Luxor,
West bank
To see our other stops in
Egypt click on:
Giza and Cairo, Nile, Luxor east, Luxor
west, Esna,
Edfu, Kom
Ombo, Aswan,
Abu Simbel,
Hurghada, Memphis, People, Flowers, birds, and bugs
Looking west from Luxor
these hot air
balloons were a common early morning sight.
Some of our
friends decided to
check it out.
They were rewarded with
a spectacular
flight over the Valley of the Kings.
Finally landing near the
Memnon
colossi here they joined the rest
of the group.
Those of us who were
earthbound saw
these 60 ft tall statues
close up.
On our way to the Valley
of the Kings
and the Valley of the Queens we saw this trail up the mountain leading
to a mosque or shrine.
Above the valley we saw
this mountain
with a shape very reminiscent of the pyramids.
It has been suggested
that is one
reason for selecting this particular valley for the tombs.
You can ride from the
parking area to
the tombs on these little wagons.
Lots of tourists all
trying to see
everything.
Throughout the valleys
tombs were
excavated for each of the pharaohs and their wives.
Construction was begun
when they came
to power and ended upon their death.
So if their rule was
short ,like King
Tut, their tomb would be smaller than others.
This map shows the
locations of each
of the tombs that have been discovered so far.
And this plastic model
lets you see
both above and below the surface of the Valley of the Kings.
One of the displays on
the welcome
center explained how to read some of the hieroglyphics.
The entrances were
tunnels into the
mountain.
Most had very simple
doorways since
it was important to bury them to make it hard for grave robbers to
locate.
A few had more elaborate
entrances.
You can see how closely
spaced some
of them were.
Quite a few weren't open
to the
public.
Some were still being
excavated.
A few views from inside.
Not far from the Valley
of the Kings
and the Valley of the Queens is this temple built to honor Queen
Nefriteri.
It was carved in the
face of the
mountain.
As you get closer one
whole level is
hidden from view.
Some details of the
construction.
The colors were brighter
than one
would expect after more than 3000 years.
Here again we saw the
claim "I am
like Ra forever" in hieroglyphics.
Other structures near
Nefretari's
temple.
A couple of the shops on
the west
bank.
We visited an alabaster
factory where
we saw how the rock is carved on to vases and other items.
They put lights inside
to demonstrate
how translucent they were.
Wherever we went the
vendors would
call out to us inviting us into their shops.
Most of us were given
nicknames
having something to do with our appearance.
Several times I was
called Ali Babba,
apparently because of my beard.
They were surprised that
we knew the
story of his encounter with the 40 thieves.
On the way out of this
shop one of
the workers jokingly closed the door and wouldn't let me out.
I just said "Open
semsem" (semsem is
sesame in arabic).
He was quite startled
but obligingly
opened the door.
To see our other stops in
Egypt click on:
Giza and Cairo, Nile, Luxor east, Luxor
west, Esna,
Edfu, Kom
Ombo, Aswan,
Abu Simbel,
Hurghada, Memphis, People, Flowers, birds, and bugs
Thanks
to many friends on the trip for sharing their photos with us and with
you.
Jerry and Carmen, Jeannie and Bill, Kathy and Howard, Jim and Lilly,
Randy and Trena, and Hoy and Nancy thanks again.
See
other places we have visited here.
Go
to our Personal
home page
Go to our Community
page
Go
to our Science
Fun page
E-mail Nancy
and
Alan