Since ancient times the Egyptian has used a shaduf to irrgate the fields. There is a good example of a tomb painting from Deir el Medina , the tomb of Ipuy, that was in the time of Ramses.

Skip forward three thousand years to 2011 and meet Mohammed, he has a small plot of land in Luxor which is still watered using a shaduf, the video clip shows it in operation.

A shaduf is a simply but effective method of raising water from a lower level, often a canal, to a higher level, usually a field. Shadufs are shown on ancient egyptian tombs and have be in use in Egypt for 5 thousand years. Often today they have been replaced by diesel pumps.

Bah Humbug,  Scrooge had a point

Christmas not for you, want to ignore the festive season, you can. Although we cater for Christmas in Luxor we understand that not everyone wants to join in. We have had people recovering from family problems who would rather not have Christmas shoved down their throats. No Christmas dinner thank you, no Merry Christmas, no decorations. They want to get away from Christmas. Of course non Christians (Muslims, Sikhs and Buddhists) don’t really want to celebrate this very Western festival. This is not a problem at Flats in Luxor. Our Christmas parties are totally optional and our Nubian Eco Village is a peaceful tranquil family free zone. In fact it is a totally touristic event in Luxor as the Egyptian Christians do not celebrate Christmas on 2th December but 6^th January so apart from tourists nobody in Luxor is celebrating anything. Which means you can just have a normal holiday and ignore Christmas totally.

There are many ways to get to Nubian Eco-Village and to get around Luxor and see the sights once you’ve arrived:

Train Transport
There are two ways to get to Luxor and the Nubian Eco-Village by rail: via cheaper Egyptian National Railway services, or “wagon-lit” sleeper service. The more expensive First Class sleeper service is operated by the Abela Egypt company and needs to be reserved at least a day in advance, but gives passengers a much greater level of comfort, with meals and beds included. These sleeper services run daily from Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan and elsewhere to and from Luxor’s centrally located train station Midan al-Mahatta.

Air Transport
Many low-cost carriers – including Thomson Airways, Thomas Cook Airlines and easyJet – among other airlines offer cheap flights to Egypt and Luxor International Airport (LXR) departing from airports a range of European airports including Manchester Airport and London Gatwick Airport.

Those looking for flights to Luxor from the USA and elsewhere may need to first book flights to Cairo Airport (CAI), or other airports in the Middle East or Europe. From there, they can fly via connecting flights to Luxor. Lufthansa, EgyptAir and Air France are among major airlines that offer flights to Egypt’s Cairo Airport.

River Transport
Once you’re staying at the Nubian Eco-Village, you can take boat trips along the Nile River and see the area’s spectacular scenery from a new perspective. Wooden felucca sailboats, public passenger ferries and private motorboats are all Nile travel options open to you, as well as high season cruise boats for longer trips with full bed and board.

Without doubt the most charming way to see Luxor by water is on a sailing boat, which allows a slow and relaxed journey where you can take in your surroundings.

You can travel from the West Bank to Corniche and back cheapest via the ferry, which runs regularly throughout the day and night.

Motorboats, privately hired, are usually much more expensive but are often a good way for groups to travel as you are charged according to the length of the trip rather than according to how many passengers are carried.

Road Transport
There are all kinds of ways of travelling around Luxor and seeing the sights, from taxis and microbuses to horse-drawn carriages known as calèches. You can also rent bicycles, cars or motorcycles if you wish, but driving your own motor vehicle may not be best for those new to Luxor who haven’t yet become accustomed to its roads and traffic.

Microbuses are often crowded and also travel only along set routes, so taking a taxi is usually the fastest and most direct way to get to your destination. A ride on a calèche, meanwhile, is a great way to immerse yourself in the city in a slower but more traditional way of travelling where you have more time to look out at all of Luxor’s charms.

If you want to explore more of Egypt by road, you can catch buses to Port Said, Dahab, Al-Kharga, Cairo, Hurghada Sharm el Sheikh and elsewhere from Sharia al-Karnak, the main bus station of Luxor.

ABDYU

TRANSLITERATION: AbDw
EGYPTIAN NAME: ABDYU
ICONOGRAPHY: Fish

SYNOPSIS: According to the heliopolitana theology, one of both conductors of the boat of the sun in its nocturnal and underground trip, according to Book of the Dead.

Want to go to a royal tomb and be by yourself, this is the place. It is a separate ticket to the main valley and you either need to be a walker or have a driver prepared to take you the 2km to the tomb. On the way there you go past the tomb of Amenhotep III which is currently being restored by the Waseda University. Their website is well worth a visit to see the interior of this tomb. Opposite the entrance to this tomb are some shallow, rectangular pits. They are the remains of the workman’s huts. Further up near the tomb of Ay is a partially excavated entrance which was used by the BBC when they filmed a 6 part documentary. Actually there are often film companies working here as it is so remote and empty. Sometimes you even see desert foxes with enormous ears. Finally listen out for an echo of a Manchester accent echoing through the valley. You just heard my dad. I scattered his ashes there. Yes my dad is buried in the Valley of Kings!
The tomb itself is one of my favourites because of its lack of tourists. Lots of time to really appreciate the paintings. Probably done by the same artist as Tutankhamen. It has a scene of the king hunting in the marshes which betrays his plebeian origins. Even the restored sarcophagus has goddess on it which could have been modeled on Ankhesenamun. Did Ay murder Tutankhamen, the jury is still out on that but I have my suspicions.

Luxor temple is a very popular site, Sphinx Avenue leads into this magnificent temple built by a variety of pharaohs most well known of whom are Ramses II and Amenhotep III and of course Tutankhamen.
Right in the middle of the temple is the mosque of Abu Haggag and it is at a much higher level than the rest of the temple as it was built on centuries of debris. Most people just look up at the doorway and carry on but I am going to take you inside.
You have to exit the temple and to the right you will see the steps leading up to the mosque. Go inside, they don’t mind. In fact they are very proud of their mosque. Avoid prayer times of course. Please dress respectfully, down to elbows and knees and up to neck men and women but no need to cover your hair.
They will show you round and explain the various rooms; you have to take your shoes off so make sure your socks don’t have holes. The Islamic parts are very interesting, tombs of the saints, prayer niches, wonderful lamps and carpets. There was a recent restoration and all the Pharaonic parts of the mosque are on display.
Right in the middle on the prayer hall there are figures of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian gods and goddess, hieroglyphics, pillars and lintels. There is a great glyph of an elephant, part of the name of Elephantine Island. You can see the back of the first pylon in lots of detail and they will open the door that hangs feet above the rest of the temple and you can look down on the hordes of tourist and tour groups who don’t know about Hidden Luxor Temple like you do.
Of course baksheesh is expected, pay about the same as you would for entrance to the Valley of Kings or Karnak temple.

Currently the Mut temple requires special permission to enter it but we are all hoping it will be open soon. You enter through the avenue of sphinxes and the site consists of several temples and a horseshoe shaped sacred lake. Straight ahead is the main temple with 2 courtyards and the platform area. There are remains of Hathor headed pillars. The temple was variously built by Tuthmosis II, Ramses II, Seti II and Ramses IV. The platform area was Tuthmosis III, and there are examples of foundation blocks with joint cartouches of Tut III and Hatshepsut (Senumut’s name also is present). There is much mutilation during the Amarna period and then restoration by various kings like Tutankhamen, Ay and Horemheb. One of the discoveries from the site is a lovely statue of a queen of Amenhotep III. It actually has no name and could be Sitamun, Mutemewa or Tiye. The modus has cartouches of Amenhotep all the way round. There are many Sekhmet statues at least one for every day of the year and a wonderful large statue which is most impressive.
One the left is a temple of Amenhotep III which has the famous circumcision scene. It shows a grown man, teenager standing as he is being chopped. There is a similar scene down in Cairo which again shows a man rather than a child or a baby. Only the lower part of the walls is present. On the far right there is a Ramses II structure with some large statues and several rooms. Again the wall height is about waist high.
It was here that the Festivals of Drunkenness took place. Now being drunk was not socially acceptable. Much like today, and there is wisdom literature support that moral stance. However there is an aspect which encourages people to get drunk in order to experience God. This has links with the story of Hathor being made drunk in order to stop her destroying mankind. Mut is linked with Sekhmet and Bast which is why there are so many statues of Sekhmet from that temple. It seems that a part of the religious worship was to get so drunk you passed out and just before you did you experienced the divine. A bit like seeing the pink elephants in the Disney Dumbo film. They even had ‘designated drivers’ who would look after you so you could lose control in a very controlled situation.
Scenes of this are in evidence at tombs like Kahri at El Kab where the deceased family talk to each other and make remarks like asking for 18 jars of wine. In the tomb of Rekhmire the question is posed ‘Is it Maat to get drunk’ and the hieroglyphic for Maat is turned round indicating ‘Yes, go for it’. In TT38 there are scenes of vomiting. Phrases like ‘roaming in the marshes’ indicate that sexual activity is also an important part of this and associated with the Beautiful Feast of the Valley where you communed with dead relatives. In TT82 there is a song which talks of “rejoicing in drunken women”. Mut appears to have a role to play in the Eye of Re, which is an aspect of Hathor where she takes revenge on mankind when they don’t behave. So it would appear that Mut was of a good time girl.

Although Ramses II is not my favourite Pharaoh this is actually in my top sites to visit. There is a lot of it and it is not visited by the big tour groups. Do have a look at the tiny block yard as you get a crick in the neck looking at things at the back of the first pylon and these do make it easier to recognise things. You can see the Egyptian camp before the battle of Kadesh easily. If the guardians are feeling co-operative they will take you inside the first pylon so you get a fabulous view from the top of the pylon. I like to read the poem by Shelley and get my guests to work out what is wrong with the poem compared to what they can see.
Also have a good look at the toes of the colossal statue, even the cuticles are carved and wrinkles on the toes. If you look at the Nemes head cloth you can see some graffiti. Now when you see how poorly it was carved in an era with iron and steel and compare it the head cloth which is shiny and matt to give the impression of the stripes, well you just marvel at the skill of the ancient workman with his copper tools.
Other bits of interesting bit of graffiti
• Belzoni on the back of the black granite statue
• De Goutain from Thedant on a column in front of the Darfur scene. I had some guests from Switzerland and they told me Thedant is a wine producing area of Switzerland and there are grapes carved around the name. Was he a wine producer? I would love to know.
• Belzoni, Salt and Bonfils by the gateway leading from the hypostyle hall to the sanctuary.
I like the Darfur battle scene on the back of the second pylon, south wall facing the hypostyle hall. Right in the middle of the battle scene is a barbecue. Well it looks like it; there is a small cow, some buns and ladies carrying jars of wine. Actually it is the overseer of the town coming to treaty with Ramses. The hall has loads of colour and is almost complete. Finally I want to point out the magazines made of mud brick, made without a key stone but vaulted. Hassan Fathy studied them when working on his New Gurna.

Karnak is part of the world largest open air museum, Luxor or Ancient Thebes, home of many Egyptian Gods and Goddesses and built by various Egyptian Pharaohs like Ramses II and Tutankhamen and in my opinion better than the Egyptian pyramids. For many visitors, it’s one of the essential things to do in Luxor.

The Ancient Egyptian temple of Karnak in Luxor, Egypt is the largest religious site in the world and yet most tour groups go round in about an hour. A standard family holiday package or Nile cruise often includes a visit. They go down the central axis to the holy of holy’s and then to the cafe at the sacred lake but there is so much more to this site than that brief glimpse can give you. Let me show you round Hidden Karnak.

If you exit the Hypostyle Hall on the north wall and follow the path you will come to the small temple of Ptah. Yes I know the tour guides tell you that Karnak was dedicated to Amun, Mut and Khonsu but there are many satellite temples dedicated to other Egyptian gods and goddesses. Ptah is one of these.

BTW on the way there you will go past some chapels built by the God’s Wives of Amun, these are in the process of being excavated and reconstructed (2010/11) and are well worth a closer look. Girl power started in Ancient Egypt; women were incredible powerful compared to Ancient Roman or Ancient Greece. Women were in charge of their destiny, could own land and hold important positions of power. God’s wife of Amun was one of these roles. Its origins might be sexual with the woman invigorating the god either visually or by hand. The chapels are from a much later period when the position was both political and powerful. These ladies ruled Thebes and weld considerable economic power judging by the monuments of their stewards like Pabasa.

After a short walk you get to the temple of Ptah. This is a combination of Ptolemaic and early New kingdom buildings. BTW a quick tip on recognising Ptolemaic inscriptions, the ladies have improbably large boobs which defy gravity, the cartouches and full of hieroglyphs as these are not natural Egyptian names that can be represented by three glyphs but transliterations that need many glyphs. Finally the decoration is busy, like a cake decorator that was given a new icing gun as a present and wants to try every single nozzle. There is hardly an inch of space.

The guardians at this temple love to contribute to your experience and will let you on the roof and also they do this little trick. They will let you in the sanctuary, there were three dedicated to Ptah, Nefertum and Sekhmet. There is still a statue in the Sekhmet shrine. What they do is let you in the darken shrine and then suddenly the statue is lit up. They use a mirror to reflect sunlight on to the statue through a hole in the roof. It is a wonderful experience and does give you sense of the magic and mystery of Ancient Egyptian religion. For many visitors, it’s one of the essential things to do in Luxor.

Jane Akshar is an Egyptologist and lives in Luxor, Egypt. If you want to see any of the sites mentioned in article and enhance your holiday in Egypt, please contact us.