Luxor, Valley of the Kings

Thursday, February 17, 2011

A few lazy days in the apartment in Cairo after the excitement of the revolution was coming to an end and life in the city was returning to normal. The streets noisy and filled with traffic, honking, and exhaust. It was definitely time to move on with this adventure.

Some time at the beach in the Sinai sounded just right. 2:30 pm: Our bags packed, we head out into the afternoon din to make our way to the airport to catch our 5:00 pm flight. Taxi to the Metro, Metro to a station closer to the airport, taxi from that station to the airport. 4:30 pm: Gate is closed. We miss our flight.

Having no desire to venture back into the city, we look at the other possible flights. No more are going to the Sinai for the rest of the day, but we see that there is a flight to Luxor at 7:00 pm. Why the hell not?

Change the tickets, coffee in the airport for an hour, and we are off. One hour later, we are in Luxor next to the Valley of the Kings. We arranged a hotel and had a driver collect us from the airport.

"Welcome!" Along the way to the hotel, we learn that we are his first tourists since the start of the protests. "Fifty percent of the economy here in Luxor is tourism. Most people are happy about the change, but they need life to return to normal so that people will start to visit again."

"If you have not been working these last twenty days, what have you been doing with your time?"

"Hanging out with my friends everyday, playing dominos and smoking. Normally we don't smoke because we are working, only on special occasion, but we have nothing to do, so we smoke."

It was not exactly the answer I was expecting. I thought for sure at first he meant smoking sheesha, but he added, "Well, yes, but also other things…"

The Nile is beautiful at night. The lights along the banks reflected perfectly in the calm waters. We overtake lorries, donkey carts, scooters, and other vehicles. No one uses their headlights. A mystery I have not been able to find an answer for. We cross the river to the side that is more local, less lights, smaller buildings, quiet.

The salon of the Senmut Bread and Breakfast is full of family members of the proprietor. Hanin, about 5 years old and the eldest of the 3 daughters, smiles hugely and cocks her head from side to side looking at me inquisitively in that 5-year-old kind of way.

We are the only guests. They bring us tea and water, later we take a simple meal on the roof terrace overlooking the Nile, the lights and sounds of the East bank in a distant universe across the river. Senmut, the lover of queen Hatshepsut, built a temple in her honor to proclaim his love for her. Now this little temple bears his name…

…

The sun is hot in Upper Egypt. There are no tourists left here in Luxor. Our new friends have been forced to take a one-month vacation, so they build "illegally" on their own land. The government wanted to usurp their lands to sell to foreign investors and would not let them build. Here they are having a revolution of defiance. Everyone is building. Brick by brick, floor by floor, since the last two weeks.

It is a different revolution here in Luxor. They had only 2 days of protest. But the economy is suffering. Tourism makes up almost 90 percent of the economy here. We are the first tourists since people evacuated.

This is the final resting place of the Pharaohs. The Valley of the Kings. Home to amazing temples built to Ra, Queen Hatshepsut, and Hathor among others.

Yesterday I was gazing at the mummy of king Tut Ankh Aman. I sat beneath the lid of the sarcophagus of king Merenptah (the guide let us because there was no one else there. We stood in perfect silence. I could not get over the feeling that this must be what it is like in the afterlife…silence, ceiling covered in heirogliphic stars painted azure blue, with the goddess Nut to watch over your journey. Silently touching the relief of the body of a goddess carved carefully into granite, so heavy that it took 2000 years for someone to disturb you. Now, in normal days, the lines to visit are so thick, it is unbearable. Today, during a revolution to bring about a new Egypt, there is no one; we sit in the king's grave, absorbing the five pointed stars, Nut, Isis, Anubis.

Queen Hatshepsut's temple. Built into the mountain. A small temple dedicated to Hathor, my favorite, Goddess of birth and renewal, love, and music. She happened upon me suddenly. I have been in love with Hathor for many years but I did not understand the guide when he was explaining where we were going. All of a sudden, I am standing in the middle of pillars adorned with the pleasant face of Hathor. Carvings of her Mother Cow form on reliefs of the walls behind, the sun reaching its evening peak, silently she is calming the heart.

I am so tired. I did not sleep at all the night of our arrival. Now back at the hotel, I lay prone. There is a part of my back that is vibrating: as if the scarab that was inked there long ago has been awakened, pushing the sun towards the new dawn.

Day by day, this life is formulated. So many unknowns. There is no way to predict the future. One day I am meant to travel to Sinai, but here I am in Luxor. The Pharaohs are calling.

One day there is a dictator, 18 days later, there is no government, and others around the region are finding their voice. It may not overthrow all rulers, but it will produce change, and that is something that is a true sign of the times.

I think my mother's text to me last night puts it best:

"Solar flares & full moon & revolution. Fun love you."