After KW and I finished our balloon ride and caught up with the rest of the tour, we first went to the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queen's. Cameras are not allowed into either of these areas, so I don't have any pictures of the tombs. I can tell you that the pictures that are still in the tombs are incredible. I just can't imagine how many years were spent preparing these tombs for the kings. There was the digging for the tombs and then there was the painting of the pictures on the walls AND ceilings. It's awe-inspiring to think of the hours that was spent to prepare the tombs.
One evening on the cruise ship we saw a film that was made about Howard Carter and his discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb. It's unbelievable what Carter had to go through in order to find this tomb. I am sure that under the definition of persistence is a picture of Howard Carter.
The two picture below are as we approached the Visitor's Centre at the Valley of the Kings. Even though the Valley of the Kings was pointed out to us when we were in the balloon, I found it hard to pick it out. After visiting the area, I can see why. The terrain is the same throughout this area. I marvel at how people didn't get lost when travelling in these areas centuries ago. Although we were there in the morning, it was already hot. I can only imagine what it would be like to visit this area in the summer.
After visiting the Valley of the Kings, we went to Queen Hatshepsut's Temple. After seeing it in the air, I was looking forward to actually visiting the site. The pictures that I have included here are on our way to the Temple and once we are there. It is mind boggling to think of how the culture of that time could design and build something so incredibly massive. And to think that this temple lay buried under the sands for tens of centuries.
One evening on the cruise ship we saw a film that was made about Howard Carter and his discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb. It's unbelievable what Carter had to go through in order to find this tomb. I am sure that under the definition of persistence is a picture of Howard Carter.
The two picture below are as we approached the Visitor's Centre at the Valley of the Kings. Even though the Valley of the Kings was pointed out to us when we were in the balloon, I found it hard to pick it out. After visiting the area, I can see why. The terrain is the same throughout this area. I marvel at how people didn't get lost when travelling in these areas centuries ago. Although we were there in the morning, it was already hot. I can only imagine what it would be like to visit this area in the summer.
After visiting the Valley of the Kings, we went to Queen Hatshepsut's Temple. After seeing it in the air, I was looking forward to actually visiting the site. The pictures that I have included here are on our way to the Temple and once we are there. It is mind boggling to think of how the culture of that time could design and build something so incredibly massive. And to think that this temple lay buried under the sands for tens of centuries.
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| The tomb on the right, I believe belonged to Senmut, Hatshepsut's lover. Normally everyone, other than the pharaoh, was buried in plane, unadorned tombs. The fact that this one has a very distinctive outside shows how important Senmut was to Hatshepsut's and her court. |
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| Even with these statues and hieroglyphics being exposed to the elements, you could still see the colours that were used. And in many of cases, the hieroglyphics were not worn away. Is anything that we have built in the 20th and 21th centuries going to be able to say the same thing in the ages to come? |
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| I couldn't get over the size of the cliffs that surrounded the temple. |
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