'Don't Follow Me!'

This a brilliant phrase to make the ever present Luxor touts go away...there is something in the concept of being accused of 'following' that results in them almost immediately desisting from their importuning.

But it is rotten travel advice if you are contemplating coming to Luxor. The ancient sites raise it above all the hassle and, truth be told, it is not half as bad as it was 35 years ago. No, Luxor is worth a detour any day, and our going with the flow approach led us without any planning whatsoever to enter the Luxor Temple just as the sun was going down.

The indigo sky above without the blast of the high noon sun, plus the subtle lighting emphasising the relief of the hieroglyphics made it a theatrically epic experience. And an added bonus was that the tourists with their rainbow coloured clothes became indiscernible from the shadows; it felt we had the place to ourselves. Come visit!