There are few places in the world like Luxor. Its Nile setting gives it the potential to be an idyllic spot, surrounded by ancient history and beauty. It is possible to find quiet places in which to enjoy the views of the surrounding desert and the famous river that gives this country life, but they are few and far between. The truth of modern Luxor is that it is the “hassle capital of Egypt.”

But the reason there is so much hassle in Luxor is because there is just so much to see here, bringing in tourists by the millions each year. Luxor is divided into two areas, split by the river: the East bank and the West bank. The East bank has several impressive temples, and is the site of the modern town. The West bank is where ancient Thebes sat, home to the Valley of the Kings, Queens, and several large funerary temple complexes.

The average traveler spends about three days in Luxor, each day packed with sightseeing. It all can become a blur. When I first came here four years ago, I remember being at my last tour destination for the day just waiting for it to end so I could grab a beer at my hotel. We tried to take a slightly more laid-back approach, doing it independently without organized tours. Of course, this just means more hassle.

On the walk from our hotel to the docks to catch a ferry to the other side, we were assaulted constantly by people offering carriage rides, taxis, trying to steer us into the bazaar, food, tea, everything. When you get to the river, people start offering (in addition to taxis and carriage rides, etc.) felucca rides, and private ferries. Then when you finally get on the ferry, one or more taxi drivers attaches themselves to you and spends the entire trip across trying to convince you to overpay for a car for the day. There are always drivers who spend the better part of the morning riding the ferry from one side of the river to the other, looking for tourists.

If you have managed to get across the river without agreeing to anything, as soon as you get off you are approached by even more taxi drivers, all offering their services. There are several things about this that are annoying. First is of course the fact that you are always having to tell people no constantly, no exaggeration. Second is that people won’t take no for an answer. This is common “sales” practice in Egypt. They never seem to understand that when you say no, it is often because you simply don’t want the taxi/camel/horse/felucca/carriage ride, or the scarf/necklace/pyramid paperweight/papyrus/alabaster/chess set, etc, regardless of the price. So when you say no, they insist on asking you what you are willing to pay. Usually they’d have to pay us for their stuff, something that isn’t likely to happen soon.

The third most annoying thing about all of this is that many times these people will flat out lie to your face. Not just mislead you, or tell you half-truths, but tell you lies that will soon become evident for what they are. Some of these people are ruthless and have no shame. “It is very far, too far to walk,” when it’s 100 meters away. “It’s closed, wait in my shop,” when it’s open. “You must have a guide when the people are praying,” when that’s just stupid. Fortunately I’ve been through it all before on my previous trips, so the cons people usually fall for I’ve already fallen for, and I know better. So that’s what the independent traveler is up against in Egypt. Still, it’s worth it, I just feel it’s a part of our experience that needs to be mentioned. We always show the fun, beautiful and amazing aspects, and rarely the frustrating, dirty, or unsavory aspects.

During our three days in Luxor we visited the Valley of the Kings, the Tombs of the Nobles (a less visited site of tombs surrounded by a village that used to make a living by selling artifacts found in the tombs), the rock-cut Temple of Hatshepsut, the Ramesseum, the Luxor Museum, and the massive, unbelievable Temple of Karnak. Val put some great pictures up, and there’ll be a whole episode of BTBtv on Pharaonic stuff. If you’re interested in reading more about ancient Egypt, check the wikipedia, they’ll have more info than we do here.