It hit 3 o’clock when we arrived at the Cruiser, exhausted and excited we were very disheartened to hear that we had to get up at 7 o’clock the next morning! With only 4 hours sleep ahead of us and no time to explore the ship, we collapsed onto our beds and fell asleep almost immediately.
The next morning, people strolled slowly out of their rooms, their enthusiastic behaviour waning. Breakfast was eaten hastily and we all rushed into the bus for the first journey to the Temple of Khonsu at . It is located in which is where the ship had travelled up the Nile too while we were asleep.
The temple, much to my disbelief, was magnificent. The bright intense light from the sun electrifying the whole site. The sun stood high in the middle of the sky. It was hard to keep track of time as you just drifted off around the complex. The experience had hit me. It was hard to imagine that thousands of years before, men and slaves were standing in the exact spot I was standing, in a primitive age. The explicit carvings on the walls of the huge temple told the secret stories and battles known of old. The carvings were so well carved that they remained almost perfectly preserved in some places. It was hard also to believe that human man has come so far from these ages.
The guide showed us round and would explain the whole story behind the temple and how it came to life and what Pharaoh ruled it.
“The Temple of Karnak is actually three main temples, smaller enclosed temples, and several outer temples. This vast complex was built and enlarged over a thirteen hundred year period. The walls, ceilings and columns are painted with the natural earth tones. The light that was allowed in originally kept most of the hall in shadows. The hall ceiling was 82 feet high and was supported by 12 papyrus columns. The hall is considered to be one of the world's greatest architectural masterpieces ever…”
It was a maze of rooms, stairways, chambers and storerooms. The walls were
made from solid stone. They were beige in colour but judging from bits of colour that had survived, it was clear that this temple used to be covered in colour, gold and riches. A profound contrast. Crushed rock and stone covered the floor like a huge carpet. The sky was bright blue but hard to see in the radiance of the sun. A cloud couldn’t be seen for miles around. The colossal accomplishments of the these people could undoubtedly be seen.
As the day drew to a close, our group reformed and we travelled back quietly, leaving time to ponder the magnificent things we had seen.
The week passed quickly with us going to different temples and places every day.
It came time for the final trip. The massive light and sound show at , the first temple we had visited. This time we came at night for the show. Our ship travelled back down the Nile to Luxor. In the evening we all left for the finale of one of the best and amazing experiences I had seen I my life. I didn’t really know what I was expecting.
We marched up to the temple lit with hundreds of lights everywhere. Hundreds of people had already gathered near. We were about o embark on the journey back through time. Thousands of years ago. It was bliss, the dark blue sky filled with thousands of shimmering stars.
The ground had numerous footprints on it from all the visits in the day and the atmosphere was anxious and people waited with anticipation.
Then came a loud ‘BANG’, the sound echoed through every crack and ridge. Slow music started to play out of carefully positioned speakers. The whole crowd was escorted deeper into the temple, which now was just a silhouette in the darkness. Lights now lit the half eroded, enormous statues of the pharaoh Ramses and his wife who was his sister, Nefertiti. There was disbelief that these people would marry and sleep with their family to avoid ‘diluting’ the royal blood with that of normal people.
“Egypt was set into two halves, the north side and the south side. Each overlooked by different Gods. Many conflicts lay between these two halves and between past and present pharaohs. The obelisks that lie within this temple are the legacy of the previous pharaoh, Ramses surrounded these with huge solid stone walls signifying his rule had begun. Ramses set about making his own legacy as you can see..”
The lights went out and complete darkness fell upon us…
A huge light fell on the second part of the temple.
The story carried on to reveal even more strange things about ancient curses and sacrifices to the Gods.
The huge pillars that lined the temple lead off into the night and an ancient bathe stood in all its glory, fed from the River Nile. The splendour of the show went on for another hour.
We all split up at the end and I found myself in a part of the temple I didn’t recognise. People were there but they were indigenous to the country and seemed to work there but didn’t speak English very well. It was pretty dark. My sister and parents were probably waiting for me anyway and I had time as I didn’t think I was the only one taking my time to get out. The gigantic temple felt as though it were a prison, holding many unknown revelations and secrets never whispered for thousands of years.
I wondered around for a while and stumbled on the exit rather by chance than by way of direction.
This journey was like travelling back in time. Although I wasn’t very enthusiastic about it, I was proved wrong about the very nature of the trip and it was an experience to remember.
The bus was waiting and me and others rushed into the already filled bus for our return journey to the ship, airport and home!
