Luxor

Luxor is a region in upper Egypt south of Cairo by about nine what-were-we-thinking hours on the train, and one what-took-us-so-long-to-figure-this-out hour on the plane) that has a beautiful mountain range that when asked for a name from the locals and non-locals alike is officially called Mountain. It sits along the Nile and holds some of the most famous temples in Egypt and is also home to the Valley of the Kings and Queens. It's a place where after enduring the heat, it's wise to take a felucca ride (sailboat) on the Nile and catch the breeze while visiting the one and only Banana Island.Karnak Temple - this temple proves the Egyptians were 1. really hard workers 2. almost as skilled as the Greeks in architecture (them might be fighting words) and 3. subscribed to the philosophy that bigger really is better. This site is extremely impressive even in the heat among a crowd of Europeans who don't believe in sunblock or jeans that don't create wedgies.Valley of the KingsDon't bother. You'll wait hour to climb into a dingy cave limited in air supply with about thirty busloads of smelly people to see, yet again, more hieroglyphs. It's better to just walk around the beautiful mountain range in which it is located. Mountain Mountain range that is.