Due to the forecast of about 40℃ we headed out at 7am this morning. Poor first stop was the temple of Hatshepsut at Al-Deir Al-Bahari. By 8:30am we were desperate for shade. The temple is built into the side of a mountain, with only parts open to the public, principally the second and third floors.
We then headed to the Valley of the Kings, a standard admission ticket gets you entry into three tombs. We visited the tombs of Rameses 3, Rameses 9 and Merenptah. Merenptah was my favorite for its sheer size but they were all incredible. The tombs that can be visited are regularly rotated to try and minimise damage to them, primarily the paint wearing off. Tour guides cannot talk inside the tombs and as of last year photos can't even be taken outside of the tombs. This is because when cameras were allowed outside, the guards were very open to being bribed by tourists to allow them to take photos inside the tombs. Even when new guards were bought in, within a fortnight they were being bribed/encouraging bribes. The tombs were incredible, the colors are so bright despite being so old. The incredible workmanship in a tunnel dug out of a mountain without modern machinery amazes me.
After a quick stop at the Colossi of Memnom we checked into our very well air conditioned hotel. The afternoon was spent doing a little shopping, after lunch at a local dive.
This evening an African restaurant on the West Bank sent their boat to get us and we motored across for a yummy rooftop dinner. The view was great, both of the East Bank lights and watching the people on the street. Coming back we could see the Valley of the Kings very well lit up, for security purposes.
We then headed to the Valley of the Kings, a standard admission ticket gets you entry into three tombs. We visited the tombs of Rameses 3, Rameses 9 and Merenptah. Merenptah was my favorite for its sheer size but they were all incredible. The tombs that can be visited are regularly rotated to try and minimise damage to them, primarily the paint wearing off. Tour guides cannot talk inside the tombs and as of last year photos can't even be taken outside of the tombs. This is because when cameras were allowed outside, the guards were very open to being bribed by tourists to allow them to take photos inside the tombs. Even when new guards were bought in, within a fortnight they were being bribed/encouraging bribes. The tombs were incredible, the colors are so bright despite being so old. The incredible workmanship in a tunnel dug out of a mountain without modern machinery amazes me.
After a quick stop at the Colossi of Memnom we checked into our very well air conditioned hotel. The afternoon was spent doing a little shopping, after lunch at a local dive.
This evening an African restaurant on the West Bank sent their boat to get us and we motored across for a yummy rooftop dinner. The view was great, both of the East Bank lights and watching the people on the street. Coming back we could see the Valley of the Kings very well lit up, for security purposes.
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