We began our journey of a long day of touring many amazing sites with the first stop at The Valley of the Queens, located on the West Bank of Luxor. This is where the Queens of the Pharoahs and Kings are buried. We visited three of the tombs that are currently open, they alternate the open tombs as to preserve them from the damage that humidity will do over time. It was great to see the carvings and paintings on the walls of these magnificent burial chambers. You could already tell that is was going to be a very hot day because in the morning is was already in the 80's. By the time reached the Valley of the Kings it was around 122 degrees, so the tombs were welcoming and cool. We visited a total of four tombs in the Valley of the Kings, including King Tut's tomb. His tomb was very small but his mummy has been on display now for the past two years. The Queens burial chambers were impressive but the Kings were even more spectacular. It was hard to imagine the workers building these very long chambers into the mountains, under the extreme heat. The ancient Egyptians were so concerned with the afterlife that construction of their tombs and monuments began at the time of their reign. Photos were not allowed inside the tombs, so not many to share on this stop. It was a very enjoyable morning but air conditioning, lunch and showers before our afternoon tours will be very welcoming but first a stop at Hatshepsut's Temple.
Rising out of the desert plain in a series of terraces is the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (Ancient Egypt's only female Pharaoh). It is made of limestone from the surrounding mountains. Most of the monument has been rebuilt and very few of the original carvings remain on the temple as it was defaced by Hatshepsut's nephew after she died because of his jealousy that she ruled instead of him. A few of the statues that used to line the front of the entire temple have been restored. It was truly an amazing site. There was a large garden originally in front of the temple that used to have two rows of palm trees that went all the way to the Nile River, it must have been a beautiful sight to see in ancient times.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortuary_Temple_of_Hatshepsut
Rising out of the desert plain in a series of terraces is the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (Ancient Egypt's only female Pharaoh). It is made of limestone from the surrounding mountains. Most of the monument has been rebuilt and very few of the original carvings remain on the temple as it was defaced by Hatshepsut's nephew after she died because of his jealousy that she ruled instead of him. A few of the statues that used to line the front of the entire temple have been restored. It was truly an amazing site. There was a large garden originally in front of the temple that used to have two rows of palm trees that went all the way to the Nile River, it must have been a beautiful sight to see in ancient times.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortuary_Temple_of_Hatshepsut
Now back to the boat for lunch and rest before the afternoon tour!!
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