Luxor - Egypt

May 2005,

Perjalanan ke Luxor ini adalah salah satu perjalanan yang paling mengesankan buat gue, sebetulnya Luxor trip ini sudah hampir 2 tahun yang lalu, but its too good to be forgotten.... Aku baru sadar tak ada salahnya kalo gue tuangkan ke dalam tulisan.

Kalau kamu mau berlibur ke Egypt gue sarankan (buat yang belum pernah) utk meluangkan waktu sekitar 5 hari buat pergi ke Luxor. Cara yang paling enak adalah dengan Cruise, cruise akan berlayar di sepanjang sungai Nil dari Luxor ke Aswan atau sebaliknya. Ke Luxor/Aswan bisa di tempuh dengan pesawat (kl kamu punya waktu mepet) dan juga dengan sleeper train (which is not bad).

Hampir keseluruhan dari sisa-sisa kebesaran Mesir, sisa-sisa kebesaran RAMESES II (New Kingdom 1550-1076 BC) raja yang paling lama berkuasa di Mesir terbentang disepanjang Luxor dan Aswan, di sepanjang sungai Nil yang mensejahterakan rakyat Mesir. Mummi dari Ramses sendiri ada di Egyptian museum di Cairo. Gue berangkat ke Luxor berdua adik gue Novie yang kebetulan lagi liburan selama 3 bulan di Cairo, kalo udh ke Cairo tapi belum ke Luxor ibarat makan sayur tanpa garam, atau makan sayur tapi kuahnya doang

Anyway, kita berangkat dr rumah sekitar jam 8 malam waktu Cairo dan menempuh perjalanan selama 12 jam dari Cairo ke Luxor dengan sleeper train, itu pertama kalinya gue naik sleeper train, di Cairo pulak! BAH!


The trip to Luxor is one of the most memorable trip for me, actually Luxor trip was nearly 2 years ago, but its too good to be forgotten .... then I realized it could not hurt if I pour it into writing.

If you want a vacation to Egypt I would suggest (for which has not been) for taking the time for about 5 days to go to Luxor. The most delicious way is with Cruise, cruise will sail along the Nile from Luxor to Aswan or vice versa. To Luxor / Aswan can travel by plane and also by sleeper train (which is not bad).

Almost the whole of the remains of Egyptian greatness, greatness remains of Rameses II (1550-1076 BC New Kingdom)'s longest-ruling monarch in Egypt unfolds throughout Luxor and Aswan, the Nile along the welfare of the people of Egypt. Mummy of the Ramses was at the Egyptian museum in Cairo.

I went to Luxor with my sister who happens was in 3 months holiday in Cairo.

Anyway, we set from house at around 8 pm Cairo and traveled for 12 hours from Cairo to Luxor by sleeper train, it was my first time riding a sleeper train in my whole life. 


Luxor

Pagi-pagi subuh kita telah sampai di Luxor yang dijemput langsung oleh agent untuk kemudian dibawa ke Cruise kita, Oberoi Cruise, kapal berbintang 5 ini mempunyai kamar2 yang bagus, kapalnya lumayan besar, kru2 nya ramah2, dan yang paling penting makannnya Weeennnaaakkkk bener!

Begitu sampai di Cruise kita tidak langsung berlayar, kita akan menginap di Luxor malam itu karena kita akan menelusuri kota Luxor seharian. Sehabis makan siang di Cruise kita yang satu group terdiri dari sekitar 20 orang yang dipimpin oleh seorang guide mesir beraksen British (jarang2 org Mesir punya aksen British), yang bagus sekali caranya menerangkan sejarah2 Mesir.

Early morning we had picked up at Luxor directly by the agent to then be brought to our Cruise, Oberoi Cruise. The 5 star ship has beautiful bedrooms, our room was very comfortable, fairly large ship, the crews were very friendly, and most importantly the food was delicious. Once in the cruise we dont sail directly, but we will stay at the Luxor that night because we will explore the city of Luxor in the day time. On the Cruise there are about 20 groups of people led by a local Egyptian with -accented British bring us to see Luxor city, ur guide explained the history of Egypt very well.

Luxor Temple

Luxor Temple terletak di jantung kota Luxor, templenya indah sekali, banyak lukisan-lukisan dinding yang menceritakan ttg Egypt ialah UNION, yaitu perpaduan antara Lotus dan Papyrus, setiap pilar berlukis dan berpahatkan Lotus dan Papyrus. di depan pintu masuknya dahulu ada 2 buah Obelisk, tetapi sekarang hanya ada satu buah, yang sebuah lagi sekarang ada di Paris.

Luxor Temple is located in the heart of Luxor, a beautiful temple, many sculptures - wall carvings that tell about Egypt, one of which is the UNION, the combination of Lotus and Papyrus, each pillar carved Lotus and Papyrus. in front of the entrance there is a single Obelisk, there should have been two, but the other one is now in Paris.

Karnak Temple

Dari Luxor Temple kemudian kita beralih ke Karnak Temple, Karnak temple ini ukurannya jauh lebih besar dr Luxor temple. Gue terkagum-kagum dengan kemegahan temple yang di buat untuk dewa RA (matahari) ini, dengan patung-patung tua, dengan pilar-pilar raksasanya, dan lebih interesting lagi bahwa dahulunya temple ini terendam didalam pasir hampir keseluruhannya. Kalau kamu disana kamu bisa lihat ada bekas-bekas terendamnya di dinding-dinding dan pilar-pilar temple dengan warna yang agak gelap. Dipintu masuk temple ini berbaris patung-patung Sphynx berkepala singa disebelah kanan dan kirinya.

Paling TOP lagi datanglah ke Karnak temple pada jam 7 malam untuk mengikuti Sound and Light show, sungguh spektakuler dengan adanya sound and light di temple sambil mendengarkan sejarah dari temple tersebut.

From Luxor Temple and then we move on to the Karnak Temple, Karnak temple is much larger in size than Luxor temple. I was amazed by the grandeur of the temple which was made to the god RA (sun), with its old statues, the giant pillars, and more interesting to mention that this temple was once almost entirely submerged in the sand. If you're there you can see there are traces of inundation in the walls and pillars of the temple with a slightly darker color. At the front door of this temple there are statues of Sphynx-headed lion lined on the right and left.

Most interesting is also to come to the Karnak temple at 7 pm for the following Sound and Light show, truly spectacular with a sound and light in the temple while listening to the history of the temple.

I didnt have a good camera that time :)

Karnak Temple

Dari Karnak kita naik Bus menuju Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. Dalam perjalanan kita ke valleys, kita melewati perkampungan orang-orang lokal di padang pasir berbatu. Rumah-rumahnya yang unik terbuat dr batu dan tanah setempat, dan uniknya lagi bahwa banyak rumah yang bercat warna warni pada tembok luarnya, ada warna merah, orange, biru dan hijau, seperti di ujung kiri pada gambar dibawah ini. Ternyata rumah-rumah yang bercat warna warni itu menunjukkan bahwa pemiliknya sudah pergi ke Mekkah, menunaikan ibadah Haji, jika belum pernah pergi ke Mekkah rumah nya hanya bercat coklat.


From Karnak we take  bus ride to the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. In our journey to the valleys, we pass the village of the local people in the rocky desert. The houses are made ​​of stones and local soil, and something that was very unique that caught my eyes was there are colorful painted houses on the outer wall among the other houses, looks like a painting, there are red, orange, blue and green, as in the far left in the picture below. Turns houses painted colors it shows that the owners had gone to Mecca, the Hajj pilgrimage, if you've never gone to Mecca his house just painted brown. fascinating..

Valley of the Kings & Valley of the Queens

Valley of the Kings adalah tempat kuburan para raja-raja pada masa dahulu, tetapi mummi-mummy nya tak ada disini lagi, semuanya sudah pindah ke museum-museum, ada yang di Cairo, England, Paris dsb. Thomb  saja yang masih ada di sini, jadi kita masih bisa menikmati cerita-cerita nya melalui lukisan-lukisan didinding thomb yang warnanya masih nyata, sayangnya kita tak boleh menggunakan kamera di dalam thomb . Hal yang sama juga dengan Valley of the queens. Sayang saya tidak bisa mengabadikannya. Kita juga berhenti di beberapa tempat bersejarah dimana terdapat sisa-sisa sejarah seperti patung-patung, bangunan-bangunan yang kemudian dipelihara dan dijaga.

Valley of the Kings is the burial place of the kings in ancient times, but his mummy-mummy is not here anymore, everything has been moved to museums, there are in Cairo, England, Paris and so on. Thomb are still here, so we can still enjoy his stories through paintings on the wall thomb whose color is still real, unfortunately we can not use the camera in the thomb. The same thing with the Valley of the queens. We also stopped at some historic places where there are remnants of history such as statues, buildings were then preserved and maintained.

Memnon

Setelah tour ini kita kembali ke Cruise untuk makan malam, setelah itu kita bisa melakukan apa yang kita mau, para penumpang ada yang tinggal di cruise dan beristirahat,  ada yang berjalan-jalan di kota Luxor ada juga yang nonton sound and light, baik di Luxor Temple atau di Karnak Temple. Keesokan harinya kita berlayar ke Esna, Edfu dan Kom Ombo, tempat2 bersejarah yang ada di sepanjang sungai Nil ke arah Aswan.

After this tour we returned to Cruise for dinner, then we can do whatever we want, some people decide to stay on the cruise and rest, some take a walk in the town, and there are also people go to the watch sound and light, either in the Karnak Temple or Luxor Temple. The next day we sail to Esna, Edfu and Kom Ombo, another historical places which exist along the Nile towards Aswan.

Edfu

Edfu temple di dirikan untuk dewa Horus (elang) anak dari Isis dan Osiris. Didalam temple ini banyak gambar-gambar di dinding yang menceritakan tentang Dewa Horus. Dan banyak juga mengkisahkan Ramses II dalam wujud Horus, karena Ramses II menganggap bahwa dia adalah jelmaan dewa Horus.

Edfu temple built for the god Horus (hawk) son of Isis and Osiris. Inside the temple there are many pictures on the wall that tells the story of the god Horus. And many paintings that tell about Ramses II in the form of Horus, because Ramses II think that he is the incarnation of the god Horus.

Malam itu kapal kami tidak akan berlayar, tapi bermalam di Edfu. Dari Edfu temple ini kami singgah dipasar buat beli Galabeyya untuk "Galabeyya party" yang akan diadakan di cruise malam itu. Galabeyya adalah pakaian khas Mesir, semua diharuskan memakai Galabeyya, jika tidak maka tidak diperkenankan untuk menghadiri pesta, jadi pada sore itu semua laki-laki, perempuan, sibuk membeli Galabeyya.

Acara Galabeyya party yang diadakan di dalam Cruise dibuka dengan nyanyian, dan tarian-tarian Nubian dan Syrian, lengkap dengan alat musiknya. Selanjutnya Belly dancing, kapten kapal memanggil 10 orang untuk maju ke depan dan menari belly dancing satu persatu dengan diiringi musik sampai musik selesai. Gue dan Novie termasuk nama yg dipanggil .

That night our ship will not sail, but overnight in Edfu. The temple of Edfu we stopped by at the market to buy Galabeyya for "Galabeyya party" to be held on the evening on the cruise. Galabeyya is the typical attire of Egypt, all required to wear Galabeyya, otherwise it is not allowed to attend the party, so in the afternoon all the men, women, busy buying Galabeyya.

Galabeyya party event held at the Cruise opened with songs, dances and Nubian and Syrian, complete with their instruments. Belly dancing Furthermore, the ship's captain to call 10 people to come forward and dance belly dancing to the accompaniment of music one by one until the music is finished. I heard my name and Novie called to dance.

Our group

Kom Ombo

Esok pagi-pagi sekali kita berlayar lagi menuju Kom Ombo, setelah makan pagi kami sudah sampai di Kom Ombo yang terletak di padang batu tak berpenghuni dipinggir sungai Nil, sebelum kapal berhenti, para penumpang sudah berlarian keatas dek untuk melihat temple ini dari atas kapal, seperti gambar gue dibawah ini.

The next morning we set sail once again towards Kom Ombo, after breakfast we've arrived at Kom Ombo which is located in an uninhabited desert rocks alongside the Nile. Even before the ship stopped, the passengers are scurrying onto the deck to see this temple from the ship.

Kom Ombo yang artinya Buaya, temple ini di bangun untuk dewa Buaya, di dalam temple kecil ini banyak lukisan-lukisan seperti halnya di temple-temple lain di Egypt yang menceritakan kejadian masa lalu dimana dewa Buaya sangat berperan dalam kehidupan para raja melalui lukisan.

Kom Ombo which means crocodile, this temple was built for the crocodile god, at the small temple many of the paintings as well as in the other temples in Egypt who described the events of the past where the crocodile god was instrumental in the lives of the kings.

Aswan

Dari Kom Ombo kami berlayar lagi menuju Aswan, Aswan terletak di ujung Selatan Egypt, berbatasan dengan Sudan, yang penduduknya disebut Nubian, mereka berkulit hitam seperti orang Sudan, karena sebetulnya mereka memang berasal dr Sudan, mereka sendiri tidak mau menyebut diri mereka orang Sudan. Penduduk Aswan sangat ramah, dan lebih sopan dari orang-orang di Cairo, kota Aswan sendiri jauh lebih bersih, hijau dan segar dibanding Cairo, sungai Nil di Aswan jauh lebih bersih dan indah.


From Kom Ombo we sailed again towards Aswan, Aswan is located at the South end of Egypt, bordering with Sudan, which is called the Nubian population, they were black like the Sudan, as in fact they did come from Sudan, but they are not willing to call themselves Sudan. Aswan residents are very friendly, they are more polite than the people in Cairo, Aswan city itself is much cleaner, greener and fresher than Cairo, the Nile in Aswan is much more clean and beautiful.

Lake Nasser

Seharian berada di Aswan kita menuju Lake Nasser, danau ketiga terbesar di dunia. Aswan terkenal dengan Lake Nasser yang terbentang panjang dan bersambungan dengan sungai Nil, yang juga terkenal dengan High Dam-nya. Setelah puas menikmati pemandangan Danau yang sangat besar tersebut kita beralih ke Philae Temple, temple yang dibangun untuk dewa Isis (dewa kecantikan, dewa kewanitaan) yang ada di sebuah pulau kecil di atas lake Nasser, sehingga kita harus menggunakan perahu untuk menuju kesana. Pemandangan di Philae sangat indah, rasanya ngga mau pulang deh....

In Aswan we drove to Lake Nasser, the third largest lake in the world. Aswan Lake Nasser is famous for long stretches and is continuous with the Nile, who is also famous for its High Dam. After enjoying tremendous views of the lake we turn to the Philae Temple, a temple built for the god Isis (the god of beauty, femininity god) is in a small island in the lake Nasser, so we had to use a boat to get there. Very beautiful scenery in Philae.

Obelisk yang patah jadi dua - PHILAE Temple

Berikutnya kita berhenti di sebuah batu-batuan Granit yang sangat besar dan menggunung, kita harus sangat hati-hati menaikinya, didalamnya ada sebuah Obelisk yang sudah patah dalam waktu pengerjaannnya, obelisk yang terbuat dari batu Granit.

Kemudian kita berhenti di tempat pembuatan parfum, parfum-parfum tersebut banyak menggunakan nama Raja dan Ratu, seperti king Tut, Nefertiti, Cleopatra, dan juga Lotus dsb. Gue ngga beli cuma melihat-lihat saja, karena selain baunya gue kurang suka dan agak menyengat, hanya saja botol-botolnya dibuat dengan kaca dan sangat unik bentuknya, kebanyakan berbentuk Shisha (tabung penghisap rokok khas arab).

Setelah seharian di Aswan kita berpisah dengan para penumpang Oberoi, lalu kita menuju Hotel di Aswan, untuk beristirahat karena esok pagi-pagi sekali (jam 3.00AM!!) akan menuju ke Abu Simbel. Kenapa jam 3 pagi karena semua orang2 dari seluruh Aswan yang ingin ke Abu Simbel harus konvoi, pada pagi itu sekita3 20an Bus dan puluhan mobil-mobil sewaan konvoi bersama-sama ke Abu Simbel, jam 4 pagi konvoi mulai bergerak. Kita menaiki mobil sewaan, jadi hanya gue berdua adik gue, supir dan guide, semuanya harus berada disana jam 8 pagi.

Next we stopped at a Granite rocks are very large and mounting, we must be very careful to ride, in it there is an Obelisk which was broken at the time of manufacture, the obelisk is made ​​of granite rock.

Then we stopped at the place of manufacture of perfume, perfumes are a lot of using the name of King and Queen, as King Tut, Nefertiti, Cleopatra, and also Lotus and so on. I do not buy just to see it, because I do not like the smell and somewhat pungent. the bottles are made with glass and a very unique shape, mostly in the form Shisha (smoking typical vacuum tube arab).

After a day in Aswan we parted with passengers Oberoi, then we headed Hotel in Aswan, just me and my sister, to rest for tomorrow early in the morning (at 3.00AM!!) Will be heading to Abu Simbel. At 3 in the morning because all the tourists in the whole Aswan have to go to Abu Simbel at the same time and we must convoy. In the morning around 20 bus and dozens of rental cars together convoy to Abu Simbel, we got our breakfast packed from the hotel for us to eat the the car, about 4 Am the convoy began to move. We climbed to the rental car, just me, my sister, driver and theguide, all of us must be there at 8 am.

Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel terletak diujung negara Egypt, berbatasan dengan Sudan, ditengah-tengah padang pasir tak berpenghuni. Perjalanan ke Abu Simbel sangat menyakitkan, butuh 3 jam untuk tiba di Abu Simbel, selama 3 jam yang kita lihat hanya pasir... pasir... dan pasir.... Panasnya matahari membakar, AC yang sudah full tdk membantu, kurang tidur, pusing dan capek, sangat menyakitkan... Setelah 3 jam kita sampai di Abu Simbel semua jadi worth it!

Abu Simbel is so AMAZING! Empat patung raksasa Ramses II duduk tegak. tepat dihadapan kami, dibalik bukit berbatu di pinggir Lake Nasser. Sekali lagi, sejarah masa lalu mencengangkanku. patung-patung raksasa bersama dengan Tomb, dahulu berada didalam danau Nasser yang dalam, yang pada tahun 1980an diangkat keatas oleh UNESCO, bongkahan batu tersebut di potong berbentuk blok-blok dan kemudian diangkat keatas dan disusun kembali seperti semula di temukan didasar danau.... Sungguh mengesankan!

Abu Simbel is located in the most southern part of Egypt, bordering with Sudan, in the midst of an uninhabited desert. The trip to Abu Simbel is very painful, it took 3 hours to arrive at Abu Simbel, for 3 hours we saw only sands ... sands ... and sands .... The heat of the burning sun, the air conditioner is full morbidly help, lack of sleep, dizziness and fatigue, very painful ... After 3 hours we arrived at Abu Simbel all was just so worth it!

Abu Simbel is so AMAZING! Four giant statues of Ramses II sit upright. right in front of us, behind a rocky hill on the edge of Lake Nasser. Once again, the past history of stunned me. giant statues along with Tomb, formerly located in the deep lake Nasser, who in the 1980s pulled up by UNESCO, and those large stones were cuts in to blocks and then lifted up and put back the way it was found in the bottom lake .... It is impressive!

Ramses II Tomb - Nefertari Tomb

Patung-patung raksasa tersebut (gambar disebelah kiri) berbentuk Ramses II di buat oleh Ramses II untuk menunjukkan kekuatan dan kekuasaannya, sedangkan pintu dibawah menuju ke Tomb-nya. Sedangkan Patung-patung di gambar sebelah kanan yang berjarak kira-kira 300 m dibangun dan dipersembahkan untuk salah satu istrinya Nefertari.

Nefertari adalah gadis Nubian, dia berkulit hitam seperti layaknya orang-orang Nubia. Konon ceritanya ayah dari Nefertari mempunyai hutang piutang dengan raja, karena tak sanggup melunasi hutangnya maka dia memberikan puterinya kepada raja, yang kemudian dikawininya dan menjadi istri yang paling dia sayangi.

The giant statues (picture on the left) in the form of Ramses II created by Ramses II to demonstrate the strength and power, while under the door leading to the Tomb. While the statues in the right image that is approximately 300 m was built and dedicated to one of his wife Nefertari.


Nefertari is Nubian girl, she is black just like the Nubian people. It is said that the story of Nefertari father had accounts payable to the king, because he can not pay the debt then he gave his daughter to the king, who later became the wife he marry and he loved the most.

Inside the tomb

Didalam tomb tersebut (Tomb dari patung yg sebelah kiri) hanya berisi ruangan kecil gelap, dan disisi-sisinya berjejer lagi patung-patung berbentuk Ramses II yang berdiri seperti menatap kearah kami. Didalam dinding seperti biasa berlukiskan pengalaman perang beliau, dimana salah satu gambar yang terkenal ketika beliau berperang dengan mengendarai kereta kuda.


Abu Simbel adalah lokasi kita yang terakhir, jam 2 siang konvoi kembali menuju Aswan, yeap... 3 jam lagi ke Aswan.. dan lagi, dibawah teriknya matahri padang pasir.... Gue sarankan sebaiknya kalo kamu mau ke Abu Simbel naik pesawat aja, butuh 1 jam dengan pesawat kecil banget ke Abu Simbel... Ngga tahan deh panasnya....

Inside the tomb (Tomb of the statue which the left) contains only a small dark room, and again lined up side-side statues of Ramses II stand shaped like staring at us. Inside the walls as usual berlukiskan his war experience, where one of the famous picture when he fought with a horse-drawn carriage ride.

Abu Simbel is our last location, at 2 pm the convoy back to Aswan, yeap ... another 3 hours to Aswan .. and again, under the hot desert matahri .... I suggest you should if you want to get on a plane to Abu Simbel wrote, it took 1 hour with a really small plane to Abu Simbel ... 


Dari Aswan kita langsung menuju stasiun kereta untuk bertolak ke Cairo... sekitar 14 jam naik sleeper train.... Selesai sudah perjalanan kami di Luxor, kami pulang dengan berbekal memori indah ttg perjalanan kami. Entah kapan bisa kembali lagi kesana.... Sebetulnya masih banyak ribuan kata, ratusan gambar yang ingin gue tuangkan disini, but words are not enough.... pictures are not enough....

Tips: Lebih baik memulai perjalanan ini dengan menuju Aswan terlebih dahulu (Abu Simbel dan Aswan), baru kemudian berlayar dengan Cruise ke Luxor. Karena "the best part"nya itu ada di Luxor. Trip ini diperlukan waktu 5 hari 4 malam. Sedangkan kalau ke Luxor terlebih dahulu hanya 4 hari 3 malam.

Maaf foto2 ini diambil pada saat saya masih narsis, jadi saya tidak menemukan foto-tanpa-saya nya :D


From Aswan we went straight to the train station to depart for Cairo ... about 14 hours by sleeper train ....  our trip in Luxor has ended, we went home armed with a wonderful memory that you already know about our trip. I dont know when I can go back again .... there are many thousands of words, hundreds of pictures that I want to pour here, but words are not enough .... pictures are never enough ....

Tip: It's better to start this journey toward the first Aswan (Abu Simbel and Aswan), then sail to cruise to Luxor. Because "the best part" of his was in Luxor. This trip takes 5 days 4 nights. Meanwhile, if to Luxor first 4 days 3 nights only.
Sorry foto2 was taken when I was a narcissist, so I do not find my photos-without- me on it: D