I went to the new show and have to be brutally honest. I really enjoyed it. I know it is kitsch and some of the facts are completely inaccurate (Tutankhamen was not Akhenaton’s brother) but the whole feel is still as magical for me as when I saw the old show back in 1979.
The sound track has been updated, obviously I am just going on memory but I reckon about 30% of the track is new. The lightening updates are really good.
Regular readers of this blog may remember years ago I conducted a survey on behalf of Mansour Boraik on whether there should be a screen at Karnak to enable laser displays. My readers overwhelming voted no and Mansour was able to use the statistics in discussion with the Sound and Light company. The result of this is they have used the walls of the monument to projection the slides onto and it works really well. They still have the processional bit of the show and as you stand in the first court they project images and hieroglyphs on the gateway of the second pylon.
The 'holy of holies' also has been highlight with a red laser light. When you sit on the benches at the end they screen the display on the walls of the court de cache, the back of the first pylon and the eight pylon. Also the scared lake has floating lights. I was with some guests who had seen the old show and agreed with me the new show was really nice.
The only complaint, the price 100LE seems way over the top compared to entrance of the Valley of Kings at 80LE or indeed entrance to Karnak during the daytime 65LE.
So if your budget allows, GO
Would this have been the light show running in April 2006? That's when I was in Luxor (sorry, I didn't know about your blog then or I would have made sure to say howdy!). I remember it being nice up to a point, and then sitting in the bleachers, I thought, "I've come halfway around the world, I'm sitting in one of the oldest and the absolute biggest religious sites in the world, and I'm absolutely bored stiff."
ReplyDeleteLuckily my party went back to Karnak the next day for about 2 hours of free time. It was awesome. But I have to come back! We didn't get to go up to Hatshepshut's temple and we didn't go into Luxor Temple, either! I need at least a month in Egypt. And if I ever get my pennies together, I'll be calling you for my reservation. :D
Is it me or is Egypt/Luxor starting to get expensive.I have been visiting Egypt since 1989 and seen many changes. I haven't been to a sound and light for many years and now that I see the price I may think twice,although this does depend on the current exchange rate. So, is it worth it considering the effort you put into it walking around?
ReplyDeleteWell see the review above to see if you think it is worth it. I agree visiting the sites is getting more expensive.
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