Begin Luxuriates in Luxor

Premier Menachem Begin was in fine fettle during a strenuous day of touring at Luxor and the Valley of the Kings today. Accompanying reporters calculated that he had ascended and descended some 350 steps, and traveled by land, air and river by the time he visited the Temple of Hatchepsut — and insisted on climbing the steep slope up to the colonnade.

By the top, Aliza Begin was breathing heavily — and had to be supported by her husband. Later in the day, the Begins found energy enough to obviously enjoy a lengthy luncheon and floor show preferred by the Governor of Luxor and his wife.

The Premier’s feeling of well-being may well have been due at least in part to the very warm welcome accorded him by the residents of Luxor. Israeli flags and posters of “Hail to the Peace” festooned the comiche along the riverside, and enthusiastic crowds chanted “Long Live Israel.” Among the most enthusiastic of the onlookers was a group of Israeli and American Jewish tourists.

Begin’s party was particularly pleased with the welcome at Luxor in view of the more restrained atmosphere here in Aswan, where almost all the flags on the streets are Egyptian flags, and the posters praise only Sadat. On Begin’s itinerary were the Tomb of Tutenkamen (where the boy-king still lies embalmed on public view) and the monumental ruins at Kamak, whose towering obelisks are among the marvels of the ancient world.