Luxor doorway, a photo by ibischild on Flickr.Bas! Halas!
Enough! Finished!
No, we didn't get up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 Celsius).
But the summer was so long this year.
Signs that summer is OVER in Luxor!
A persistent breeze since the early days of this month. Some evenings almost felt cool.
The hottest part of the day now lasts from, say, 10 to 4, instead of 8 to 8 or..."You mean there's a time of day or night when it isn't hot?"
Kids are back in school.
Mothers crowding the lunch-box aisle at the supermarket.
I heard a bird singing, day before yesterday, A couple of little ripples of song. [Perhaps it was a warbler.] And the sparrows are chirping. I hadn't realized how bird-less the summer was.
People are out doing things during the day, now. On midsummer days, Luxor is quiet as a ghost town. Especially from 2 to 5 in the afternoon, when everything shuts down.
I forgot to mention the temperature, which has been hovering around 100 degrees (38 Celsius) for the past few days. Relief!
[We do have humidity, though. Up to around 40%. I think the river is evaporating!]
You can walk in the sun for a minute or two and not feel that you're being struck repeatedly by a hammer.
You can wait for an arabeya minibus at Luxor temple plaza, standing there for a minute or two, and not feel broiled.
That's it, really. Everyone starts to relax and get busy. After wilting under the assault of the sun for threeee loooong months.
Our summer is coming to an end here in the Arizona desert as well. It's supposed to be under 100° all week. Plus on and off for the past several weeks we've had some rain, this is our monsoon season. We are looking forward to cool nights and warm days, instead of hot nights and hotter days.
ReplyDeleteYes, that will be nice. But...rain. What's that?
ReplyDeleteAbout 6 drops of rain almost 2 years ago, my first winter here. Otherwise, not a drop. Although in spring of 2010, our tour group brought a rainstorm with it to St. Catherine's, Sinai. A real downpour!
Here in New Mexico's high desert I no longer have to carry tools around in a bucket of water while working on the airplanes.
ReplyDeleteBut the wet monsoon is coming...with the mossies that seem to spring straight from the ground after an intense 5-min rain. They don't like my chemistry (is my wit ascorbic rather than acerbic?) but my wife seems to be there for their dining pleasure.
Wow! New Mexico wins the prize! Tools in a bucket of water. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteWe're back up to 106 last 2 days and today. Plus 40% humidity. No wonder I was feeling a tad hot at Karnak temple this morning between 9 and 10 a.m. Pity the tourists that showed up at 2p.m.!