Street Scenes: Luxor

Here are a few photos of typical street scenes in Luxor, mostly from this season.

This shot of "public" water jars was taken on the West Bank.

And a night shot of the Old Winter Palace in all its glory!

Massive head of pharaoh unearthed in Egypt

Hourig Sourouzian never ceases to amaze us with marvelous discoveries at the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III on the west bank here at Luxor. This is just the latest.

Wishing you love...

Happy Valentine's Day! Eid el Hob Saeed! Unfortunately the cats in this Valentine greeting are no longer with us. Tony, on the right, was one of the sweetest cats I have ever had the honor to cuddle...

West Bank Doors

I think we all need a little break from the overwhelming changes on the east bank at Luxor! Here are some doors I've shot on the west bank over the past couple of seasons.

Luxor Walkabout 1

It was on October 25, 2009 that I took my first walk around Luxor. Much of the landscape has changed dramatically since then, and it had changed quite a bit since I left at the end of our season in April. My route took me down the Corniche and along Labib Habachi Street. On the corner of Labib Habachi and Second Streets was this lovely period building:

Here it is being torn down on November 21 as part of the project to uncover the entire alley of sphinxes between Luxor and Karnak Temples:

As I proceeded south (towards Luxor Temple) along Second Street I reached the empty spot where my favorite tiny mosque used to stand:

Here is what it looked like last season:

I headed further south and was stunned to see the wide, empty boulevard:

...where there used to be interesting buildings (they would have been on the right in the picture above):

All gone! Here is a photo of the site just north of Luxor Temple where a mosque with a historic minaret once stood:

And this is a view of what it looked like last season:

I continued my progress around the eastern side of the temple and was pleased to see the newly restored Abu al Haggag mosque in Luxor Temple:

It was still under reconstruction (after a fire) last season:

I rounded the south end of the temple and returned to the Corniche where I found another hole where a building had stood at the end of last season. One of two villas, the one which housed the National Party Headquarters, had been torn down as part of the clearance around Luxor Temple:

Here is the remaining villa:

In this picture taken from the ferry last season you can see both buildings:

Yes, big changes have taken place in and around Luxor, and work is continuing. "Luxor Walkabout 2" will cover east Luxor away from the river.

Goodbye & Hello

Holiday Greetings!

Threshold to Cleopatra's mausoleum discovered off Alexandria coast

Read the Guardian article here. I love that they use a photo of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in Antony and Cleopatra to illustrate the article!

Solstice Greetings!

Christmas Cookies with an Egyptian Flair!

They aren't just ordinary Christmas cookies!
These mummies are all buttoned up...

Living the "sweet life"...

William (the Met's famous blue hippo) may have left the building, but there are plenty more...

I don't know what sharks have to do with Christmas or Egypt, but here they are...

These sphinxes are dressed to the nines...

Happy Holidays from Luxor!

The Louvre Returns Five Fragments to Egypt

It happened today at the Élysée Palace. The article from lepoint.fr is here.

UPDATE! Zahi Hawass has now announced what will happen to the fragments. Read about it here.

A Wedding and a Funeral...

It's hard to believe, almost surreal in fact, that just one Sunday ago we were celebrating the wedding of a CH workman and then yesterday we were at a funeral mourning the passing of dear friend Susan Weeks.

You can read the statement from AUC here.

Her body was found in the Nile late Saturday night. It appears she fell from the Kingfisher, the Weeks' dahabbiya. Jane Akshar tells the story on her blog. (N.B. Perhaps it would be more effective if those commenting on Jane's blog post directed those comments to Jane herself.) I had just been with them for drinks on the Kingfisher earlier in the evening. We shall miss her terribly. Rest in peace, Susan, in your beloved Luxor...

(Photo from the Theban Mapping Project)

Member of the Wedding

I had the opportunity to attend the wedding party of one of our workmen on Sunday evening. What a joyous occasion! Any and all relations and friends were amongst the guests....Music blared from industrial size speakers....Men, women, and children danced....The official wedding portrait was handed round....The beaming bride and groom ascended to a platform above the crowd and all guests climbed up in small groups to greet and congratulate them...Glitter and happiness filled the air! Truly heartwarming.




And I have video:

Of course, the boys all wanted to have their pictures taken!

 I think a great time was had by all!

Theban Balloons

Yesterday, as I walked to the ferry to go to the West Bank, I was greeted with a view of several balloons rising into the morning sky...

Egypte-Algérie, encore et toujours...

The saga continues... Today's entry on Egyptoblogue (Carnet de bord de Claude Guibal, correspondante de Libération au Caire) points out the absurdity in the ongoing conflict over a spot in the FIFA World Cup 2010.

Moon Over Luxor...

There's a beautiful full moon over Luxor tonight. Here's a photo which isn't the greatest even with a tripod ;[ MaAlaysh!