Thursday May 8th: Early wake up at 5:45am. We had a quick breakfast at the hotel before boarding the bus and meeting up with the police convoy for our bus ride to Luxor (yes, a convey. apparently people have been hijacked on the road we were travelling on! welcome to Egypt!) Along the way, we stopped at a few sites.
First stop: Kom-Ombo Temple. This was a "dual" temple (two temples side by side) from about 150BC that was a Greco-Roman construction. Much of the temple had been destroyed (mostly due to the flooding of the Nile), but incredible Heiroglyphics spanned almost every piece of the complex. Micheal, our Egyptian tour guide throughout Aswan and Luxor, described how most of the texts described the Egyptians' practices in time keeping (they initially created a calender of 360 days, before realizing that was wrong and it was actually 365. amazing!), medicine, surgery, crownings of kings, and many others aspects of their culture. A crypt with two tombs also existed underground in the back of the tomb. As with many of the temples we visited, one or two open courts would be built in the front of the tomb for all to have access to, but the more sacred chambers and tombs were built in the rear, where only royalty and highly respected people could go. Before leaving, we saw two mummified crocidiles that were small, but very well preserved. Everything we see is like something out of a history book...this place is amazing and full of endless history.
Next stop: Later in our trek to Luxor, we stopped at the Edfu Temple. Built around 250BC, it was another Greco-Roman complex that was similar to the Philae Temple. A very large open court was just beyond the tall entrance with two large pylons or walls. As with many of the complexes we visited, the original colors or etchings on the walls could still be seen, after thousands of years. It is fascinating how the ancient Egyptians created materials that can last for this long, whether they knew they would or not. Their preservation and construction skills were also immaculate, especially considering the resources which they were limited to.
We then got to our hotel in Luxor. Probably the best hotel of the three we've been to so far. A high class place with a huge lobby, nice rooms, and a great patio (with a ping pong table!) in the back leading up to a floating pool that was on the Nile. We hung out there for the rest of the day and explored the local area.
Friday May 9th: We again woke up early and headed to the Valley of the Kings. This might have been my favorite site in the 5 day trip. An absolutely amazing area...a huge valley surrounded by enourmous mountains with probably over a dozen tombs of some of the greatest kings in ancient Egyptian history. The whole group and Micheal (our tour guide) went along with Dr. Melinda Hartwig, a professor from Georgia State University and friend of Doctor Sullivan's. Melinda has her own dig near Aswan, an was incredibly knowledgeable about pretty much everything from ancient Egyptian history. The first tomb we visted was that of Rameses VI. Probably the largest and most detailed of the fives tombs I saw. It was incredibly well preserved with endless amounts of heiroglyphs in their original color. Although all of these tombs had been raided of their goods, the burial chamber still contained the casket and sarcophagus of the King, which was very large. We then saw the tombs of Tutankhamen (Tut), Thutmose III, Rameses IV, and Rameses VII. The mummy of King Tut was in his tomb and was incredible to see. His tomb was surprisingly small, but understandably so as he died very young, maybe around 18 or 20 years old, so the tomb had to be constructed in a hurry. I learned a great deal about the beliefs and rituals of the ancient egyptians, thanks to Melinda. Many of the texts in the tombs described the books of the night and day, signifying life and death and the underworld and other aspects of the afterlife, a revered aspect of their culture. I was also intrigued to learn why the scarab beetle was so significant in their culture. The practices of the beetle were marvelled at the time, as it would roll its dung into large balls and push it around, signifying the God Rah lifting the sun from the horizon every morning.
After the Valley of the Kings, we visited Al-Deir Al-Bahari Temple (the temple of Queen Hatchepsut), the Rameseum Temple, and two large statues that were the remains of the temple of Ahmenhotep III. In the evening we visited Luxor Temple, just a 10 minute walk from our hotel. This was constructed over three dynasties. One area of the temple contained two statues built by Rameses II...these were his greatest statues ever built and marked the point when he proclammed himself as a god, while still alive as King. There was also "graffitti" in the back of the temple giving evidence of Roman settlement in Egypt after the Pharaonic era. Much of the sites showed signs of settlements by other civilations, as those from monotheistic cultures would deface any markings portraying the existance of multiple gods, which the Egyptians believed in.
First stop: Kom-Ombo Temple. This was a "dual" temple (two temples side by side) from about 150BC that was a Greco-Roman construction. Much of the temple had been destroyed (mostly due to the flooding of the Nile), but incredible Heiroglyphics spanned almost every piece of the complex. Micheal, our Egyptian tour guide throughout Aswan and Luxor, described how most of the texts described the Egyptians' practices in time keeping (they initially created a calender of 360 days, before realizing that was wrong and it was actually 365. amazing!), medicine, surgery, crownings of kings, and many others aspects of their culture. A crypt with two tombs also existed underground in the back of the tomb. As with many of the temples we visited, one or two open courts would be built in the front of the tomb for all to have access to, but the more sacred chambers and tombs were built in the rear, where only royalty and highly respected people could go. Before leaving, we saw two mummified crocidiles that were small, but very well preserved. Everything we see is like something out of a history book...this place is amazing and full of endless history.
Next stop: Later in our trek to Luxor, we stopped at the Edfu Temple. Built around 250BC, it was another Greco-Roman complex that was similar to the Philae Temple. A very large open court was just beyond the tall entrance with two large pylons or walls. As with many of the complexes we visited, the original colors or etchings on the walls could still be seen, after thousands of years. It is fascinating how the ancient Egyptians created materials that can last for this long, whether they knew they would or not. Their preservation and construction skills were also immaculate, especially considering the resources which they were limited to.
We then got to our hotel in Luxor. Probably the best hotel of the three we've been to so far. A high class place with a huge lobby, nice rooms, and a great patio (with a ping pong table!) in the back leading up to a floating pool that was on the Nile. We hung out there for the rest of the day and explored the local area.
Friday May 9th: We again woke up early and headed to the Valley of the Kings. This might have been my favorite site in the 5 day trip. An absolutely amazing area...a huge valley surrounded by enourmous mountains with probably over a dozen tombs of some of the greatest kings in ancient Egyptian history. The whole group and Micheal (our tour guide) went along with Dr. Melinda Hartwig, a professor from Georgia State University and friend of Doctor Sullivan's. Melinda has her own dig near Aswan, an was incredibly knowledgeable about pretty much everything from ancient Egyptian history. The first tomb we visted was that of Rameses VI. Probably the largest and most detailed of the fives tombs I saw. It was incredibly well preserved with endless amounts of heiroglyphs in their original color. Although all of these tombs had been raided of their goods, the burial chamber still contained the casket and sarcophagus of the King, which was very large. We then saw the tombs of Tutankhamen (Tut), Thutmose III, Rameses IV, and Rameses VII. The mummy of King Tut was in his tomb and was incredible to see. His tomb was surprisingly small, but understandably so as he died very young, maybe around 18 or 20 years old, so the tomb had to be constructed in a hurry. I learned a great deal about the beliefs and rituals of the ancient egyptians, thanks to Melinda. Many of the texts in the tombs described the books of the night and day, signifying life and death and the underworld and other aspects of the afterlife, a revered aspect of their culture. I was also intrigued to learn why the scarab beetle was so significant in their culture. The practices of the beetle were marvelled at the time, as it would roll its dung into large balls and push it around, signifying the God Rah lifting the sun from the horizon every morning.
After the Valley of the Kings, we visited Al-Deir Al-Bahari Temple (the temple of Queen Hatchepsut), the Rameseum Temple, and two large statues that were the remains of the temple of Ahmenhotep III. In the evening we visited Luxor Temple, just a 10 minute walk from our hotel. This was constructed over three dynasties. One area of the temple contained two statues built by Rameses II...these were his greatest statues ever built and marked the point when he proclammed himself as a god, while still alive as King. There was also "graffitti" in the back of the temple giving evidence of Roman settlement in Egypt after the Pharaonic era. Much of the sites showed signs of settlements by other civilations, as those from monotheistic cultures would deface any markings portraying the existance of multiple gods, which the Egyptians believed in.
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