May 8, 2009: Luxor
We arrive at Luxor around 8 AM via the overnight train from Cairo, board the bus, and cross the Nile to the Western banks and the Valley of the Kings. On our ticket we visit KV14 (Twosret and Setnakhte), KV34 (Thutmose III), KV 4 (Rameses IV). We also have an extra ticket to see KV 9 (Rameses VI), the most impressive of the four, due to its well-preserved paintings and carvings. This valley is the site of the famous tomb of Tutankhamun, although we didn’t pay to go inside. Also included is Hatshepsut's funerary temple on the other side of the mountain at Deir el Bahari; she was a queen who declared herself pharaoh. We motorboat back across the Nile and eat a very light lunch at some hotel restaurant, then motorboat along the eastern shore to Steigenberger hotel. The afternoon is free. We meet again at 5:30 to ride camels through the village and surrounding fields. The day ends with an excellent dinner in a village restaurant.
Group photo in the Valley of the Kings.
Stairway leading into tomb KV34, that of Tuthmose III.
The camels pick us up next to the Nile. Laura, Amy, and Stephen are the front 3 here.
Laura, Stephen, Steven, and Chris against the lush fields irrigated by the Nile as a backdrop.
Dan and Amy make a turn through the narrow village streets.
Lisa and the others wend through the banana fields.
Our four-course meal on the terrace overlooking the village.
Some of us tried hookah after dinner, which might not have been a good idea, considering how we felt the next morning!