October 14, 2008 – Safaga & Luxor, Egypt

Regent had a complimentary excursion for those of us sailing on the full cruise. We docked in Safaga, Egypt to visit Luxor and The Valley of the Kings. Those on just cruise segments had a complimentary day trip to the area or option to overnight for a charge at a different hotel from us. Most of the ship went and the planned 7:30 am departure was over an hour late due to the number of people and the filling of 15 or so busses. All the busses left at the same time in an armed police escorted convoy and each bus had a “police guard” on board. Tourism is Egypt’s second largest source of revenue after the Suez Canal and they don’t want terrorist interference. Because of security concerns, the 3 hour trip was made without a toilet stop. There were toilets in the busses, but the uneven road surface made using them a challenge. We arrived in Luxor more than an hour behind schedule so our visit to the Luxor Temple was cut a bit short. It was overcrowded with tourists and that made the visit less enjoyable than Petra. Also, our guide tended to go into such historical detail that we didn’t see all we could have (and we forgot most of what she said anyway.) We went to the Sonesta Hotel for a buffet lunch that had a good selection on Egyptian foods. We got back on the busses and went to The valley of the Kings where all of the pharaohs tombs are located. We visited only 3 of the tombs, including Ramses VI and Ramses IX, and we were highly impressed with the vivid colors still on the walls and ceilings. The rooms and walkways were heavily decorated with the hieroglyphics detailing the pharaohs’ lives and afterlives. We only had about 15 minutes in each tomb, but the views were spectacular.

We left the valley and stopped for a 15 minute photo op of the Hatshepsut Temple, a massive building of a series of grand terraces extending up a cliff, with rows of square granite columns blending in with the mountainside. Following that we made a short photo stop at the Colossi of Memnon which are two 75 foot high, 1000 ton statues of Amenhotep III. The faces were obliterated and the statues were in poor shape. Most of the statues in temples had the faces chiseled away by religions in later years who were afraid of the spirits represented by the statues. We then returned to the Sonesta to check in and refresh ourselves before our dinner event.

We joined 8 of our friends in the hotel bar for cocktails before boarding busses for the ½ hour journey to the Habu Temple. This was a special event for only those of us on the full cruise and about 80 of us attended the dinner. It was dark as we arrived, under a full moon, and we walked between rows of lit oil lamps and young men dressed in pharaohonic garb holding torches while music balred from speakers. Just inside the temple we were greeted with fruit juice cocktails to enjoy while we marveled at the views of the interior walls. Next we proceeded to the main hall, which had no roof, where tables of 8 were set for dinner. The temperature was very comfortable with a clear night sky of stars and the full moon above us. A classical trio played music for our dinner pleasure. The food had been prepared by the Sonesta hotel and served on their china. The waiters were dressed in clothing of the period of the temple’s heyday. The decorations were exquisite and we had a thoroughly enjoyable evening in that delightful location.