We arrived in Luxor at almost midnight, haggled with a cab driver over the cost to get us into town and finally checked into our modest but very nice and cheap(!) hotel, the St. Joseph. To get electricity, you stick your key in a slot next to the door after entering. Great idea! It keeps one from leaving the lights on and you never leave your key in the lock.
We woke up the next morning to a beautiful 4th floor view of the Nile and Deir al Bahiri on the West Bank near the Valley of the Kings. After a nice hot breakfast and two cups of Nescafe we walked around the corner to a tour agent recommended by cousin, Roy Kochendorfer. Unfortunately he couldn't arrange an English speaking guide for our first day, so we set up tours for Saturday and Sunday to all the major sites.Then we strolled down the Corniche (the main street running along side the Nile) to the public ferry. Luxor is much cleaner than Cairo with sidewalks in most places and uncrowded streets. Our plan was to cross to the West Bank and grab taxi to the temple of Seti I.
After much haggling, we agreed on a price, piled in and headed out. There were 5 of us, Rose, Tish, Lauren, Kathy and I. Rose works in the high school, Tish at the jr. hi, and Lauren was a student teacher at CAC this semester.
Seti I has a much more elaborate temple at Abydos, but we decided not to take that day-long trip. The one here near the old capital at Thebes is small, relatively speaking, and surrounded by a village. What little rascals the children are! They learn early how to sell little nonsense things and beg. When we ignored them, they stood and pretended to cry. A number of adults in the area asked us to please not encourage them with unearned baksheesh.Baksheesh quickly became a problem. A pound to go to the bathroom, a pound to someone who pointed out something special carved in a wall. These people depend on baksheesh to live, and my purse full was nearly gone during that first stop. A pound is worth about 17 cents!
The temple was in pretty bad shape, but the relief work in protected areas was lovely. I wish I could read heiroglyphs! Each pylon, giant entry walls, is covered with stories of Seti I's conquests and successes.
Our driver was a real salesman. We'd asked about a place to buy alabaster, and of course, he knew just the place to take us. He told us that he was NOT getting a kickback for taking us there. But we were pretty sure they were relatives. He effusively assured us that his only concern was that we were buying from an honest craftsman. Checks with other guides etc. over the weekend confirmed that we were delivered to one of the oldest best regarded factories.
We had a ball. The owner showed us how the alabaster is rough shaped, then covered in linen and plaster to strengthen it for the next process when it's hand grinded to cut out the interior rock. We all got to try, and it was hard work. The plaster covering is then chipped off and the piece is polished with sandstone polishers. To make pieces more transparent they are heated and coated with wax which soaks into the porous rock.We were then led into the showroom where we were encouraged to look and pick what we wanted to buy. Nobody at this point would discuss price. I picked out six nice pieces and the bargaining began. It's fun but exhausting. After tea the owner pondered and scribbled on his little pad and finally gave me a price. I looked pained (which I was) and pushed several pieces away. He encouraged me to name a price for the whole lot - I countered with less than half his original offer. He looked hurt and countered. I took one piece and set it aside and countered. He put it back and countered. I gave him my firm final. He consulted with his brother, looked like he was going to counter and paused as I looked like I was about to stand up. He finally agreed to slightly above half his original price with a gracious smile after appearing to be ready to cry during our negotiations.
You really have to be up for shopping here because there is no set price for anything except food in restaurants and actual grocery stories. if you pay the first named price, you're probably paying 1/3 to twice as much as you should.
We gathered up our purchases and dickered with the driver to add a trip back into Luxor rather than being dropped off at the ferry. Our destination was the Winter Palace, the 100 year old hotel that has been serving the elite since the 1st excavations in the Valley of the Kings. A sorority sister of Kathy's and her husband were staying there and invited us to join them for lunch in the gardens by the pool. Such fine old style elegance and lovely gardens. Kathy's friends had organized a small tour of Egypt, and half the participants were there for lunch as well. We had a gay old time chatting about our trips, the history of the hotel and shopping while eating impeccably served overpriced food. But it was worth it to have an "Amelia Peabody" moment at the beautiful Winter Palace.
We walked back to our hotel, rested and headed to the rooftop to watch the sun set over the Nile. Four of us had a leisurely happy hour not realizing that our 5th, Tish, didn't join us because she had locked herself onto the balcony of her room!
We decided to stuff one more activity into an already full day by walking down to Luxor Museum for an hour before closing at 9pm. The few carefully chosen pieces were beautifully displayed with great information about their place in the long history of the area.
We finished the day at Dean's Restaurant around the corner from our hotel. This English expat has created a great mix of cuisines in a nice setting. The food was so good, we returned several times. Once just for the huge servings of chocolate mousse! We hit the hay exhausted after asking for an early call. Our tour started the next morning at 7:30am!
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