Valley of the Kings
Matt & Brian - Valley of the Kings
Woke up at 5:30 AM this morning and headed for the Valley of the Kings at 6:30 AM. Waffles and strong coffee for breakfast. The valley is set in the middle of the desert and winds back to a dead end with high canyon walls on each side. There are 63 tombs here that were built shortly after the pyramids when Luxor was the capital of Egypt. Kings were buried here starting with Amenhotep and the tombs date from 1550 - 1069 BC.
These tombs are basically narrow passages and rooms carved directly into the limestone. Many stretch back and down 100 or more meters. They were much more easily hidden than the pyramids and as a result, some remained completely hidden from grave robbers. The most famous undisturbed tomb discovered here is Tutankhamun's discovered by Howard Carter in 1922.
The tombs were filled with everything that one would need in the afterlife including things like furniture, jewelry, tools and food. Most of these items that were not already taken by grave robbers are in museums around the world. The only items left in the tombs are the huge granite sarcaphaguses. The walls are carved with hyroglyphics and painted with bright colors. I was surprised at how well preserved these paintings were in some of the tombs.
Valley of the Kings - Brian at King Tut's Tomb
Valley of the Queens
Similar to the Valley of the Kings but on a smaller scale. Only 3 tombs were open here but there were many more of the paintings that were in excellent condition.
Temple of Hatshepsut
Memorial Temple of Hatshepsut - Brian
A huge memorial temple carved into the dessert cliffs for Queen Hatshepsut - or "hat cheap suit" or "hot chicken soup" as our guide said. Three stories high, with each level having a columned terrace. The top level had several towering stone statues of Osiris, some still standing. One side has the Hathor chapel (Goddess of Love) and the other the Anubis chapel (God of Mummification).
Anubis painting inside Temple of Hatshepsut
Set Sail
We set sail today after our morning tour of the West Bank. Brian and I are the only Americans of the 90 passengers on the boat. There is a big group of Spaniards and a big group of Japanese. We have been touring the sites with 2 Egyptians, 3 folks from the UK, a guy from Switzerland and a family of 4 South Africans who live in Dubai.
Our guide said that the Nile is so shallow since the construction of the Aswan High Dam that navigating it requires knowing the river like the back of your hand. Many parts are too shallow for sonar so getting stuck is easy to do. The job of captain is often handed down from father to son along with the knowledge of the shallow spots!
Next stop, Esna.....
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