Valley of the Kings

The valley itself is nothing special, just a rocky desert canyon which was hot and dusty (even in mid-November) and crowded with busloads of package tourists. But once inside the tombs the reason this place is so special becomes quickly apparent.

Both Gaby and I had studied about the Valley of the Kings, especially the discovery of King Tutankhamen's tomb, so we were both really excited about going there and seeing this place in person.

From the town of Luxor we took a taxi across the Nile, through the verdant agricultural lands created by the river to the west bank. From the ticket booth at the entrance you are driven by tram to a separate building where we bought additional tickets for King Tutankhamen's tomb.

The Valley of the Kings (or Kings Valley to the locals) is the final resting place of the Egyptian royalty. The valley has 19 tombs of which entry to 2 tombs is extra and various of the others are closed at any specific time for remodeling or preservation. The tombs are incredible. World class stuff. As they were cut into the mountain the tombs have not suffered from the elements like most other ruins and this shows as when you go in the amazing reliefs and hieroglyphics are well preserved and still retain their original bright colors and feel. They certainly don't look like they were created 3500 years ago.

We entered the first tomb and they hole-punched our entrance tickets. When Gaby took a picture of one of the walls a guard came running and asked to confiscate our camera as no pictures were allowed inside. Gaby refused to give up our camera but agreed to erase the photos.

We loved the tombs and were enjoying ourselves when we entered the fourth tomb and were advised that the entrance ticket only counted for entrance to 3 tombs and our day there was over. But the guard at the fourth tomb let us go in and look around in exchange for a small monetary "gift". We were quite unhappy about this situation as we were never advised when we bought our passes that they were for only 3 tombs (as we would have done things differently) and anyway why only let people see 3 tombs out of 19?

Lastly we visited King Tuts tomb, which we had purchased tickets for separately. You have to climb down like 30 steps, deep into the earth and it is hot and still inside. His burial chamber and mummy are still in the room but in comparison to some of the other tombs in the valley it was much smaller and the decoration much less ornate then many of the other tombs. We had always wanted to see King Tuts Tomb so it was worth it for us but if you don't go in dying to see King Tuts tomb I would say think twice beforehand.

In summary I would say that The Valley of the Kings itself is amazing and a can't miss site. The experience of climbing into the mountains into these gorgeous tombs is unforgettable.

Steve