Egypt – Valley of the Kings

 

Egypt

DAY 87 – Saturday, April 2nd – We had a surprise gift from the captain of our ship…a port call in Safaga, Egypt!  We had restructured our itinerary due to the State Department’s warnings to not go to Egypt because of the unrest in the nation.

Then, with just one day’s notification as we were sailing northward in the Red Sea, the U.S. State Department lifted the ban on tourism travel in Egypt…and we were the first cruise ship to arrive in Egypt  after the ban.  As you can imagine, we were greeted with open arms by all of the wonderful Egyptian people who were ecstatic with their new-found freedom; it was a wonderful time to be there.

Our outstanding tour guide had her Master’s degree in tourism, and she had two grown children, also with college degrees.  She told us of her nation’s overthrow of Mubarak starting in late January 2011, and she could not hold back her tears, and her inspiring pride, in her country’s newfound freedom from a dictatorship.  It was very moving…our cruise ship passengers were her first tourism clients since the dictatorship rule ended and her nation was reopened to tourism by the United States the day before we arrived.

The Valley of the Kings is the overwhelmingly historic area near our Red Sea port of Safaga, where tombs of the Egyptian Kings were discovered.  We had a 10-hour excursion trip through the desert and mountains to visit this famous valley with many of the Pharaohs’ tombs, the phenomenal wall paintings, and the gorgeous chambers still preserved in brilliant colors where the mummies were entombed.  We were so thankful to have the unexpected opportunity to see the location of the valleys where the tombs of Kings such as Ramses I, II, II, Tutankhamen, and so many more were found.

Photographs inside the tombs are not permitted, so we can only share some of the photos of the Valley of the Kings area, the Nile River (longest in the world), Luxor, and the Temple of Karnac, a treasured complex with rows of huge carved columns, embellished in hieroglyphics, rows of lion-headed Sphinx, and the burial graves of ancient Pharaohs….all were overwhelming..and all were built 1,500 years before the birth of Christ.

It is difficult to select only a few of our photographs from this unbelievable day…see some of our favorites below:

 The corridor to the tombs are protected by these stone Sphinx figures – lions with Pharaohs – see the close-up below.  These are huge figures…the little white dot at the end of the row is a person!

The columns are encrusted with hieroglyphics, and they tower above us like a giant redwood forest.  See the close-up below of the well-preserved carvings on these stone monoliths.

This is the typical city housing in Safaga, Egypt – this small town reminded me somewhat of Rocky Point, Mexico…dry, dusty, sandy, and haphazard streets and buildings.

Donkeys are a very common beast of burden in Egypt…they are used for everything…riding, pulling carts, farming, carrying huge loads, etc.

We ate a delicious traditional Egyptian lunch served on white tablecloths on board these fun open-air boats on the Nile River.  

Our Nile River boat meal was a guessing game…lamb, beef, eggplant, cheeses, tomato stuffed with something good, humus, and more…followed by all kinds of fruits, dates, sweets and honey-soaked pastries for dessert.

A boy waters his camel along the Nile as we float along during our lunch.

  The Nile is the life blood of Egypt, and the communities along the Nile use irrigation to grow everything from olives to wine grapes, sugar cane to bananas and coconuts…the fields are all surrounded by miles and miles of desert, mountains and canyons that hold the treasures of the ancient Egyptian Dynasties and tombs.

And finally, the life of the farmers living along the irrigation canals is simple and amazingly calm…in spite of the recent government revolts that were centered primarily in the major cities such as Cairo…and yet, there are NO posters or photos of Mubarak to be found.

An unforgettable day…in every way.