Luxor and the Valley of the Kings

We started our day with another airplane flight! This time it was a short, uneventful hop from Cairo to Luxor.

After arriving in Luxor, we drove to the opposite (west) side of the Nile to see the Valley of the Kings, a dry, hilly area riddled with tombs of dead Pharaohs!

Our guide, Lamia, did a great job of giving us just the right amount of information! We learned a lot about Egyptian deities, as well as ancient Pharaohs. The guides are not allowed to talk in the tombs, but she was able to give us information before we went in. This was King Tut's tomb. It, as well many of the other tombs had beautiful pictures and hieroglyphics on the walls! We didn't pay the $20 camera fee, so were unable to take pictures inside the tombs!

There are about 60 tombs, 12 of which are on display. We only had time for 4 or 5!

We were happy they had trams to bring us up to the sites. It was warm out, but not unbearable. There was a light breeze, so that also helped.

Ken got to drive the tram up to Queen Hatshepsut's temple. The driver entertained him by taking selfies with him, and turning over the wheel to Ken! Thinks are a little looser here than at home!

We really enjoyed Queen Hatshepsut's funeral temple. She was the only lady Pharoah. (Who knew that Cleopatra didn't count--she was a Roman!)

In the interest of appearing more regal, the queen was often pictured with a beard (a symbol of power).I guess she didn't have to pluck random hairs from her chin as she got older!

We were able to take lots of nice pictures of wall art, as there was much of it exposed to the elements under the portico on the queen's temple!

On the way to lunch we stopped to see two giant statues of Amenhotep II, also called the Colissi of Memnon. They, as well as much of Luxor, are in a state of restoration, not just the giant statues, other statues, buildings and walls surrounding them!

We had a great lunch a place called the White House, still on the west side of the Nile!

To get to the east side of the Nile we took a boat ride. It included a half hour sight seeing tour along the river. It was a nice, relaxing way to connect with one of the greatest waterways in the world!

The Karnak complex on the east side of the Nile was truly impressive!

The highlight was the hypostyle hall with the 135 giant columns! It really lived up to its reputation! We loved it!

These Osiris statutes were also very impressive.

We finished up at the temple of Luxor. They have a giant obelisk that was originally one of a  pair. The second one was hauled off to Paris and sits in the middle of the Place de la Concorde!

It was fun finding ourselves all alone for a few minutes in the middle of the Great Hall at Luxor!

It would be fun to return in a few years and see if they have finished reconstructing the causeway that links these two great temples, complete with ram's head sphinxes lining the path!

We met the stray dog that hangs around the temple of Luxor. He was so sweet and reminded us of Coda after she rolls in mud!

We finished the day on a high note, returning to Cairo in upgraded business class seats! Ed and I enjoyed the extra room to take a short snooze after a long, but very fun day!