We finally made it to the Valley of the Kings. Yes, the place everybody talks about. I could see the reason. We woke up early in the morning so we could be there after they opened. It took us a half an hour to get there.
Stopped for the tickets at the entrance and got like 8 different ones: admission, 3 extra tombs (Tutankhamen Mummy, Ramses IV & V and Merenptah), photo pass (3 tombs) -you need it for a professional camera, cellphone pictures are still free- and train drives. They wont give you a map, but they do offer one for an extra charge. We Googled it. It’s crazy!
The place is quite immense. We decided to visit the extra tombs first. Ramses IV & V was the first in our way and definitely, it was my favorite. Its magnificent. No one was around us so we could stop and stare at the great detail and the most stunning colors. The sarcophagus was not the best part, but all the way down through it is truly unbelievable.
Our second stop was at Tutankhamen. We decided to keep it to cellphone pictures as the place is not decorated, colorful or detailed and guards do stamp your photo pass ticket to make sure you just take pictures of 3. The treasure is Tutankhamen’s mummy. What it means. All the history that comes behind it. It was a pleasure to have seen it!
The last tomb we visited was Merenptah. Very detailed tunnel, almost all in white background. At the end a stunning sarcophagus that captures all the attention. The guards in the place will offer to take a picture for a fee. They would actually let you almost go behind the wood fence and touch the sarcophagus if you are willing to pay. No thank you! How dare you offer such a thing knowing that it will deteriorate such a treasure?
We were out by 9 am. Ready to conquer the place! We headed towards the Valley of the Queens: yes, to see the women’s tombs. Surprisingly enough, this is place not many tourists visit as locals think its not an impressive site. According to them, these tombs are not as colorful and impressive. They couldn’t be more wrong! I found the tombs quite amazing and actually I was feeling haunted by the idea of overpaying to go into Nefertiti’s (it is not included in the ticket and costs around 90 USD). At the end I decided not to go in as all the tombs in this valley were created to honor, rather than to hold any mortal remains. After all, the queens were buried next to the kings.
Our next stop at Colossi of Memnon was quick. Not much to see, just basically two monumentally big statues. Took a few photos, did lunch and decided to go on a 3 hr private Felucca sailboat that would take us to a beach (so we could dive into the Nile River) and Banana Island for $35 USD.
The experience was memorable. The Nile River is one of the most magnificent bodies of water on earth. Not only is rich in its history, but is the protagonist of a surreal landscape. The boat was very smooth and slow. Quite nice!
Our first stop was at the beach. To be honest it was a little disappointing. First, the beach was an extremely small area covered in soil -not sand. Second, you had to walk to it. I was hoping that is was going to be great as Egypt can get really hot. And I was right! The problem was that the extremely cold water didn’t feel as good as I thought. On the contrary, I was freezing right away and the walk didn’t make it any better as we were going through tall grass. I was able to stay in the water for a few minutes. I didn’t dare to dive in or swim. Nevertheless, it was an experience and it was well worth it!
Next on the list was Banana Island. Not very impressive. It basically a restaurant has a small and depressing zoo on the back that holds wild animals such as crocodiles and monkeys. They also have a big field that grows bananas. The idea is that you can grab some from the tree and eat them at the spot. The flavor was really good, but as an animal lover it just breaks my heart to support places that hold animals captive and in poor conditions for pure profit.
The best part came at sunset. Perfect weather and excellent place to contemplate its full beauty. The Nile River kept impressing me. I couldn’t stop staring at the sky, at the horizon, at the other boats, at the shore, hoping that I didn’t miss a thing. I wish I had a good memory! Time for sure will erase some of my memories, but will never take away the indescribable feeling.
The best way to close that day was to visit the Luxor Temple at night. Once again, perfect temperature and an unbelievable place to discover. As the night comes it certainly brights up some more details. You could feel the magic in the air!
What a wonderful way to finish our stay at Luxor!
Wookitu 