Located very close to Luxor is the massive ruins of Karnak. This was tourist central with a bottle of Gatorade for sale, 40 pounds ($13), in the searing heat.
The main temple was impressive, the highlight being the obelix. They were all made in Aswan and floated down the Nile, very impressive. I liked the way the guide calmly said “Some of these are now located in Paris, London and Rome”, I wondered if they were taken as spoils of war over the years.
The temple had a great mix of detail and grand walls, pillars and statues.
Our next stop was the Animal Hospital, a purely donation based outfit caring for the animals at Luxor. Their new facilities were donated in a Will from a British benefactor. The hospital offers free cleaning and education services with Vets from around the world donating time to help the badly treated animals from the area.
We visited on a Friday and the place was closed to the public but every stable was full and the Vets were hard at work. It was shocking to see how badly the donkeys and the horses can be treated and very moving to see the hard working people at the hospital doing their best to help.