13/04/09 Luxor, Egypt.
We once again woke up around 6:30 AM and headed to the Valley of the Kings. We got there around 9 AM and I would say it was already 100 degrees out; literally I had already undressed myself down to my undershirt and had my other shirt over my head to block the sun. The Valley of the Kings is an area where 63 tombs of old kings have been found. They literally just found the 63rd one and believe there to be a ton more in the valley. It is a mountainous region that had tombs dug into the mountain; how anyone found it I will never know. Our pass allowed us to see 3 tombs, so our guide took us through a bunch of the King Ramses tombs (there were like 10 King Ramses')
Sidenote: All of these excursions that we took costed me half price. Before I came to study abroad my parents intelligently bought me an ISIC (International Student Identification Card) and that was the only type of identification they took for students pretty much.... Also the Egyptians are extremely racist against other cultures. While I was paying 30 egyptian pounds (like 6 bucks), normal people were paying 60 egyptian pounds (like 12 bucks), Tannous, an egyptian citizen was paying 4 egyptian pounds (less than a dollar).
So we finished visiting the tombs and hopped on the bus to go to Al-Deir/Al-Bahari Temple. This temple was a long HOT walk away. By this time it was like 11:30 and ATLEAST 110 degrees out. So hot that our tour guide didn't walk to the temple with us and went back to the bus. We went, walked through the temple, took a few pictures and went back to the bus. We then headed back to the bus. As we drove back to our Cruise Ship we passes many small villages. People were swimming in the small river that we were driving alongside, and houses look liked they probably didn't have running water. I am willing to argue with anyone that Egypt IS a third world country.
We got back to the boat and laid on the deck for awhile. We were still docked in Luxor and we saw a guy baithing his horse in the Nile. Tannous loves animals and I really wanted to swim in the Nile so we headed down to talk to this guy. I asked the cruise boat manager if I could jump in the Nile, and he told me it was strictly forbidden to swim in it due to the fact that it is so polluted. I was extremely saddened by this fact, but realized I did not want to end up in the hospital that night so I took his words of advice. We went and talked to this man and Tannous spoke to him in Arabic explaining our situation; I sneakily put my foot in the river. I can now say that I have "been" in the Nile (cross it off the list). This man was dressed in nothing but his "Gap" white underwear so I considered him to be a poor man, but he told us he owned a Felluka boat and was willing to take us out on it that night no charge. So we go out with him on his boat and he takes us to a small island. We go on the island and sample some bananas that were picked right off the tree behind us; these bananas were probably the most delicious bananas I have ever tasted. I never thought I could use the word juicy to describe a banana......but I just did. This man was extremely nice and invited us to come back to his village. We agreed and went back to his village to play a game of soccer. His friends vs. Us..... Egypt vs. The United States if you may. We walk through his town as all the kids, who know absolutely no English, scream "Hello!" to us. I know immediately I was safe in this village as I watched 6-10 year olds outside playing makeshift games of soccer and running around on the sandy roads. We walked to the local YMCA and started a game of soccer. We had no shoes, so we played barefoot on this cementlike surface outside with the lights shining on our game. We ended up losing 2-1 but it was a great time playing a game of soccer against Egyptians. We then went back to a local watering hole, had some Fantas and relaxed while Hassan's wife cooked us dinner. After, we went back to his house to eat. We were not allowed to see his wife because it is against Muslim culture. So we sat down and ate his wife's cooking; delicious whole chicken, potatos in a red sauce, cucumber and tomato salad, and bread. We ate until we were stuffed and then relaxed on his roof drinking tea.

14/04/09
We packed up and got ready to check out of the cruise, but before we completely left Luxor we went to the Karnak Temple. We went solo, without a guide and got there. Just so you know I am not lying about the temperature a message board read 42.5 degrees celcius at about noon when we headed to the temple. So we get there and we only have an hour to spare because Tannous has an earlier flight then us. We pay for our tickets and some guy offers us his guide services for 100 egyptian pounds. We say no and he goes down to 50 pounds. Thats under 10 bucks for 6 people so we decided to go with it. This guide was amazing, knowing we had to go fast, he took us through the temple within an hour pointing out amazing things. He explained the reason that the faces were messed up on all the statues was due to the fact that when the Christians came, they thought that the spirits of the God's in the statues were still alive and looking at them. So they scratched off their eyes, ears, and nose so they couldn't hear, smell, or see the people. He also showed us how they put color to their images using sandstone that was in the tomb itself. We then went back to the ship. Tannous took off and we waited a few hours to leave for our flight. Around 4, we caught a cab to go to the airport, checked in and got on a plane towards Sharm El Sheikh. This was probably the bumpiest flight I had ever been on and as I calmly looked around at all my wide eyed friends, I realized that I have no problems with travelling. I think that comes from my dad. Anyways, 45 minutes later we are landing in Sharm El Sheikh. We get to the "Jump Inn Sharm" a hostel I booked and Tannous had already talked to his Uncle. We are not going to stay here all three nights, but only one. The next two nights will be spent in an all inclusive hotel right on the beach of the Red Sea for about the same price. Once again, Pat's uncle has hooked us up. We check out the streets of Sharm El Sheikh which remind me of Cancun. There are a ton of bars and restaurants all wanting your business and people will stop at nothing to try and get that business. We ate a bit and headed back early, ready for another long day tomorrow.

The first picture is of our 5-star cruise boat. Presidential Nile Cruises (TELL YOUR FRIENDS) I know what your thinking. That doesn't look like a 5-star cruise ship. Please remember that the Nile River is a lot smaller then what a normal cruise boat would be on. Believe me, the food, service, and adventures we had on that boat make it a five star cruise boat. Pat was hungry one night and walked to the kitchen at 2 AM. They served him. We were royalty on that boat. No doubt.
The Second picture is sort of an action shot of us walking down a street in the village of Luxor with Hassan. Notice the kids outside, the sand road, and the lack of neon signs.
The third picture is of us all on the small boat heading to the island with Hassan.
The fourth picture is of the sun setting while we were on the island. Look how picturesque that sunset is!