Into the Valley of the Kings

Last post of the day. Sorry no photos yet, since the internet cafe I am in is uber-sketchy and I think the computer I am using is from 1989. There is a large hole where the USB port should be. But hell, what can I expect for $1/hour of internet, right?

Today we went into the Valley of the Kings. It was amazing and I was really impressed. This is the burial ground for all of the New Kingdom pharoahs. So far 62 tombs have been excavated, the most famous of which is King Tutankhamun's. He wasn't actually a great king and only ruled briefly, with no great battles or buildings during his reign. He just happened to be buried with a whole lot of crap in his tiny tomb and the Egyptologist Howard Carter discovered it (after many, many years and sheer luck at a last ditch effort after his funding got pulled) in November 1922. I actually didn't go into Tut's tomb, nor did I see his recently revealed mummified face. I did see a few other tombs of greater kings and they were beautiful and well preserved. Everything inside of Tut's tomb is now in the Egyptian museum in Cairo (where I will be visiting in 2 days).





















Afterwards we went to the Temple of Hatshepsut, which is cut out of the limestone cliffs so that it is partly rock-cut and partly free standing. Hatshepsut was a woman, but dressed as a man (fake beard and all) to rule as a pharoah for 15 years. I need to do a little more research on the logistics on that (did the people know she was cross-dressing or did they actually think she was a man?) and I'll get back to you.




















Back to Cairo (and slightly chillier temperatures) tomorrow.