The Big Valley - Visiting the West Bank of Luxor

 Today would be our last day of sightseeing.  We leisurely left the Hilton hotel at 9:30 AM and rode for half an hour to the west bank of Luxor.  The first stop was the Valley of the Kings, the final resting place for many New Kingdom pharaohs.  Some of the more well known kings such as Hatshepsut, Ramses II, and of course Tutankhamen were buried here.  One reason for picking this area is that the mountain that looms over the valley resembles a pyramid, a sacred shape that dates back to the creation of the world in Egyptian mythology.  Furthermore, unlike the Great Pyramids of Giza which are essentially giant "rob me" signs, the isolated Valley of the Kings offered a more secret location to protect their treasures from thieves.  Nevertheless, all of the tombs were robbed in antiquity except for Tutankhamen's (his was saved due to sheer luck and obscurity).  In fact, the thefts were so pervasive that a later pharaoh removed most of the mummies and hid them in a royal cache on the opposite side of the mountain near Hatshepsut's Mortuary Temple.

The parking lot is about the closest you can get to taking pictures in the Valley of the Kings.

The entrance ticket allows for access to three of the tombs.  Unfortunately some of them are closed periodically for excavations or restorations.  Unfortunately, these included the tomb of Seti I's, one of the larger and more popular crypts.  It has been shut down indefinitely to preserve it for future generations.  Mahmoud said that we can visit it virtually on the Internet, but that's just not quite the same.  There is something personally gratifying knowing that you are contributing to the slow destruction of a great work of antiquity that has survived for over 3000 years.  Another tomb highly recommended was that of Horemheb.  But that too was closed because of a nearby excavation.  I was starting to feel a bit ripped off.  Given that many of the tombs that we had planned to see were not open, we just asked Mahmoud for his recommendations.

Mahmoud's first choice was the Tomb of Ramses IX (KV 6).  During the early Christian period, it had been used as a chapel.  Five feet from the entrance were crosses and graffiti from these worshipers.  Compared to those of other tombs that we would soon see, the paintings were akin to a 'starving artist' show.  I think my six year-old could do a better job painting those figures.  Despite there being a large sarcophagus inside, the tomb was pretty short and unimpressive.

The next was the tomb of Ramses III (KV 11).  This one was much better.  It was originally constructed by his father, Setnakhte, but abandoned because it was encroaching too closely to a neighboring tomb (KV10).  Ramses III had no qualms about using it for himself.  Thankfully so, because it is richly decorated.  There are large murals of gods and goddesses carved with fine details.   Near the entrance, two small rooms jut off from the main passageway.  Illustrations of routine workers (cooks, craftsmen, etc.) decorate those walls.  At the end of the tomb, the eight-pillared burial chamber is gated off.  It had suffered severe flood damage and is strewn with rubble.  The tomb's sarcophagus is hundreds of miles away in the Louvre, having been sold to the King of France in the 19th century.

The only down-side of that tomb was the guard who started following us around closely and pointing out obvious depictions of gods.  He would proudly say, "That is good, huh?" as if he had painted it.  We didn't want to be rude and tell him to piss off and give us some space.  But as we were leaving, he had the audacity to demand a tip.  I gave him one Egyptian pound to be polite.

Mahmoud's third recommendation was the tomb of Ramses IV (KV 2).  In turns of quality of illustrations, it was pretty similar to the previous KV 11.  There were examples of some unfinished walls, as the tomb was not completed by the time the pharaoh's mummy was laid to rest.  I was tempted to tip the guard for this place mainly because he left us alone.

For 50 Egyptian pounds per person, we also chose to visit Ramses VI's tomb (KV 9) which had been restored over the last several years.  Ramses V had originally built this crypt, but his brother and successor eventually usurped and enlarged it.  The restoration was really well done as the colors were even more vibrant than the other tombs we had seen.  Unlike the other three tombs, the walls were not shielded by Plexiglas which helped appreciate the illustrations even more.  We saw some odd images such as birds with human heads, bound soldiers with their head chopped off, etc.  Painted on the walls of the tomb are the Book of Gates, Book of Night, Book of Day, etc.  These contained the spells that would help the pharaohs pass the tests in the Afterlife.  At the end of the tomb lies Ramses IV's broken casket and sarcophagus.  We were basically the only ones in the tomb.  So once again, the guard inside annoyingly shadowed us from a few steps behind.  It's not as if we were going to jump over the ropes and run off with a stone sarcophagus that weighs tons!

Our next destination was going to be the Valley of the Queens.  However, we asked our driver to stop at some alabaster shops.  I wanted to find some canoptic jars carved out of alabaster (like what the pharaoh's had).  At the first shop, we got the typical spiel on how they make their alabaster, granite, and other stone items.  Whatever.  It took a few shops to find something similar to what I was looking for.  I had to settle for a miniature set that looked nothing as intricate as what the pharaoh's would have had, but it would at least fit in my luggage.  Compared to other materials that are used to make canoptic jars for tourists, alabaster is much harder to create fine details.  It's not as if I could fit my mummified colon, let alone just my appendix inside the miniature jars.  But at least the material was authentic.

The Valley of the Queens is really mistranslated and actually means something like 'Place of Beautiful'.  In ancient times, it was known as the 'Place of the Children of the Pharaohs' because princes were interred there as well as queens.  Three tombs were open for us to visit.  Two were for princes, and one was for a queen.  We spent a minute in the first one as it was in such a bad state that the walls were essentially blackened out.  None of the illustrations were really visible enough to be interesting.  On the other hand, the next one nearby had the most vivid original colors we saw all day.  In fact, they rivaled those of the restored temple of Ramses VI.  In my opinion, it was one of the best tombs that we saw all day.  The third tomb of Ramses III's nine-year old son Amenhikhopeshef was notable because it contains a fetal skeleton displayed inside.  When Amenhikhopeshef's mother heard of his death, she miscarried her baby who was later interred in the tomb.  The most notable tomb in the Valley of the Queens is that of Nefertari, the favorite wife of Ramses II.  It was restored by the Getty Foundation and now is considered one of the most beautiful temples to see.  Unfortunately, it is closed to the general public.  However, $4-5K will get you like 15 minutes there.  Hmmm...on second thought, that blackened out tomb looks a lot better now.

Compared to the artwork in the temples of Abydos and Dendera which we had visited yesterday, the illustrations in the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens were equal or even better.  The authorities have definitely taken much greater care in preserving these more popular monuments.  However, I just had a harder time being as enthusiastic about the tombs.  In the Valley of the Kings, the greater density of tourists and the Plexiglas that protected the walls definitely detracted from the ambiance.  I really hate the rule that prevents guides from accompanying us inside the tombs and explaining the illustrations.  In each tomb there is a wealth of religious symbolism and imagery (Books of the Dead, Heavens, Night, Day, etc) that really require a well-informed guide or scholar to explain.  However, maybe I was just being prejudiced.  Maybe I wasn't as excited about the these tombs because they are so convenient to visit.  Just like our experience visiting Machu Picchu via the Inca Trail, the journey getting there sometimes makes a place that much more special.

Our next stop was Hatshepsut's Mortuary Temple.  This was the site back in 1997 where Islamic terrorists massacred 58 foreign tourists and 4 Egyptians.  That was not going to happen today.  Mainly since there weren't even close to 50 people there.  At most, they would have whacked 30, and many would have been local children selling their junk.  Sadly, these kids probably haven't seen the insides of a school in years.

Luckily, no blood was shed at Hatshepsut's Temple on the day we visited.

The complex is actually comprised of three mortuary temples.  The first was built by Mentuhotep II, an 11th Dynasty pharaoh.  His collapsed temple is currently under excavation.  Above it once stood Tuthmosis III's temple which is a complete loss.

The excavation of Mentuhotep II's temple so far has yielded a pair of small white sphinx statues.

A large bird statue guards
the ramp to the temple.

Despite being vandalized twice in antiquity by the pharaohs Tuthmosis III and Akhenaten, Hatshepsut's temple now stands restored.  There are three multi-pillared terraces accessed by a modern ramp.  The middle one has the most interesting illustrations.

The Punt Colonnade on the southern side of the middle terrace shows scenes of Hatshepsut's big accomplishment--her trade mission to Punt (Somalia).  The Egyptians swapped metal tools and other goods for rare items like ivory, ebony, animal skins, and myrrh trees.  Interestingly, the Queen of Punt is depicted as being morbidly obese (i.e. normal-sized in the Southern U.S.).

Workers load the boats with trade goods.

Egyptologist can tell that a sea route (not the Nile) was taken 
because of the depictions of oceanic critters such as this sea tortoise

The trade mission brought back trees which
were planted back in Egypt.

Unfortunately, somebody forgot to water them

On the northern wing of the temple is the Birth Colonnade.  A series of illustrations depict the god Amun-Re sneaking into the sleeping chambers of Hatshepsut's mother and impregnating her with his holy seed.  Before the god leaves, he reveals that this unborn daughter will someday rule Egypt.  With this depiction of a divine birth, Hatshepsut was trying to legitimize her claim to the throne that she had usurped from her nephew, Tuthmosis III.

The upper terrace of the temple is notable for several statues of
Hatshepsut, arms crossed carrying the crook and flail of the pharaoh.

In the Anubis Chapel, the god receives sacrifices from Hatshepsut.  
Sadly, most of the images of her had been destroyed by Tuthmosis III.

The image of Tuthmosis III offering wine to Sokaris, a sun god,
remains untouched.  The ceiling above represents the starry sky

The doorway to the sanctuary on the upper terrace

Many of the columns on the third terrace were destroyed by Tuthmosis III.

We weren't too impressed with the upper terrace of the temple.  Unlike the second floor, there are few interesting wall carvings.  We were actually okay with that because it was starting to get too hot for us to care anymore.  That was the exact moment that we got temple'd out.  Almost perfect timing, but we had one more monument to see.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Colossi of Memnon, two large quartzite statues that remain from Amenhotep III's mortuary temple.  During it's time, the structure was even larger in area than Karnak Temple.  Unfortunately, it has now been reduced to ruins thanks to an earthquake in 27 B.C.  After that happened, the statue began emitting a peculiar sound early in the morning.  Henceforth, Greek and Roman tourists (including the Emperor Hadrian) traveled from miles away to see this phenomenon.  They dubbed it the statue of Memnon, an Ethiopian king of Trojan War fame.  This mythological hero was said to have sung to his mother the Dawn every morning.  In the 3rd century A.D., the Roman emperor Septimus Severus had the statue repaired inadvertently ending the singing.  Currently, the site is under 'excavation'.  But like practically every other archaeological dig in Egypt, there is no activity.

The Colossi of Memnon

We headed back to the Hilton to wait for our flight late that night.  We said our goodbyes to Mahmoud.  Although he is much more quiet than our previous guide Sam, he's a really great guy who really explained ancient Egyptian history and lore well.  He never pressured us to visit any tourist stores, and he was also a good source of advice to make sure we didn't get ripped off.  But most of all, he was a guy who we were comfortable talking and joking with.

We went back to the Olives restaurant for a late lunch/early dinner.

A veggie burger made with almonds and chickpeas

Seafood penne

We lounged by the pool for the next three hours enjoying some really good Movenpick ice cream (espresso and maple walnut, mango and blackberry).  We flew out to Cairo at 8:15 PM and arrived at Sharm El-Sheik around midnight.