During the hottest part of the day (108 degrees F.), we headed off the ship to Luxor temple. The temple is visible from where the ship is docked, but the entry is on the opposite side of the complex, so we had a short bus ride to get there. This temple is a much smaller one than Karnak temple, which is connected to Luxor temple by the avenue of the sphinxes. The sphinxes are in much better shape than the ones closer to Karnak temple. The downside to the visit was the extreme heat, but the upside was that there were hardly any other visitors at that time of day.

The exterior is adorned with multiple statues of Ramses II. Originally, there were two obelisks (obelii?) in front of the entry, but once was moved to France in 1832. Like the ceiling in the temple of Dendera, France refuses to return it to its rightful owner.

The obelisk weighs 180 tons and is made of one single piece red granite.

USAID provides $1 billion per year to Egypt as a result of the 1979 peace accord. Because of this, the funding should be safe from the current cuts to USAID.

There is a mosque in  the interior of the temple, which is only 850 years old; it is still active. We could hear the Muslim call to prayer during our visit.

Ramses II was a busy boy; he had 42 sons and 44 daughters. He lived to the ripe old age of 97 which was highly unusual for his time. His thirteenth son succeeded him as pharaoh because the first twelve died before their father did.

African and Asian featured people are represented on the walls leading towards the holy of holies. There are ovals that resemble a cartouche on the walls but are lacking the lines underneath that a cartouche must have.

Depicted is the god of fertility, who in this culture is male.

The wall shown is being reconstructed by archeologists from the University of Chicago. Outside of the main temple are the pieces remaining to be sorted and installed. Quite a job!

The paintings on the wall are from the 3^rd century AD. This is not a depiction of the Last Supper, as many believe. Rather, it is a group of military leaders looking at the four emperors of the Tetrarchy.

On one of the walls is  a depiction of Alexander the Great, who claimed to be son of Amun Ra.

We were given a little bit of free time to wander around. I took a few pictures of the avenue of the sphinx and headed back to the bus to cool off.

Before dinner, we were taken to a perfume shop. This shop created essential oils and blown glass bottles. The essential oils are created by being stored underground for 6 months and then steamed. They contain no chemicals and no alcohol. This was proved to us by the shopkeeper putting a lit match inside one of the bottles. We were given the opportunity to try out some different scents. Some were for perfumes; some were for health reasons.

The shopkeeper was able to tell us which essential oil blends mimicked which big name perfumes. So, for $25, one could get a 25 mL bottle of essential oil that would last from 3 to 5 years and smell the same as a very expensive perfume.

He had essential oils that would treat or cure any number of conditions. I have to give him credit; he was a very fine snake oil salesman! I know that some essential oils have practical uses, such as lavender, but I am highly skeptical that if I rubbed some oil on my hip, I wouldn’t have needed hip replacement surgery for my arthritis.

Many in the group purchased essential oils. I admit, I would’ve been more tempted if I typically wore perfume, but I don’t, so saved myself some money.

We returned to the boat in time for dinner. After dinner, we were treated to a belly dancer and whirling dervish performance in the lounge. I was amazed by the dervish; he twirled for a good 20 minutes! One of our tour group members gave it a whirl (so to speak); she got very dizzy very quickly. It was a lovely way to end the evening.

The following day, there was an optional tour to the Valley of the Kings, the Colossi of Memnon, and Queen Hatshepsut’s Tomb. As we had visited all of those places in 2016 and 2020, we opted to have a quiet morning on the ship, watching the sun rise over Luxor.

In the afternoon, we would be setting sail, so a perfect day to relax onboard.