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Published: March 4th 2006
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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 decay. You are not allowed to take photos of the inside of tombs because the flash makes the pictures and decorations inside deteriorate. Even though you can turn the flash off your camera, some people didnt do that in previous years, so they have just banned photos totally - very sensible as this will mean that the fabulous decorations remain around for future generations to
see and enjoy. However when I visited in 1989 I remember the colours being much more vibrant than they are today, so some decay is taking place, and there is a rumour that they may close all the tombs to stop them from deteriorating anymore. Inside the tombs we visited I loved the ceilings, particularly two consistent elements. One was the corridor ceilings where they were blue with little silver or yellow stars, the colours of the paint are not restored at all, the colours you see today are the original colours, but faded... they must have been glorious in their day. The other element I noticed was in the area where the sarcophagus were placed, two figures elongated with their arms and legs at each end and their long thin bodies going across the middle of the ceiling, I am not sure what they signified, I will need to do a bit of research. We were lucky because we did manage to miss the big tour groups and often had the tombs to ourselves or with one other small family group or couple. Of course there was always an Egyptian guard with us in the tomb, something I dont
remember from my first trip, making sure you behaved, didnt touch or take any photos, they were also on hand to give you a little bit of cardboard to use as a fan in an attempt to keep cool. Sometimes they would also try to call you over and point to a specific image on the wall or ceiling and then ask for baksheesh (a tip - or as someone said 'share your wealth'). Our guide told us that when a Pharaoh took power just about the first thing that would happen is that his tomb would begin to be built. Sometimes a Pharaoh died young or suddenly and therefore sometimes their tombs were not finished, and one we went into was only decorated at the entrance and where the sarcophagus was placed because of this very reason. After the death of the Pharaoh the workmen would have 70 days to finish as much as they could because the time taken to embalm and mummify the body and for the funeral ceremonies to take place. I wanted to visit the tombs of Horemheb and Seti I, but they are not open to the public at the moment - they are
supposed to be stunningly beautiful with fabulous colourful decoration. I had visited the tomb of Tutankamun before, so didnt bother to go in there again on this trip. Our guide said that Tutankamun's tomb is famous because it was found complete, and had not been robbed by the tomb robbers, however he was a young boy when he died and so his tomb would not have been as grand or full of gold and objects as the other Pharaohs who reigned for longer, can you therefore imagine how sumptuous the other tombs and their contents must have been! I did want to go in all the other tombs, but it is not possible... maybe next trip! We then went to the Temple of Hatshepsut, a queen who has a temple in the Valley of the Kings. This is where there was a massacre in 1997. It is an amazing site - huge and like a great scar on the landscape, a huge opening and a definite statement. She was the first queen of Egypt and is depicted dressed as a man and she wanted people to believe that she was the daughter of a god, not the daugher of a
Colossi of Memnon
These two huge statues mark the entrance of a temple that has now disappeared. We visited these at the end of our trip to the west bank of the Nile. Can you spot David? king, so that she would be able to rule. They have a list of all the kings that are buried in Thebes in the Valley of the Kings, and all but one have been found. The tomb of Ramses VIII has not been found. It may have been plundered or it may be intact - maybe we will never know in our lifetime! We then went to the Valley of the Queens, a much smaller tourist place, although there are over 80 tombs. There are more tombs than the Valley of the Kings because the kings had more than one wife and also some sons are also buried there. Generally the tombs are smaller and less ornate. We went into the tomb of the son of Ramses III, Amonkerkopchef that had really lovely clear and brightly coloured decorations. Our guide pointed out one tomb, that is not open to the public, that was 'discovered' twice over the last two hundred years and excavated and thought to be nothing on each occasion. However in more recent years they have discovered many more rooms and corridors and it has the bodies of lost of the sons of Ramses II (I think ...
View from Temple of Hatshepsut looking east
Note the contrast of the green near the River Nile and the dry area of the Valleys of the Kings and Queens or maybe Ramses III) - it is currently closed, but I liked the story. It was a very good trip to the west bank, and also very interesting to feel the difference in the air, how much drier, dustier and searingly hot it was in comparison with the green lush region either side of the River Nile. What it must have been like for the artisans and craftsmen working on excavating and decorating the tombs, working there for years I just cant imagine! For what we did in Luxor itself - please see previous blog.
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Sue
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I am green with envy
Wow- what a great trip! I really envy you both, and am resolved to get out there one day. What's next I wonder?