Egypt Day 6

I wish I would have done this 10 years ago. Being the eternal optimist I thought I could tour the tombs on my own. Not a chance!
I have been very fortunate in meeting Lynnell and John. Tours are the same total price whether there is one or more. By joining them my cost is only one third.
I did not realize the distances involved, in addition to the heat. Today was probably in the mid thirties and no shade.
The tour was great. We started out in The Valley of the Kings, and visited three tombs. A great experience.
As soon as a pharaoh started to rule he started to build a tomb for himself. If you can imagine going to a rock face, made of solid granite. With rocks and brass chisels you start to remove rock, creating a tunnel, sometimes more than 100 m long, about 3 m high, and 2.5 m wide, going down at a constant slope. Hundreds of labourers would take years to do this. The result is amazing. Perfectly square walls, perfectly straight walls.
After that the decorations start. Depending on the quality of the rock these would be chiseled right in the granite, or a layer of plaster would cover the walls, and the engravings would be on the plaster. Then the colouring would start. To protect the colours they would be covered with beeswax.
Most of the hieroglyphs would be spells and prayers to guide the dead pharaoh to the next life.
Every inch of the tunnel would be covered with figures or hieroglyphs.
The main chamber would be filled with items the pharaoh needed for his journey. All his precious belongings would join him. Nothing left for the kids.
After the death the tomb would be filled in, to protect it from grave robbers.
The most famous tomb is that of King Tut. The only reason is that it was found intact. King Tut started to rule when he was nine, but he died when he was nineteen. During this time he had a regent, who was quite old. When Tut died it was quite unexpected, and they was no tomb for him. So he was buried in the tomb which had been prepared for the regent.
One of the reasons it was never grave robbed is that the spot designated for his tomb was used by his regent, and nobody knew where Tut was buried.
It is quite the experience to see the actual tombs. The art work is spectacular and the original colours are amazing.
Photos are not allowed, so I have downloaded some interior shots.
We also visited the temple of Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut is interesting, because she was a woman and a pharaoh. When her husband died his heir was her step-son, who was very young, so she became the regent. She liked the job, and was very good, so she took over, and ruled for 22 years. During this time she built her funerary temple, which is spectacular, both in its construction and its setting.
It reminded me of something Mussolini would have built in the 1930's.
The disappointment is that, after she died, her step-son tried to eliminate all signs of her, so there isn't much to see inside.
We got back to the hotel at about 4, and I had a badly needed shower.
I haven't been sleeping well, so after an early dinner I had an early bed time.
Have fun