The first day we were woken up before dawn to have a sumptuous breakfast then piled onto coaches with our guides for a trip to The Valley of the Kings on the West Bank of the Nile.
The landscape and the people were starting to look more familiar and the air conditioned coach was a welcome relief from the heat which was already building up. Someone mentioned that Luxor was having a heatwave that week. Our guide was a Coptic Christian from Alexandria called Marian, who was an extremely keen and knowledgeable Egyptologist and who was studying at Alexandria University. Our first stop after going through numerous guarded checkpoints was to see the Colossi of Memnon which are two massive stone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III.
They were erected 1350 BC- amazing aren't they?
proving I was there- it was incredibly busy everywhere we went as you can see.
We drove past the Ramesseum (the ruined "temple of a million years" ) but did not visit it and also we drove past the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut - she was the female pharoah wife of Tutmose 11 who took over after his death.
The Valley of the Kings is purported to be one of the hottest places on earth. It felt it too!
Our guide was very good, seeking shade for us all the time and reminding us to drink water. I don't think I have ever drunk so much water. I felt like a camel. We were advised to buy only sealed bottled water to avoid bad stomachs and fortunately the coach drivers did a better deal on the water than the bar on the boat did. Mind you, sometimes it was that disgusting coke dasani water that's been banned in the UK.
The tombs are from 16th to 11th century BC.
The Valley of the Kings looks initially like a grouping of pyramid shaped sandy hills in the middle of a desert. No wonder it too the excavation teams so long to uncover the tombs. They are well hidden and camoflaged.
Here is Howard Carter's house.
I was surprised to find it was undeveloped, almost derelict.
There is still some excavation work going on.
We looked round three tombs which all had the most amazingly preserved wall and ceiling paintings. We decided not to go round Tutankhamun's tomb as Marian said the others were more interesting.
We didn't really have time anyway as we were on to the Valley of the Queens next and had to be back on board for lunch
The landscape and the people were starting to look more familiar and the air conditioned coach was a welcome relief from the heat which was already building up. Someone mentioned that Luxor was having a heatwave that week. Our guide was a Coptic Christian from Alexandria called Marian, who was an extremely keen and knowledgeable Egyptologist and who was studying at Alexandria University. Our first stop after going through numerous guarded checkpoints was to see the Colossi of Memnon which are two massive stone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III.
They were erected 1350 BC- amazing aren't they?
proving I was there- it was incredibly busy everywhere we went as you can see.
We drove past the Ramesseum (the ruined "temple of a million years" ) but did not visit it and also we drove past the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut - she was the female pharoah wife of Tutmose 11 who took over after his death.
The Valley of the Kings is purported to be one of the hottest places on earth. It felt it too!
Our guide was very good, seeking shade for us all the time and reminding us to drink water. I don't think I have ever drunk so much water. I felt like a camel. We were advised to buy only sealed bottled water to avoid bad stomachs and fortunately the coach drivers did a better deal on the water than the bar on the boat did. Mind you, sometimes it was that disgusting coke dasani water that's been banned in the UK.
The tombs are from 16th to 11th century BC.
The Valley of the Kings looks initially like a grouping of pyramid shaped sandy hills in the middle of a desert. No wonder it too the excavation teams so long to uncover the tombs. They are well hidden and camoflaged.
Here is Howard Carter's house.
I was surprised to find it was undeveloped, almost derelict.
There is still some excavation work going on.
We looked round three tombs which all had the most amazingly preserved wall and ceiling paintings. We decided not to go round Tutankhamun's tomb as Marian said the others were more interesting.
We didn't really have time anyway as we were on to the Valley of the Queens next and had to be back on board for lunch
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