Egypt 8-30-15

Today started early. We were picked up at our boat at 4am and taken to an area where we went on a sunrise balloon ride. (So peaceful) You can see the street that divides the ‘Valley of the Kings’ with the rest of the city. The river boats are moored next to the Temple of Luxor. After the balloon ride we went to the Temple of Queen Hatshepust. She was the only woman Pharaoh to ever rule and was often portrayed as a man. The surrounding town still mines for alabaster and makes pottery using hand tools. We returned to the boat and started our journey down the Nile. Enterprising young salesmen came along side our boat to sell Egyptian scarfs and blankets. They would throw the items up for us to look at in plastic bags. If we wanted the merchandise, we would put the money in the bags and throw it back down. The sunsets were golden.