Driving up to Luxor from Aswan we stopped at a temple (I'm beginning to forget the names of all the temples, pharaohs, and gods). This is where we first started to see Roman and Christian influence on Egyptian art. Ancient Egyptians were known to be quite modest in their renditions; women were fully clothed and there were no allusions to sex. When the Romans appeared in Egypt, Egyptian art became more risque. Shown below is the first example I came across:
A new hieroglyph was made in the shape of a penis. The tour guide was too modest to tell me what it meant.
This marks the beginning of a new quest for me in Egypt...
I believe these pictures were taken in the Luxor temple (probably built for or taken by Ramesses II). I vaguely remember Haymen telling me that one God in particular was always shown with a boner. These penises are blackened from people touching them, now isn't that fun!
One of the coolest sites in Luxor was the recently discovered line of Sphinx. Under a neighborhood on the outskirts of Luxor, two lines of Sphinx were found leading to the temple. Ramesses II's face is supposed to be on all the Sphinx so it's said that he either had this road made for him or stole it from another Pharaoh.
The pictures are taken from either direction to show the length of this trail. I can't remember where it leads... maybe to Karnak.
What's a trip to Egypt in the summer without ice cream?! Kiefer, I took this picture for you because of your love for KitKats. Unfortunately the ice cream was not as delicious as the candy.
Because tourism is low in Egypt, we were upgraded to all the best available rooms in the best hotels. This picture shows the view from my room in Hotel Luxor, a lavish resort where the richest of people have stayed for nearly a century. The heroine in my aunt's novel has a suite named after her in the hotel... my aunt snuck some pictures of it.
This concludes our first day in Luxor. Ain't she purdy?!
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