Luxor, Egypt day two

Luxor, Egypt day two. We woke up at 6:00 AM for a 7:00 AM breakfast. Breakfast was in the same place as lunch the day before. At 7:45 AM we boarded the bus for the 45 minute ride to the Valley of the Kings. The day before we had been on the east bank of the Nile. The east side of the river is for the living to visit the temples. Today we were going to the west bank where the tombs are. The west side is for the dead.

After a thousand years or so the Egyptians finally figured out that all the pyramids were being robbed as soon as they were finished. They were obviously slow learners. This area called the Valley of the Kings was an area of mountains that were naturally shaped like pyramids. They had the strong belief that they must be buried under a pyramid to be able to make the transfer to the new life. Now, instead of being buried in the pyramid, where everything could be stolen, they were buried far under the pyramids in secret tunnels and passages. If I remember right, there are 62 of these tombs that have been found so far. King Tut was one of only three that got to go to the next life as all the others had been robbed. Tut’s was not meant to be a royal tomb. It was smaller then the others and not decorated like other royal tombs. He had died unexpectedly at a very early age. His head had been hit by a small hard object that made a hole in the skull but hey were very sloppy with the dead back then and they could not tell if this is what killed him or if it happened after his death. At any rate, Tut was not at home. He was out visiting museums around the world. As these tombs were deep in the ground, there had been no light to fade the painted etchings on the walls and ceilings. Some were still in very vivid colors.

After a long, long walk visiting some of these tombs we went to the bus for a short ride to the Queen Hatshepsut Temple. It was a huge building that looked like a modern one. We just took pictures from the outside.

Next it was on to Medinat Habu. We didn’t know it a first but that was where we had dinner the night before. It is second in size only to Karnark’s Temple. Ramses III mortuary temple is here. He was the great builder that built far more then any other ruler. There are carved walls telling the stories of the great battles he won. His version is quite a bit different then what is believed to have really happened. Then we went to see the Colssi of Memnon. Two 60 foot enthroned statues of Amenhotep the third. They originally guarded a mortuary temple but all that remains is the two, now faceless, statues. Then it was back to the hotel to check out and have lunch.

Our guide had been wonderful. Her English was perfect as was her figure. She was about 5 foot one inch tall with jet black, curly hair and was very cute. She had sold necklaces and shirts to many people on the bus. These things were made up overnight with the peoples names written in hieroglyphics. Due to our late return they were not ready in time to be delivered at the hotel and were to be delivered and paid for on the bus.

After everyone got on the bus, two men got on with all the necklaces and shirts. That’s when the fun began. Our guard wore a sport jacket under which you could see was a gun if you knew where to look. When these two guys got on, he jumped up out of his seat with his hand held under his jacket. He hollered something unfriendly, in Arabic, and these two guys turned very white and quickly got off the bus. Now our cute little friendly guide became incensed and jumped off the bus. She went over to some guy that was obviously in charge of security and said something to him. He said something back to her that she must not have liked very much. This little broad started yelling at him in what sounded like babble. She made so much noise he could not get one word in until he finally gave up and did it her way. So kids, our guide, Godia was her name, saved your shirts. That might make you happy, but now I had to pay for them and Bobbi didn’t even get me one.. We checked to see all the names were spelled right in hieroglyphics and they are.

Three and one half hours later and we were back at the ship in our 20 bus convoy. Art was okay now and we met him and Muriel for dinner. We had reservations at Latitudes. It had now been turned into a cabaret. Most of the food was very good but the decorations, the costumes, and mainly the show, was great. We had a band and a lady cabaret singer that was really terrific. We were exhausted but still stayed to the end of the show.

No Shirt on His Back Sherm Out.