Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Balloons over the Nile

Wednesday, 14 April 2010



Up at first light  watching the balloons over the Nile   With Luxor Temple in the foreground.












Luxor Temple is a large Ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the east bank of the River Nile in the city today known as Luxor (ancient Thebes) and was founded in 1400 B.C.E.
Known in the Egyptian language as ipet resyt, or "the southern sanctuary", the temple was dedicated to the Theban Triad of Amun, Mut, and Chons and was built during the New Kingdom, the focus of the annual Opet Festival, in which a cult statue of Amun was paraded down the Nile from nearby Karnak Temple (ipet-isut) to stay there for a while, with his consort Mut, in a celebration of fertility – whence its name.
The earliest parts of the temple still standing are the barque chapels, just behind the first pylon. They were built by Hatshepsut, and appropriated by Tuthmosis III. The main part of the temple - the colonnade and the sun court were built by Amenhotep III, and a later addition by Rameses II, who built the entrance pylon, and the two obelisks (one of which was taken to France, and is now at the centre of the Place de la Concorde) linked the Hatshepsut buildings with the main temple.
To the rear of the temple are chapels built by Tuthmosis III, and Alexander. During the Roman era, the temple and its surroundings were a legionary fortress and the home of the Roman government in the area.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxor_Temple
 better photos are on  myegypt website   luxor area temples  at the bottom of the page.click on the photos to enlarge



All the next shots are on the road that runs alongside the temple,
The Pharaos chariot is in the city  not sure what its doing here  or how it got here there is no draw bar attached so maybe they are going to have a chariot and bike race?

















The sugar cane trike  could be a bit of a sore point  with the rider.














Good shade from the midday sun for this street dog











which trike you want one will put a spring in your movement.
















The butcher had a new side of beef in not in the uk here what you see is what you get flies and all.

















One of the strange things I find here is  people who go begging only do it cos some fool tourist will feel sorry for them and give them money, the real poor down and outs do not beg  because a local will always give them something like a cup of tea  or a breakfast or a pound to get his own. 



















They think they can spell as long as it sounds ok 

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