Further down the Nile is the ancient city of Luxor. Home to the Valley of the Kings, the Colossi of Memnon, the Temple of Karnak, Luxor Temple and so much more. Everywhere you look, you get a sense of history.

We tried our best to battle against the immense heat here so that we could see as much as possible. We tried our best. At one point in the day it got to 50 degrees celsius...in the shade! For a young man from Ireland, I was definitely not used to this. As someone said, in Luxor it rains for about 3 or 4 days a year. I said its sunny in Ireland for about 3 or 4 days!

We kicked off our day with a visit to the Colossi of Memnon. Unfortunately it had since been fixed but back in ancient times there was a hole in the statue on the right that had a hole in its head. The wind used to become caught in the hole and make a sound believed to be the voice of Memnon singing.

We then went straight to the Valley of the Kings, so positioned as it was believed that the hill itself resembled a pyramid (see one of my photos for proof). The tombs here are spectacular. While all the facades from the other pyramids had been removed either by smugglers or by musuems, most of the facades here were still in place. To see the hieroglyphics in place and how they were meant to be seen was spectacular.

Hatshepsut's Temple was brilliant to see in person. The temple is only overshadowed by the story of Queen Hatsheput. She married her half brother tobecome Queen. When he died, she became regent until her son Thutmose III could be old enough to be Pharaoh. Traditionally women could not be pharaoh. Legend has it that Hatsheput simply told people that she was in fact a man and could thus become Pharaoh. All her statues and carvings were then altered to add the royal pharaoh beard. Brilliant. Like something out of Dallas haha

After this we grabbed lunch on the Nile. This was not only a cool experience but a fantastic opportunity to get out of the blistering heat. Then we went to one place I have been dying to see. The Temple of Karnak.

The sheer size of Karnak is humbling. Especially when you consider that much of it is still closed to the public. The carvings were so clear and so strong. The heat was quickly becoming unbearable which dampened our experience some what but not our thirst. We each went through a 2litre bottle of water just going around this one temple.

We did go to Luxor Temple but we were well too hot to even  attempt it. We just went back to our hotel and chilled out in the pool. The pool was on the roof of our hotel which gave us great views of Luxor Temple and the Nile.

After this, we hired out a felucca and set off out onto the Nile just before sunset. We know we were scammed for the price we paid but to be fair, we did not care that much. Money can not pay for the sights we saw along the boat during or to see such a sunset. What a way to end our stay in Luxor. What a way to end any day.

Climbing into the tombs of Pharaohs long gone rivaled that of climbing into the Great Pyramids but I feel that boating along the Nile beats both experiences hands down.

The karnak temple consists of 32 temple build by much different pharao's. That's why there is much diversity of writings and statue's in karnak.

In Luxor right now. Just visited 4 temples in 6 hours - The Valley of the Kings, Haptshepsut Temple, Temple of Karnak and Luxor Temple. I'm all temple'd out! Will be catching an overnight train back to Cairo tonight. Dreading the thought of it - all 10 hours of it.

The day began with breakfast and when our riverboat docked, we all got on the bus. We had 2 security guards on our bus to help assure our safety. I feel rather unsafe with them around. Afterall, they were carrying firearms!

We first visited the world-famous Valley of the Kings. Valley of the Kings is just that - a valley where the pharoahs were buried. Hahaha... Okay. Not. Commoners were also buried in the area, as well as other royal families and very close friends of the royal family.

King Tut was buried here. So was Ramses I, II, III, IV and oh, his 20+ kids? One of the tombs we entered was filled with traps a 'la Indiana Jones with its small narrow staircase that leads you to the lower chamber which becomes into a slide... down into a bottomless pit - or atleast it is but it was too dark for me to determine if it was indeed bottomless, to the narrow walkways over yet another - I'm sure -bottomless pit and a chamber intentionally designed to make everyone believe to be the resting place of the king - but no... just behind and below that chamber, lies another narrow and low doorway that leads to another chamber, a room where the would be mummy of the pharoah lrests. The air was stifling and as soon as we reached the room, I was glad to leave. There were no mummy in that room - just one of his sarcophagus. I forgot if that pharoah's mummy was one of the royal mummies we saw in Cairo Museum or not. Hmm... 

Some of the tombs requires additional fee while the 3 of the available tombs were included with the entrance fee. King Tut was one of the tombs that required additional fee. My sister and I opted out of that since after seeing quite a lot of mummies in the Cairo Museum, we didn't want to see another one - even if it was King Tut's. After all, one mummy really just looks like the next one. And, we honestly couldn't differentiate between them, anyhow.

However, according to the accounts of my friends who bought the ticket for King Tut's tomb, his mummy was a small one (not surprising there since he died - or was it murdered?- at around 10 years old) and it was a small room. That definitely did not surprise me! King Tut and his tomb only became famous for ONE reason only. And THAT IS - his tomb - which was found by mistake by Egyptologist studying the Valley of the Kings, was THE ONLY ONE FOUND COMPLETELY INTACT and UNRAVAGED by graverobbers - both thousand of years ago to the present. A video in the visitors' center entrance presented the archeological dig that accounted for the massive collections that filled King Tut's tomb. A young king of only a few years with such treasures (found on several rooms) in his tomb only shows that the older kings that preceded him must have MORE treasures in their tombs!

My sister and I chose another king's tomb, whose name I can't recalled at the moment - so expect an edit on this entry, for its artwaork. Kings' tombs are adorned with Egyptian hieroglyphs. Colors were also used to design these tombs. This king's tomb had one of the best preserved artwork and colors in the Valley of the Kings. It also recently just finished being 'cleaned' - so the colors are bright and glowing. Hehe... okay so not glowing, but it sure did not looked like it was more than two thousand years old, that's for sure. At the end of this tomb also contains an unusual design not seen in other tombs. The room where the king's sarcophagus is located has well-preserved colors and its ceiling is semi-dome shape, compared to just a box-like, flat ceiling of other tombs. The original outer sarcophagus is also inside this king's tomb - unfortunately, broken due to, I believe, some thing fell on it during excavation or so. Photos were not allowed to be taken in any of the tombs so I have no photographic evidence to prove and illustrate the colors, hierlogyphics and sarcophagus that covered from floor to ceilings of this tomb.

After the Valley of the Kings, we continued on to Haptshepsut Temple located on the other side of the Valley of the King. This temple was designed by the queen's lover. Haptshepsut is one of the most powerful female pharoahs in Egypt. Egypt flourished in her reign. The temple was designed - I believe - by her lover. And the temple is connected to the Valley of the King by a tunnel through the mountain.

Haptshepsut Temple has a fantastic view of Luxor's Nile River Valley. From afar, you can see the green-ness of the valley, fed by the River Nile. It is deifnitely greener than Aswan!

I think if you want save your money and you look for one really great Hotel,....you must go to this place!Great staff!! Very good food! Very good service! Masseur,Shops, Disco, Bar,2 Restaurants At the roof : One swimming-pool, great deck-chairs and one restaurant! And if you sitting in this Roof-Restaurant: Ventilators with water vapour!!Thats really great, if it is hot...like 40-50 GRAD CELSIUS...in the summer!!! You get the breakfast at the roof! Great buffet!With one beautiful view!

If you look for one cheap hotel, downtown from Luxor, this is the right one!The most importend is the swimming-pool on the roof!!! Excelent view over Luxor!Good breakfast, fresh fruit in the room!!!!! Friendly staff!

If you look for one cheap hotel, downtown from Luxor, this is the right one!The most importend is the swimming-pool on the roof!!! Excelent view over Luxor!Good breakfast, fresh fruit in the room!!!!! Friendly staff!

Our boat, the M.S. Nile Admiral, left from the Sheraton and it was so huge it looked like a hotel that had been turned on its side.  It was a 5 Star boat run by Presidential Cruises.  The rooms were tiny, but the deck space and upstairs lounge was large.  The boat had a lounge, bar, restaurant, sundeck, swimming pool, 2 shops and 4 floors.

Day 1:  A "guide" who as it turns out knew jackshit about Ancient Egypt took the cruise group on a tour of the Colossi of Memnon, Valley of the Kings, and Deir el-Bahari.  As soon as we got to the sites, to save the tour group and our sanity, we broke off from the group and headed around the sites visiting our favorite spots.  There was no way the "guide"  would survive us having to listen to him try to tie every Pharaoh to Akhenaten and the Bible.   In the Valley of the Kings, we were on a mission to find Hatshepsut's tomb.  As good little Egyptology students, we did our research before hand, knowing the number and generally where Hatshepsut's tomb was supposed to be located (it hasn't been re-explored in over 100 years).  Through a few sneaky maneuvers to avoid the Valley guards, some great deductive guessing and a little luck we found the entrance to Hatshepsut's tomb, which was filled with garbage!!

Watching the Nile fly by on a boat is an amazing experience.  As you move up the Nile the desert cliffs that line the Nile become large and more imposing.  I'm extremely anti-tour (I hate being confined and told what to do), but it is so worth the experience of floating down the Nile.  Feluccas have been known to be rented for this purpose, but I would advise against it unless you go through a tour company since the white slave trade is rampant and I know of a few foolish people who rented feluccas from joe-smoe and ended up nearly sold into the white slave trade.  The sunsets and sunrises of Egypt from the Nile are also amazing and worth seeing every one.

Day 2: First stop, Esna Temple.  Esna is a Greco-Roman temple to Khnum which is located in a pit in the middle of a small village.  It was begun by Ptolemy VI.  The Hypostyle Hall is all that's left.  Next up was Edfu, another Greco-Roman temple (are we noticing a theme).  This temple was dedicated to Horus and is the most completely preserved Egyptian temple.  The Temple at Edfu was started by Ptolemy III and the entrance pylon is the largest of any Ancient Egyptian temple.  The temple, even though it was Greco-Roman, was quite gorgeous!  Our last temple was Kom Ombo, which was dedicated to the crocodile god, Sobek.  It is the only temple built on virgin sole, i.e. no previous structure had been built here, and it's location was planned for dramatic effect as one approached it from the Nile.  It was also Greco-Roman.  (No more Greco-Roman temples please!  They're pretty, but I want some a little more oldy-moldy.)

Day 3:  Back in Aswan.  Our first stop was Philae, again Greco-Roman.  Philae, though, is located on an small island in the Nile.  It's a really spectacular temple, with a unique location.  (And this from someone who snobs most Greco-Roman stuff.)  The temple takes up nearly the whole island.  It is definitely worth a visit, especially if you can see it lit up at night.  

Deir el-Bahari: Pharaoh Hatshepsut's Mortuary Temple and the Mortuary Temple of Montuhotep II

If you are on the East Bank for a sunrise, look across the Nile to the West Bank - there in the distance will be a sparkling light nestled against the imposing desert cliffs.  That shimmering, dancing light is Deir el-Bahari.  The polished white limestone catches the sun's rays and reflects them with a blinding brillance.  On the flip side,  unless you are there during the dead of winter (i.e. after December), Deir el-Bahari usually gets roasting hot after 8:30 am.  So, it's HIGHLY ADVISED to go here first.  Plus, if you can arrive right when the site opens at 6 am, you often can have a few moments of peace before the throngs of tourists arrive.  It's worth the early start to share a few quite moments with the beautiful temple - takes you back 3,000 + years to a time when the temple was a vibrant site of worship of a powerful female Pharaoh.

The architect of Hatshepsut's mortuary temple was her lover (still a bit of an archaeological question mark), Senmut, who also doubled as a top-notched architect.  The southern wing of the temple depicts the transportation of the Pharaoh's obelisk over water to Karnak.  There is also depiction of the famous expedition to Punt.   Hatshepsut, who portrayed herself in statues and on temples as male, found a way to get around the tiny technicality that the Pharaoh is the god Horus on earth, thus making the Pharaoh divine and a god-king.  You can't be Horus on earth if you are a woman.  So, to still make herself a god and thus Pharaoh, Hatsheput created a myth of her divine birth in which the god Amun impregnates her mother and the important gods of the pantheon attend her birth.  You can see this story carved into the stone walls of Deir el-Bahari.

Next to Hatshepsut's Mortuary Temple at Deir el-Bahari is the mortuary temple of Nebhotepre Montuhotep II.  He was the 5th Pharaoh of the 11th Dynasty and it is thanks to him that we have the Middle Kingdom. At the end of the Old Kingdom, Egypt fragmented into what in essence were city states and many years of fighting ensued, termed the First Intermediate Period.  Then Montuhotep was born, became ruler of Upper Egypt, re-unified all of Egypt (by smitting all the Egyptian warlords until they couldn’t so much as raise a pinky), and Egypt went back to being a happy little kingdom with intrigue, assassinations, flooding of the Nile and plans of world domination. Oddly, Montuhotep, being the little rebel that he is (he is named after one of the gods of war, Montu), was buried at his Mortuary Temple at Deir el-Bahari.  Usually, Pharaohs had a Mortuary Temple where priests worshiped them and then their tomb which was “hidden” somewhere.  Montuhotep’s Mortuary Temple at Deir el-Bahari used tiers and columned porches, and was the architectural inspiration for Hatshepsut’s temple.

Interestingly, a mass grave was uncovered at Deir el-Bahari containing the remains of 60 Egyptian Soldiers who were probably casualties of Montuhotep’s extensive campaign into Nubia.  So our little rebel, who worshiped the Theban god of war, built a very unusual mortuary temple that fit nowhere into Egyptian architectural history, then buried himself in it, and finally had 60 of his favorite war buddies who took one for the team in Nubia buried in his front lawn.  Man I love this guy! 

The Valley of the Kings: Where Many Of The New Kingdom Big Boys Have Their Posh AfterLife Flats

Get to The Valley of the Kings as soon as you can (but don't short shrift Deir el-Bahari in the process).  The Valley gets packed pretty quickly with naive tourists all bustling in to look at the "freak show" and not to enjoy and honor these great kings.  Valley officials rotate which tombs are open, so you may not see the exact ones I did, but no matter what you will be awed.  Remember to take time to honor and appreciate these great men and women for it is a real privilege to get such an intimate glympse into their world.  The Ancient Egyptians spent their lives preparing for their death and these New Kingdom tombs of Pharaohs, just like the Pyramids of Giza, show the length one powerful individual will go to to MAKE SURE (with amazingly elaborate back up plans) that no matter what they would make it to the out-of-this-world afterlife.  By being respectful and learning about these great individuals you will help them acheive that dream of immortality.

Tuthmosis III (KV34): Tuthmosis III was the 6th Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty.  He was a brilliant military ruler, creating the largest empire in Egyptian history.  He completed over 17 campaigns, conquered Niy in North Syria all the way down to the fourth waterfall of the Nile in Nubia.  Once he established his empire, Tuthmosis III went on a building frenzy building tons of structures, monuments and temples all throughout Egypt.  His tomb in the Valley of the Kings is located at the very back of the Valley.  You have to climb up a steep ladder that goes up the side of the cliff face to reach the entrance to the tomb. The 2nd room is covered with depictions of deities.  The figures represent 741 different gods, each with its name and function written on the wall.  The burial chamber is formed in the shape of a cartouche.  The wall paintings are from The Book of What is In The Duat.  The text is complete and excellently preserved (it is very rare, even in royal tombs, to see a complete book on the walls, usually they only use sections of it).  All 12 hours are shown.  On the two square pillars of the burial chamber there are passages from the Litany of Re.  The heads and crowns represent the 74 forms of Re.  In addition, there is a unique scene where the King is portrayed being nursed by a divine tree goddess labeled Isis.  In the center of the burial chamber is Tuthmosis III's massive red granite sarcophagus, which is engraved with protective texts and goddesses.  It’s my favorite of all the sarcophagi.  On a side note, the Lonely Planet in 2006 claimed that Tutmosis III’s “missing mummy has not been identified among those in the two major caches of royal mummies.”  This is incorrect.  It has been identified and labeled and is currently living in the Cairo Museum’s royal mummy wing for all to see.  The catch is that the mummies found in the caches MAY have been mislabled by the priests who placed them there during the 21st Dynasty.  Archaeologists are currently using comparisons of features to try and link up who is related.  Hopefully, some time in the near future Zahi Hawass will allow the best ancient DNA experts (let Svanta Paabo do it, once he's finished sequencing the complete genome of a Neanderthal) to have a go at the mummies and add more evidence to who is who.  But, for now we must go with what the ancient priests labeled each mummy as.  So, yes, you can see Tuthmosis III - sort of.

Seti II (KV15):  Seti II’s throne name, Userkheperure Setepenre, means “Powerful are the Manifestations of Re, Chosen by Re.” He was the son of Merneptah (successor of Ramesses II) and his reign was known for many serious plots to overthrow him.  His reign only lasted 6 years.  Seti II’s tomb is the only time that the reliefs were carved directly into the rock walls of the tomb.  In all other Egyptian tombs the walls were covered in plaster and then the reliefs were carved into that.

Tausert/Setnakht (KV 14): Tausert was the wife of Seti II and after Seti II’s successor Siptah died she took over as Pharaoh.  Tausert ruled Egypt as Pharaoh from 1188-1186 BC.  She was also the final Pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty and her reign ended in civil war.  This tomb was originally designed for Tausert and Seti II, but later Setnakht (Tausert’s successor) removed Seti II and put himself in the tomb. In Tausert’s tomb there are scenes from the Book of the Gates, the Book of Caverns, and the Book of What is in the Duat.

Ramesses III (KV 11): Ramesses III’s tomb has an unusual architectural feature - 10 small side-chambers opening off of the first two corridors.  These rooms contain scenes of daily life, plowing, sowing, sailing, etc., and aren’t found in other royal tombs.  The corridor contains the Litany of Re.  You can also see where the builders inadvertently broke into another tomb.  There are also sections of the Book of What is in the Duat and the Book of Gates.  Ramesses III was the 2nd Pharaoh of the 20th Dynasty and is considered to be the last great New Kingdom Pharaoh to wield any substantial control over Egypt.  A fixed chronological dating point for determining the dates that Ramesses III reigned (March 1186 - April 1155 BC) was the eruption of the Hekla III Iceland volcano from 1159 BC onwards.  The massive and extended eruption of this volcano (for 19 years) ejected large amounts of plume and rock into the atmosphere, causing massive failures in Egyptian grain crops.  This coupled with numerous sea battles put severe stresses on the Egyptian food rations and resulted in the first labor strike in recorded history during year 29 of Ramesses III’s reign.  When he could not provide food for Egypt’s elite royal tomb-builders and artisans in the village of Deir el-Medina they made history by going on strike.  Ramesses III also had the wonderful luck of being subject to a massive assassination plot by his harem.  The main conspirators were Queen Tey and her son Pentawere, Ramesses' chief of the chamber, Pebekkamen, seven royal butlers, two Treasury overseers, two Army standard bearers, two royal scribes and a herald.  A total of 38 people were sentenced to death.  It is not known if the assassination plot was successful since he died in the year of his reign before the summaries of the sentences were composed.

Merneptah (KV 8): Merneptah had the unfortunate luck of being the son of a very long living Ramesses II.  But, he was lucky in the fact that he was the eldest living son, at 60 years old, when Ramesses II died, thus becoming his successor.  Ramesses II must have been a very tough act to follow, especially with his colossi littering Egyptian landscape and monuments, always overshadowing Merneptah’s rule.  Merneptah’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings contains pictures of Nubians and Syrians from the Book of Gates.  The sarcophagus in the burial chamber is gigantic, granite monstrosity, thus being a huge deterrent for ancient and modern thief’s grubby little hands.   Merneptah’s tomb actually had 4 sets of sarcophagi in the burial chamber, a feature no other tomb in the Valley can also boast.  Dad must have blown all the money on the good architect, since Merneptah had a little trouble with his tomb. During construction, it was discovered that the sarcophagi could not fit through the tomb’s several gates.  The only solution was to hack away the gates to get the large boxes inside. 

Tutankhamun (KV 62): Tutankhamun is the most famous of all the Egyptian Pharaohs and at the same time the least important.  All he did during his very unimportant and unimpressive reign, was die and then not get robbed (because his tomb was so small and inconsequential that is was used for decades as a dump site for archaeologists, and tomb robbers didn’t even deem it worthy to venture in).  If Mr. Unimportant was buried with ALL of that gold and cool stuff, just think about what the great Pharaohs of Egypt were interred with!!  When you visit Tutankhamun’s tomb one can really see how much of an after thought he was.  The wall reliefs are of a very poor quality, the lower section of many of the walls wasn’t even finished being carved and the tomb is very small.  Tutankhamun’s body is in the sarcophagus that is located in the burial chamber. 

Tuthmosis IV (KV43): Tuthmosis IV’s tomb is one of the largest and deepest tombs constructed during the 18th Dynasty.  There is an enormous sarcophagus covered in hieroglyphics.  Several depictions of deities presenting the Pharaoh with the key of life.

Ramesses VII (KV1): Ramesses VII’s tomb was the first discovered in the Valley of the Kings.  The walls are decorated with passages from the Book of Gates, the Book of Caverns, the Book of the Earth, Opening of the Mouth Ritual, and the deceased with deities.

Ramesses IX (KV 6): Ramesses IX’s throne name, Neferkare Setepenre, means “Beautiful Is The Soul of Re, Chosen of Re.”  It is one of my favorite throne names.  The walls of Ramesses IX’s tomb are decorated with excerpts from the Book of the Dead (including the Negative Confession), the Book of Caverns, the Litany of Re, the Book of What is in the Duat, the Book of Day and Night, the Opening of the Mouth Ritual, and the deceased with deities.

Montuhirkhopshef (KV19): He was a son of Ramesses IX, but not his successor.  The tomb is okay, but not very extensive, or interesting.  In one dark sideroom there was a bunch of bones and a mummy with its dried guts hanging out.

Siptah (KV 47): In Siptah’s tomb there are scenes from the Litany of Re and the Book of What is in the Duat.  Siptah’s mummy was found in Amenhotep III’s tomb and it clearly shows that Pharaoh’s left leg to be shorter than his right, his left foot is severely deformed probably due to cerebral palsy.

The Valley of the Monkeys:  Traveling Back in Time To an Undiscovered Valley of the Kings

The Valley of the Monkeys branches off from the Valley of the Kings just passed the entrance to the Valley of the Kings, on the right hand side.  It is a good 2 km trek from the Valley of the Kings to the heart of the Valley of the Monkeys, where you can go inside the tomb of Ay.  The Valley of the Monkeys is undeveloped with just a few archaeological digs and surveys being conducted.  With few tombs to see, few tourists go here; one can get a moment of peace and solitude while in the Valley.  You can feel what it would have been like hundreds of years ago in the Valley of the Kings, before the Valley was excavated.  There are still dozens of tombs to be uncovered in the Valley of the Monkeys (Amenhotep III’s tomb is currently being excavated, and I’m betting that they may just find Akhenaten here or atleast a tomb he used for symbolic puposes), and it can be very powerful to spend a few moments here wandering through the cliffs and rolling mounds of sandstone fragments and sand just feeling how the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Monkeys was intended to be - a burial place and sacred location for the Great New Kingdom Pharaohs. 

Tomb of Ay: Ay ruled after Tutankhamun, and may have “helped” him along to the afterlife (there currently isn’t much rock solid evidence for this, though).  Interestingly, Ay’s tomb has very similar wall paintings as Tutankhamun’s tomb, Ay’s tomb is just larger, of higher quality and completely finished.  His tomb also contains the famous Baboon scene.  It is thought that this tomb may have been originally intended for Tutankhamun, Ay offed him, took his tomb, and threw him in a hasty, crappily constructed tomb.  He may have needed to properly inter Tutankhamun to legitimatize his rule, hence the tomb and the goodies Tutankhamun was buried with.

Luxor Museum

The Luxor Museum is a beautiful, modern museum.  Some particular pieces of interest are: a gold bull's head from the Tomb of Tutankhamun, a statue of Tuthmosis III, the recreated mural of 283 sandstone blocks depicting Akenaten and Nefertiti, a statue of Horemheb and the God Amun, and a red granite statue of Amenhotep III. 

Mummification Museum

Our next stop was the Mummification Museum.  This museum displayed the entire mummification process, tools, substances used, methods, archaeological evidence, 1 human mummy, and a number of animal mummies.

Luxor Temple

There was a large Avenue of the Sphinxes (back in the day connected with the Avenue of the Sphinxes at Karnak Temple, sphinxes had face of Amenhotep III).  The outer pylon was carved with Ramesses II's Battle of Kadesh.  Luxor Temple also has a hypostyle hall, though it is much smaller than Karnak's.  The temple almost looks delicate compared to massive and expansive Karnak.  Luxor Temple's location right next to the Nile makes it beautiful to view from a boat on the water.  Every night the temple is lit up and it is definitely worth a second stroll through in the evening.  There are also fewer tourists; it is quite peaceful and magical wandering through the temple at night with the stars laid out overhead.

Karnak is over 5 acres large, so it took us Egyptolophiles 4 hours to drool over every corner, broken statue, pillar and minute section of wall relief.  The massive temple structure was erected and added to throughout the New Kingdom.  The Hypostyle Hall is so huge and massive (much more so than any other columned hall in currently standing temples), it was just mindblowing.  I felt so small wandering through them, almost like being lost amongst a forest of old Redwood Trees.  In Ramses II's section of the temple was his usually plethora of smitting scenes and depictions of victory at the Battle of Kadesh. 

Being the nosey, persistent and determined Egyptology students that we are, my friends and I wandered over to the "closed" section (Temple of Khonsu and Temple of Apet) and bribed a few guards to let us climb on to the roof of one section of Karnak.  It was spectacular!  We could see all of Karnak laid out before us, just stretching on for ever and ever.  The temples were perfectly preserved and looked like no one had visited them in years or maybe even decades. (which was probably the case).  When the guards told us to crouch down and hide behind large stone slabs, I got the distinct feeling that we REALLY were not supposed to be on top of the roof.  Inside the Temple of Apet, there was a large pillared hall with a statue of a baboon in the center.

At the Open Air Museum (inside Karnak), archaeologists have reconstructed from mounds of rubble the beautiful White Chapel of Sesostris I and the gorgeous Red Temple of Hatshepsut. 

The light show at Karnak is good for the lights and the different view of Karnak, not to mention all the great photos of it bathed in light with a starry background.  But, don't expect accurate information from the monologue - what they say is more for dramatic effect than to enlighten tourists.

There are 500 tombs that comprise what is known as the Tombs of the Nobles.  The necropolis that the New Kingdom nobles used is very close to where the Kings and Queens were buried and contains some of society's most prestegious individuals.  Vaziers,  Royal Scribes, and Overseers were all buried here.  It is situated on one of the slopes of the valley wall, so it has a great view of West Bank and Nile river spread out before you.

Now the catch is that the village of Gurneh sprung up LITERALLY over the necropolis, which means that you have to walk a gauntlet of begging children and hungry "tour guides" to visit each tomb.  Just politely turn say "no thank you" which is "La Shukran" (by now you should be an expert at this phrase) and enjoy your time at the Tombs of the Nobles.  Often your taxi driver will have arranged for a guide to meet you there.  They can be quite helpful (not necessarily in the accuracy of their knowledge about the tombs), but in detouring other "guides" and the begging children from hassling you and also assisting you in finding the open tombs amongst all the homes (which is a feat unto itself).

We were able to visit the following 7 tombs (only 7 are usually open at a time):

Nakht: 

Scribe of the Granaries.  Contains the famous female lute player accompanied by muscians and dancers scene.

Ramose: 

Vizier to Amenhotep III and Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten).  Very grand and spacious tomb with pillared halls and magnificent carved reliefs.  This tomb reflects the traditional hieratic Egyptian style prevailing under Amenhotep III and the Amarna Style developed under Akhenaten.  Both left and right hand walls flanking the entrance are traditional.  On the left hand rear wall, Akhenaten is protrayed as Pharaoh in the conventional style, prior to his changing the art form and religious structure.  This is very rare and unusual and in my opinion is good solid evidence in support of the theory that the art change was a cultural idea and not based on some deformity or disease he had.  On the right hand wall, Akenaten is portrayed in the Amarna Style.  This is one of my favorite tombs in Luxor and is definitely worth the visit if you are in Luxor!

Userhet: 

Royal Scribe to Amenhotep II.  The tomb wall paintings depict many domestic, everyday life scenes.

Rekhmire:

Vizier under Thutmosis III and his son Amenhotep II.  No other tomb in Egypt offers such and extensive catalogue of real life activities in such minute detail.  And to think that he wanted to take this with him to the afterlife and be remembered for these things.  This tomb also contains proof that written law existed as early as 1500 B.C.  There is a picture of a criminal of some kind brought to justice in a court of law.  At the foot of the "judgment seat" there is roll of papyrus, which is interpreted to be the written law by which the accused will be tried.  In this tomb there is also a rare representation of a temple in the process of being constructed.  This is another tomb I highly recommend seeing if you can.  It will help give you can idea of one way archaeologists acquire information about Ancient Egypt.

Khaemhet: 

Overseer of the Granaries of Upper and Lower Egypt during the reign of Amenhotep III.  At this tomb, the guard showed us the mummy of a child in a closed back room.  He claimed that the child was an Ancient Egyptian.  It wasn't.  The child had been mummified by the natural processes that occur in deserts.

Sennefer:   

Mayor of the Southern City (Thebes) and lived during the reign of Amenhotep II.  The ceiling of the tomb had painted vines all over it.  On the walls, was a depiction of a funerary procession and the opening of the mouth ritual.  This ritual was important because it allowed the mummy or statue to be "animated" by the magical opening of the mouth.  This let the statue or mummy eat, drink and enjoy the offerings that were left at the tomb, thus allowing it to sustain the ka (the double/part of the soul that stays on in the body or statue, but was also independent of the individual and could move, drink and eat).

Menna:       

Scribe in the Fields of the Lord of the Two Lands of Upper and Lower Egypt.  This tomb has lots of depiction of daily life.

So what do Amenhotep III and Rameses II both have in common: 1) they built a shit load of statues and temples in their honor thus spreading lots of propaganda about how great they are and all the great things they are doing and 2) they got the idea from Hatshepsut - the Zen Master of Proganda (surpassed only in my humble opinion by Alexander the Great).

The Colossi of Memnon, 60 feet of quartzite sandstone carved into a likeness of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, stand guard at what was in ancient times the entrance to Amenhotep III's giant mortuary complex.  Yes, they are just two statues, but they are two statues definitely worth a visit.  They are absolutely humongous and its location on the valley floor with the sandy "mountains" in the background make it a really spectacular spot in Egypt.  Plus, everything on the West Bank is pretty close together.

The Ramesseum, as the name suggests, is the mortuary temple of Ramesses II.  And as usual with a Ramesses II building, it's covered with scenes from the Battle of Kadesh, His Greatness biffing and smitting every poor soul he can get his hands on, and his other military victories.  There is a number of toppled colossi that you can get up-close-and-personal with.  It's a pretty temple and gives you quite a bit of insight into one of Ancient Egypt's more prolific and important rulers.  A definite must see, and as I said above, everything is really close together on the West Bank.

The Valley of the Queens is a valley near the Valley of the Kings where many New Kingdom Queens had their burials.  The most pristinely preserved New Kingdom tomb in all of Egypt, the tomb of Nefertari (Ramses II's favorite wife), is located here.  The Valley of the Queens is far more seldomly visited and as a result, we were the only travellers here.  It was very peaceful to walk through the tombs by ourselves and without the chatter and stomping of feet of thousands of tourists.  It really let one appreciate and soak in the tombs.  The Valley of the Queens looks like a smaller version of the Valley of the Kings. 

The first tomb we visited was the Tomb of Prince Khaemwaset, son of Ramses III.  So, as it turns out, if you are Pharaoh you can have your progeny AS WELL AS your Queens buried here.  The wall paintings on Khaemwaset's tomb were equisite.  He is depicted as a child because he died very young.  The paintings show him being presented to the guardians of the gates to the Afterlife by his father.  He is making an offering in one scene, and is dressed in a robe, wearing a necklace and the traditional side-locks of youth.  This tomb was discovered in 1903 with numerous sarcophagi pilled up in the entrance corridor.  His title was the Priest of Ptah in Memphis, "Fan-bearer to the Right of the King" and "Sem-Priest."  He was the oldest son of Ramses III and his mother was Queen Titi.  We bribed the guard with bakesheesh to let us take pictures. 

Our next tomb was the Tomb of Titi, wife of Ramses III, and mother of Khaemwaset.   The wall paintings were quite intact and showed Queen Titi praying and presenting musical instruments to Ra.

The last tomb we could visit (sadly they have closed Nefertari's tomb to visitors) was the Tomb of Amonherkhepeshef.  He was another son of Ramses III and died around the age of 9.  Are we noticing a pattern here?  Yes there ARE other queens than those of Ramses III here, BUT he really used this as his own private burial ground for his young children (who died) and Queens.  On the wall paintings, Amonherkhepeshef is depicted being led by his father into the presence of the deities of the Duat (Afterlife).  The deities depicted are Ptah and 2 of the four sons of Horus (Amset and Duamutef) who lead the two onto Isis.  On the opposite wall, they are led to Hathor and then to the other two sons of  Horus, Hapi and Qebsennuf.  (The four sons of Horus are the 4 heads on the canopic jars.)  The prince's sarcophagus is located at the rear of the tomb.  A dessicated fetus (remains of a still-born younger brother) lies in a glass display case next to the sarcophagus, it was found next to the prince's burial.

The Valley of the Queens is a must see and definitely worth the time to be able to enjoy the tomb and wall paintings without the crazy crowds that are at the Valley of the Kings.

Aujourd'hui, je suis docteur.  Et oui, après 2 mois d'attente, j'ai enfin reçu mes résultats.  Et ce fût un succès!  Trop cool, je vais fêter (quoique ça risque d'être une célébration difficile) ça ce soir (l'hôtel est quasi vide...).

Mais bon, j'ai quand même profiter de la journée pour visiter un peu Luxor, ou du moins, la Rive Gauche, lieu de repos de tous les pharaons, et site de nombreux temples.  J'ai débuté en me pointant à la Vallée de Roi, où j'ai visité des groupes touristiques.  Et parfois, derrière un groupe, il y avait une tombe où on pouvait descendre.  Le billet d'entrée permettait 3 visites, et après deux, j'ai décidé de me pousser de là et de faire une petite hike vers le prochain temple.  Alors, bravant les nombreuses pancartes d'interdiction d'escalader la montage, j'ai escaladé la montagne, en tentant de suivre le chemin décrit dans mon éternel Lonely Planet...  Bref, bizarement, j'ai pu trouver le chemin, et sans aucun demi-tour ni monent de doute quant au chemin à suivre.  Et le chemin n'était pas clair, étant donné les pistes qui partaient dans tous les sens...  Donc, une première.  Je ne me suis pas perdu.  Il y a même un point où j'ai dû contourner un poste de police en douce pour ne pas me faire épingler... et surtout, m'éviter le pot-de-vin.  Bref, ça a fait ma journée.  Ok, ça et le fait que ça valait totallement la peine.  Même à 43 degrés avec soleil anabolisé!  Le panorama était tout a fait génial.  Je suis arrivé directement au-dessus du temple en question, et j'ai pu suivre la falaise dans laquelle le temple a été creusé.  Génial.

Le reste de la journée s'annonce tranquille.  Je me suis payé du luxe avec un hôtel 3 étoiles!!  Avec piscine.  En fait, pour pardonner mon corps de na pas avoir été fermenter dans le Sinai, et bien je vais lounger dans la piscine toute l'après-midi.  Avec possibilité d'aller voir un temple en soirée.  Mais bon, les temples, c'est comme les claques sur la gueule.  La première te prend par surprise et tu l'acceptes.  Mais les suivantes, tu répliques.  Et tu deviens pro-actif.  Ça fait tellement aucun sens ce que je viens d'écrire que je me dois de le laisser.

MDLF:  J'exige qu'à partir de ce jour, que Dr soit dit à chaque fois que vous mentionnez mon nom.  Ou un surnom.  Ou une insulte.  Dr de la Touze, ça sonne pas si mal en fait...

Luxor es, seguramente, el sitio más famoso de Egipto después de El Cairo.
Scott y yo nos dedicamos a hacer lo que todo el mundo hace... soportar temperaturas extremas... soportar pesados... visitar el valle de los reyes... soportar pesados... el de las reinas... soportar pesados... las tumbas de los nobles... soportar pesados... el templo de Luxor... soportar pesados...La orilla occidental... soportar pesados... la orilla oriental... soportar pesados...prácticamente todo el mundo quiere sacarte algo de dinero.
Solo reseñar que en hotel nos juntamos todos los del viaje en falúa y alguno más lo que hizo que la noche fuera divertida. También aconsejar a todos los que vayan a ir a Luxor que no dejen de visitar las tumbas de los nobles, muy poca gente lo hace y tienen pinturas tan bien conservadas como las tumbas de los reyes o las reinas.