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Published: April 4th 2008
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I apologise in advance - in this entry I'm going to try to describe the Valley of the Kings and will fail miserably. No pictures are allowed inside the tombs, so what you see is just outside stuff. You'll have to go there yourself to really see and experience it!
First off we stopped at the Collossus of Memnon, which was once a large temple for Amon, but all that remain are two very large statues, which by memory are of Ramses II. He had a fondness, to put it mildly, for massive architecture featuring himself. He's everywhere! Back in Roman times, the cracks in the bottom of the statues were such that the wind would whistle through, and it was believed that the noise was Memnon singing - they hadn't figured out the source of it. Roman tourists (yes, they had them back then) would travel long distances to hear it. Then one Emperor decided to improve the site and mend the cracks, and presto, no more singing. Oops.
Then off to the Valley of the Kings. Another 'wow' moment - I've actually been to where all those tombs were, and where Howard Carter toiled to be rewarded
with uncovering Tutankhamun's tomb, which is what made me want to come to Egypt all the way back in primary school.
It's literally a rocky valley a wee way out of Luxor, holding tombs for Pharohs, nobles, priests and even some favoured workers. It started with a Pharoh in the 18th dynasty who had his tomb built there in secret to hide it from all the tomb robbers. But after a few more were added, by the 19th dynasty it wasn't a secret anymore and they relied on guards and so on. Not successfully as it turned out, as Tutankhamun's was the only one found untouched.
Our entry ticket entitled us to go inside three tombs, and our wonderful Egyptoligist guide helped us to choose the best from those open. One was that of Ramses IV, very grand and beautifully painted all inside. A straight wide and high entrance tunnel leading to the burial chamber and antechamber, made that way as it was made later and not tried to be hidden. The paintings are amazing! So colourful after thousands of years - they've been uncovered and tidied up, but not repainted, the colours are original. Absolutely breathtaking, I
walked around in a daze, trying to take it all in. There is so much detail and carving and colour to look at! The second was the third put there, that of Tutmoses III, so it was hidden carefully up a rift in the rocks and down a long steep passage to the multi chambered tomb, with a sharp turn and deep pit to discourage and confuse robbers. Unreal all over again. Third was that for Queen Tausert (another female King) that was taken over for King Setankht after she died and he decided he wanted it for himself and extended it to make it grander so it was very long and multicoloured and stunningly beautifully decorated. I simply don't have enough superlatives to describe it. Pictures of the gods, the deceased, offerings, worship, sungods, protectors, everything you could think of relating to the afterlife and making sure the occupant was shown to be devout and powerful to ensure entry to paradise. Unbelievable - but I was there!
Tutankhamun's tomb was an extra cost, 80 Egyptian pounds (compared to the entry price of 25 pounds), and is limited to a small number of people each day, and only contained
one of the three coffins he was found in, and his actually mummy. The experts say it's not worth it, but it absolutely was! To come to Egypt, and actually go INSIDE Tutankamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings... Breathtaking. His mummy is not well preserved by mummy standards, but it seems pretty amazing to me after thousands of years that he is there at all! Leatherly looking skin and he's so small! Still unreal to consider. The coffin was a stone coffin decorated with Isis the protector on each corner (she's an Egyptian looking lady with big eagle's wings) and other motifs. It contained a gold body shaped coffin with the Phaoahic death mask, like you've seen in scores of pictures, but not the famous one that's replicated everywhere. The walls are covered in large pictures, like the other tombs but only in the burial chamber, not the passage, as it wasn't intended to be found or viewed. I stood for a long time just staring and not believing I was really there. I'm still a bit stunned - after all this time of reading about it, I've been in Tutankamun's tomb!
That was the final stop
in the Valley of the Kings. A brief photo stop outside what's left of Hatshepsut's temple, the outside is still intact and beautiful, but the inside was destroyed by her stepson Tutmoses II in revenge for her taking the Pharohship before him.
The Valley of the Queens is similar to that of the Kings. It contained tombs for the royal wives and children. While the paintings and tombs are supposed to be less grand, though they are smaller I liked them as much, as the colours on the walls seemed just as clear and the pictures were less complicated so you could decipher the stories and situations more easily. Again we could enter three tombs, and we saw one Queen's tomb and two tombs of royal children. One was for a son of Ramses II who died early, and all the pictures were of Ramses II introducing his son to the gods, as it was believed he was too young to speak for himself, so Ramses II had to do the speaking for him. I've got to the point I can identify different gods now - Anubis the mummification god with the Jackals head, Osiris with the white hat
and robe, Isis, the various sun gods, they are all so unique once you know who they are and their stories.
I've bought a few real Papyrus pictures to bring home which are small reminders of the screeds of beautiful drawings I have seen here.
I had to just chill out and digest all we've seen in the afternoon, my head is still spinning from trying to take it all in. If you get a chance to come here, do it!
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Elizabeth Van Gessel
non-member comment
Great Reading
Hi Emma, Theresa told me about your travelblog so I have now read all and will keep up with you now. What an amazing trip . Thank you for the "reporting". Elizabeth