Day 3

We took the morning easy today, getting up slowly and eating breakfast before going to Karnak. We spent into the afternoon wandering among some of the most impressive monuments here. In the Great Hypostyle Hall, huge pillars shaped as lotuses rose up from their bases. Each was engraved with hieroglyphics, and remaining spots of color suggest the entire hall was once covered in vibrant blues and reds. From there we turned right and went out into a field covered in old stones, as if they were being sorted through to rebuild. Then, a quite Egyptian man ushered us up some steps onto the roof of a temple. From there you could see the lay of Karnak. Our next stop was a quiet room behind a locked door with colors you couldn’t believe. The whole room was still vibrant with hue, in the best condition we have seen since being here.
We spent the rest of our time wandering around the now outdoor temples, and resting in the far corner on some cardboard. When we sat down, I wondered how many of the tourists at Karnak today would give no thought to sitting in a trashy corner to rest….maybe 50%? Then along came a fellow who pulled up a piece of cardboard.
After Karnak, we went to the Mummification museum, an expensive one-room trip that holds the tools of mummification, including the pincers for the brain. Mmm.
Walked to a restaurant we’d been to before for drinks (no food) and headed back to our hostel for a brief rest before we broke fast. As we were walking down the street of our hostel, a young man shouted down from a balcony “want to eat?” It was a small restaurant, with four tables. At a big one, three men sat with a beautiful meal, so we joined them for the Ramadan feast. Brown rice or lentil soup (Josh and I disagree), greek salad, rice with a cooked potato and tomato dish, and for Josh, a chicken leg. At the end, they told me it was 20 pounds for the two of us. For the record, 1 US dollar is 5.65 Egyptian pounds. So we paid approximately 4 US for this incredible meal. We spent the rest of the evening wandering around down by luxor temple, people watching and trying to avoid touts. Overall a beautiful evening.