Today we decided to visit Karnak Temple again during early morning hours as well as Luxor in daylight. We arrived at 8 AM and literally we were the first people there. What a treat to walk the temple with no other visitors there. Big difference from last time.
We strolled slowly through the different sections, discovering things we had overlooked the first time. Sitting down at the small cafe on the holy lake and just enjoying the view was a treat.
We must have missed the temple of Khonsu the first time as it was a bit apart from the main complex and so we explored that temple as well.
Everything in former times revolved around the Nile. We saw Nilometers, ancient water height indicators, predicing either a good harvest or meager harvest. Each temple was accessible by boat at that time. And once a year the Opet festival was celebrated when the god Amon, his wife Mut and their son Khons were celebrated with a procession on foot from the Karnak temple through the alley of Sphinxes to Luxor temple and back to Karnak by boat.
We did the first part of the journey and walked from Karnak to Luxor temples on foot as well along the alley of the Sphinxes. Many Sphinxes had fallen down, broken or were removed to some museum but towards Luxor temple an impressive number still remained and the alley continues to be restored to it‘s original splendor.
Luxor by daylight was also a treat as very few visitors were present and we could explore at leisure.
Last stop on the West side of Luxor was the souk, the local market. As so0n as we left the tourist market section, the real Luxor was showing its face. As expected, small streets were crowded with people doing their daily shopping, we bought some fresh dates and sampled some local cookies that we ended up buying.
Exotic smells everywhere and after so much walking we headed back to our hotel for a simple lunch and a nap before our next horse ride.
At three PM we mounted our horses. Esther got a nice little paint mare this time called Jazeera (Island), who used to pull carriages for tourists.
Chris got Ramses again, and later was allowed to try out Mohammeds beautiful chestnut stallion. We headed out through several villages and fields into the banana plantations. There we had lots of sandy paths where to gallop for long stretches.
We went around a wide circle and ended up on the river banks of the Nile. What a nice ride along the many fields on the river banks, seeing the people return from a days work with their water buffalos, donkey carts or herding goats and sheep who grazed on the river for the day. It was very peaceful and to our surprise we were heading to a nice sandy spot on the river bak and were greeted there by Agnes and some stable hands who had prepared a sundowner drink and fresh fruit for us.
We dismounted and enjoyed the refreshments while watching a spectacular sunset on the river.
Small boats were sailing behind us and a partially cloudy sky made the red and orange of the sky much more dramatic looking. Luckily we were only 20 min from home and so in twilight we found our way back.
For dinner, Agnes and Mohammed took us to a local fish restaurant where we enjoyed a very nice fish dinner, caught freshly from the Nile river.
