92 luxor souk

After five nights at the Rezeiky Hotel, the Oasis Overland group were headed for Hurghada. I decided that sitting on the beach for three days and maybe snorkelling wasn’t where my heart was, so instead opted to stay in Luxor for the three days and make my own way to Cairo. The downside, it would add to the cost of the trip, but the upside was three more days at leisure in Luxor. There was still so much to see, and I looked forward to simply hanging out chatting with locals. I also moved hotels, to the Nefertiti Hotel. I love this place as it is in a perfect location with the Souk right outside the door, and the view from the rooftop terrace is unbeatable, looking out over the Temple of Luxor, the river Nile, and the Theban hills with all their hidden treasures beyond.
Last year I was here with my brother and we had been befriended by a group of local boys in the souk. They spoke no English so it had been fun trying my mediocre Arabic on them. As I was walking through the souk on the second day one of them saw me and immediately came and greeted me as a long lost friend. It was nice to feel so welcomed, and had soon been reunited with the gang. One of them, Yousef, spoke some English now, so were able to chat and make sense with the small amount of language we each had.
With all the spare time on my hands, I simply enjoyed wandering Luxor, reacquainting myself with locales I hadn’t visited in years. After sightseeing on the West Bank during the day I’d come and hang out in the souk; chat with the boys or try and capture scenes of everyday life in Luxor. I had on my phone, pictures of Luxor that I had taken back in 1986, so I enjoyed showing people those.
I also had the good fortune of reacquainting myself with the last remaining member of the family who had owned the Pyramids Hotel where I had stayed for two months at a stretch in 1986 and 1987. It was due to their friendship and generosity that my love affair with Egypt had been first kindled.
Now, I had been walking past the old family home, assuming that they were long gone, only to discover through chatting with a man working on a sewing machine below, that the daughter, Karima, now aged 60, was alive and well, and still living in the same family apartment above. He took my number, and later that same day Karima got in touch with me, inviting me to visit in the evening. I met her husband downstairs and he took me up the one flight of stairs to the apartment. I was overcome by a wave of emotions as I entered that door for the first time in over thirty years. It was the same but different. Countless times I had visited the family here and shared dinner with them. And there was Karima. What a wonderful reunion!
#oasisoverland #Egypt #luxor #souk #luxorsouk