Old Qurna

When I first came to Egypt, this area was a rambling village of mud brick houses, with no mains water and sporadic electricity. The reason that it was there was that many of the houses were built over tombs, and the owners were gradually emptying the tombs to sell to archaeologists and tourists alike! There were at least 3 attempts to move the villagers to a new site, the earlier ones ending in bloodshed!

However in 2008 the villagers finally agreed to move to a purpose built village, with schools, shops and 2 mosques; and so with the exception of a few painted walls, the area now looks as it did until the tomb raiders moved there in the late 19th century. Some people may well disagree with me on this, but to live in conditions with no sanitation and no water is inhuman to say the least. Sewage from the houses filled the burial shafts of as yet unreported tombs, losing much of Luxor's heritage in the process.

Whenever I visit that area, after what might have been a boring time at home, the landscape invigorates me, and I often spend time musing over who built those huge tombs, how much they cost, and the faith that they had in their afterlife.