Our second full day in Egypt began with us taking an hour
flight south to Luxor, the home of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of
the Queens. Luxor is divided into the east and west bank of the Nile River
with a city environment on the east side that includes 2 of the most famous
temples – Karnak and Luxor - and on the west
bank lies the Valley of the Kings and Queens.
We went through Old Qurna on the drive from the airport to the famous
tomb and temple areas of Luxor. Qurna takes
one back in time as housing consists of granite walls with grass roofs. Donkey carts abound is this area both for
carrying materials and in the fields to help with the growing of crops. People are dressed in traditional Arab dress.
The pictures below are indicative of this rural Egyptian village.
The Valley of the Kings lies in a deep northern ravine of the
limestone hills of Qurna a “suburb” of Luxor. The valley is surrounded by high
cliffs dominated by a natural pyramid shaped peak. The Egyptian king period is divided into the
Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. In the Old
Kingdom, the kings had their tomb (interim resting place before they entered the
after-life) housed in a pyramid. Their
tombs were begun right after the King was crowned and included artistic
decorations on the wall depicting life, jewelry and precious items to the king,
food and drink to sustain the dead king and protective items as the king
journeyed through the 12 perils/gates to the hereafter. The pyramids were like a sign that said “Steal
what’s inside” to tomb robbers who did.
Many historic artifacts were stolen never to be found. In succeeding kingdoms, the kings commissioned
someone to find a secret place to house their tomb to protect it from the tomb
robbers. The Valley of the Kings and
Queens became a treasure trove as tombs were discovered, led by Howard
Carter. This didn’t stop the tomb
robbery entirely as archeologists and workers stole items and sold them to
private collectors. We were not allowed
to take a camera to the identified tomb areas.
63 tombs have been identified with the last one found in 2007. Only 12 are currently open to the
public. We took a tram to the tomb area
and went through 4 different tomb areas.
Most of the treasures in the tomb have been removed and are in the
Egyptian Archeology Museum in Cairo which we visited yesterday. Even the mummies of the kings were removed,
but the granite grave boxes (sometimes nested 4 deep) still remain in the tombs
as well as the decoration on the tomb walls.
We went into Ramses II, V and Merenptah’s tombs as well as the “boy king”
– Tutankhamon who became king/pharaoh at 11 and died at 18. His tomb was the smallest as his unexpected
death left little artifacts to store for the afterlife. The Valley of the Queens is noteworthy as
Nefrititi’s tomb is located there, but is currently closed to the public so we
did not stop at the site. See pictures
below of the valley and holes in the landscape indicate digging locations. The Valley of the Kings was an area I long
wanted to see.
We then drove to the Memorial Temple of Hatshepsut which
combines the natural landscape with a monumental temple. Hatschepsut is the most famous of Egypt’s
queen pharaohs. She married her half
brother, Tuthmosis III, and her history is fraught with family drama. The pictures below show the restoration of
her temple. Note Jim and I with our crossed hands indicated we are king and queen - you will see this symbolism later at one of the temples.
After lunch at an Egyptian restaurant, we ventured to the
east bank to view the famous Karnak and Luxor temples as well as an alabaster factory. The Karnak temple is an extraordinary complex
of sanctuaries, kiosks, pylons and obelisks dedicated to the Thebian gods and
the greater glory of pharaohs. This is a
park inside the city that spans acres of lands including a holy lake (which you
walk around 5 times for good luck). The
Karnak temple was the most important place of worship in Egypt during the New
Kingdom time. The temple was added on to
many times and the decoration and hieroglyphs on the walls are stunning examples of
preservation of color and detail.
The Luxor Temple located in the heart of the city of Luxor
was also built during the New Kingdom by pharaohs Amenhotep III and Ramses II. Alexander the Great added the Baroque Shrine
of Amun portraying himself as an Egyptian pharaoh. In the 14th Ct. the mosque of Abu
el Haggag was added and dedicated to a local sheik. The Coptic Christians also added a small
chapel to this structure.
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