We flew from Gatwick to Luxor in Southern Egypt by MonarchAir, a charter service, which, while somewhat cramped, did at least provide excellent airline food. Five hours passed, and we landed at the lovely Luxor Airport and were quickly guided onto coaches and transferred to the Viking Premiere.
Sunday dawned with an early wakeup call - breakfast and then onto the coach and off to the Valley of the Kings on the West bank of the Nile. This was our first exposure to the only real problem on the whole trip - the number of tourists!! There are some 350 cruise boats on the Nile, and each one seems to have the same itinerary for its guests. So one has to accept that there are crowds.
The valley of the Kings is a Limestone area and was chosen for the construction of tombs for three reasons:- The dryness preserved the mummified bodies.The area was quite remote giving security. The rock was able to be cut. Remembering that these tombs date back some 5000 years in some cases, one can only wonder what sort of tools were used in the major excavations.
We were given tickets to visit any three of the some 80 tombs in the Valley, not all of which are able to be visited. The best known tomb is that of Tutankhamun and it was discovered in 1920 by Howard Carter. This discovery was made after Carter had worked for five years removing debris from the tomb of Ramses V1, and one can imagine the immense amazement on his face when he finally opened a door to find the mummified King surrounded by all of the possessions which had been buried with him to enable him to pass onto the next life.
The tomb of Thutmosis 111 requires a fairly exhausting climb up steps through a narrow defile and then down into the tomb itself. The inscriptions on the walls depict various events in the life of the God and associations with other Gods and Spirits which will enable a successful afterlife. The sarcophagus was empty, the mummified body (as in many of the tombs) having been taken to museums around the world.
Our guide, Gamal, had a degree in Egyptology from Cairo University and was most knowledgeable. I must confess though that after listening to him for some time I was totally confused about the relationship of Rameses,Thutmosis,Sethos11,Amenophis11 et al!! One particular Pharoah stuck in my mind as having reigned for some 65 years, sired 130 sons ans 120 daughters by a number of wives including three of his own daughters!!We know how he spent his time!
The it was off to the Valley of the Queens and a visit to two more tombs. Then we went to the Temple of Hatshepsut. The top left picture shows this incredible temple. It had all the appearance of a recently constructed building, but it was in fact thousands of years old, and had been carved into the side of the mountain behind it!!
There is just no way that one can contemplate the enormous amount of planning and work needed to create this extraordinary building.
Back to the boat, lunch and a rest before a welcome meeting at which we were given sound advice on avoiding "Delhi Belly", told about the market traders' practices (always bargain and bargain again) informed that we would be expected to provide tips for the crew (L2 per person per day) the porters and coach drivers (L1 per day).
After dinner we were entertained by a belly dancer and a Dervish dancer - fascinating.
More to come
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