Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut

Near modern day Luxor is where Thebes, or ancient Waset, was located.

It is the former capital city of Egypt throughout the New Kingdom (c.1570-c.1069BC)

And it's where you'll find the Valley of the Kings.

the Valley of the Kings is the royal burial grounds of the pharaohs of 

the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt. After they stopped building

pyramids, the Egyptians started building vast networks of tombs.

On the day of our visit we awoke before daybreak to meet a van,

then rode a boat across the Nile, then got into another van to get to the launch site of

a field of hot air balloons. We had to wait about twenty minutes to get the

okay from the weather service to make sure it was safe enough to be 

floating around that morning in the beautiful balloons.

Once we got the go ahead, we were quickly herded into the baskets to

take in the Valley of the Kings from the air just as the sun was rising.

Early morning boat ride.

The hot air balloon portion of this tour was optional, but as it wasn't too

expensive, I was able to squeeze it into my budget.

It wasn't my first time in a hot air balloon.

You will remember I took a sunrise flight for my 41st birthday.

This was a bigger operation though, for sure.

At least a dozen balloons were set up on the field, and after getting

the okay from the weather service, the fires started up and they started

to inflate. Groups were split off to meet their designated balloons, and

once we were all inside our baskets, they balloons took off, one by one.

There it is. the Valley of the Kings.

At the foot of the mountain.

Stunning way to start the day.

Front Seat Shark in the skies!

Crops growing below.

You can see the Nile in the distance.

woohoo!

From the balloon we also got to see other excavations that archeologists 

were in the middle of working on.

Here is another temple.

These guys waved to us as we passed overhead.

Back on the ground, we entered the necropolis of the Valley of the Kings,

for an opportunity to visit a few tombs.

With your entrance fee, you are permitted to see three tombs.

King Tut's tomb is here also, but it is an additional ticket fee if you'd like to visit.

We had seen much of Tut's valuables in the Egyptian Museum, so no

one in our little group chose to visit Tut's tomb.

My first selection was the tomb of Rameses IV

The original colours are still bright and fresh looking.

Some of the faces have been defaced over the years by rivals

and enemies, but much of it is intact.

There is a relief of Rameses IV on top of this sarcophagus. 

Here is Tut's tomb.

I then visited Rameses III's tomb.

My last choice was Rameses IX

It isn't the largest tomb, but it is the most colourful

Many of these tombs were first discovered by robbers.

This attracted attention from more intellectually minded people, who

then took steps to protect and preserve these tombs, of which there are about 63.

Just over the mountain ridge is the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut,

one of a few female rulers of ancient Egypt.

Nestled into the foothills of this impressive range, this temple was completed about 1458 BCE.

For a time it was a place to hold mummies from the Valley of the Kings to

prevent them from being stolen or destroyed by tomb robbers.

Hatshepsut was depicted with masculine features,

to give the impression of strength and power.

And it was clear from her depiction of herself in men's gear

that she believed herself to be just as worthy to rule as any man.

Indeed, she was an effective ruler.

She protected her people, sent out military expeditions,

and got what the country needed without restoring to violent means.

In one expedition to Punt (now Somalia) she returned with some trees.

Two of the roots of these trees remain and can be seen in

front of the temple. This is one of the first instance of a successful transplantation

of plants from one location to another.

Amazing that we can still see them today.

visit to an alabaster factory.

Meal at the home of a Luxor family.

I think I've covered everything I saw on my trip to Egypt.

Pyramids, the food, the temples and mosques.

It was an incredible adventure and I hope to one day

make it back to that part of the world to see more.

And, of course, there's more parts of Africa I want to visit.

Time to work on schemes for my next big adventure.