Next day of temples and Valley of the Kings

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After a another day of being over loaded with amazing history and scenery, we followed this up with another day of overwhelming history and more beautiful scenery. I went ahead here and combined two major tours. The first is of the Valley of the Kings, and the second is of a temple placed in the middle of the Nile. The Valley of the Kings was another amazing place. This was built for the passed Pharoes, after the great pyramids in Cairo. There is a reason why they did not build such large and imposing structures such as the pyramids, and this is because the pyramids were a huge beacon to any and all grave robbers. However, putting tombs into enclosed and completely covered tombs in this valley kept them safe until the modern day. What's interesting is that there are still many more tombs being discovered. It's easy to imagine since the entrances are completely buried. In fact, one of the most famous tombs was discovered accidentally by a pack mule tripping on an entrance step.

The tombs vary in their depth and beauty. One that I saw I had to climb very deep through, and had well preserved writings. Teh amount of work and time it must have taken to first dig the burial site, the completely decorate it wihtin must have been staggering. Of course, once they were completed, one by one they were buried. Within one tomb the walls were so well preserve I broke down and took pictures. Here I had to 'persuade' a gaurd to allow me to keep my camera. Anyway, as the pictures show, being inside the tombs is quite an experiance. Being in here totally disconnects you from the modern world and helped to get an idea of how it felt to be inside the civilization.

The next temple was built on an island on the Nile. This was used as a retreat temple for noble families. The retreat temple was another impressive structure. It had a very tall entrance, as the previous temple. Along with this, there were very well preserved smaller temples on the island. During this time of the year, many of the flowers were in bloom, and being surrounded by the Nile, it helped to give the idea of how nice of a vacation spot this was. Interestignly enough, this temple was actually moved though. The original ground it was built upon began to become flooded and break down, leading to a possible doomed end of the temple. However, this temple, piece by marked piece, was moved and remade on more surdy ground.

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Photos

Valley of the Kings
Don't let the background fool you, vast treasures lie within!

Going inside one of the tombs
All along the walls of this tomb was well preserved!

Our way to the temple
We had to take a boat to reach the next temple.

Walking towards the entrace
As earlier, another large and impressive gate allows people to enter the temple.

Inside the temple
Within the gates, another temple awaited inside, full of rooms and many hieroglyphcis.

Vandalism, or history?
This temple, later discovered by Christians, did not want to allow such 'heretical images.' Thus, they left their own mark.

Outside the main temple
Another smaller temple was on the edge of the island.

Impressive columns
The details of the craftwork spoke highly of the civilization.

The feeling
All around the temples, plant life was quite tropical!

Comments

[alelie]

wow nathan...you give justice to the temples beauty...you captured their dainty beauties... inside and out....it makes me envy you...hhmm i wish i got more day offs too...in sha'allah..