Trips

Wed., 3/9/22 - Luxor - Valley of the Kings and Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

This morning, after a fancy breakfast buffet at the Old Winter Palace, we boarded a motor boat across the street from our hotel. The short ride across to the west bank of the Nile to board our bus saved an hour bus drive through heavy traffic.

On the way to the Valley of the Kings, we saw a field where women were sun-drying tomatoes for export to Italy. Egyptians don’t do much with tomatoes. Also passed, was an archeological site where archeologists are unearthing another temple that may be the size of the Temple of Karnak; several alabaster factories and shops - all the souvenir statues are not made in China; and the house of Howard Carter (who discovered King Tut’s tomb in 1922).

Boats docked in Luxor	Some of the fleet of boats waiting to take tourists to the west bank of the Nile to go to the Valley of the Kings
Drying tomatoes in the sun	Drying tomatoes in the sun
The bluffs and mountains on the west bank are full of tombs and temples
Home of Howard Carter, British Egyptologist and discoverer of the tomb of King Tut	The landscape approaching the Valley of the Kings
At least sixty-five tombs have been found in the Valley of the Kings, at least 30 are of kings, the others are of priests or high officials or sons of kings. The valley was chosen for security reasons - there is only one way in and out of the area. About 70 workers’ houses have also been found and the trash in their communal area has revealed much information about the construction of the tombs. The first workers would be the diggers who chipped their way into the dry limestone hillside. The rubble removers worked along with them. The rough walls were plastered smooth. Once the tunnel, tomb, and offering rooms where opened, the walls were marked in squares for the full size of the artist’s drawings and hieroglyphic texts to be added. The images were chiseled into the plaster and then painted. Bee’s wax was added to preserve the colors. The tomb was now finished and awaited the death of that king. The next king would start preparing his/her eternal resting place as soon as he/she ascended to the throne. The workers were paid monthly in grain. The last time we were here, no photos were allowed. This time there wasn’t even a charge for taking pictures. Marge had a great time!
Really neat 3-D model of the location of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings
On the underneath side, the 3-D model shows the construction of the tombs
Carts were provided to transport visitors closer to the tombs. OAT gave us tickets to go to three tombs of our choice and also the tomb of King Tut. We paid extra to enter one additional tomb. The tombs we chose were: KV 9 - the tomb of Rameses VI; KV 14 - Tawosret/Setnakht; KV 15 - Seti II; KV 11 - Rameses III. I would like to have provided identifying information about each of the photos taken in the tombs, but that is an impossible task for a non-Egyptologist. Instead, I hope you will enjoy the beauty of the work and appreciate that it was done in an approximately 500-year period between 1500 and 1000 BCE, more than 3,000 years ago.	Off to the tombs in the carts
Map of tomb locations (from Wikipedia.org -Valley of the Kings)
	Next, we walked up the valley to enter KV 14, the tomb of Tawosret/Setnakht
And then KV 15 of Seti II.	Area in front of KV 15
	We came down the hill to KV 11, tomb of Rameses III and finished our tour at KV 62 - the 62nd tomb uncovered - that of Tutankhamun. King Tut’s tomb is short and not really as spectacular as some of the others, mainly because most of the items found in the tomb have been removed to museums. The new GEM in Cairo will have at least 5,000 items from King Tut's tomb. Most of us have seen some of the fabulous burial items that are displayed in museums.
The walk to KV 11
	A "we were there" shot amidst the beautiful walls
	Mummy of King Tutankhamen Supposedly, no photos were allowed, but the guard said I could use the cell phone for a couple.

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