Blogs from Thebes, Upper Egypt, Egypt, Africa

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Up at the crack of dawn (again!!!) today for a massive sightseeing venture to the Valley of Kings (or the Vallée des Rois, as the French tourists say), et al. From the outside, the 63 tombs (including King Tut’s) look like little more than hobbit holes. However, it is truly amazing to descend, by means of a graduated ramp, into the tomb and see the innumerable hieroglyphics and drawings adorning the passageways and antechambers. Ongoing excavation, restoration, and safety issues mean that the tombs are rotated in terms of being open to visitors, with the standard admission ticket allowing entrance to three tombs (for 80 Egyptian Pounds- by way of contrast, my dinner this evening cost 9 Egyptian Pounds per dish). But, all the tourists leave something behind in addition to the ridiculously steep entrance fees. ... read more

Our trip to the Valleys of the Kings and Queens was great. We got up early to beat the heat and the other tourists! Althought it being the summer and very hot, there were not as many tourists as there are in the other seasons when it is cooler. We went first of all to the Valley of the Kings, you are allowed to go into three tombs. Our guide pointed us in the direction of the tombs of three different Ramses - Ramses I, Ramses IV and Ramses IX. The Valley of the Kings has about 63 known tombs - most of which are not open to the public. Tombs are closed for restoration and to rest them from the erosion and ruin that tourism brings, that is the sweat of visitors and the air ... read more

When you come to Egypt, there is a very standard tourist trail that you take. This goes from Cairo (the pyramids) to Luxor (Valley of the Kings, and Karnak temples), followed by Aswan (feluccas (little boats) on the nile), followed by Abu Simbel (very impressive large temples). Then there is also the Red Sea, where you can go scuba diving. And Mt Sinai. Apparently fantastic, but not as popular. One of the problems with a 4 month round the world trip is that you don't get time to do everything. So we had decided not to go to the Red Sea. Plus we figure we get great diving in Australia already. Plus we don't dive :) So we had decided to do the standard tourist track. Our Lonely Planet had warned us not to allow our ... read more