Donkeys, Mummies And A New Tour Group

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A Unique Combination...

Today was the official wrap up day for our tour group as I was the only one going on to Jordan and the girls were all splitting up, with some going to Hurghada on the Red Sea for some snorkling and diving and the rest heading back to Cairo to either head home or carry on their travels to other corners of the globe. So what better way to start our last day off than with a donkey ride!!

Up and about before the sun could punish both us and the donkeys too much, we caught a water taxi across the Nile with another Gecko's tour group, and were paired up with a donkey each according to size and weight and given the most rudimentary instructions before heading off (pull back on the reins if you want to stop!! Not that they paid any attention to what you did anyway.) Meeting a few of the other groups members, I found out that half of that group were going across Mt Sinai and into Jordan so by using my enormous powers of deduction, I realised this was the new tour group and leader I would be joining.

The donkeys wound their way through the back streets and farmland, knowing the route off by heart, before coming to a major road leading into the desert and following it for about an hour. Let me tell you... after an hour on a donkey, walking is a rehabilitation procedure. Sore and bow-legged, we dismounted at the entrance to The Valley Of The Kings. With over 60 different tombs, and all just for the Pharaohs as the Queens were buried in the Valley Of The Queens (coincidence... I think not), there are about 13 currently open to the public for sight seeing. The entrance ticket allows entry into three tombs (not including Tutankhamen's which is a hefty $20 extra just to see his mummy), so we were shown the three best preserved ones including Rameses IV. One of the ones unable to be viewed is the famous Rameses II, who's is the largest of all and has over 100 rooms, thought to be for his children that didn't become the next Pharaoh. Now, I had heard stories of people having their cameras confiscated or their memory cards at the very least for trying to take a few sneaky photos inside the tombs but this was brought to our attention blatantly when some guy tried to use his I-phone to get a shot and then had it removed from him (and then him from the site). I still think it's excessive to say that you can't even take a camera in to get some of the outside though. Just another way for the currupt officials to get kick backs from the hawkers selling the postcards I think. Inside the tombs were decorated in scenes from what they believed would help them make the transition to the after-life. Pictures of the Gods helping them across and sacred scripts drawn on the walls as part of the burial rituals. The anti-chambers were filled with anything the Pharaohs might need for their next journey and because no one knew what it involved, they put everything from toys to weapons to furniture in there for them. The colours on the frescos in the tombs are a lot brighter having never seen the light of day, and one tomb hadn't been finished in time when the Pharaoh died so was left incomplete. This once again allowed archaeologists to see how the ornate carvings were accomplished. They would first draw a grid on the wall in red and then use black to draw the frescos and the hieroglyphics by artisans and priests. The wall was then chiselled away from around the drawings leaving them raised and easy to paint. The paint used was a similar concept to what is in henna tattoos now. The last thing to know about these tombs is they can go very deep and with no ventilation, the air gets thick and hot and makes the climb back out a misery. It's pretty bad when 35 degrees seems cool as you come back to the fresh air.

Giving the donkeys a rest we took a bus back and that evening headed out for our final group dinner. One thing I've found on this trip is the food in every country has been amazing!! Egypt is not exception with simple yet flavoursome dishes of chicken, lamb, hommus, salad (consisting of tomatoes, cucumber, capsicum or chilli and onion) and the always present flat bread and cheese. Unfortunately, I found out the next day that quite a few people had gotten sick from that night but my stomach of steel passed the test with flying colours.

Back on to the overnight train for our trip back to Cairo, this time there was only the two Gecko's tours in our carriage so we got to spread out and put our feet up... a lot more comfortable then the trip down. With a free day in Cairo before joining the other tour group I lazed around and caught up on the essentials before heading out for a final shisha with our tour leader, Sam, to reminisce and say goodbye. The next morning it ould all change as we headed for the Sinai Peninsula.

"When overseas you learn more about your own country, than you do the place you're visiting." - Clint Borgen

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