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Published: February 3rd 2009
Travelling Canucks Go Tomb Raiding and Temple Gazing Again!
In the Valley of the Kings, one never knows what tombs might be closed for repairs. So, we went prepared with a list of our picks, but went with an open mind! Being flexible is key to enjoying the travelling experience, especially in Egypt. We took a private guided tour with an Egyptologist, Mohamed abdel Hamid of Eye of Horus Tours that started around 8:00 a.m. in the hopes of beating the crowds. Unfortunately, the crowds were even heavier than the day before and long lineups formed at the most popular tombs. No matter, it was a sunny, warm day, so what if we had to line up to raid a few tombs!
We toured KV16, King Tut’s Tomb(KV62), and Ramses VI's tomb(KV9). Although seeing King Tut’s tomb is one of those things on people's bucket list, all the Tut treasures are exhibited at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and the entry fee is extra, so surprisingly, the tomb was not that crowded. Even though King Tut is today's most famous Pharaoh, King Tut was a young Pharaoh who only ruled for 7 years, so his tomb was built hastily and
is not all that impressive. Although, I have to admit that getting a chance to see King Tut's mummy in his tomb was kind of cool. The most amazing thing is how all of King Tut's treasures on display at the museum could have fit in such a small tomb! We left the best tomb for last. Ramses VI's tomb's decor was amazing and well worth the additional entry fee!
After visiting five tombs in the Valley of the Kings, we headed to the Valley of the Nobles and Deir el-Medina. After climbing a steep hill that overlooks the green fields on the banks of the West Bank of the Nile, we visited two tombs in the Valley of the Nobles: Sennofer and Rekhmire. The tomb paintings were interesting, beautiful and worth visiting.
We then headed to Deir el-Medina and toured two workman's tombs:Sennedjem and Inherka. The workman tombs were beautifully painted with lovely images in striking colors. It is evidence that these artisans placed no less importance on their own afterlife than on that of the Pharaohs. These tombs are small, hot and stuffy, but well worth the visit!
Deir el-Medina is an ancient Egyptian village
which was home to 110 artisans who built the temples and tombs ordered by the Pharaohs and other dignitaries in the Valley of the Kings during the New Kingdom period (18th to 20th dynasties).The village itself was built around one central avenue, with occasional alleyways leading off. Most of the single-storey homes were constructed using mud brick. Many households were quite large with 15 children noted in some cases, and pets such as cats, monkeys, baboons and gazelles were common. The village was abandoned, and then ransacked, during the period of instability that followed the death of Ramses XI at the end of the 20th dynasty. Although, all that remains is the village's footprint, it was an interesting sight.
The benefit of visiting the Valley of the Nobles and Deir el-Medina is that the large tour groups skip them since it would take too long for large groups to visit since only a handful of people visit these tombs at any one time. The tomb caretakers clap their hands to remind visitors it's time to move on!
After being tombed-out, we went to visit two temples on the West Bank: Ramesseum and Medinet Habu.
First, we visited
the Ramesseum, which is the memorial temple (or mortuary temple) of Pharaoh Ramesses II aka "Ramesses the Great", who was a pharaoh of the 19th dynasty Egypt. He ruled for 66 years and 2 months during the 13th century BC. His extraordinarily long reign, the wealth available in the state coffers, and, the pharaoh's personal vanity meant that Ramesses, of all the ancient rulers, left what is perhaps the most indelible mark on the country. Ramesses modified, usurped, or constructed from the ground up many of the archeological sites, including the Temples at Abu Simbel. We enjoyed visiting the Ramesseum, which was almost deserted, although most of the temple is in ruins! Next to the temple, excavations continue as workers uncover a mud-brick village. It is intriguing to imagine what treasures they might find!
Lastly, we toured Medinet Habu, the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III, built in the New Kingdom. Aside from its size, architectural and artistic importance, the temple is probably best known as the source of inscribed reliefs depicting the advent and defeat of the Sea Peoples during the reign of Ramesses III. It is quite impressive and Mohamed was able to provide a lot of insight.
We thoroughly enjoyed our tour with Mohamed, who was very pleasant and knowledgeable. We would highly recommend Eye of Horus Tours.
While waiting for a taxi to pick us up at the dock on the East Bank after crossing the Nile, we met a family from Norway who also planned to dine at Mara's House that also were staying at El Nakhil. We enjoyed a delicious Egyptian feast at the Salahadeen Restaurant at Mara’s House. After dinner, we arranged for our motorboat driver, Ali, to pick us all up on the East Bank and take us back to our hotel on the West Bank. It was a lovely evening as we not only enjoyed the Egyptian cuisine, but the company of our Norwegian friends.
The next day, we started our private guided half-day tour of the East Bank with Mohamed at 10:00am. We ended our tour around 1:00pm after visiting Karnak and Luxor Temples, which were both very impressive. Karnak is a massive temple complex. Canuck Junior walked seven times around the scarab since the myth states that those who walk around the scarab will have their wishes for romance come true! Luxor Temple was also very interesting
Where is Papa Canuck?
Tomb caretakers clap a few times to remind visitors to move along! to visit. After touring these two amazing temples, we lunched at the Winter Palace. Although the food was good, the service was terrible. The waiter not only forgot to place our order, service was very slow. The landscaped grounds of the Winter Palace and hotel interiors are lovely; however, it is not possible to visit without a deposit for food services before gaining entry.
After lunch, we grabbed a taxi to the Luxor Museum, which has quality pieces displayed in an uncluttered way with clear labeling. Grave goods from the tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62m), such as boats, sandals and arrows, and cow-goddess head, a collection of 14 of 26 exceptionally well preserved New Kingdom statues that were found buried in a cache in nearby Luxor Temple in 1989, royal mummies of two pharaohs, Ahmose I and Ramesses I, enormous red granite head of Amenhotep III, calcite double statue of the crocodile god Sobek and the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Amenhotep III, were the highlights.
We then visited the Mummification Museum to look at the ancient art of mummification used by the Egyptians, who applied embalming techniques to humans and animal species. Tablets on the funeral journey from death to
burial, embalming materials and fluid, tools of mummification, canopic jars, ushabtis, amulets, coffin of Padiamun, mummy of Masaherta and mummified animals were on display. We would recommend visiting the Luxor and Mummification museums if time permits.
Since it was New Year's Eve, we returned to the hotel for what we thought would be a quiet dinner. After all, we had to get up early on New Year's Day to start another day of our Egyptian adventure! To our surprise, it was anything but a quiet dinner! Check out our blog titled: Camel Kisses and Snake Charmer Pinches for photos and videos of the event.
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Eleanor Poole
non-member comment
great blog, "eyes of Horus tours"??
Hi, Its great to read your blog as my husband and I are travelling to Luxor soon. Can I ask how you booked "Eyes of Horus Tours", did you pay money before you left for Luxor?