Yesterday was a down day, today was fantastic.
We toured the Ramesseum, The Tombs of the Nobles, The Valley of the Queens, and the Workers Village.
The Ramesseum was the funerary temple of Ramses II. It suffered badly in an earthquake in 27 BC. There is a solid granite, 18 m high, statue of Ramses, which collapsed, but still looks impressive. It was the inspiration for Shelley's famous "Ozymandias" poem.
I liked the tombs we saw today, because they were less formal, but just as beautiful. Some of the details are amazing, especially 3500 years later. The only downer is that no photos are allowed.
The highlight of the day, and Luxor, was a visit to the tomb of Nefertari, the favourite wife of Ramses II. He built a temple for her in Abu Simbel, and her tomb is the most beautiful in Egypt.
It has been closed for several years, and until recently you had to have special permission from the Ministry of Antiquities in Cairo. The cost was also over 500 British pounds. Tourism has suffered so much, that last December they opened the tomb to the general public, but the charge is 1000 Egyptian pounds (80 Cd dollars). I took the plunge, and it was worth it. And for an extra 10 dollars, the guards let me take pictures. I was the only visitor, surprise, surprise.
It is a stunning sight.
When you view these photos notice the brilliant blues, especially on the ceiling, also the reds and greens.
We finished our tour with a visit to the Workers Village. About 3000 people lived there with their families. It could not been a fun place to live. Everything has to be brought in, and it is in the middle of nowhere.
Most of the workers were buried in communal tombs, but several of the wealthy ones built their own tombs. We visited 3 of them. One was special, because it was just opened to the public last week.
I found these tombs very interesting because they are informal, show family scenes, festivals, and everyday life.
The paintings were as beautiful as any for the kings and queens, but the colours were the common ones, yellow and black. Blues and greens were very expensive, so those you find only in the royal tombs.
By the way I have to make a correction. The rock is this area is sandstone, not granite. That makes it a lot easier to built the tombs.
We toured the Ramesseum, The Tombs of the Nobles, The Valley of the Queens, and the Workers Village.
The Ramesseum was the funerary temple of Ramses II. It suffered badly in an earthquake in 27 BC. There is a solid granite, 18 m high, statue of Ramses, which collapsed, but still looks impressive. It was the inspiration for Shelley's famous "Ozymandias" poem.
I liked the tombs we saw today, because they were less formal, but just as beautiful. Some of the details are amazing, especially 3500 years later. The only downer is that no photos are allowed.
The highlight of the day, and Luxor, was a visit to the tomb of Nefertari, the favourite wife of Ramses II. He built a temple for her in Abu Simbel, and her tomb is the most beautiful in Egypt.
It has been closed for several years, and until recently you had to have special permission from the Ministry of Antiquities in Cairo. The cost was also over 500 British pounds. Tourism has suffered so much, that last December they opened the tomb to the general public, but the charge is 1000 Egyptian pounds (80 Cd dollars). I took the plunge, and it was worth it. And for an extra 10 dollars, the guards let me take pictures. I was the only visitor, surprise, surprise.
It is a stunning sight.
When you view these photos notice the brilliant blues, especially on the ceiling, also the reds and greens.
We finished our tour with a visit to the Workers Village. About 3000 people lived there with their families. It could not been a fun place to live. Everything has to be brought in, and it is in the middle of nowhere.
Most of the workers were buried in communal tombs, but several of the wealthy ones built their own tombs. We visited 3 of them. One was special, because it was just opened to the public last week.
I found these tombs very interesting because they are informal, show family scenes, festivals, and everyday life.
The paintings were as beautiful as any for the kings and queens, but the colours were the common ones, yellow and black. Blues and greens were very expensive, so those you find only in the royal tombs.
By the way I have to make a correction. The rock is this area is sandstone, not granite. That makes it a lot easier to built the tombs.
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