Virtuoso Insights - August/September 2008 - (Page 40) A 40 fterward, Sherif brings us to one of Luxor’s souks. The transition from hushed antiquities is astounding but sublime, as a vibrant eruption of modern-day Egypt comes cascading in a kaleidoscope of colors, scents, and sounds. Egyptians zip past on bicycles. Aromatic spices beckon from baskets. Galleries of galabeyas (full-length cotton robes) pirouette like weightless ballerinas. And calls from vendors selling everything from fresh fruit to soapstone scarabs fill the air. The bazaar is beautiful, but I’m nonetheless content to return to the calm of our ship and a refreshing drink of karkadeh. Steeped in hibiscus, the elixir serves as the ideal restorative, coupled with a lounge chair on the sundeck where I continue my read of Children of the Alley, Mahfouz’s allegorical novel about the genesis of Egypt. The respite, lulled by the placid flux of the Nile, also allows time to reflect on my journey thus far. The list of wonders is vast, and begins with the Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, highlighted by Khufu, the only remaining Ancient Wonder of the World. After boarding the Zahra in Luxor (and before our downstream, roundtrip excursion to Quina), we visited the gems of ancient Thebes, including the Colossi of Memnon, the legendary twin statues who sang to the dawn; the stunning cliff-side Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt’s only female pharaoh; and the enormous Temple of Karnak, the center of worship for the sun god Amun-Ra. Later, as I watch the setting sun transform the Nile and sky above, I recall our descents into the earthen tombs of the Valley of the Kings. There, on the river's West Bank, preserved hieroglyphics from the Book of the Dead once showed Egyptian pharaohs how to pass through death, much as the sun passes through the 12 hours of night, so they could be reborn to an eternal afterlife. As the sun flares once more before slipping from the sky, I reflect on Sherif’s maxim, recited over the past four days as we toured the sepulchers and monuments of a culture obsessed with eternity: “The ancient Egyptians did not believe in reincarnation; they believed in resurrection: that you die in one life only to go on to another.” more river Nile on page 42 P Fruit vendor at Luxor souk. Sunset on the Nile. Virtuoso insights Photo ©Joel Puglisi
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