Egypt 2017 - Day 7 - Luxor

I don't want to be too whiny :-p but organized group tours stink.  I'm just not going to go into it.

So, up and out by 8am and off to our first temple - Habu Temple. Really quite amazing. Love love love the scenery around the temples. It is pretty amazing to be here and see these massive monuments that are 1000s of years old. Pretty incredible. The detail is just mind blowing.

The Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu is an important New Kingdom period structure in the West Bank of Luxor in Egypt. Aside from its size and architectural and artistic importance, the temple is probably best known as the source of inscribed reliefs depicting the advent and defeat of the Sea Peoples during the reign of Ramesses III.

Next stop - the Valley of Kings. We get there and we are told we aren't allowed to take pictures - at all !?!? WTF - it is a stinking monstrous valley !?!? I understand not in the tombs.  But outside!?  I sneaked a few in :p 

The Valley of the Kings is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom (the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Dynasties of Ancient Egypt).

The valley stands on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes (modern Luxor), within the heart of the Theban Necropolis. The wadi consists of two valleys, East Valley (where the majority of the royal tombs are situated) and West Valley.

With the 2005 discovery of a new chamber and the 2008 discovery of two further tomb entrances, the valley is known to contain 63 tombs and chambers (ranging in size from KV54, a simple pit, to KV5, a complex tomb with over 120 chambers). It was the principal burial place of the major royal figures of the Egyptian New Kingdom, as well as a number of privileged nobles. The royal tombs are decorated with scenes from Egyptian mythology and give clues as to the beliefs and funerary rituals of the period. Almost all of the tombs seem to have been opened and robbed in antiquity, but they still give an idea of the opulence and power of the Pharaohs.

This area has been a focus of archaeological and egyptological exploration since the end of the eighteenth century, and its tombs and burials continue to stimulate research and interest. In modern times the valley has become famous for the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun (with its rumours of the Curse of the Pharaohs), and is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. In 1979, it became a World Heritage Site, along with the rest of the Theban Necropolis. Exploration, excavation and conservation continues in the valley.

First tomb (and we had to pay extra) was King Tuts. What an incredible disappointment. They only let you in the first 30 feet (these things are massive underground passages with beautiful, intricate detail)  we did get to see the mummified King Tut.

Went into two more tombs and each one just got more spectacular. The last one was absolutely stunning. We could go in quite far and with every step you just saw SO much. The hieroglyphs and the stories they tell.  Phenomenal ! ! ! Detail detail detail.

Next we made a stop at an Alabaster factory and a Papyrus shop. Interesting to see how they are both made.  Really was intrigued by the Papyrus.

On to Al-Deir Al-Bahari Temple - this one was about a queen :-) Beautiful ! ! ! I really don't have words to describe what I am seeing. It is an incredibly feeling. 

This temple was built by Queen Hatshepsut, stepmother of pharaoh Thutmose III, who became regent for the adolescent Thutmose III when Thutmose II, her brother died. As the first known female monarch, she ruled for about two decades, thus delaying the kingship of Thutmose III.

Back to the hotel. And I actually took some of the crew for their first Shisha experience at a fantastic outdoor patio . . . Me !?! I'm the experienced one lolol . . . They had no clue how to ask for it or what to do . . . I did . . . HeeHee . . . YaY me. They all had a wonderful experience.

Incredibly rushed for dinner (at an Irish Pub !  It is St Patrick's Day today so it is ok) and they were quite rude to the host.  I wasn't pleased.

We had to rush because the "sound and light" show at Karnak was starting soon: 

The Karnak Temple Complex comprises a vast mix of temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings. Building at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I in the Middle Kingdom and continued into the Ptolemaic period, although most of the extant buildings date from the New Kingdom (4000 years old!). The area around Karnak was the ancient Egyptian Ipet-isut ("The Most Selected of Places") and the main place of worship of the eighteenth dynasty Theban Triad with the god Amun as its head. It is part of the monumental city of Thebes.

Holy moly. I'm in awe and it is night time. Pretty neat show with stories and projected pictures. We go back in the morning to see it during the day. Can't wait.

So, here I am at the Irish Pub on St Patrick's Day . . . alone ! ! ! They all went to bed. The internet sucks at the hotel so I wandered over to have a beer and get some posts and pictures up.

Done my beer.  Got some posts done. Guess I should head back.

Nighty night xox