TOMBS, TEMPLES, & TOURISTS

The South of the Egyptian Nile is dominated by archaeological sites of ancient Egypt. Since Aswan we've cycled past the Temple of Soebek to Idfu, where our hotel window overlooked the Temple of Horus. The 2 days in Luxor so far were mainly spent visiting the Luxor Temple, the Temples of Karnak, and the tombs of the pharoahs in the Valley of Kings. We're still getting accustomed to the number of foreign visitors, as the place is literally swarming with tourists. On the roads the tourist vehicles are forced to travel in convoy, and so far we have been fortunately allowed to proceed by bicycle through the many police check points. In one instance a police van followed us for about 50 km, and when we arrived in Idfu a police motorcyclist escorted us to the hotel with flashing lights and wailing siren. There are many quasi "tour guides", "helpers", and other scams, so the unwary tourist will soon be relieved of his stash of Euro's (or Dollars). One of the pleasures here is being able to relax with a local "Stella", which is particularly refreshing after a month in "dry" Sudan. Tomorrow we plan to proceed away from the Nile towards the Red Sea coast (if we're permitted to cycle that way on our own). Distances since Aswan have been:- Idfu 116 km; and Luxor 122 km.