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.