Colors That Last

To me the most amazing part of the 3000 year old temples in Luxor was the vibrant colors that have lasted all of these years.

Temple for a Queen

The top floor of this exquisite ancient temple was oncee used as a Christian meeting place.

Tombs Below!

Luxor is famous for its Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens but it also has hundreds of tombs for the builders and officials of the time. Two weeks ago, the Egyptian government moved all of the people who lived in these homes and provided them with new houses. It is believed that more tombs are hidden below these houses and digging will begin once the houses are torn down.

Unified Egypt

This is an engraving that depicts the unification of north and south Egypt and the official beginning of the country that we today know as Egypt.

Bad Romans!

When the Romans conquered the Egyptians they decided to use the ancient Egyptian monuments and turn them into their own. This is a heartbreaking photo of Roman plastering and painting over heirogliphics that are over 3,000 years old.

Luxor Line-Up

The end of the Desert adventure is Luxor, the ancient capital of Egypt and with more ancient monuments than any city in Egypt. This is a photo of cruise ships lined up side by side, 5 or 6 deep at the Luxor dock. This is the way most tourists get to Luxor - aboard a cruise ship that travels south (up) the Nile.
Which reminds me - thank you Paul for telling me that there are more than 20 rivers that flow in a south to north direction - not just the Nile and St Charles River as I had previously written.

Sugar Cane Harvest

Such a Face

Camels 2 Go

Highway to Forever

Desert Art

Chapel From Early Coptic Chapel

Early Christian Cemetary

Near one of the Oases is a large Christian burial area from the first century AD, complete with the remains of a beautiful chapel. I didn't expect to find anything like it in the Western Egyptian desert.

Tea Time

At one of the Oases we stopped for tea and this kitty jumped into my lap. Notice my new white lucite ring given to me by a Bedouin widow as well as the red string that was given to me by a Rabbi in Jerusalem. I consider it a complete set.

Detailed Work in the Ghost Village

Restoring a Ghost Village

Mud bricks dry in the sun before being used to repair the walls of this ancient deserted village. We were the only people there and could easily have spent a week exploring it.

Ghost Village

An entire village from 100s of years ago contained wooden lintels over the doors, describing the past owners and the builders.

The Bedouin Connection

My guidebook states that if you want to see the most direct link to the people who lived at the time of the Pharoahs - you look at the Bedouins. They have maintained their 1000s of years of traditions including strict traditions concerning marriage.

View From Oasis Hotel - Egypt

Stop for Gas

The Desert Taking Back Its Own

The tiny shape of a guy on a motorbike can hardly be seen as the sandstorm tries to reclaim the land taken by the highway.

Lunar Landscape of the White Desert

The White Desert

It is often described as something out of Alice in Wonderland. The white shapes created by nature seem impossible and some actually look like animals.

Desert Visitors

For the entire 4 day trip through the Western Desert of Egypt we met only one other tour group - this jeep convoy of about 50 people. We also ran into a guide who was looking for a small group of people who had gone out into the desert on camels. He had temporarily lost contact with them, but no one seemed worried.

Yellow and Black Desert