A Trip Down the Nile

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Day 2: Valley of the Kings and Queens


I woke up early and boarded the bus to begin my tour of the Valley of the Kings and Queens in Thebes. I was very excited to see the tombs, because I have always been interested in ancient Egyptian culture. First we visited the Valley of Kings, where there are 65 tombs. It contains New Kingdom pharaohs. We only visited three of the tombs: Tomb of Tutankhamen, Tomb of Ramses VI, and Tomb or Queen Tawsert/ Sethnakht. The first tomb we visited was that of Tutankhamen. The tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922 and is one of the few tombs with all of its glorious treasures intact. Tut’s tomb was surprisingly very small and most likely meant for one of his advisors, but after Tutankhamen’s sudden death it was used for him. Inside, I felt very hot and clammy and claustrophobic, so I just stayed inside for a brief time.
The next tomb that we went to see was that of Ramses VI. His tomb was originally built for Ramses V, Ramses VI’s predecessor, but Ramses VI expanded it. One of the odd things about this tomb is that there are curious astronomical markings on the ceiling and inner sarcophagus. The last tomb I saw in the Valley of the Kings was not that of both a pharaoh and a queen. The tomb of Queen Tawsert/ Sethnakht was originally built for Queen Tawsert but when the pharaoh Sethnakht couldn’t find room for his own tomb he used this one.
The final stop of the day was at the Valley of Queens. Here I saw the tomb of Queen Nefertari. The tour guide told us that Nefertari’s tomb was discovered in 1904. The tomb’s treasures had been taken by grave robbers years ago. It was closed to the public because of decay, but has been restored. I was not allowed to go in because you have to apply to the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and pay a 20,000 LE fee. After a long but fascinating day, I boarded my cruise ship to begin my trip down the Nile.

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