The Valley of the Kings…and More

 

After a very early wake-up call and a quick breakfast, we left our Nile cruiser the Sonesta Moon Goddess for the last time and headed ashore. 


Our bus was waiting and we headed off for an amazing visit to the Valley of the Kings. 

In brief, the Kings/Pharoahs of ancient Egypt realized at some point that being buried with all their treasures under a huge pyramid really wasn’t the best plan, as robbers were getting in anyway and stealing all the things that were to accompany them to the afterlife. They were trying to find a more secure location for their necropolis. They made their way to the area of what is now Luxor, and dug caves into the mountains west of the city where their mummies could be peacefully interred for eternity. Sadly, their plan  was less than successful as the bad guys were able to find and plunder many of them anyway.

From the visitor center, we headed up the road in golf carts to see some of the better-known tombs that have been discovered and catalogued. 


Below are some photos from the tombs we explored. Each group is preceded by a photo describing the owner of the tomb. (Less typing for me.) 

As always, click on any photo for a larger version. 






















The Temple of Hatshepsut







Then we stopped to shop at an alabaster museum/store. How was it? Dunno. Not a shopper. 
I took a quick nap on the bus. 

There was a brief photo opportunity at the Colossi of Memnon on our way out of the area.  Originally these statues guarded the entrance to one of the largest temples in Egypt.I thought these were really cool.


We stopped for a very nice lunch in a restaurant overlooking the Nile. Lunch was bread, fried eggplant, chicken dharma, with baca lava for dessert.









After ONE MORE shopping stop for fine jewelry and the bookstore, 

(Rob and I hit McDonalds where I got a chocolate milkshake. Yep, the real thing.), 

we finally arrived at our final Nile hotel, the Steigenberger Nile Palace. It’s very upscale and we all got very nice Nile view rooms with balconies.



Thanks again for following along on this “amazing” (Mayer’s favorite word) adventure.


NEXT: Amazing Thebes

Previous Page: Nile Cruise

Starting Page: Getting Ready to Leave


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