Exploring Luxor

We rose early and splurged on a family hot air balloon ride over the Valley of Kings and the West Bank of Luxor.  We were picked up at 4:45 and hustled along into vans and boats to cross the Nile and get to the launching area.  The hot air balloons were huge and fit about 20 people inside of them. Our family had its own little compartment (only because there are 6 of us) and once set, we were released and ascended with each firing propelling us higher.  It was still dark but fun to see many other balloons being released into the sky as well.  

Early morning looks of awe as they lift off in a hot air balloon

Firing up!

As it became lighter, our guide pointed out the Valley of Kings, Queen Hatshepsut's Temple, and the Colossi of Memnon.  It was beautiful to be up so high, witnessing the panorama of Luxor and the sun rising over the Nile River!

Sunrise over the Nile River

Sun Explosion

Lush Nile valley meets desert

The views below contain a stark line where the fertile soil creating lush green crops gives way to the desert of lightly colored brown sand. As the sun rises, we are able to witness the land waking up and not only does this give us great views of historic monuments but also the countryside workers beginning their days. It was a splendid experience for all despite battling some early morning crabbiness.

According to our driver, we were "lucky" to get this view of Colossi of Mennon

Workers harvesting sugar cane

Following a very successful landing, we hopped in our tour van and headed over to the Valley of the Kings.  We were very excited for this opportunity as this, in our mind, was second only to the pyrmids for Egyptian sites to see. The Valley of the Kings contains 64 tombs and they are still searching for at least 8 more expected to be there.  The Pyrmids were how the Egyptian Pharaohs from The Old Kingdom (2700-2200BC) buried themselves and in some cases spent over 20 years working on them.  But as grave robbers discovered the treasures in the pyramids, the mummies were often destoyed and the goodies were looted.  So later kings decided that it was better to be buried in secret, hidden tombs - hence the Valley of the Kings built in The New Kingdom (1500-1000BC).  The tombs are numbered and many of them are closed to the public.  We were able to visit:

• #8 King Merenptah - He is thought to be the 13th son of King Ramses II and came to power because his older brothers were all deceased.  We were the only ones inside at the time and guards let us go inside the roped off area and look in some of the storage rooms.  We were also allowed to go inside the recently reconstructed outer sarcophagus box, which is the largest one discovered in Egypt.  This outer box is more than 13 ft long, 7 ft wide and 8 ft tall, is made of red granite, and originally contained 3 stone sarcophagi inside of it along with the kings mummy.  This was an awesome treat as this tomb has only been re-opened to the public for less than 4 years due to the reconstruction of this large sarcophagus! Of course the guards expected to be tipped for such a privledge.
• #62 King Tutankhamen - This is the popular King Tut's tomb, most famous because of the treasures discovered in it by Howard Carter in 1922.  Tutankhamen died at a young age, so many believe his tomb was a make-shift response to his sudden death as there really is not anything spectacular about the tomb construction or decoration itself.  Tutankhamen's mummy is still preserved in the tomb.  There is an extra fee to enter King Tut's tomb; however it was only re-opened to the public in 2014 and is expected to be closed to the public in the near future as some believe there is more treasure to be found behind some of the walls.
• #14 King Tausert/Setnakht - This tomb is unique in that it is the only tomb in the Valley of Kings to house two complete burial chambers. The possibly story behind this tomb is what was intriguing to us.  It is believed that Tausert designed and decorated the tomb herself during the time that her husband, Seti II, reigned.  However, after Seti II died and then his successor died, Tausert took control herself!  Because the tombs were raided, it is unclear who was actually buried in this tomb.  But according to the stories and names on the wall it appears that the tombs may have been intended for Tausert and Seti II and that they were removed by Tausert's short-lived successor, Sethnakht or possibly his son Ramses III.  Sethnakht died before his tomb was finished, and some believe that Ramses III buried his father in Tausert's tomb as it does not appear that Ramses III built his own tomb but instead was buried in the tomb his father, Sethnakht, had built.
• #34 King Thutmosis III- This tomb was impressive in that its entrance was built high up in the limestone cliffs and contained several fake passageways, showing the incredible lengths the kings would go to in order to hide their tombs from thieves.  This tomb was one of the first built in the Valley of Kings and is considered to be the first with a painted interior.  Because of military conquests and ingenuity, King Thutmosis III is referred to as 'the Napoleon of Ancient Egypt.'
• #9 King Ramses VI - It is believed that Ramses V began building this tomb, and that Ramses VI finished its construction and that both were buried here.  However the tomb seems to have been robbed and the mummies removed only 20 years after burial.  It is thought that the proximity of this tomb to King Tutankhamen's tomb is what actually kept King Tut's tomb from being discovered by robbers.  This tomb is beautifully painted inside.

Looking out towards the Valley of the Kings

Inside the outer sarcophagus box of Pharaoh Merenptah

Exiting the outer sarcophagus box of Pharaoh Merenptah through a temporary
opening left so archeologists can continue reassembling the interior

Family with King Merneptah's ornamental cartouche-shaped sarcophagus lid,
this was the lid to the second sarcophagus placed inside the large box sarcophagus.

King Thutmosis III entrance to tomb up high

Our journey through this area was nothing short of breathtaking. Seeing the tunnels to each burial chamber lined with hieroglyphics and symbolism telling stories of what the tomb owner's afterlife would supposedly involve was amazing.  Sometimes these images were painted and other times they were carved into the limestone.  To consider that all of this was designed over 3500 years ago was incredible!  While the tombs are not as grand on the outside as the pyramids, there is a sense of historical significance that only experiencing it can provide.

Class in the Valley of the Kings with our guide

Our next stop was The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut.  Queen Hatshepsut was a woman with ambition in a man's world as she wanted to rule Egypt. Her "nephew," Thutmose III (son of her husband, Thutmose II's harem girl), techically took the throne at age 6, but she convinced Egypt that she should rule until he was able. Once he was of age, she managed to keep power and refused to relinquish it.  The leaders agrued that ruling Egypt was not for a woman, but her persistence won out.  She even vowed to dress like a man and put on fake beards to further her manly costume.  Hatshepsut's death is a mystery as is how her "nephew" ended up coming to power.  However, while Hatshepsut is thought to have been the first great female leader in recorded history, Thutmose III removed her name from monuments and stories and replaced it with his name or his fathers.  He also built stone walls around some of her obelisks so that people would not look at them; however, these stone walls preserved the obelisks, allowing us to view them in good condition today.

Family in front of Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

Ramp up to Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

On the left side you can see where Queen Hatshepsut's cartouche was removed 

Queen Hatshepsut columns

Looking seriously royal

This wraps up our time in Luxor.  It was a full two days mixed with emotions of adjusting to a completely new culture, different than any we'd visited previously, as well as sadness that our neighbor Ray was not able to join us to explore Egypt as we'd all hoped.  Everything we were doing we'd envisioned him being a part of when we planned it, but some circumstances came up Stateside that required him to cancel his visit.  Our hearts were heavy at exploring and learning so many amazing things without him, not to mention we have accumulated so many things to share with him as we haven't been able to chat many times a day as when we are home, and we were just missing him...  One thing that cheered us up was a couple of stops at Weinke's Water Buffalo Milk Ice Cream shop!  This hole-in-the-wall ice cream place was a treat that offered unique flavors and combinations that we enjoyed trying.  One of our favorites was "dom" which is a coffee caramel tasting fruit here in Luxor.  They also had chocolate chili pepper with just the right amount of kick and "kerkedeh" which translates to hibiscus.  This was a fun treat as the heat in Luxor was intense and this was something we had to look forward to.