Go West!

  Edfu, Nile River Valley, Egypt
June 11, 2013We woke up at 5:30, had a light breakfast (omelette, fruit and pastries) and were in the van on our way to the Valley of the Kings by 6:45. It was already 28 degrees on the way there. It was a 30 minute drive to the tombs and Hassan regaled us with many stories of burial rituals and hereafter stories. 
 
In the Valley of Kings and Queens the pharaohs ruled and were buried here from 1550 to 960 BC. There were 62 tombs discovered and 24 kings, and many have not been identified yet. Hassan warned us about the vendors and told us what the appropriate prices for souveniers should be. He also told us that cameras are not allowed in the Valley of Kings and Queens and tour guides are not allowed inside the tombs Hatshepsut Temple. 

We were provided our tickets and we entered the visitor centre donated by the Japanese with the three dimensional map showing the tombs that have been discovered. We then took a trolley to the base of the tombs since buses were no longer allowed to climb to this site due to vibrations that were damaging the tombs. 

Our first tomb was of Ramses IV (KV2) which was discovered in 1737. It was very beautiful and many of the colours were still on the carvings. The giant granite sarcophagus was still there in the burial chamber. 

We saw many of the stories that Hassan described to us in the van. We saw upside down figures and sideways figures that depicted shadows (one of the five ways to navigate the hereafter). We also black and red bodies with heads cut and arms tied which represented the enemies from Africa and Asia Outside the Valley of the Kings. They were killed so they could not cause harm in the hereafter.

We saw lots of small boats, which were solar boats with the Ram as the Skipper. We saw many large and small serpents that during the last hour of the journey in the hereafter when the boat became a huge serpent as there was no more water to sail. Serpents are not an evil symbol in egypt. Serpants were useful becuase they do not close their eyes and they shed their skin. They were symbols of rebirth and protection.  

Our second tomb of Merenpth (1212 - 1202 BC) was much deeper and longer than the first tomb. It was located beside KV62, aka the tomb of Tutankhamen. This one was uncovered in 1844. This one had many beautiful coloured carvings. There were two incompleted areas, then a large vaulted burial chamber with a massive pink granite sarcophagus. It had depictions of the Book of Gates and Imyduat, the Book of the Underworld Cow Faces. 

I was then forced during the heat of the day to wander through the valley with Bill so he could look at the entrances of other tombs (they all look the same, please skip this part of the tour).

The third tomb belonged to Ramses IX (KV6). The first passage was decorated with the king paying homage to the gods Amun Ra and Osiris. The second passage was decorated with scenes from the Book of Caverns and the Book of the Dead. This burial chamber did not have a sarcophagus.We could have easily spent a few more hours here. All of the tombs here were so beautiful and colourful. We really enjoyed getting a close look at them. 

Our next stop was the tomb of Hatshepsut pronounced like "hat cheap suit". She was killed by her son-in-law and he destroyed her images at the tomb in order to erase her from history Checking out the Colours. Her tomb was three stories and was built around 1500 BC. The first two stories were built in stone and the third was carved from the rock. The steps represented earth, the journey to heaven, and heaven. We were allowed to bring our cameras here. 

Hatshepsut allegedly had a relationship with her architect. How scandalous!! 

We viewed one tomb in the Valley of the Queens. It was the tomb of the son of Ramses III. He was named Amenherkhepshef, the Burial Sword of God. We know this is the son of the king because of the following: his hair was long on one side, he wore an earring, he carried the fan because he was trusted to be close to the king, and he carried a sceptre shaped like the feather of justice. We were not allowed to take photos. We enjoyed seeing the bright colours and the images of the king's son. We had not seen at previously Relaxing as we Cruise down the Nile. We liked the depiction of the king presenting his son to the god. 

The last bus stop was of the statues of Memnon. They were two large seated statues of the Pharaoh Amunhotep III. The tomb has been completely destroyed. A small boy was again unsuccessful in convincing Bill to adopt him or buy any bookmarks from him. 

We set sail around 1:00 and began to silently glide south down the Nile. The river banks were teeming with trees, bushes, farm land, birds (mostly egrets and we saw one kingfisher), houses, children playing and swimming, adults working, donkeys, sheep, goats, cows and water buffalos. 

We had several small row boats pull up along side our ship trying to sell us some clothing. They would cling to the side of our cruiser and yell, "hello, hello, hello", "beautiful lady", "Heidi", or "Ali Baba". Eventually they would make a sale or shove off and try the next boat. It was after dark when we arrived at the locks. 

We had several small boats and one other cruiser in the lock with us. We thought the guys in the boats were going to be crushed. But they all managed to escape safely. 

The only criticism I have about the tour so far is that we did not have enough time at Karnak, Luxor and the West Bank. We could have spent many more hours or days there!! We had a pleasant meal with Barbara and Brian and we docked in Edfu after we all went to bed. 
Pictures & VideosIn the Lock