GETTING
AROUND LUXOR
Bob Skinner
Valley of the Kings Tourist Transport circa 1998
Like
fishermen, we all have tales of lost photo opportunities suffered because
of whatever havocs Murphy's law is dispensing at the moment. My photo regret
in Egypt was not having my camera ready when passing a Gas Station with two
customers: a man filling up his car with gasoline and another "filling"
up his donkey with water, one of those perfect juxtapositions of ancient and
modern.
Car, donkey--it's amazing how many different types of transportation are available to visitors, starting, of course, with the Ancient Egyptians’ favorite from of locomotion: walking. This remains the most effective way of seeing much of the wonders that Egypt has to offer.
Expanding to four legged transportation, the modern tourist can choose from camels, donkeys, and horses. Each is useful in its own way for exploring the desert, although you will almost always be accompanied by a local. In spite of the popular association of camels and Ancient Egypt, these animals weren't known before the Ptolemaic period. Donkeys, however, were common, as were donkey caravans. Horses were known from fairly early on, becoming more prevalent after the Hyksos introduced chariots. The Ancient Egyptians didn't seem to favor horseback riding, perhaps, as the Oxford Dictionary of Ancient Egypt suggests, these equines were considered a "less dignified mode of transportation."
You don’t see many tourists on bicycles, but it is possible to rent them in larger towns. Much more common are cars, taxis, vans, mini-buses, and coaches, in almost all cases driven by Egyptians rather than tourists. Combining wheels with animals yields the caleche—a horse drawn carriage. Good for getting around town in cities such as Luxor, Aswan, and Edfu, but otherwise, not of much value to the intrepid tourist.
Moving
from land to water, depictions of boats are found throughout Egyptian history,
even in pre-dynastic art. Choices today range from large cruise ships down
to ferries and even smaller motor boats. Ubiquitous from Cairo to Aswan are
the single mast sail boats called feluccas. Making their return to the Nile
are dahabiyehs (not to be confused with galibeyas which are robes), a standard
form of tourist transportation in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Watercraft
almost always serve to move you from one place to another as opposed to being
the primary way of visiting a site. This wasn't always the case. Before the
High Dam at Aswan, many tourist sites would be flooded annually, some becoming
inaccessible by land. Today, only a few monuments on the typical tourist agenda
require a boat to visit: the Temple of Philae is the most important. You will
also need a boat to visit Elephantine Island in Aswan. Further south are several
sites on Lake Nasser, including the fort at Qasr Ibrim which is closed to
tourists although you can see it from your cruise ship. (And while the most
common way of getting to Abu Simbel is by bus from the airport, arriving by
boat is incomparable.)
Finally
there is air transport, a form of conveyance presumably unavailable to Ancient
Egyptians. Almost all tourists arrive in Egypt via commercial airplane but
this isn’t a satisfactory way of seeing the sights. In my Baker’s
dozen of commercial flights, I’ve glimpsed a few seconds of the pyramids,
Abu Simbel, and a couple of hazy views of Luxor Temple and Karnak.
Fortunately,
commercial airliners aren’t the only option. In Luxor, you can choose
from hot air balloons or seaplane. Regardless of which one you choose, any
doubts you have about "Egypt being the gift of the Nile," will disappear
when you experience the incredible demarcation of cultivated areas from desert
will convert you into a believer. An aerial vantage point also clarifies the
relationship between the many sites on the tourists agenda, particularly the
location of the Valley of the Kings, Nobles, and Queens, and Deir el-Bahri.
Although a touristic staple of many parts of the world, hot air balloons didn't make their first appearance in Luxor until Kent Week's Theban Mapping Project brought them over from California's Napa Valley in 1982. And, as far as I know, they still aren't available to tourists in other parts of Egypt. (You would think that hot air balloon rides over the Giza Plateau would be a big money maker, but perhaps they tried it, and the balloons kept puncturing themselves on the pyramidions.)
In their early days, the Luxor balloons weren't available to tourists, and photography, even for Egyptological purposes, was restricted. Later, companies such as the Hod Hod Soliman Balloon Company, Virgin's Balloons over Egypt, and Magic Horizon Balloons brought the experience to the masses. In May 2000, my wife and I sampled the Hod-Hod Soliman Balloon Adventure. The day began at 5:20am with a pickup by boat from the Sheraton Luxor hotel. Accompanying us were about a dozen or so Australian twenty-somethings. Arriving on the West side of the Nile, our party was taken by motor bus to a field near the Statues of Memnon. Even though the balloon ride lasted an hour, we were back at our hotel for breakfast by 8am! The balloon ride was enjoyable, but would have been more so if Hod-Hod hadn't jammed so many of us in the basket. Fortunately, the pilot rotated the balloon frequently so we could all have good views.
Balloons offer several advantages over the seaplane option. You will linger over sites. Except for the sounds of the wind and the occasional firing of the burners, the quiet adds to the "other worldly" nature of the experience. The downside is that you are truely at the mercy of the "sweet breath of the north wind." We spent a disproportionate amount of time floating over parts of the desert of interest only to geologists. Late risers (no pun intended) should note that balloon flights are scheduled in the early morning when the winds are most propitious. Landings can also be a bit rough. A word of advice if you book a balloon flight: bring a hat. We thought this was the usual "avoid sunstroke" advice. As native Texans we were used to the Sun and weren't about to wear "no stink'in hats." Turns out that the heat to be avoided is from the balloon's burners. Whether you are Texan, Australian or even Egyptian--bring something to protect your head!
Ln
Aviation began offering the seaplane option several years ago. Flights depart
off the Nile near Karnak and last about 30 minutes. The German pilot, Per
Erik Pfingst, takes up to five passengers on the 30 minute flights. The biggest
advantage over the balloon is almost all of your flying time is over sites
you paid to see, including Luxor and Karnak temples. And unlike with balloons,
you can book the tour at more civilized hours. The downside is the you won't
have as much leisure to enjoy individual sites, your field of view will be
somewhat restricted because of the plane's windows (as well as the side of
the plane you are seated), and the motor noise won't enhance your experience.
Nevertheless, if I could pick only one, I would choose the seaplane without
a second thought because of the range of sites you will cover.
For photos taken from the seaplane, visit the Aerial images on this website.
References:
Information
about the seaplane is available at http://www.luxor-westbank.com/flieger1_e.htm
