Karnak Sound & Light Show
 

Has anyone been to this? Did you enjoy it or not - worth the money?

We went (2005) to either the Karnak or Luxor light & sound show. Do both Karnak and Luxor have show? Anyway, whichever, it was a recorded reading of an overly dramatic script while spot lights whipped around the ruins. While you sit on uncomfortable concrete benches. And look across the way to lights of a modern shopping center. No thanks, but again not sure which ruins it was, if both have shows.

regards - tom

We saw the shows in 2005 in Luxor and at the Giza pyramids. I can support cary999's opinions. It can be a bit tedious if you have younger children, but if you have any foreknowledge of what happened in the area at the time the show can help you compile the facts.

Personally, I enjoyed it because it explained events. It is also a treat to see the structure in the evening. I would recommend you give it a try.

The cost? Really inconsequential when you consider how much it has cost you to get there. My thoughts ... do things when you travel that you can't do at home. You can't see this sound and light show at home.

"You can't see this sound and light show at home"

And thank God, I say :-)

regards - tom

More hype than substance! I saw the show last November and while it was interesting to hear the history being related, I personally did not enjoy it. As I recall, we spent more than an hour being herded through Karnak, with a huge crowd of people,and most of the time, I couldn't hear or see anything. We were then seated to watch a rather boring presentation. It was part of my tour (Int'l Expeditions), so the cost was inconsequential, but Abu Simbel was far superior.

I went last December. It was OK and I'm glad I had the experience of seeing a sound and light show in Egypt. But when it finally ended I was glad.

I saw the sound and light show at Karnak in Feb 2006. Personally I enjoyed it. It isn't a glitzy production. It is very simple and focuses on the history of the land and the temple.

You start at the front gate with you and a hundred or so of your new best friends. And walk through the temple ending at the lake in the back.

Actually it reminded me more of the moonlight hikes through the indian ruins that the national park service gave when I was growing up.

Just depends on your taste, and what else you have to do that evening.

I find the Karnak one difficult because you are having to make your way on foot in bad lighting on uneven surfaces. As others have said there are lots of people there so at each stop you have to jockey for a position to see what they are spot lighting and by the time you do that the nararation is half over. At the end you sit on the hard seats around the sacred lake and that does last too long.

I like the Giza and Abu Simbal MUCH better. In Giza there is a restaurant that will serve you beer or wine while you watch - which makes it a whole lot easier to sit through, if you like that sort of thing. :D

I saw 2 of them.

Giza( Pyramids)

Karnak

The Karnak one requires that you have some knowledge of the history of past events.

I knew the history of Luxor ,Karnak, the Nile and the Pyramids very well and I knew most of the Pharohs and Isis, Nefertari etc and I still found it difficult to follow...

maybe
because.... there is no picture, it is just a voice you hear and lights flashing over the Temple walls and Obelisks...

so you have to concentrate on a voice only...
However, I did not want to miss any of the light shows, that is why I went to both of them.

Yes I am a brute for punishment!!

If you are pressed for time or if you have something "better" to do ..then do it, you will not miss much by not seeing the Karnak light show!

Percy

I saw Karnak and Giza and I thought they were worth it. I loved walking through Karnak at night and didn't care that the benches were hard....I was in Egypt and had read and studied about it and so loved both shows. I didn't think I would ever return and didn't want to miss a minute of the amazing sights. Walking and touching those columns at night was like being there and living in that time period. Fortunately, we will be there again in Dec. and I will problably do it again. I think you have to enjoy that history. I also stood in line for 6 hours when Tut's death mask come to the states to get to see it. That time is history is so very interesting. You might try reading the fiction writer, Elizabeth Peters if you aren't into reading history books. They are mysteries and are about Egypt.

Hi southeastern - thanks for the reading advice. I love mysteries and will check out Elizabeth Peters. I am going to Egypt in January and have always loved to read fiction set in countries I am about to visit.

She's a well known author and you can probably pick up some of her books at a half-priced book store. Agatha Christy's Murder on the Nile is good too. Think they even have it in a movie. The library may also have both authors. The library may also have some video's on Egypt that are interesting. I think part of the fun of going on a trip is to gain some knowledge whether it be fact or fiction. It makes the time go quicker and keeps you excited about the trip. Of course the internet provides a wealth of things too.

By the way, if you decide to do Karnak you might take a small flashlight with you and a sweater. When we were waiting to go in and they turned the lights on the row of lions, I thought it was the most amazing sight. The columns were awesome too. It was just like stepping back in time. I was thrilled to even touch them. To be able to walk in the same footsteps as the first Egyptions did and to see the old city was fantastic. How anyone could be bored is beyond me.I thought it was well done. Yes, the real world is outside, what did they expect....a remote spot? They wouldn't like the achropolis in Athens either, the real world is around it too. Again,I wouldn't miss it, you may never pass that way again. It's like that Master card advertisment.....priceless.