Day 7 Hey lady, felucca? Camel ride? Egyptian husband?

photo left 1: on my ride; left 2: shadow of my ride starting our trip; photo right 1: Donkeys are amazing enduring animals; but we had to get off since the road was too steep at some areas;

right 2: up the mountain we go.

We came back from the Valley of Kings this afternoon and decided to chill out on the bank of Nile for a cool kakade, hibiscus drink that we discovered in the hotel Little Garden, which we fell in love with since. On the way down to the riverside restaurant, we were constantly stopped by street vendors selling us one thing or another. One guy prompted us with a felucca ride, we declined by showing Julee's cast (a result of felucca ride in Aswan). He persistently presented his second offer "Camel ride?", after a few "la la"s (NO, NO), he pulled my sleeve and yelled out "Egyptian husband?" We burst out laughing and headed down.

Day 7 ended in calming icy lemonade and warm kakade. We had a full day starting 7:30 AM, first a brisk 10 minute walk to the corniche, then we boarded the ferry to go the the West Bank, where slept the Kings and Queens of Egypt for thousands of years. When the ferry docked, we hopped on a mini truck for another 10 minutes to our next transportation - donkeys. I picked a small, grey donkey with docile eyes and really pointy ears and named him Don Juan. Rein to the left means going left, right is to the right, both hands pulling back is stop. All of us except Julee moved towards the mountain where the tombs were hidden. Julee continued in the trailer and would meet us at the tomb site. The donkey ride to the near top of the mountain on the cliff was quite crazy for me since Sandy's donkey kept sniffing Don Juan and irritated the heck out of Don Juan. At times, they would both start racing through the one lane rock road on the cliff, making Sandy and me both scream. Any moment I was ready to jump off, feeling lucky that I picked a short donkey. The mountain was really steep at certain areas and I felt bad for the donkeys. One leg of the trip, we had to get off and walk them through. It took us 45 minutes of bumpy ride to arrive at a flat spot where we headed down the mountain towards the tombs at the bottom of the valley.

Coming down from the top of the mountain where the donkey dropped us off. It was steep and slippery because of the sand and small rocks. I had to use my hand to hold on half of the time. Glad Julee did not take the donkey ride. She would not have made her way down.

Walking the cliff on donkey back

Hatshepsut's tomb looking from the top of the cliff

Beautiful view of the farm land and mountain below our feet

Where we stopped, we could take in a grand view of Luxor, the East and West bank, the valley of tombs, including the tomb of Hatshepsut, the great woman king that ruled Egypt in prosperity for 15 years, the farm land that had different shades of green. The most memorable moment of the ride was the call to prayer that suddenly broke the silence of the mountain. Unlike the harsh 5 AM call to prayer that woke me up every morning in dismay, it was more like a chant, musical and peaceful, coming from the bottom of the valley or faraway villages and disappearing quickly into the thin air. We all got quiet. It was out of this world.

Donkey dropoff site

We visited tomb of King Tutmosis III, King Setnakht/queen Tausert and King Ramses III. The graffitis inside the burial chambers and along the hallway leading to the chambers are so fresh still as if they were done yesterday. Some were carved first then filled in with paint therefore even better than the simply painted ones.

We visited the Medinat Habu Temple and had lunch at our local guide Ahmed's house. It was the best home made lentil soup or best soup I had in Egypt. We had a huge meal.I had my name written in catouche, L is a lion meaning strong personality, E is feather of honesty, I is papyrus symbolizing romance. I ordered a silver ring to be made of my name in hieroglyphics including the three in my name and adding the eye symbol for protection, the scarab and the key of life.

Julee and me at Habu Temple; She's smiling like a champion

Habu Temple's painting on the ceiling under one of the temple entry way. It's still bright since it did not get much sun damage. Hard to imagine it endured thousands of years.

Dedicated to Ramses III - battle scenes

Home cooked meal at Ahmed's house, we all cleaned our plates. This was quoted as the best meal by many of us. It's a close second compared to the mixed grill in Aqaba, Jordan for me.

Alabaster factory - this is when I regret backpacking since I want to buy all of them

Although it's day 7, Egypt has not stopped to amaze me. Everyday is a wonderful day. Tonight we board an overnight sleeper train back to Cairo. I will take my antibiotics, my Dramamine and cough syrup. I will be fully doped up to have a great night's sleep. I will be dreaming of the Turkish coffee at Fishawy.