Egypt Valley of the Kings, Luxor and Karnak1

~Valley of the Kings, Luxor and Karnak~

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COLOSSI OF MEMNON, GUARDING THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS

*~ THE ENERGIES*	~ *CAIRO*	~ *MEMPHIS, SAQQARA AND GIZA*
~ *ABU SIMBEL, ASWAN AND THE NILE*		~ *PHILAE, KOM OMBO AND EDFU*
~ *VALLEY OF THE KINGS, LUXOR AND KARNAK*		~ *ABYDOS AND DENDERA*
~ *MOUNT SINAI AND SAINT CATHERINE'S*		~ *BLACK, WHITE AND CRYSTAL DESERTS*

The area known as the West Bank of the Nile usually refers to the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. The term can also include the famous sites of Luxor and Karnak, though, unlike the ancient city of Thebes once across the Nile from Luxor, the temples of Luxor and Karnak as we know them today are actually located on the east bank of the Nile. To visit the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, we disembarked from our cruise ship at a dock in the modern town of Luxor, and were bussed to the arid valley that houses the dusty tombs of much of the ancient nobility of Egypt.

Standing sentinel beside the road to the entrance of the Valley of the Kings are two gigantic statues that once guarded the entrance to the burial site of Amenhotep III, a pharaoh from the 18th Dynasty. The temple complex is in absolute ruins; a few inscripted stones and headless Sphinxes are scattered here and there, and the quartzite stone of the statues has been weathered and greatly damaged over the course of time. Standing for over 3,400 years in the flood plain of the Nile, the pair are known as the Colossi of Memnon. They beckoned us to enter the sacred valley, and spoke of its mystery.

The eastern section of the Valley of the Kings houses all but one of the ancient tombs that are open to the public. The road leading from the Colossi of Memnon into the heart of the Valley takes one into territory that becomes more and more arid and barren as the area of the tombs is approached. The Valley was chosen for its very isolation and inhospitable climate and topography. No vegetation grows on the steep and craggy hillsides in the Valley of the Kings; the rugged slopes seemed almost surreal as we made our way through the complex. We felt transported back in time, though the throngs of tourists around us dampened the experience a bit.

We were infatuated with the idea of viewing Tut’s tomb, so we paid the extra admission fee for a ticket to see it, which was above the entrance fee that we paid to enter the Valley. A ticket to the Valley of the Kings allows each visitor to enter just three tombs of their choosing of the more than 60 that have been excavated, though the vast majority of known tombs have never been open to the public. As a multitude of cruise ships routinely disembark in Luxor, as many as 10,000 passengers a day may visit the Valley of the Kings. This number is quite staggering, especially considering the potential for extreme heat in the Valley.

The lines were long to enter Tutankhamen’s chamber; he is well known and most tourists are drawn to view his resting place. The rather small and mostly unadorned chamber was unearthed by Howard Carter in 1922, who found it under the tomb of Ramses VI after years of exploration. The chamber had been hastily constructed after Tut died suddenly at a young age, and its main attraction is the visibly decaying mummy of the king in its resting place within multiple coffins. The innermost of the original coffins was made of several hundred pounds of solid gold!

The vast riches of King Tut's tomb have been removed and the majority of the exquisite collection is in the Cairo museum. I had already visited the museum and was mesmerized by the extravagant spoils of this minor King’s tomb, so I did want to see the place where it had been buried for thousands of years. We paid our respects dutifully, though we felt little connection to the energy of the Pharaoh during our brief visit to his tomb. We followed along in a herd of people, feeling a bit removed and restless. It was a pleasure to climb out of the recesses of the earth and breathe fresh air again.