Egypt Vacation - March 17 - 31, 2006
Page Two of Ten
Valley of the Kings - In this ravine, dominated
by a pyramid shaped mountain often called the
Crown of Thebes, the Egyptian pharaohs of the 18th
to 20th dynasties were entombed. Thutmose I separated
his tomb from his mortuary temple in a secret, inaccessible
place to ensure an undisturbed afterlife. This plan was followed
by all later pharaohs. Despite this attempt at secrecy, systematic
plundering of the tomb furnishings occurred. The tombs are quite
similar with an entrance cut into the rock wall, a sloping corridor
opening on niches and various rooms, with ceilings supported by
pillars, and a sarcophagus at the end.
Looking toward the entrance of King Tutankhamen's tomb
at the Valley of the Kings. The yellow tape in front of it
is protecting an area where yet another tomb was recently
discovered and is being excavated.
Queen Nefertari's tomb at Valley of the Queens, near
the Valley of the Kings. Only a few tombs are open to the
public at any one time. There are close to 80 tombs here.
About 63 tombs have been found at Valley of the Kings.
A hoopoe on the grounds of our hotel in Luxor.
A felucca, traditional ancient Eygptian sailboat used
for 1000s of years, on the Nile River along Luxor.
Originally, feluccas were used to move stones and other
heavy goods from one side of the Nile to the other.
Now they are used as pleasure boats.
A local market in Luxor
View from our Nile River cruise ship of the shoreline.
Typical scene of the green land along the Nile and the
desert behind. We spent 3 nights on the ship traveling
from Luxor to Aswan.
Farming the land and grazing cattle on an island along
the Nile River.
Link to Egypt - Page Three
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