In The Valley of The Kings

Today I awoke to a better physical condition. Having slept almost 12 hours, my body was ready for the day.

However, my sister had come down with the crud I had the day before. As she had taken care of me the day before, it was my turn to help her through the day. I knew it was going to be tough because we were going to be outside much of the morning. Here in Egypt you can get going by 6 AM and the heat is bearable. However by 8:00 it is approaching the upper 80’s and 90’s.

We made it to the temple of Hatsheput and enjoyed the cool breeze of the morning and then it was on to the Valley of The Kings, where most of the Egyptian Kings/Queens were buried in their tombs (think King Tut). It was extremely hot and dry in the area and you had to walk a good bit to get to the areas where we were to see the tombs.

My sister made it to the first tomb (the tomb of King Ramses 3--and we made it to a point in the inner tomb and then she had to turn and head back up (it was hot and “aromatic” if you know what I mean. She headed back to the bus to sleep until we returned about 2 hours later.

I ventured on and saw three more tombs: King Ramses 6, a tomb for King and Queen?, and Ramses 2. All of it was very interesting and educational. I had to acknowledge that I was never very interested in Egyptian mythology and hieroglyphics--but now I am. It’s artistry is all so amazing. How was this ancient civilization able to master these skills and with such precision in their repetition. I’ll never know.

The rest of the day was spent getting on to the boat and getting ready to set sail.

We took an evening tour of the Luxor Temple (built to the Goddess Mut--the God of the Water). Seeing this massive temples at night was inspiring.

Dinner With Indiana Jones

Tonight we had a lecture with the INDIANA JONES of Egypt.  Dr. Zahi Hawass is  Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and Director of the Giza Pyramids Excavation and no digging or excavating of sites in Egypt happens without his approval.

He was recently featured in July on Discovery Channel during their EGYPT weekend special. He talked to us tonight about the recent finds in and around the Great Pyramids and in the Valley of The Kings.   He's a very popular man and will be in Dallas in October for the King Tut exhibit.

First class speaker all the way.