Friday, October21, 2022

This morning we are up at 6AM to pack up and check out by 7. Next to grab some breakfast and await our guide who loads us into River Taxis and shuttles us across the river to a waiting bus that takes us to the Valley of the Kings, a place in Egypt where dozens of Kings and Pharaohs are enshrined in their tombs. A place we flew over in the balloons yesterday! I have to note that the River Taxis have names on them, some not necessarily what I would name a boat!

First we visit the Temple of Hatshepsut) pronounced Hat-ship-suit) another fantastic temple in the Valley! Mo informs us of the history here and it is very entertaining! We walk around on our own for a short while before getting back on the bus to the Valley of the Kings.

Every tomb but one in Egypt was raided by robbers and damaged or destroyed. The only Mummy ever found intact was that of King Tutankhamun. His Mummy is still here (although I kind of remember hearing that his Mummy went on tour around the world at one time). There is a model here that shows the terrain underground with depictions of how the Tombs are dug into the Valley.

We are given passes that allow us to visit 3 tombs of our choosing for free. Several Tombs, including King Tut’s, cost more. Elee opted to purchase a pass to Tut’s Tomb but I did not. I choose to see the tombs of Ramesses 5,6 & 9 along with Merenptah. Total of 3 Tombs as Ramesses 5 & 6 are in one Tomb.

Back on the bus, we next stop at an Alabaster factory where they show us in a comical way how they turn raw ugly stones of Alabaster into gorgeous display pieces! We end up purchasing a couple pieces.

Then it’s back to the bus for a ride back to the hotel where Mo has arranged 3 shower rooms for the Groups and I gladly take him up on it as the Valley is hot and the exertion has us sweating and tonight there will be no showers!

Now we have a few hours to kick back before the ride to our next accommodation, so I catch up a little on this Blog.

At 7:30 PM, we catch a bus to the local train station and we board the overnight sleeper train back to Giza. This is our second time on the Sleeper Train and we are hoping for a better experience that the first time. Not so, the same cramped quarters and this time the Club Car is 5 cars away A long walk through moving train cars so one trip there and it’s back to our room to go to sleep. Add to that Egyptian train tracks are not leveled like American tracks!

Dinner is served and it’s no better than last time so we are glad we kept our tummies full from earlier! Climbing into bed, it is easy to fall asleep tonight, even being tossed and jostled by the train! A glass of wine and it’s off to Dreamland!