Stacey’s Mini-Extravaganza to the Middle East

The Valley of the Kings.  It’s thought this site was chosen because of the rock formation above that looks like a pyramid.

After my adventures in Aswan, it was time to jump on a train and head about 3 hours north to Luxor.  Luxor is one of the most touristed cities in Egypt as it is the location of many burial tombs of various pharaohs and nobles from centuries past.  The biggest draw is perhaps the Valley of the Kings which is a valley in the desert housing 63 known tombs of Kings including the famous tomb of King Tut (though more are likely to be discovered).  There is also a corresponding Valley of the Queens with fewer tombs though the tomb of Nefertari is said to be the most amazing tomb in either valley.  Unfortunately, that one will cost you $5000 to see and you will need special permission from the head of antiquities in Egypt.

Examples of the inscriptions from inside various tombs in V of K

Note the stars at the top of this one.  These stars covered the ceilings of every tomb I entered as well as the ceiling of some parts of the Karnak Temple (tomorrow’s post)

You may recall in Cairo that I mentioned that the creation of hidden tombs became the norm in the New Kingdom as an effort to prevent looting of the pyramids.  Indeed the pyramids were often looted almost immediately after their construction and given the difficulty of creating such huge monuments it is theorized that pyramid construction eventually fell out of favor and most royal burials were moved to Thebes (present-day Luxor).  In fact, the tombs were also looted there with the exception of the most famous tomb of all…that of King Tut.

It is worth mentioning here that while King Tut is perhaps the most famous Egyptian pharaoh, his reign (and his tomb) are rather unremarkable.  He took the throne as a nine year-old boy and died at the young age of 18.  He left no male heirs, was likely seriously disabled and it is currently theorized that he died of a severe strain of malaria.  So why is he so famous?  Largely because his tomb is the only tomb in the Valley of the Kings to be found almost completely intact including both his mummy and more than 1700 objects to give clues about life in ancient Egypt.  Opened in November 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter the tomb of King Tut is the only one in the valley to still contain his mummy…the rest of the royal mummies (as well as all of the artifacts found in the tomb) are now housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo as we’ve seen previously.

So…in the Valley of the Kings I was allowed to enter three different tombs and all three were interesting and unique in some way.  Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos because of the damage caused by our camera flashes.  I did find a few pictures elsewhere on the web of the inside of the tombs and have included them here.

Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

After the Valley of the Kings it was off to see the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut.  Queen Hatshepsut is an intriguing character because she is the only female pharaoh to ever rule over Egypt and how she came to that post is a rather interesting (and still somewhat debatable) story. As the story goes, she was the daughter of Tutmosis I and since he had no sons of his own his daughter’s husband (Tutmosis II) was set to inherit the throne.  Apparently Hatshepsut was a strong-willed woman and her husband extremely weak-willed (some say this was by design as she had her eye on the throne since she was a teenager).  Unfortunately, Hatshepsut was widowed before she was able to produce a male heir so rather than allowing the son of one of her husband’s lesser wives to take the throne…she herself assumed the throne.  She was rather conniving in how she did this as female pharaohs were non-existent so she first took over as a regent for the infant heir (Tutmosis III) and then banished him to military school for 20 years ultimately naming herself queen though keeping with the traditions of male pharaohs by wearing the false beard and short kilt of the other kings.  Admittedly, the time of rule under Hatshepsut was a peaceful and prosperous one for Egypt though ultimately Tutmosis III returned to power and angry at his step-mother he is said to have defaced her tomb and attempted to remove all evidence of her existence from Karnak Temple.  Quite an Egyptian drama…

The rest of the pictures here are from Hatshepsut’s temple…tomorrow it is hot-air balloon rides and a trip to both Karnak and Luxor Temples here at the Mini-Extravaganza.  Stay tuned…

Various scenes here and below of the Temple of Hatshepsut

Colossi of Memnon

Sunset over the Nile

The Egyptian Museum

The Sculpture Garden at Egyptian Museum

View of the main hall in the museum

On Monday, a cold snap hit Cairo…it was merely 90 degrees rather than 109.  To be honest, it didn’t feel that much different to me though everyone else was rejoicing at how cool it had gotten.  Bright and early on Monday morning I headed to the world-famous Egyptian Museum which is conveniently located 300 meters from my hotel.  It took no less than two police officers to assist me across four lanes of traffic…I have never seen such traffic or crazy driving as I’ve seen in Cairo.  The driving situation here makes Chicago drivers look like little old ladies out for a Sunday stroll.

The museum is housed in an enormous pink building with a nice entryway including a sculpture garden with a pond.  The building is very large and packed full of artifacts but still there is not enough room for everything and I’m told much of the collection lies in storage in the basement.  The pride and joy of the Egyptian Museum is the King Tut display.  King Tut’s tomb was only discovered in the last century by Englishman Howard Carter in 1922 and amazingly was found to be largely intact.  Our cameras were confiscated upon arrival so the pictures here are those I’ve found elsewhere on the web but are of the same artifacts I saw in the Museum.  Perhaps the coolest exhibit in the Egyptian Museum is that of the Royal Mummies.  About 20 mummies from kings and queens of years past were on display and by display, I mean they had pulled down the linen wrappings around the bodies to show the head and the feet of each mummy.  It was truly fascinating and well worth the additional entrance fee.

Mask over the head of King Tut’s mummy.  Estimated by collectors to be worth more than the Crown Jewels

Throne

One of 3 coffins that contained the mummy

Royal bed found in the tomb

Necklace

Shrine in which the various coffins were contained

Various knives and daggers

Ceremonial chair considered the best example of cabinet-making found in Egypt

After the museum, I decided to hop on the Metro and head down to Old Cairo, the scene of the original city from 500 BC and later a Christian enclave where a few small, ancient Christian churches still exist.  I love cities with subways.  Subways are so easy to get around in.  They are pretty much the same everywhere and it’s very difficult to mess up.  Indeed Cairo was the same.  The subway system has only two lines so it doesn’t go everywhere but for this particularly stop on the tour it was extremely convenient…and cheap.  One ticket costs 1 Egyptian pound which is roughly the equivalent of 18 cents.  Yes, 18 cents.

Egypt being a largely Muslim country, there are all kinds of gender restrictions on men and women in public.  Interestingly, there are 4 cars of each train dedicated exclusively to women and they are very clearly marked so everyone knows what is expected.  It is not,  however, clear to me what would happen if a woman tried to ride in a man’s carriage and I wasn’t really up for finding out so there I found myself…the only “Western” woman in a car full of hooded and veiled women.  It was certainly a different experience…they were no doubt wondering about my life as much as I found myself wondering about theirs.

Hanging Church

Just outside the Metro stop was the entrance to Old Cairo.  There are a few remaining churches from the 5th century AD as well as a Jewish synagogue from the 12th century AD that lie nearly 3 meters below street level.  I wasn’t allowed to take pictures of the inside of those old churches or the synagogue so the pictures you see here are from the other two that are above ground.  The main attraction aside from the Coptic Museum is the Hanging Church…so named because it is not set on a foundation at all but is set on three stone piers of the semi-flooded Roman Water Gate.  It was originally built in the 4th century AD, demolished in 840, rebuilt in 977 and “recently” modified in 1775.  Inside the church they have a cut-out in the floor showing 13 meters down that there is indeed no foundation.  The inside of the church is very beautiful with a 15 column pulpit as well as the wood and mother-of-pearl inlaid screen in the front separating the main church from the side rooms.  The mosaics of various biblical scenes are on the walls leading to the steep stairs up into the church.

Entryway to Hanging Church

Main portion of church with 15 column pulpit

Examples of woodwork with inlaid mother-of-pearl

Mosaics on the walls leading up to Hanging Church

 The second church of interest is that of the modern St. George (1904)…the only circular church in Egypt.  Surprisingly they allowed me to take pictures in there though it’s sort of difficult to take pictures of round spaces.  The painting of Christ is underneath the dome shown in the photo and the wooden chairs are found around the perimeter of the building.  This church is the head of the Greek Orthodox church in Cairo and the mausoleums you see here are from the Greek Orthodox cemetery within the stone walls of old Cairo.  The tombs and mausoleums are in surprisingly poor repair given that the dates of most of the burials are within the last century. Those of you who were with me in New Orleans and again in Buenos Aires may recall my fascination for old cemeteries.  There’s just something interesting, eerie and beautiful about them to me.

By 3 pm I was ready to return to the hotel for a little siesta.  My final day in Cairo finds me cruising through the narrow and windy streets of Islamic Cairo and the old Khan El-Khalili market.  Pictures and stories to follow tomorrow!

Modern Church of St. George

Interior of St. George Church

Entryway to Old Cairo

Mausoleums and tombs from Greek Orthodox cemetery