And now we're in Luxor - being waited on hand and foot!

December 28, 1953

Luxor was wonderful.  The weather was gorgeous.  Sometimes it got pretty hot especially this morning.  We sat in the sun at the airport for three hours and sweltered.  We couldn’t take off because Cairo was fogged in.  But the sun felt grand.

        Our hotel was really luxurious.  We had beds with testers and what I suppose was mosquito netting.  The ceilings were very high.  The bathrooms were tremendous.  There was a beautiful garden outside our room.

Gardens behind the hotel in Luxor

The chambermaids are men and they come running every time you breathe twice.  There are always at least two outside your door.  You don’t have to do a thing for yourself.  They even had two little boys pushing the revolving doors around.  All we had to do was walk through.  Not only that but there was a little boy at the front door to brush off your shoes when you came in.  We were really living!

Yesterday morning we started out bright and early.  First we crossed the Nile in boats.  They were big with sails, but we did use the sails.  Two boys rowed us across.  Coming back we had so many people that they couldn’t get to the oars, so they poled us back.  Sure was glad that I didn’t have that job.

Boats across the Nile

We got on a bus and drove to the Valley of the Kings or the Dead City of Thebes.  On the way a carload of soldiers stopped us and walked all around the bus – don’t know why.  Oh yes we had a guard with us the whole time here too.

Soldiers at the tombs at the Valley of the Kings

We saw them making up the people on the set for the “Valley of Kings”.

Valley of the Kings

All of the Egyptian kings are buried here because they thought this was the end of the world.  This was called the Dead City of Thebes.  On the other side of the Nile was the other part of Thebes – the city of the living.  Here they built the temples to the Gods.  Thebes was the capital of Egypt from 600-900 B.C.

In the Valley of the Kings 62 tombs have been uncovered.  We went into four.  The longer a king reigned the larger his tomb was.

First we went into the Tomb of Rameses VI, dated 1100 B.C.  This was one of the largest and the best but one of the latest.  Then we went into the Tomb of Tutukaman or King Tut – 1420 B.C.  Thieves hadn’t gotten to this one because it was under the Tomb of Rameses VI.  It is one of the 2 found intact – was full of treasures when opened.  There is no carving on the wall because he died young – about 18.  The mummy is still in the tomb because they were afraid it would fall to pieces if they moved it.  It was inside 2 cases that were inside 3 more.

Ann and I tried to go out here to see the movie set while we were waiting on the others.  They slammed the gates and started speaking Egyptian to us.  We didn’t get out.

        Next we went to the Tomb of Siti I.  It is dated 1380 B.C.  It is the largest and the best – 350’ long and 180’ deep.  The carving is cut right out of the rock.  It’s amazing.  Siti built a trap or shaft to fool the thieves but he forgot 2 things.  He forgot to put a mummy in the shaft and he had the whole plan of the tomb on the wall as you come in.

Then we saw tomb of King D’Amenoplis III – other tomb intact – beautiful.  He had a shaft too, but he put mummies here and had no plan on the wall.  In the hieroglyphics (pictures) on the walls the people always have two left hands because both thumbs must show when offering up a sacrifice.

I just don’t see how they made the tombs.  They are all carved out of rocks and all of the hieroglyphics are too.  It’s amazing.

Then we went to the Temple of Del Abahare or Queen Hatsheput.  She was the only Queen of Egypt.  Born to rule as a king so she dressed like one and the priest legalized the rule.  In 400 A.D. this was a Christian monastery.  Now ruins.  Near here is the place where the mummies were put when removed from the tombs.

Temple of Queen Hatsheput

One of the guards at the Temple of Queen Hatsheput trying to pick up Mother

On the way back we saw two tremendous statues out in a field – 65 ft. high – 1490 B.C.  This was the gateway to the City of the Dead.

Gateway to the Dead City of Thebes

After lunch at the hotel we went to the Temple of Karnak.  We went in ancient carriages.  We were the first but the last to arrive.  Our driver pulled the old squeeze play for awhile with some others who tried to pass us, but we lost out.  As we drove along every one waved and yelled at us and laughed.  Temple of Karnak or house of Aman – God of Sun and Thebes.  It was tremendous – covers 600 acres.  It is the largest temple but is in ruins now.  Queen Hatsheput’s half brother destroyed it because he didn’t like her – King Tut III.  She married the other half brother.

Avenue of Sphinxes at the Temple of Karnak

Temple of King Tut

They started excavating here 85 years ago.  In front is the Avenue of Sphinxes with the king in front.  There is no uniform plan to the temple because so many kings built it.

Temple of Karnak

         They made mud walls to roll the stones up for the main walk.  One is still left because the king died before he finished it.

There is an obelisk here that the Queen brought up the Nile.  It is the house of the Gods and the symbol of life.

The Egyptians believe that the sunrise is the symbol of birth, the sun the journey of life, and the sunset death.

Also at the temple is the Sacred Pool where all of the mummies were washed before being taken to the tombs.  Beside it is a scarab – the symbol of resurrection.  The scarab is a beetle which rolls dung in its hands in the sun.  Its eggs are inside and the sun gives it life.

Then there is the Ptolemey Gateway which the Arc de Triomphe looks like.

Luxor was grand and now we are headed for Cairo.

Sunset on the Nile in Luxor