Sherrie's Cruising Blog (Sailing Catamaran Element): Egypt part 5

April 16

We decided to visit Karnak without a guide. We organised a taxi to take us and pick us up. We prepaid for both and hoped for the best (lucky for us the fellow was very honest). We hopped in and headed for the temple.

It was a short 10 minute taxi ride to our destination. We agreed that the fellow would pick us up two hours later. This would give us just enough time to marvel at the vast open air museum. There are four parts to the temple. The largest is the only one open for viewing. Here is a link to wikipedia if you are interested in details - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnak.

We entered a main building that housed a large model of what Karnak used to look like before we headed outside to see the ruins.

a model of what Karnak used to look like

this is the model of the entrance that we went in

We left the model and walked outside to where the main entrance was located. I was speechless at how large the walls were upon entering. We walked past the row of rams, past the large wall and into a hallway that led to the first of many huge columns (134 to be exact). We also were able to view the tallest obelisk still standing in Egypt of Hatshepsut (97 feet high and 320 tons of solid Aswan granite - http://www.egyptartsite.com/karbelisk.html). It is one of two left standing.

Shaun and I wondered what it would have been like to see this temple at its height. We wandered around in awe. While Shaun walked further into the temple the girls found a lovely dog to love with some other children who spoke french. I sat next to one of the workers on a bench and got chatting with him about his family. He explained that he has one wife for now and in his broken english told me that he "has two children with one penis"....... Internally I was shocked until later in the day Shaun explained that he has twins. I was so relieved that he wasn't trying to be vulgar. As I sat chatting with him he also explained that he was hoping to have another wife later in life. I am still taken aback by this but will not judge because everyone has their own beliefs.

Shaun arrived back from his walk just in time to grab our taxi. As he was searching for our driver I spotted a lovely bright orange Egyptian top. I was able to purchase it for 40 Egyptian pounds. It was a great deal and is one of my favourite tops. After my purchase we hopped into the taxi who was waiting patiently for us and headed back to the hotel to relax and pack as we were departing the following day back to Turkey.