March 4, 2023

I know I keep saying this, but what an amazing day!  As I write this I am sitting in my lovely suite on the boat cruising down the Nile, using technology to transfer photos, type the story and then post it to the internet.  This blog post is about Kings and Queens that lived in the 16th to 11th century BC.  It’s hard to wrap my head around it all.  

We got on the bus at 8am to drive to the West Bank of the Nile.  We went to the Valley of the Kings, the Tomb of King Tut, The Valley of the Queens and the Howard Carter House.  It’s been rather hot, in the 90’s F.  These areas are rather forlorn looking.  Great piles of tan dirt/sand.  Not a tree, bush or even a weed grows here.  The hills surrounding all of this probably have even more tombs hidden in them.  

Our first tomb was King Tut.  We walked down the steep entry way and are allowed to walk around, take pictures within 5 minutes.  King Tut died young at 19.  So they had to hurry up and build his tomb.  

Here is King Tutankhamen mummified.  Those feet!

This is inside his tomb.  

A short distance away is Ramesses IX’s tomb.  Here is a picture of his tomb.

And another short distance is Ramesses IV’s tomb. 

Then we drove a short distance to the Valley of the Queens.  Here we saw the tomb of  King Tut’s favorite wife, Queen Nefertiti. Her tomb was the most colorful of all the tombs we have seen.

Next up was Queen Hatshepsut.  This was another short drive to her Temple and tomb.  It is reported that Queen Hepshepsut dressed a man because it wasn’t proper to have a woman rule Egypt.  Also, it is reported that the Queen had an affair with the architect of her tomb. 

All around is reddish sand and dust.  Mounds all over the place.  We realized that there are probably more tombs and temples under all that dirt.  It’s overwhelming.  Another thing.  There are thousands of people who go through these tombs each day.  All breathing and touching the walls.  I wonder if at some point the Egyptians will say no more.  But then again, these tombs and  temples are a big money maker for Egypt.  

We have been dutifully looking for any sign of the BBOY.  But with all the mounds of dirt, tombs and temples we think it could be right in front of us, we just can’t see it.  

The MS Antares is a beautiful ship.  The rooms have dark wood paneling and are very spacious.  The crew is wonderful.  It’s small which we like.  There are 31 staterooms.  The food is very good and plentiful!  We can’t say enough about our tour guide, Salah.  He has been doing this job and studying  about Egypt for over 30 years.  He tells us stories about everything we see.  Salah makes it feel as if we are right there  with the people who built these tombs and temples.  

This day was very important.  To walk into the tombs and see the work that had been completed thousands of years ago, it’s sobering.  We are having so much fun and enjoying ourselves.  

Take care, Bc and Gc.