travelswithalice

February 25, 2007

Luxor

After the laid back elegance of Aswan, we found Luxor lacking in charm. Our hotel didn't help any.

When a hotel chooses a name like Winter Palace, it must realize that expectations are bound to go sky high. Reality hit us hard. We realized we hadn't booked the fabled Old Winter Palace but we didn't expect the adjoining New Winter Palace to be the dump it turned out to be.

We were too tired to care. We ignored the narrow corridors, the tacky doors, the cheap furniture, and the squeeze-in bathroom with the stained toilet bowl. We didn't feel up to bothering with the riverside balcony with the filthy chairs either, so we dutifully took to our bed and went to sleep.

In the morning though when the shower drain refused to do its job, we packed up and moved to the hotel's Pavilion Wing, to a spacious, attractively furnished room with a bright, clean, well-appointed bathroom. Though still not up to the standards of the Old Winter Palace's high ceilings, tasteful English interiors, and worshipful celebration of the colonial lifestyle, this was a step-up from the dreadful New Winter Palace.

Our world began to smile again. The moral of the story: do the research! "Riverview"and "new" are not always a good thing.

The decision to stay indoors in the daytime was not a difficult one to make. Luxor's hot and arid climate, even in winter, made a temple crawl an impossibility. Besides, it takes an enormous amount of patience, as well as guts, to brave the unrelenting swarm of vendors and touts that rush up and latch on to you the moment you set foot outside your hotel.

The Luxor Museum offered a delightful alternative. An impressive museum not only because of the superiority of its contents but also because of its design savvy, it demonstrates the benefits to be had from successful, sustainable tourism.

A gallery showcasing recent archaeological finds features stepped platforms that invite the viewer to walk right up to and all around each display, providing an opportunity to inspect the all-important markings at the backs of statues and stelae.

There were few visitors to the temple before dark. It didn't look like much from the street, in the harsh glare of the unforgiving Egyptian sun. But as the sun went down, the oppressive heat lifted and the temple was transformed. Like a worldly and wise woman of a certain age, Luxor has mastered the art of strategic lighting.

When we finally ventured out to the temple in the cool of the evening, we remembered what we came here for. There is a point to Luxor but it's difficult to find before sunset.