View from my cabin on the ship
Leaving the Valley of the Kings
Leaving the Valley of the Kings
In front of tomb of Ramooz - Vizier to Amenhotep III and Achnaton
In front of Tomb of Ramses IV
Sign in front of Tomb of Ramooz
Trying to restore Colossi of Memnon
Colossi of Memnon
Sunset over the Nile
Front of Temple of Horus at Edfu
Doorway into Temple - Note remaining color near top
Note remaining color
Ceiling painting which still has come of the original color
In front of temple
In front of the entrance to courtyard12 March 2008
I got to the dining room in time to have breakfast and make the 6:30AM start. Our guide was very anxious to have us arrive at the Valley of the King early to beat the crowds. Before I left my cabin, I took a shot of the view as I looked across the Nile. There were hot air balloons flying. Why? I have no idea.
I was hoping to get a nap as we drove to the Valley of the Kings, but we were closer than I realized. We were there in under half an hour. The buses parked outside and we went into a large reception area where they had a National Geographic video playing about the discovery of tomb of King Tut. I had to use the ladies room. It cost an Egyptian pound to get the toilet paper! As a rule, they have fifteen people doing the job that one person could do to insure that the other fourteen people have a job.
The land was reminiscent of the terrain around the Dead Sea and also around the Grand Canyon, although the mountains were nowhere near as high. The ticket entitled us to enter three tombs. It was recommended that we go to Ramses III, IV and IX. I elected to pay 80 Egyptian pounds to see the tomb of King Tut. King Tut’s tomb had a very nice drawing on the wall. It contained a sarcophagus , which I was told was an imitation of the real one which is in the Cairo museum. The actual mummy is still in the tomb. Based upon the mummy, it is possible to determine what he looked like in life.
As we were leaving, we were virtually attached by aggressive salespeople trying to sell us all sorts of things. I do want to buy some cotton things, but I want to be sure that I get decent quality.
Next I went to Ramsis IX’s tomb. I was surprised at how fresh some of the paint appeared. The further back in the tomb you went, the brighter the paint appeared. The best preserved tomb was Ramsis IV. Not only was it better preserved, but it seemed to employ a yellow ocher which to my eye appeared different than in the other tombs. Apparently the tomb was never finished and never used. It was started in the traditional fashion, but switched over to the innovations introduced by Achnaton, but was abandoned when Achnaton moved his capitol to a new city that he was having built. Here we were attached by aggressive children trying to sell us dolls. I felt badly, but I didn’t want to buy something that not only did I have no use for but didn’t want.
Our next stop was where the Collissi of Memnon is located. There had been a temple behind the two statues, but the temple was destroyed in an earthquake. The statues used to whistle in the morning, which was thought to be Aurora calling the Sun. However once the cracks in the statues were fixed the whistling stopped.
After a nice nap, I attempted to access the internet, but it was extremely slow. Apparently the connection is via a mobile phone. I headed up to the fourth floor where there is a sort of patio. I watched the shore passing by. On one side, it probably looked the same when the Pharohs ruled Egypt. Eventually we reached the lock where we were attached by a flotilla of small boats manned by very persistent salesmen. They would throw merchandise up to the fourth level. When I threw it done, they caught it. The idea was that if you liked the merchandise, you put the money in the plastic bag. I felt sorry for the men. That’s got to be a rough way to make a living.
Video Clips
Video Clip of Store selling Alabaster, etc
No comments:
Post a Comment