us he owned a coffee shop next to the temple and invited us to stop by. This is something you’ll encounter frequently in Egypt: someone crossing your path and inviting you to their shop, restaurant, or their cousin’s factory, trying to sell you something. While it can be a bit annoying for unseasoned travelers, a polite “no, thank you,” or “lah, shukran” in Arabic, is usually accepted after being repeated a few times. Without exception, we were always wished well in the end. But in this case, since we hadn’t had any coffee or breakfast yet, we promised to drop by his place after the temple visit.
It felt like a privilege to have the entire temple to ourselves. To be able to study the different murals and engravings at leisure and for as long as one wanted. The heavy stone pillars supporting heavy stone blocks on top, thus forming a ceilings of solid rock over a portion of the temple.
A lot of the ceiling still had their original bright blue color with thousands of stars painted on them. The columns still had some of the red and blue stripes on them and the robes of the kings and queens as well as the gods and their wives were intricately painted in different colors and displaying fashion styles of former times that were painted, not engraved.
Here one could see probably the best display of how color was applied to the temples in ancient times. White plaster on the walls that was then engraved to give plasticity and painted all white. Then as a last step artists applied colors to each and everyone of the figures depicted. The temple must have been a display of vivid colors top to bottom, inside and outside.
Habu temple was built to be the memorial temple of Ramses III. The first pylon is the biggest and is like the gateway to splendor. Walking the steps slightly upwards the path opens into a wide square courtyard with large columns on each side supporting large roof blocks made of sandstone thus creating a colonnade on all four sides. Seven columns on the right were shaped like Ramses III.. Others were square, others round. The common people were only allowed in the first court yard to make their sacrifices and donations.
The king could observe his subjects through a hidden window on the left side, which led directly from his ceremonial palace living quarters to the temple. In the second courtyard, originally fully covered with a roof made of large stone blocks, only the nobles of the king’s entourage were allowed to enter. As for the holiest of holies—usually a small chamber with a granite altar and housing golden statues of the gods—only the pharaoh and the high priest were permitted to enter.
Unfortunately at Habu, the last hall and the holy chamber were in ruins and the stone columns taken to build other structures after. It must have been a majestic colonnade hall in ancient times.
Having gotten our fill of Habu temple after 1,5 hrs, we were on our way out when we saw the first tour busses arrive. Happy to have had our time, we kept our promise and had a coffee and delicious mango juice on top of the small cafe Belzoni Alaa El Din opposite the temple. As if on command, a few late balloons were drifting our way and made for some spectacular pictures with the ruins in the foreground.
This was our last day in Luxor. Being booked on an evening flight, we still had plenty of time. We decided to walk back to the hotel on foot. 50 minutes walking in the early morning through some villages and across some fields was very nice and relaxing and we felt good after so much eating the days before.
Back at the hotel by ten AM we just caught breakfast before it closed and then decided to make use of the hotels pool and late check out policy to have a lazy afternoon before our air port pick up at six PM. We packed our bags, put them in storage with the reception and lounged at the pool, which was way too cold to swim in. Nevertheless we soaked up some sun and by three PM we headed on foot to the River banks and had a late lunch/ early dinner at the Nile Freedom restaurant which serves delicious fresh fish for a small price. Sadly, it was also time to say goodbye to the horses, and to Agi and Mohammed, who took such great care of us and made us feel like longtime friends. We wish you all the best for your upcoming business plans, especially for the new place in the Siwa Oasis!
Instead of having the hotel organize our pickup for $30, we booked a ride through Booking.com for just $10. We were a little anxious about whether the driver would be on time or even find the hotel, but ten minutes before the scheduled time, we received a WhatsApp message (a very important tool here in Egypt!) from our driver—he was already waiting in front of the hotel. The driver, Moussa, had just bought a brand-new car— a generic Honda Civic sedan, which had cost him $40,000 here in Egypt. Interestingly, he had already driven one of the minibuses to the balloon rides earlier that morning. He hadn’t slept since, as he told us, and we were his last ride at five PM—followed by another balloon pickup the next morning.
As seems to be the norm here, our flight was delayed again by an hour. We finally landed in Cairo at eleven PM, waited for our luggage, and then endured a long drive to our hotel, which got us there only at 12:30 AM.
We just collapsed into our beds, as we had a full day planned for the next day in Cairo.
