I ride down the Nile on a felucca as the sun sets over Luxor, bringing an end to a hot and sticky but absolutely beautiful day. My brain is filled with images and information of the past few days of the Temples of Luxor, Karnak and Hatchepsut, West Bank Valley of Kings and Queen Tombs, and New Guerna.
But this is all a blur as I sit in the sunset sipping my diet coke and eating the pita bread I attempted to bargain down to the Egyptian price (I'm not even really sure what price it was supposed to be.) Not even the past few days of constant hassle and harassment of numerous taxi, horse or felucca ride offers, ka ni chi wa’s and nee how’s, “come inside my shop, I’ll give you a good price” and scorching heat has any effect on me. It has been a day filled with much learning about Egyptian culture while wandering through Luxor, discussing British and American politics while eating sundaes from McDonalds, conversing deeply about life goals and purpose while sitting on a column of the hypostyle hall in Karnak, and negotiating prices throughout Luxor while sweating profusely.
Traveling alone has its advantages and disadvantages but I’m starting to think that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I really do enjoy traveling alone as I can create my own schedule, but mostly because it allows me to meet more people, both local and travelers. The other day I met the first Americans since I’ve been abroad. We instantly bonded– which was a relief because I was starting to think I would not meet any Americans. Being abroad has made me realize how little Americans travel and if they do, most do not come to this part of the world. And today I enjoyed a day of exploring Luxor with two Scottish guys, learning more today than I ever have about Scotland and the UK than in my entire life.
I’m not sure why it is that Americans don’t travel more, besides not having as much vacation time as Australians, Brits, Europeans, or perhaps even the rest of the world. They get at least 1 month, if not more, as opposed to our 1-2 weeks of vacation time. I can speculate why a lot of Americans don’t travel to this part of the world though – and it is because this part of the world is highly misrepresented in the media. In addition, there have been several attacks here, most notably the one at the Temple of Hatchepsut where 58 tourists and 4 guards were shot or stabbed to death while helpless donkey keepers could only watch from the hilltops above. There are those few who make decisions that do not put Egyptians in a good light, but with my experience so far, Egyptians are some of the kindest and welcoming people I have met on my travels. I really love this place.
After being here for almost four weeks, I have learned I am equipped to handle more than I thought I could. For one, the heat is nothing like I have experienced. But every day I start to get used to this. And I also wonder how workers were able to create such beautiful temples in the past in this heat. It’s not like they could just step inside the air-conditioning to cool down, or go grab a bottle of water to quench their thirst. I am also becoming a better haggler, but I prefer to say better negotiator. There is something satisfying about bargaining. You know the seller will not give you a price that will make him lose money so you just continue to negotiate until it is worth what you think it is. This is great practice because there is no risk involved – negotiating a few Egyptian pounds (less than 1 USD) as opposed to negotiating a few thousand or more if I was in a business back home.
Tonight is my last night in Luxor (for now) but I think I would like to return for a few days in December if time permits. I like the relaxed atmosphere. If I could compare some of the cities I’ve been in Egypt to cities in the USA, I’d say Luxor is comparable to San Diego, Dahab is comparable to Santa Cruz, and Cairo is comparable to NYC. Tomorrow I head to Aswan, to hotter temperatures and closer to the border of Sudan.
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