Valley of the Kings and Queens - Colossi of Memmon

I think I should stop expecting people to wait forever and get going on my reporting on the Egypt trip...

  On the way to the Valley of the Kings

We arrived in Luxor just on time for sunset, and started on our visit the following morning with the Valley of the Kings, where the tombs of the Pharaohs are located. Sorry folks, no pictures, as picture taking inside the Valley is strickly forbidden, our guide making sure that all cameras were left on the bus taking us there.

Nowadays empty, the tombs are nevertheless worth a visit. Imagine entering a corridor large enough to hold 4 people (2 walking up, and 2 walking down), decorated left, right and above with carvings/paintings. All this leading you down to a chamber where a sarcophagus was kept inside a stone chamber. The heat is humid and just about bearable... And all the while, you are reminded that the people who built this had neither electricity nor lightbulbs to give them light to work by (as the tombs are nowadays nicely lit up, you tend to forget this fact), and had to carve the corridors and wall decorations with the simplest of tools... It's mind blowing...

The house rented by Howard Carter whilst excavating the Valley.

Carter discovered the tomb of the boy king Tutankhamun.

 Next stop, the Valleys of the Queens, since couples were not buried together. As a woman, I can tell you one thing: it's very clear who was the ruler of Egypt, and it was not the queen! The tombs are much smaller, nicely decorated, but let's face it, you get the clear impression the Queen could thank the Egyptian gods to be at least allowed to have a tomb...

On the way back, we had  a short stop to view the Colossi of Memmon, two statues that were originally guarding the entrance to Amenhotep's temple, which was a massive cult centre built during the pharaoh's lifetime. This temple was the largest and most opulent of Egypt in its days.

The Colossi, badly damaged, are all that remain of the temple, but judging by their impressive size, it is easy to imagine what the temple must have looked like...

Now, let's see when I can write again about some more marvels we saw on our trip, as this was just an appetizer, the main course having been digested in the days following this little introduction to life in the days of the Ancient Egyptians...