Ancient City of Thebes, Luxor

Luxor, the ancient city of Thebes, and the capital of {Upper} Egypt during the New Kingdom, may well have been an important site as early as the Middle Kingdom. During the reign of Hatshepsut the road linking Luxor to Karnak began, and under the pharaoh Amenhotep III Luxor first came into prominence. Ramses II erected a number of statues of himself in addition to enormous pylons and obelisks.

The road to Luxor from Karnak is lined with sphinxes, creatures with the body of a lion and head of a man, which represents the pharaoh Amon. Thebes was a city of importance both politically and culturally, and was ideally situated to facilitate trade between Egypt and Nubia {Sudan}. Columns with papyrus capitals line the colonnade into Luxor and are an amazing site to experience once the sun goes down, and nothing compares to seeing the columns and statues lit up at night. Your mind races, as you are transported back in time, dreaming of walking through the avenues of this ancient city.

Travel stylishly,
K

Louisiana Creole

The Laura Plantation located on River Road between Baton Rouge and New Orleans is a raised Creole Planation style house. Our team were in Louisiana last week and stopped by this “maison principale” {family home} to check out the architecture; the gardens and to immerse in a bit of history. Originally called l’Habitation Duparc was 12,000 acres at its largest, and includes properties amassed throughout the years. The manor house was built on high and cleared grounds, and had been the location of the Colapissa Indian village.

Cultivated grounds became French parterre gardens, a pecan orchard, a potager planted adjacent to the original kitchen, and vegetable rows near the slave cabins.According to local legend the primary reason the plantation was saved from ruin was that the Br’er Rabbit stories {supposedly} originated here, and an effort was made to restore the house and grounds. So, through copious research found the “Tar-Baby”stories are not native to America, but found compelling evidence that the tale crossed the Atlantic with slaves.


When in Louisiana visit:
Laura- A Creole Plantation
2247 Highway 18
Vacherie, LA  70090

Read:
The Annotated African American Folktales
by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Maria Tartar

Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings
by Joel Chandler Harris

Indulge stylishly,
K