An adventure to Luxor City – Day one

Luxor, a city on the east bank of the Nile River in the southern part of Egypt, used to be the Pharaoh’s capital, at that time called “Thebes.”  I did not even know that prior, but it felt this way when looking at the number of ancient tombs, temples, and statues, that I have seen there.

The first thing you will notice in this city is the Nile River and how it makes everything around it feel so calm and beautiful. No wonder Pharaohs made the capital there! And as calm, peaceful, and beautiful as the Nile River is, so are the original residents of Luxor, the most welcoming and kind people you can meet.

I stayed in a guest house called “AlaaAdin,” Mr. Taha, the owner/keeper of this guest house is one of the kindest and most helpful people I met in this city. He guided us around and showed us the activities that we could do in the city of Luxor, and also helped us plan how we are going to spend our next four days, counting that on the first day of arrival, we were a bit tired from the trip and we reached a bit late as well.

Day one:

That morning I woke up to a fresh breeze from the Nile River and the most unique sounds of birds. I found out later that some of the bird species that live there can only be seen there, so you can only imagine how this combination fills your morning with such good vibes, and energy and activates your inner sense of adventure.

All this brought up inner curious child in me. It made me want to go out and get in touch with this feeling that I got from the window of my room. And so I did. I went downstairs and enjoyed a beautiful breakfast with an Egyptian cup of tea. You can find such cafes lined next to the Nile River, and trust me, no matter which one you pick, you will find yourself so comfortable due to the hospitality of the owners there, the beauty of the Nile River and the melody of birds.

Nile River, Luxor, Photo: Ahmed Taha

I could not help myself, I had to touch the Nile, I had to get in touch with this beauty deeper, much deeper than just looking at it, smell it and feel it’s breeze on my face. So next, we decided to rent a sail boat to roam around the Nile River for a bit. You will find plenty of them lined up throughout the Nile River bank. 

The feeling that I had since the morning, the one of inner peace, happiness and adventure, only grew more when I got the chance to touch the Nile River with my own hands. I feel like no matter how much I try to describe it, I would still not give full appreciation that it deserves, nor be able to describe its beauty or the feeling that it will give you, so I will leave this part for you to experience when you decide to go to Luxor and meet the magnificent Nile River.

From all this fresh air and good vibes, we got hungry, and decided to go to the other side of the Nile River to have a bite in one of the local restaurants in Luxor city. As we are new to this city, and we don’t know where exactly can we go to grab a lunch, we rented a horse wagon. You can find these as well lined up next to Nile River where they park the sail boats. Interesting fact: locals calls this horse wagons “Hantoor”, and that was another beautiful thing I experienced there. Roaming around with such a transportation method felt so good! No toxins from an engine, no disturbing car sounds or rumbles, just this magnificent creature that drags you around in your wagon, ahh so peaceful! 

The horse had the coolest name! The driver (Ahmed) calls him “Bob Marley”, and as nice and kind the horse was, the owner Ahmed was as well. He showed us around the city and gave us more ideas on what we could do in Luxor.

Bob Marley the horse, Luxor, Photo: Ahmed Taha

Unfortunately, as much as this adventurous inner child of mine still wanted to see more of Luxor city, time was not for me to control, and it was getting darker. We took Ahmed’s number, and planned another tour the next day. To get back to the other side, we took a ferry. Even though the sailboats that can take us to the other side were available, we wanted to experience everything in this city.

But yet: tomorrow awaits us!