Balloons over the Colossi of Memnon

12 members of our group were up at 4.00am for a sunrise balloon 🎈 flight over Luxor. The rest of us had a lie-in until 6 when we went to pick them up at the Colossi of Memnon.

It was quite a sight seeing all the balloons in the early morning haze. Those who went up said it was amazing!

The Colossi of Memnon are two massive stone statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III, which stand at the front of his ruined Mortuary Temple, the largest temple in the Theban Necropolis. They have stood since 1350 BC, and were well known to ancient Greeks and Romans, as well as early modern travelers and Egyptologists. The statues contain 107 Roman-era inscriptions in Greek and Latin, dated to between AD 20 and 250; many of these inscriptions on the northernmost statue make reference to the Greek mythological king Memnon, whom the statue was then – erroneously – thought to represent.

Back on the bus, a friend of Nabil got on with some handwoven scarves. The were really beautiful. I bought myself one for US$6.Read more