Valley of the Kings, Luxor Temple, and Valley of the Queens

1/23/18

We docked in Luxor during the night.  We had a wake up call at 6:30 for a boat ride to the west bank.  These motorboats on the Nile are very busy.  Here is a picture of the motorboat.

motorboat on the Nile

On the west bank, we got on a bus toward the Valley of the Kings, where there are 62 tombs of kings and nobles.  Before we got there, we stopped at the Colossi of Memnon.  These are two huge ruined statues, around 56 feet tall.  They once stood at the entrance gate of the temple of Amenhotep III.  Very little remains of the temple behind them.  They were cut from two massive granite blocks, brought from quarries near Cairo.

The Colossi of Memnon

In the hills behind them, you can see other structures and tombs.

Hills behind Colossi of Memnon

We arrived at the Valley of the Kings.  This is where the tomb of  King Tutankhamun was discovered in 1922.  We visited 3 tombs, Merenptah, Rameses IX, and Rameses IV.  There were lots of steps and ramps.  None of the tombs allowed photos, so any that I can put in this blog are from my books.  The hallways were built up on wooden ramps.  The walls were painted with hieroglyphics.  Here the burial chamber of Merenptah. 

Granite Box for Merenptah sarcophagus

Merenptah sarcophagus

typical hallway

We walked all day, up and down, through tombs and through the hills.  Everyone was very tired.  We went bank to the boat and had lunch and rested.  I skipped dinner again, but Tom joined two other ladies in our tour, and said it was really good.  Tomorrow is a Big Day.

1/24/18

Wake up call at 3:15 a.m.  We left the boat at 3:45.  Got on the bus to Luxor Temple (very close).  It was really cold (about 50 degrees F).  We were met by Dr. Hawass, who made everyone stand in front of the temple (in the dark and in the cold) for his talk.  He continued to talk, while everybody in the group was very tired of standing and very cold.  He talked way too long (about 45 minutes).  Finally, he released us and we proceeded through the temple.  Here are some early morning pictures.

Front of Luxor Temple

columns in Luxor Temple

Statues in Luxor Temple



 We walked completely through the temple and around the back and never met any other tourists.  I don't think anybody else would get up at 4:00 a.m.to tour anything.  We got back to the boat at 6:00a.m., got warmed up and rested, then went down to the dining room for a great breakfast.

At 8:00 we boarded motorboats again to the west bank, to tour the Valley of the Queens.  We arrived at an area under a cover for a talk about Nefertari's tomb, the most beautiful tomb in either the Valley of the Kings or the Valley of the Queens.  She was the favorite consort of Rameses II (Rameses the Great) , and was buried here over 3000 years ago.  While sitting under cover, I looked at the hills  on the left and caught this picture of the shadows against the hill.  Do  you see what I see?

A shadow on the hillside

Nefertari's tomb is in a very fragile state.  It has been closed until 2016, and is now only opened 10 minutes at a time, letting in only 15 people at a time.  The tomb is under restoration and they feel that too many people breathing in there deteriorates the walls.  No photos were allowed, so I bought a book and am putting pictures from my book into this blog. 

Restoration process

Nefertari flanked by birds, including Horus

Inside Nefertari's tomb

Nefertari statue in the Cairo Museum

other tombs in the hills

The next stop was the tomb of one of the sons of Rameses II, Rameses IV.  The wall paintings inside were  of a father holding his son's hand and leading him through to the afterlife.  The last tomb we headed toward was that of Titi, but the people that were coming out told us that it was narrow and steep and not very good, so we skipped it, and headed back to the bus.

The bus took us to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsup. the most important Egyptian Queen, who was Pharoah for 16 years--the only female to rule upper and lower Egypt.  Her temple was built into the cliffs behind it, much like her ancestor, Amenhotep, did.  It is a very large complex and very steep.  Here are some pictures of Hatshepsut's Temple.

Queen Hatshepsut's Temple

statues outside Hatshepsut's temple

The royal architect of Hatshepsut's Temple was Senenmut.  He built his own tomb at the foot of the hill, but he was not buried there (don't know why).  He was buried in other part of the valley.  Tom and I signed up for a tour of Senemut's tomb because it was very different from all the other tombs.  Senemut was a scientist, and as such, wrote about the stars, the constellations, and the science of farming on the walls of his tomb.  As it turned out, Tom and I were the only two people who signed up for this tomb, so our tour guide, Rawya, had to take us in personally.  The passageway went downhill about 180 meters (about 590 feet).  It was narrow and steep, and very dark. 

entrance to Senemut's tomb

We started in, and I took my canes.  As soon as we got into the passageway a little way, the light disappeared.  There were no steps.  We walked on a steep wooden ramp with cross members nailed in about every 2 feet.   Soon it got so dark that we couldn't see anything.  I tried to use my canes, but if I put them down too far to the right or left, they just fell through the chasm between the ramp and the wall, so I had to carry them in one hand, while I held onto one handrail.  The blackness was absolute, so I closed my eyes.  Tom told me to slide my left foot downhill until I touched a cross member, then slide my right foot to meet it; then step over the cross member and slide to the next cross member.

We both went down to the burial chamber - almost 600 feet.  There was NO AIR this far deep.  We all began to sweat.  When we reached the burial chamber, there were LED lights to light up the writings on the walls and ceiling.  The writings were all scientific - and amazing!  I could see 12 circles to represent the 12 months, and 24 lines to represent the 24 hours in the day.  There were stars and constellations everywhere.  The harvests and flooding was all represented.  They called it the celestial ceiling.  All I could think of was HOW did they figure all of this out 3000 years ago?  Here are my pictures of the writings.

ceiling of Senemut's tomb - can you see the circles?

more of the ceiling

And here we are coming out of the tomb-- The Egyptian guard of the tomb, Tom and I , and Raywa, our tour guide.  When we came out, she told me that she did not intend to make this tour again, as it was too hard for her!  I asked her how she thought we could do it, and be 20 years older than she was?

glad to be out in the air

We caught our breath, and then walked down to the café to get a 7up.  Then we walked to the bus (a long walk).    I was done in again.

The bus took us to the village of Medina, a small village of the tomb builders just over the hill of the Valley of the Queens.  In the hills around the village, they built their own tombs with leftover materials and paint from the Valley of the Queens.  They found small shards of limestone with painted writings on them.  The were notes between the workers.  One was complaining about his helper not showing up for work!, so he had to do double duty.  Who knew they had sticky notes 3000 years ago!

The paintings were well preserved because the tomb robbers left them alone (there was no gold).  Here, current archaeologists have discovered exactly how the tomb builders worked and lived.  Much like the tomb builders homes' near Giza, they were government workers, paid and supported by the Egyptian government.  The homes were built out of stone, not mud bricks like the farmers had.  They had good food, and excellent medical care.  All of this for not only the workers but their families as well.  In those days, men who needed to support their families really only had 2 choices:  1) go to work for the government and become a tomb builder, or 2) become a farmer.  Farming was a much tougher life.

Our next stop was the Temple of Abu Medina, very near the village of Medina.  This temple was built by Rameses III, a warrior, who set up his government seat in this temple.  Note that the writings on the walls are all about warfare and hunting.  One of the panels showed piles of hands.  When they won a battle, they cut off one hand from each killed enemy.  That is how they counted out their victory.  Long after Rameses III lifetime, the columns of this temple were cut off to be used on somebody else's temple.

warfare on the walls of Abu Temple

ceiling of Abu Temple

Hunting

all the columns have been cut off

The bus took us back to the motorboat, that took us back to our boat, The Fayan, on the east side of the river.  We arrived at 4:00 p.m., almost 13 hours after we left.  Here is our boat, and this monkey was waiting for us in our room (talented room stewards).

The Fayan

Monkey in the room

We have nothing until dinner at 7:00, so it is time for a shower and a nap.  My legs and feet are barking!