Luxor’s balloon ride canceled due to bad weather

Luxor’s balloon rides were canceled، today morning، which were due to depart in early hours of the morning، due to bad weather.

Hesham al-Desouky، an owner of a hot air balloon company in Luxor، announced that it was decided for the rides to be cancelled to maintain the safety of the tourists lives، who intend to take off this morning.

Noteworthy، Egypt’s tourism receipts almost tripled and worker remittances rose in the last three months of its fiscal year in 2017، marking another step in the country’s economic recovery from a crippling dollar shortage، according to Bloomberg.

Tourism revenue rose to $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter that ended June 30، from $510 million in the same period a year ago، according to initial central bank data that it shared with Bloomberg. Full-year receipts rose 16 percent to $4.4 billion. Remittances grew 9 percent to $4.8 billion in the fourth quarter، and rose 2 percent to $17.4 billion for the year.

-Luxor Overview-

Luxor is a city on the east bank of the Nile River in southern Egypt. It's on the site of ancient Thebes، the pharaohs’ capital at the height of their power، during the 16th–11th centuries B.C. Today's city surrounds 2 huge، surviving ancient monuments: graceful Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple، a mile north. The royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens are on the river’s west bank.

As the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes، Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-air museum"، as the ruins of the temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor stand within the modern city. Immediately opposite، across the River Nile، lie the monuments، temples and tombs of the West Bank Necropolis، which includes the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens.

Thousands of tourists from all around the world arrive annually to visit these monuments، contributing greatly to the economy of the modern city.

The importance of the city started as early as the 11th Dynasty، when the town grew into a thriving city، by native nubi Egyptian، it was renowned for its high social status and luxury، but also as a center for wisdom، art، religious and political supremacy.

Montuhotep II who united Egypt after the troubles of the first intermediate period brought stability to the lands as the city grew in stature. The Pharaohs of the New Kingdom in their expeditions to Kush، in today's northern Sudan، and to the lands of Canaan، Phoenicia and Syria saw the city accumulate great wealth and rose to prominence، even on a world scale.

Thebes played a major role in expelling the invading forces of the Hyksos from Upper Egypt، and from the time of the 18th Dynasty to the 20th Dynasty، the city had risen as the political، religious and military capital of Ancient Egypt.