Valley of the Queens and Kings

Sunday November 7 —  On our way to the east side of the Nile we stop to admire the Collossi of Memnon built circa 1500 BC from single blocks of stone that had eroded and was reassembled in the 1800’s. More statues are currently being reconstructed along a path to another temple.

The Valley of the Queen has over 80 burial sites that were discovered 1902.  The average tomb was dug out of the mountain side, then a protective wall was installed which is covered with plaster before being painted.  Our first stop was to the Tomb of Nefertiti, the first and favorite wife of Ramesses.  The hieroglyphs show the gods of the Netherworld who will guide you through and return you to the ‘light’.   Four square columns surround the queen’s sarcophagus.

The Temple of Hatshepsut was built to celebrate her life at a time when Egypt had reached stability and wealth.  The temple is perfectly aligned with Karnak and had an avenue of Rams from the temple to the Nile.  We climb stairs to the courtyard then up again to the upper terrace with areas dedicated to the exploration of Africa, the divine birth, and Anubis the black Jackal.  The third floor shows the boat of Ammon.  The whole complex has been heavily restored with only about 20% original material.

The Valley of the Kings is on the other side of the mountain under a pyramid shaped mountain. They have found 63 tombs but more are being uncovered.  Burials were from 1550 - 140 BC.  Most tombs were dug before the kings died.  Tomb raiders were active as early as 900 BC.  They were raided for the items buried with the mummies and since jewelry and gems were wrapped with the mummy, the mummies were torn open or taken as well.  All that was left were the beautifully painted walls and the stories that tell the history of Egypt.  In 985 BC 55 mummies were moved to a cave near Queen Hatshepsut but King Tut’s tomb was well hidden and was not disturbed.  

King Ramesses I tomb was discovered in 1940 but they didn’t really realize what they were seeing until it was rediscovered in 1995. It was filled with all of Ramesses children.  This was the largest mausoleum found at 6000 sq. meters when the average tomb is around 600 sq. meters and King Tut’s is the smallest at 60 sq. meters.

King Ramesses IX was from dynasty 20 and his tomb was discovered in 1880.  Ramessses XI was the last to be buried here.

King Tut Ankh Amunn’s  tomb was discovered just a few years ago and still held all his treasures, his mummy and things from his daily life.

When we left the valley, we drove south to Edna where we boarded our boat The L’Orient to continue our journey on the Nile up river to southern Egypt.  After a late lunch on the boat, three of us walked into town to visit the Edna Temple. It’s a small temple as compared to Luxor but it is well preserved since it was under the sand for so many hundreds of years. Recent cleanings have revealed the beautiful colors on the pillars.

We cruise for a very short time before we pull to shore after dark.