Day 1 Touchdown in Luxor
We arrived in Luxor Egypt at 12 midnight and we are so grateful our ride was waiting for us. Our Airbnb Marhaba house arranged a taxi and the owner was also waiting at the house to welcome us. Egyptian hospitality is just amazing, and we are so grateful. We ate quickly, took showers and fell into bed.
We are in Luxor for 3 weeks to participate in the Egypt- Luxor Self Directed Hub run by Louise Morris who lives in Luxor with her family and her husband, Abdul. She and her husband have created the most unique and immersive worldschool site for kids and families in the West Bank of Luxor on her husband, Abdul’s farm which is run by his family. Asha will be getting lots of kid time from Monday through Friday 9:30a – 1:30pm and learning about local history, crafts, and community partnership from the perspective of entrepreneurship. We are curious and little nervous as we begin this stage of the trip. It will be different – we’ll be in one place for 3 weeks, seeing other families of parents and kids, and be more social than we’ve been for the whole trip.
We woke up the next morning following our sleep and explored our new home.
Day 2 Hub Orientation and the Colossi of Memnon
We slept in, had breakfast, and then ventured out in our new West Bank neighborhood. We are staying in the Ramla neighborhood right along the Nile. It is small but has small stores of spices, veggies and fruits, a falafel street food stall, juice bar and even a gym! There are several cafes along the main street near our home including Mystic Pizza that is showing the World cup matches and Sunrise Café that will serve as the meeting point for the bus stop while we are here.
In the afternoon, we attended our orientation meeting for the Luxor self-directed hub at Memnon Restaurant right across from the Colossi of Memnon, 18 m high statues of the Pharoah Amenhotep III, built 1350 BC and carved out of single blocks of sandstone. We learned that Luxor was once called Thebes.
We met the other 6 families also participating. Everyone is so nice, interesting and it’s wonderful to hear everyone’s travel stories and reasons for travel. We are so inspirited by everyone’s adventures! Asha made fast friends with the other 9 kids participating and they played tag while Louise and our parent group chatted. We finished up and returned to Ramla, made dinner and called in a night!
Day 3 Family day at the Hub
We were up early to meet the 9am bus to the Luxor hub for our 1st day on site. We drove through the West Bank and the road opened up to a lush green farm with kittens, puppies, cows, goats and a beautiful meeting spot under giant shade trees where the kids will be spending their time. We met Louise’s team and did family activities for the day. Asha’s started working on her garden plot which will be her’s for the session, and started learning a few words in Arabic! There was a lunch of pasta and fresh fruit. Asha really enjoyed it and the day was a success. It was great to see the kid’s playing and having much needed social time.
Upon returning we were invited to a playdate at another family’s Airbnb that has a pool! All the kids jumped in and the parents chatted about all sorts of travel related topics – schooling on the road, tips for traveling, discoveries about the West Bank re where to buy groceries, the best ATM, etc. We are enjoying our time so far!
Day 4 And the kids are off!
Asha went to the hub on the bus with the other kids today and that left time for Nishant and I to have breakfast with other parents, talk and explore the area and do some planning. We went to the local fruit and veg stand, the spice store, and discovered the local gym! We worked out using the free weights then had some time for planning the rest of our Egypt trip. It’s an adjustment to a new routine which we know takes a little time. One of the parent’s had a birthday today so we all met for pizza to celebrate!
Day 5 Temple of Habu
Today Nish and I ventured to larger supermarket while Asha was at the hub. We worked out, planned some India travel logistics (which we’ll visit in January 2023) and did some reading. After hub, our crew all went on a tour to the Temple of Habu. During the hub time, there are several trips to temples planned and today’s was Temple of Habu which dates back to 1400 BC (!) and was built by Rameses III and dedicated to the Amon, the god of the Sun.
The entrance looks like a fortress and the walls throughout the temple are covered in hieroglyphs and drawings that tell the story of Rameses III’s wars against enemies in the north. The space offered protection for the inhabitants of Thebes and in its heyday displayed the most brilliant colors. Some of the color is still visible on the massive columns and ceiling illustrations. Our guide showed us how hieroglyphs are translated. The symbols are not letters to be read but rather interpreted by the sound of the object they represent.
Day 6 Market challenge and lunch on an island
Our hub group took a commuter boat to the East Bank today to visit the “souk”, city market. today for a market challenge. The kids went around in teams looking for a list of items: cinnamon sticks, 1kg of oranges, string and a pumice stone, and flexed their language and haggling skills to get these items for the lowest prices. They had a total of 50 Egyptian pounds ($2) and the goal was to finish having found all the items and the most money left over. The kids had a blast!
We then boarded the boat and headed out to an island on the Nile for a BBQ lunch. The kids ran around and played in the sand and adults chatted in the sun. When we returned home were spent but grateful for a unique day out!
Day 7 Walk along the Nile
After drop-off, parents gathered for a walk and zig zagged through the farm fields of damp black soil and different bright green crops. In ancient times, the Nile River used to flood in August and was celebrated for 2 weeks starting August 15th. The flooding created a fertile valley in the desert along the Nile which allowed agricultural communities to flourish. Today the Aswan dam which was constructed in the 1960s provides hydroelectric power and also controls the flooding of the Nile to maintain agriculture. We made it back for pick up and met Asha at the bus and then chilled out the rest of the evening. Our first week at the hub has been wonderful!
Day 8 Karnack Temple
Today we headed out to Karnack Temple, the largest of Luxor’s temples and is a “village fortress”. It was first built in the 19th century BC and then was physically expanded upon with each subsequent victory of various Pharaohs of Egypt. The oldest portions lie in the center and the newer structures are on the outside. These impressive ruins have temples, chapels and the Great Hypostyle Hall which is a 50,000 sq ft (5,000 m2) space with 134 massive columns! We loved wandering through the fortress entry way, which still has a pile of gravel and dirt that served as a ramp to build the higher structures, and around the great columns which are replete with hieroglyphics and beautiful paintings. Our kids group did a scavenger hunt which kept everyone engaged and having fun
Day 9 Valley of the Kings
Our second temple date was to the Valley of the Kings, a sacred area in the West Bank valleys build in 15th century BC, where the tombs of 63 royal pharaohs are buried. Instead of building pyramids, the Luxor Egyptians used underground tombs to protect their deceased leaders from looters and all their possessions that went with them. The Kings were buried underground with discreet entrances covered by rocks and rubble.
The tombs were discovered by Howard Carter in 1922 and are still under excavation. We visited the tombs of Ramses III, Ramses IV, whose tombs go underground for about 100m with walls full of carvings and paintings. The paint is original and still in amazing shape for being 3500 years old. We also visited the tomb of Tutankhamen, which displayed King Tut’s mummy! King Tut only reigned from age 9-19 and died so young that the workers hadn’t completed his tomb so they quickly painted the walls, but the rest of the tomb is unfinished. The ornate drawings and art on the walls were stunning! We learned that King Tut is so famous because his tomb and possessions were found intact.
We returned home in the afternoon, rested and had some lunch. In the evening, our group did a felucca boat cruise on the Nile. These boats are traditional wooden boats with 2 massive sails that are only powered by wind. We did a potluck dinner of falafels, pita, drinks and desserts on the boat and enjoyed our sunset sale!
Day 10 Back to hub life
We toured the city of West Bank and ended up checking out the fruit and veg market, a local bookstore and café (Aboudy café) with a couple of the other parents from Luxor hub. We enjoyed strolling through neighborhoods and chatting with one another. We made it back in time for pickup and went to a playdate for some more kid time.
Day 11 Hot air balloon ride at Sunrise
We had a very early wake up – 4am – to meet our ride out to the balloons in time for sunrise. We got to the field where they operators and teams were filling the balloons. We climbed into the basket and started our ascent over the fields of West Bank Luxor rising to over 500m. It was absolutely breathtaking! We floated over green fields of sugar cane on one side and past the desert, valleys and mountains on the other. The lack of wind allowed us to stay in the air for a full hour! It was an unforgettable hour -long ride!
Asha went to hub and managed to stay awake for the day. We did too. In the evening, we were feeling pretty wiped out! Asha started getting sick with some congestion and cough and we knew we’d be lying low for a day or 2 to recover.
Day 12-16 Sick days in Luxor
We heeded the call of our bodies to just take a few days to rest and recover. We have loved our time at the Luxor hub so no complaints but the level of activity is much higher than we’ve been used to. We used these days to recover, read, plan, and just rest. We watched the Oceans 8 and 11 movies, made popcorn and tried to get a lot of sleep. We also watched videos of hieroglyphics which we have enjoyed learning. We had wanted to join friends going to Aswan but it just wasn’t the right time to be traveling. While not what we had expected, the rest time as a family was wonderful. We are grateful for friends who checked on us, a comfortable Airbnb and a little supermarket and pharmacy nearby with all the supplies we need.
Day 17 Atlanta friends visiting Luxor!
Asha was feeling better and returned to Hub today and Nishant and I did some errands around the East Bank to prepare for the holidays. We took the boat across and checked out Aboudy bookstore and the souk. Today we are very excited to see some friends coming from Atlanta to do a cruise that starts in Luxor. Shady and Kim and their kids are some of our favorite people and we have been counting down the days until their visit! We met them at the Luxor Temple in the evening which was stunning at nighttime. The Luxor Temple was built in 1400 BC and built to celebrate kingship in general rather than worship of one particular king. It is still used as a place of worship and is a massive structure that you can see from across the Nile in the West Bank. It was amazing to see them after so long and to see them in Egypt!! We toured the sites including the Avenue of the Sphinxes, a 2.7km long walkway, connecting Luxor and Karnak temples.
Shady and Kim were so gracious and invited us to their cruise boat for dinner. We arrived and were so grateful to spend time with them over a lovely holiday dinner. The time went by way too fast and we hatched a plan to meet up in Maryland when they come through for some soccer events.
Day 19 Sports Day and Pottery at the Hub
Today was all about family fun at the hub! We all gathered at the sports field in our neighborhood on the West Bank and played games together – it was a old fashioned field day! We did the egg-spoon race, tug of war, jump rope, kick ball and ran around together. The hub is winding down this week so we are all getting as much time together as we can before we all go our separate ways.
In the afternoon, we went to the local Ramesseum Pottery Center and the kids could had some fun working with clay. Ramesseum pottery is a local workshop that specializes in double glazes and has an in- house kiln to fire pottery. The generous staff helped the kids use molds and the pottery wheel. Asha was familiar with working with a pottery wheel so was excited to get back to it! We enjoyed the sunset and took a walk around the farms in the area before heading back home.
Day 20 Holiday Tabletop sale and Family Dinner
Today was the celebration and culmination of all the entrepreneurial work Asha and her friends did at the hub. Over the course of 3 weeks, they decided on a product to sell, created a budget based on a market challenge trip and secured the supplies, made the product, created the marketing and advertising plan and then today, organized a table top sale at the hub. It was so fun for the kids and for all of us to see all the work! Asha’s product was origami – she made jumping cats, Christmas trees, bracelets and she was thrilled that she sold out! It was great to see Asha pull in her origami skills learned at her school in Baltimore to her Hub experience. We all had a great time seeing all the hard work, having lunch, and hearing the wrap up session of the hub. In the evening, families met back up at Mystic Pizza for another family dinner to celebrate.
Day 21 Last day of Hub pool party
Today was the last official day of the Worldschool hub. We can’t say enough about how much we have loved this group of families from all different countries. We have all gained valuable friendships that we are excited to keep in touch with regardless of where we all are in the world. We topped off the last day at the Al Ghizeria hotel pool. It was chilly but the kids were unfazed and had a great time swimming and playing games in the pool. Saying good-bye to friends leaving the next day was tough but we know we’ll meet back up soon.
Day 22 Christmas Eve in Luxor
We had some last-minute purchases to make at the East Bank souk and met our friends at the Aboudy bookstore for lunch. We had a nice lunch of pizza and juice and then we headed out to ACE Sanctuary, (Animal Care in Egypt) which is an amazing facility for the care and rehabilitation of injured animals in Luxor – the only one of its kind in Luxor. It started out as a place owners could come to wash their donkeys and horses and has grown to a full animal hospital taking care of and housing dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, and even giant turtles! We had a great tour with the volunteer director and helping feed carrots to horses and the turtle, petting all the cats and visiting the puppies. We learned a lot about the challenges that face the animals in Luxor as they are needed for hard work – transporting people, heavy supplies. This hard work can impact them negatively and some of the remedies used by local residents to heal them cause more damage than good.
Asha donated 1/3 of her proceeds from her Tabletop sale to ACE. We made it home and started preparing for our Christmas Eve dinner with families from the worldschool hub. We had a feast, made fake snow, and listened to holiday music. We had a memorable Christmas!!
Day 23 Christmas day
We woke up early and found presents under Asha’s Christmas tree – Santa found us! We took the morning to be together, chill out and make a breakfast of French toast and eggs. In the afternoon, we packed up and prepared to leave Luxor in the evening. We played Christmas carols which created that holiday spirit even with the 85F sunny weather and dust of Luxor. We had our last dinner with our Hub family and left for the airport to Cairo.
Day 24, 25 Cairo with Family
We were delayed out of Luxor so arrived in Cairo at 2am. Our cousin, Tejal, was so kind – she stayed awake to welcome us! We were so happy to reach their place, dropped our bags, had a quick meal and went to bed. We woke up at noon and were ready for our full day of sightseeing!
We headed out with our tour guide to the pyramids in Giza. As we approached we were taken aback that the pyramids are side by side an urban neighborhood – can you imagine seeing these historical sites from your kitchen window?! There are 3 pyramids build for 3 different kings. The first pyramid, the largest of the 3 known as the Great Pyramid, was built for Pharoah Khufu and consists of a mind blowing 2.3 million limestone stones lifted on ramps by 120K workers over 23 years. The second pyramid was built by Khufu’s son, Khafre for himself. Out of respect it had to be smaller than his father’s pyramid but he found a loophole – Khafre had his pyramid built on higher ground to appear larger than his father’s. From a distance, it does look larger! The 3rd pyramid was built Khufu’s grandson, Menkaure. The 3 pyramids lined up next each are a stellar and unforgettable sight!
We them moved over the Sphinx, built during King Khafre’s reign, and carved out of a single block of limestone. The head of the Sphinx is said to mirror the face of King Khafre, and is set on the body of a lion as a symbol of his great power. It was absolutely stunning! We’ll never forget this day.
Day 26 Rest day and flight to Cape Town
We had a wonderful visit in Cairo but it was over way too soon. It was really fun spending time with Tejal and Anant and experiencing a glimpse of their life in Cairo. We packed up and headed to the Cairo airport to catch an overnight flight to Johanesburg, South Africa. We will arrive in Joburg at 6 am and head to a hotel to rest and then catch an evening flight to Cape Town where we will meet Sonal, another cousin. We are crossing the North to South all the way to South Africa! We are sad to leave Egypt! There is so much more we’d like to see: Aswan, Siwa oasis, the Red Sea, and Abu Simbel. We look forward to our next visit but are very excited to head to one of my favorite cities in the world!!
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