Luxor- the West Bank
Trip Start
Jan 17, 2009
1
11
19
Trip End
Feb 06, 2009
Where I stayed
Luxor, Egypt
Friday, January 30, 2009
Early 7am departure for the West Bank. First to the Valley of the Queens- we visit the tomb of a prince and a queen. The prince's is quite touching- scenes of him with his boys scalp lock being led to meet the gods by his father pharoah. Then on to Hatshepsut's beautiful temple. I was very surprised to hear that only 15% of it survived- that most of what we're seeing was rebuilt.
Then on to the Valley of the Kings. We have a ticket for 3 tombs plus an extra one for King Tut's. We visit Ramses I and Ramses IV. Each shows a different style of decorating the walls- from carved/painted stone to painting on stucco to painting directly on stone.
Back to the Hotel for lunch. Pat and I go for a long walk along the Nile. There are shops on the lower level next to the moored cruise boats- we don't spot ours. The major form of transportation appears to be horse carriage for us tourists- there are very few cars/taxis. Many vendors though all with great offers- but selling much the same stuff. Back to the hotel for a quiet night.
