The West Bank...Valley of the Kings

So, after the pharaohs realized that building the Great Pyramids were like an giant neon sign to grave robbers, they decided to implement a new strategy. Hence the Valley of the Kings, which has 63 (and counting) royal tombs spanning hundreds of years. Some have been opened since antiquity, evidenced by the Greek graffiti ("Hector was here!") we saw on the walls, whereas others are just now being excavated. The valley, while a stunning scene in itself, has no external evidence of ruins, but sometimes beauty lies just below the surface...or a bunch of dead guys and their stuff.



Here is Jessica. Here is the Valley of the Kings. Jessica is standing over the Valley of the Kings. Does that make Jessica ruler of the kings?



Here, a slightly less impressive, but equally interesting anthropological study, is the Valley of the Tourists. They walk upright, take shuttle rides everywhere, and are often forced to hand over their cameras to the authorities because of their inability to follow rules. No video cameras are allowed in the Valley, and no photos can be taken inside the tombs. We saw one Egyptian guard, with a concerned tourist hovering overhead, watching home video on a camcorder that was presumably brought into the site. Since Justin left his pen camera in the hotel, we have no photos of the tombs ourselves.



There were several children who where disappointed to discover that this was the line for the tomb of Ramses IV, not for Space Mountain. In an attempt to limit damage to the tombs, tourists are only allowed entry into 3 tombs per visit, and the 10 tombs that are open to visitors at any given time also changes.



In addition to the tomb of Ramses IV, we also visited the tomb of Tawosret and Sethnakht, which was unique in that it was the only tomb in the Valley of the Kings that had two burial chambers. It also contained beautifully intact paintings of the gods on the chamber walls. The last tomb we visited was Tuthmosis III, which was hidden in the hills between cliffs. To reach it, we had to first climb a steep staircase that then plunged down again into the entrance of the tomb. Tuthmosis III was one of the first pharaohs to build his tomb in the Valley of the Kings, and since secrecy was his utmost concern, his tomb was built in the most inaccessible spot and contains a series of winding passages and fake doors. After entering the tomb, we went down another several sets of steep staircases and through other rooms to finally reach the burial chamber. Nothing remained in any of the tombs we saw other than the paintings on the walls and, in some tombs, an empty sarcophogus. Most of the mummies found in the Valley of the Kings are now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.



After wandering the valley, we headed up the mountain. We hiked up a trail and found our way along the cliff edge pictured above. We were warned by a Polish couple who had made the hike the day before that they had some trouble with the heat. We told them we were from Texas and that the heat was not an issue. Then Justin informed him that the only Polish word he knew was "psiakrew," a swear word he learned from his grandmother.



As you can see, we made it. If your wondering why Justin is wearing dress pants and a collar shirt, it was laundry day. Also, we might have run into a potential employer, and in the current economy it's always good to be prepared.



This is the Temple of Hatshepsut, placed in the most stunning of settings against these jagged limestone cliffs. The picture of the two of us was taken on the cliffs directly above the temple before we hiked around and down the side to reach the bottom.



Looking out from our vantage point, you could see right where the desert ended and the irrigation began. Pretty amazing to see how the Nile River allows Egyptians to turn desert into something so green. Usually the change in terrain is gradual, like forest - marshes - plains - tundra - desert. Here, it goes green - desert. Teeming with life - Rod Blagojevich's upcoming birthday party.



Also while hiking, we came across this scene. We believe it might be the site where they staged the Mars Rover landing.



On our way out we met the greeters of the West Bank, the Colossi of Memnon. They were originally made of single pieces of stone which each weighed over 1000 tons. You will notice they are called the Colossi because there are two, yet only one is pictured. The other was covered in scaffolding, and this blog is currently boycotting all monuments with scaffolding. Enough is enough, and we're putting our foot down!

Next stop, the Red Sea!