Nile Story

...the name of a cruise ship but also the reason for West Bank tombs.

The touts continued today. Understanding that we are tourists, being offered a look in a shop is not problematic to me. The rest, however, is. By the end of the day, we are too exhausted for more bartering, and simply walk away.
This morning we joined several other couples form our hostel for a guided tour of the major sites in Luxor. We decided an aircon bus and a tour guide was worth the hassle of being crowded and kept to a schedule. It turned out to be lots of interesting young people and just about the right amount of time.
First, we went to the valley of the kings. This is where many ramses were buried. We saw the tombs of Ramses I, III, and IX. Josh and I then paid an extraordinary amount of money to go see the tomb of Tut, which of course is just as empty as the others. There is a mummy inside which, based on differing reports is a copy, or is Tut himself. Most of the treasures from the tomb are in the Luxor and Cairo museums. The paintings on the walls of each tomb are much more impressive than I thought they would be. Everything is first carved into the stone or plaster, and then painted. Understanding what each scene is makes it all more tangible and engaging. Note: Ramses II is the Ramses in the bible, so we saw his grandfather and…son? I’m not sure how Ramses II and III are related. Ramses II’s dad is Seti I. Ramses I and II are some of the most famous and powerful pharaohs.
After visiting the Valley of the Kings, we went to the temple of Hapshetsut. The temple is three stories, built into the side of the mountain. Our actual first glimpse came yesterday, as Josh and I looked across the Nile from our restaurant. It was enormous from across the river, and just as big up close. We were not allowed to take pictures in the Valley of the Kings, so we scrambled around with our cameras, hoping to get a few shots from the day. We saw many statues of Hapshetsut, one of the most important female pharaohs. Hapshetsut was the wife of a pharaoh, but she only “bore him” four daughters. Her husband found another woman to marry, who then had a son. When the Pharaoh died, the baby son was supposed to take the throne. Hapshetsut was pissed, so she dressed herself as a man, and took the throne by herself. She ruled for 21 years, bringing henna and many spices and goods to Egypt from abroad. In her temple, you can see statues of the goddess of love, Hathor, and a relief of Hapshetsut drinking the love milk of Hathor the cow.
After Hapshetsut, we went to the Valley of the Queens, where we saw the tomb of one queen and the tombs of her two sons who died at 11 and 16. She was so distraught at the death of one of her sons, that she miscarried the baby she was pregnant with. The mummy of the fetus is displayed in one of the tombs.
Then to the Collosi of Memnon, two giant statues erected for Amenhotep III. They guarded a temple that is now long destroyed.
That all happened before 2 pm, when we returned to the hostel. Very hungry after a measly breakfast, I had a snack of bread to recover. Then, we walked a mile to the Luxor museum where there are many wonderful things displayed. Then we walked along the nile (after dark) back to Luxor, stopped for a snack of greek salad and french fries, and mosied back to the hostel. It was a terribly long day, with sore feet by 2…before the 7 hour walk we took.
It’s a wonderful and interesting place here. So far I’ve only talked about Ancient Egypt, but soon I will try to touch on the modern, or at least my outsider interpretation of it.