On Friday, December 1st, 2017, we were sitting at breakfast with Mark and Lynne when Chris and Olga, whom we had met when we first arrived in Cairo, joined our group. On their first day they had taken a trip to Alexandria and the next day toured the pyramids at Giza. Now we would be a group of 6 for the next few days. That's as large as our group ever got.
After breakfast we left the boat and drove in a van about 20 or 30 km to the Valley of the Kings. This is a very bleak desert valley that is only differentiated from hundreds of other bleak desert valleys by a pyramid shaped natural outcropping at the top end. Many pharaohs chose this valley for their tombs. Over 60 tombs have been discovered to date, dug into the sides of the valley. After death, the pharaohs were mummified and buried with their most precious possessions in a room at the end of a straight tunnel into the mountainside. The rectangular tunnels and rooms were elaborately decorated with carved and painted scenes and hieroglyphs. Then the tombs were sealed and hidden with rubble to hide them from tomb raiders.
King Tutankhamen may be the most famous pharaoh but not because of anything he did. He only ruled for 9 years and then was mummified and entombed after his death at a young age. However, later on another tomb was dug just up the hill and the rubble was dumped on top of his tomb. That rubble hid his tomb from raiders until the English archaeologist Howard Carter discovered it in 1922. Unlike many desecrated tombs, this one had never been raided and was in pristine condition. Later we saw many artefacts from it at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Egyptologists learned much from King Tut's tomb and he became famous.
Many of the first entrants to this tomb in 1922 died within 2 years. Egyptologists now believe they died from inhaling a mold present in the stagnant air of the tomb. However, the "curse of the mummy's tomb" became folklore.
There's not much to see outside the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, just bare desert. Inside, the tombs are richly decorated. Being leery of rip-offs, we didn't pay the $20 US fee required to allow photos. We regretted that a bit later but the interior of the tombs was not that much different from what we saw at Saqqara. We also learned from observation that although an extra ticket was required, the guards inside the tombs would allow anything for a small bribe. We continue to wonder if flash photography is deteriorating the painted scenes carved into the walls and ceilings of many ancient Egyptian tombs and temples.
Leaving the Valley of the Kings, we drove into the next valley where the Queen of Hatshepsut, a female ruler, had built a temple. Part of it is built of sandstone blocks and part is carved into the rock of the valley. Another impressive sight.
In the nearby village we stopped to watch some stone carvers at work using traditional methods. With a lot of skill and patience, they continue to craft some delicate pieces. Stone carving is a cottage industry in this area with many people working at it from their mud brick homes.
On the way back to the boat we stopped briefly to look at two ancient statues, the Colossi of Memnon, but they weren't in great shape and there really wasn't much to see.
In the afternoon, our boat left Luxor and began cruising up the Nile. We took a picture of a very similar boat that we passed. There are irrigated fields all along the river but the desert hills are usually not far away. The Nile is always described as "the lifeblood of Egypt". We never realized before how true this is. Essentially, Egypt is a long narrow river valley where the annual floods irrigated and fertilized the farmland allowing civilization to flourish while protected from the east and west by vast deserts.
While we cruised, two vendors in a motorboat tied off to our boat and tried to sell blankets. If someone bought one, they would send it up to the deck by rope and payment was lowered in a bag by the same rope.
Later that night there was a Galabeya party where many people dressed in traditional Egyptian clothing. Many men in Egypt still wear the long galabeya tunic every day. Our new friends Olga and Chris had a couple of extra accessories that we wore for the party. Anita encouraged the crowd and soon everyone was up dancing. Lots of fun and a great end to another good day.
After breakfast we left the boat and drove in a van about 20 or 30 km to the Valley of the Kings. This is a very bleak desert valley that is only differentiated from hundreds of other bleak desert valleys by a pyramid shaped natural outcropping at the top end. Many pharaohs chose this valley for their tombs. Over 60 tombs have been discovered to date, dug into the sides of the valley. After death, the pharaohs were mummified and buried with their most precious possessions in a room at the end of a straight tunnel into the mountainside. The rectangular tunnels and rooms were elaborately decorated with carved and painted scenes and hieroglyphs. Then the tombs were sealed and hidden with rubble to hide them from tomb raiders.
King Tutankhamen may be the most famous pharaoh but not because of anything he did. He only ruled for 9 years and then was mummified and entombed after his death at a young age. However, later on another tomb was dug just up the hill and the rubble was dumped on top of his tomb. That rubble hid his tomb from raiders until the English archaeologist Howard Carter discovered it in 1922. Unlike many desecrated tombs, this one had never been raided and was in pristine condition. Later we saw many artefacts from it at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Egyptologists learned much from King Tut's tomb and he became famous.
Many of the first entrants to this tomb in 1922 died within 2 years. Egyptologists now believe they died from inhaling a mold present in the stagnant air of the tomb. However, the "curse of the mummy's tomb" became folklore.
There's not much to see outside the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, just bare desert. Inside, the tombs are richly decorated. Being leery of rip-offs, we didn't pay the $20 US fee required to allow photos. We regretted that a bit later but the interior of the tombs was not that much different from what we saw at Saqqara. We also learned from observation that although an extra ticket was required, the guards inside the tombs would allow anything for a small bribe. We continue to wonder if flash photography is deteriorating the painted scenes carved into the walls and ceilings of many ancient Egyptian tombs and temples.
Leaving the Valley of the Kings, we drove into the next valley where the Queen of Hatshepsut, a female ruler, had built a temple. Part of it is built of sandstone blocks and part is carved into the rock of the valley. Another impressive sight.
In the nearby village we stopped to watch some stone carvers at work using traditional methods. With a lot of skill and patience, they continue to craft some delicate pieces. Stone carving is a cottage industry in this area with many people working at it from their mud brick homes.
On the way back to the boat we stopped briefly to look at two ancient statues, the Colossi of Memnon, but they weren't in great shape and there really wasn't much to see.
In the afternoon, our boat left Luxor and began cruising up the Nile. We took a picture of a very similar boat that we passed. There are irrigated fields all along the river but the desert hills are usually not far away. The Nile is always described as "the lifeblood of Egypt". We never realized before how true this is. Essentially, Egypt is a long narrow river valley where the annual floods irrigated and fertilized the farmland allowing civilization to flourish while protected from the east and west by vast deserts.
While we cruised, two vendors in a motorboat tied off to our boat and tried to sell blankets. If someone bought one, they would send it up to the deck by rope and payment was lowered in a bag by the same rope.
Later that night there was a Galabeya party where many people dressed in traditional Egyptian clothing. Many men in Egypt still wear the long galabeya tunic every day. Our new friends Olga and Chris had a couple of extra accessories that we wore for the party. Anita encouraged the crowd and soon everyone was up dancing. Lots of fun and a great end to another good day.
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