Egypt at Last: Luxor – Ancient City of the Pharaohs

Unforgiving, dry landscape
of the Valley of the Kings

We were really pleased with the sequence of sights on this trip because, in many ways, we saved the best for last. We thought we knew a fair amount about Luxor, but it held some hidden & big surprises. For one thing, we never realized the tombs of the kings were located in such a desolate area. Second, we were shocked to see how deeply the tombs were cut into the ground.

Incredible and colorful tomb art

And finally, the artwork in the tombs was detailed beyond belief. The capability of these primitive artists with limited tool-sets was absolutely astounding. We always thought of tomb builders as workmen and Egyptian art as so stylized it all looked pretty much the same. Not true at all -- these people were talented artists, and the art they produced is varied, expressive, and remarkably detailed.

Tomb entrances (on right) in the Valley of the Kings

Valley of the Kings

The Valley of the Kings is located near the city of Luxor, on the west bank of the Nile. The terrain there reminded us of our American Southwest, except that it is totally parched. NOTHING grows or lives there! No plant life whatsoever -- not a single cactus or scorpion. Surprisingly, tomb visits flow very efficiently, almost amusement-park like, with excellent maps and signage, and even a little train to transport visitors out to the tombs.

Vividly painted ancient hieroglyphics

The hieroglyphics within the tombs left many questions in our minds. Each of the individual symbols were inscribed in stone, then polished, painted in vivid colors, and replicated on practically all the tomb walls in great detail. The walls of these tombs were covered with continuous, exacting, perfectly-created characters in row after row of legible hieroglyphic writings!

The Sistine Chapel of Egypt

The coffin room in the Tomb of Ramses VI is like the Sistine Chapel of Egypt with a vaulted ceiling and walls covered with the most beautiful vibrant paintings. It is a total mystery how they were able to paint like this so far below ground and how the colors remain fresh as if they were painted yesterday, not 5000 years ago! No telltale soot evidence that torches were lit and used as lighting for the craftsmen as they worked. The guides told us the workers used reflective surfaces to bring sunlight into the tombs, but nothing could carry light this deeply into the ground. We are convinced aliens were at work here alongside the ancient Egyptians, and we found plenty of weird looking antenna-noggin-ed, space-helmeted, unexplainable characters that looked like aliens to us!

Downward ramp into the tombs

The Tomb of Seti I was like no other. It is the longest and the deepest tomb in the valley which became clear to us as we climbed deeper and deeper into his tomb, down multiple staircases and chicken ladders. The paintings were the best yet with the most vibrant colors covering every inch of wall and ceiling space. And the lowest chamber, a two-story vault, is called the Cathedral of the Valley. Wish we could show you what it looked like, but this tomb had a strongly enforced No Photo policy.

The stunning Temple of Hatshepsut surrounded by barrenness

We also visited Hatshepsut's Temple (fondly called “Hot Sheep Soup” Temple by the Egyptians) designed with a surprisingly modern look. Hatshepsut was quite a rarity being the longest reigning female Pharaoh of all time. Her temple is quite striking and appears to be carved out of the mountain although it actually sits in front of it.

Home boys on their way to work on the backstreets of Egypt

Abydos and Dendera

We took a break from the tombs and made a day trip to the temples of Abydos and Dendera. Our crazy but somewhat loveable driver Ezz, drove our van like NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt Sr. might have, which made us a bit nervous at times. He took a few shortcuts giving us a disturbing look at some backstreets and the people in the neighborhoods. The obviously hard life these people are forced to live made us value our existence here in America (even more than usual).

Archaeological dig at the Osireion

The Temple of Abydos contains a record of all the kings of Egypt written in hieroglyphics, a good example of the historical value of these archaic carvings. Behind the temple, lies the Osireion, a mysterious underground structure built with massive blocks of red granite. Some archaeologists believe this was a fake tomb constructed to confuse future grave looters. What a lot of hard labor just as a practical joke on a bunch of robbers!

Pillars topped with Hathor heads

We moved on to Dendera Temple which is dedicated to Hathor, the goddess of motherhood. The temple has magnificent pillars topped with Hathor heads and painted in robin's egg blue. Simply stunning.

Indiana Jane crawling down into the bowels of the temple

We had a real Indiana Jones experience here when we climbed down a steep set of uneven stairs and hunkered-down to crawl through a very tight, very low cave-like opening. Frank even had to remove his backpack and camera and hand them through to negotiate the restrictive conduit.

Cleopatra with her intricate braids

Our efforts were rewarded when we found ourselves in a hidden, narrow, underground tunnel with pristine carvings, including several of Cleopatra with the most detailed stone-etched braiding in her hair.

But the most intriguing carving was something dubbed the "Dendera Light," a carving that looks a lot like a modern elongated light bulb, and even seems to have a filament and electrical cord! Just one more piece of supporting evidence for our alien theory – lol.

Frank examines the ancient light bulb carving at Dendera

Frank sits behind Howard Carter's desk
(& wears Howard's signature hat!)

Valley of the Queens and Howard Carter's House

We toured the home of Howard Carter, the archaeologist who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen. This was a lovely house, built in the Valley of Queens on location for him by Lord George Carnarvon, and filled with Howard’s belongings including his camera, typewriter, office equipment, gear for explorations and excavations, etc. We felt as if Howard was still living here and had just stepped out for a moment. Even got to see the dark room where Howard developed the first pictures taken inside Tutankhamen's tomb.

Incomparable wall art in Nefertari's Tomb

Our visit to Nefertari's Tomb was another highlight. This tomb, built for the favorite wife of Ramses II, is one of the best with dramatic paintings, often depicting her graceful figure with all the top gods.

Nefertari's hieroglyphs were the best!

Despite "No Photo" signs all over the place, one entrepreneurial guard, looking to thicken his wallet, sidled up to Frank and let him know he could take some pictures -- for a price! He also used the universal pinched-thumb-&-finger gesture dragged slowly along his own tightly squeezed lips, telling Frank to ‘zip his lip.’ Frank paid him because he wanted these rare fotos. Shows that money can buy almost anything.

Among the pillars of Karnak Temple

Karnak and Luxor Temple

Karnak is one of Egypt's greatest wonders, and the largest religious building ever built. The famous Hypostyle Hall holds 134 pillars that are so huge (Frank estimated each column to be about 12 feet in diameter at the base and 30 feet tall), all us tourists looked like munchkins scurrying around down below them.

Hatshepsut's tallest obelisk at Karnak

This site also has two incredible obelisks, one of which is the tallest ever constructed. Again, how is it possible to carve and erect an obelisk of this height and magnitude with ancient undeveloped technology? Of course, the archaeologists all have theories as to how these obelisks were raised, but it seems a stretch for primitive peoples to be able to employ these unique theoretical engineering techniques.

Sculpture of Egyptian Pharaoh

Luxor Museum

Luxor Museum was a real treat -- uncrowded with an excellent lay-out, and filled with Egyptian treasures. Lots of sculptures of our favorite kings, gods, and goddesses. Plenty of mummies too! All created with remarkable skill. Some of the sculptures rivaled our modern day artists, yet it cannot be argued that these Egyptian artifacts were created thousands of years ago!

Akhenaten with his strange alien features

We even got to see rare sculptures of Akhenaten, the Pharaoh who turned his back on the old gods and ended up in disgrace. Akhenaten definitely had an oddly elongated head -- a sign of alien DNA maybe? (Or maybe just inbreeding among the royals.)

Frank chomps into his first camel burger - delish!!!

Camel, anyone?

The end of our day brought us to an upscale eatery, the Al-Sahaby Restaurant that Anne had researched when studying up on Luxor. Here Frank had a new experience eating his very first and only “camel-burger.” Yes, they eat this beast of burden here in Egypt. It’s right there on the menu. Frank passed some of his sandwich over to Anne, and she agreed it tasted excellent!

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