It was our last day in Luxor before joining the SS Sudan on the journey up the Nile to Aswan. As planned we headed off early to the Luxor Temple, before the day would heat up. It was not far from the Winter Palace complex that was built in the late 1800s at the height of the European Egyptian tourism frenzy period.

It is quite a stately place and hosted royalty, as well as the rich and famous. It is now an upmarket hotel. We are staying in the more recently constructed conventional hotel at the other end of the gardens, known as the Winter Pavilion.
It was again a battle through the taxi drivers and horse carriages but we made it to the Temple in good time. It is not a large complex, but still impressive as a first up experience of Egyptian historical antiquity.

The entrance gate to the temple is flanked by large statues of the various kings that contributed to its construction. Very impressive. Bit of a tourist trap here as a site security guard offered to take this picture, as well as a few others, £EGP 50 later we escaped his clutches.

We wandered around through the columns and other statues. A bit hard to take it all in without a guide. As we found out later a guide is great for helping to understand how the flow of activity took place in the temple. As well as the interpretation of the art work and hieroglyphs that adorn the walls and columns.

A major feature of the complex is the Avenue of Sphinxes. It stretches for 2.7 km from the Luxor Temple to the Karnak Temple, both sides flanked by several hundred various types of Sphinx, about 4 metres apart. There is a replica of a boat the King would travel (carried by numerous servants) in on the journey between the two temples. It would take six days with numerous stops along the way for rituals.

The avenue was completely covered by sand and excavated by various groups in bursts over many years to reveal the route. Quite amazing work.

After leaving the temple we succumbed to a horse carriage ride to our luncheon venue, Sofra. This local restaurant is in the back streets and located on a covered roof with open sides, scattered tables and carpets.

Meal was excellent. A good recommendation. The carriage had waited for us down stairs for an hour or so, as the horse needed to be fed.

The trip back to the hotel was a bit of a tour through the local business district, weaving in and out of the traffic.

Next morning we were transferred to the dock to join the SS Sudan on the journey to Aswan.