We got an early start to the west bank of the Nile River valley. This is the location of the Valley of the Kings, the location of many tombs. The first stop was the temple of Hatshepsut. The Mangos are now getting pretty good at reading hieroglyphics so Amr has us explain what we are seeing. We soon will be Junior Egyptologists.
From here, it was off to see the tombs at the Valley of the Kings. We visited the tombs of several Ramesses (there were 11, but not all the tombs have been found yet). There was a dig going on that is possibly the tomb of Nerfertiti but no one really knows yet because it is a closely guarded secret. The temperature exceeded 100 degrees. We seek shade whenever possible but push on to see as much as possible. Soon we will be sun dried mangos.
Amr has arranged for us to have lunch at a small hotel, El Nakhil, on the west bank. We walked down the dirt road of a small village to reach the hotel. The food was excellent!
When most tour groups retreated from the heat, the Mangos didn’t give up. We pushed on to visit Habu Temple and Ramesseum Temple. Not surprisingly, we didn’t have to compete with crowds. We just kept drinking water and absorbing knowledge.
Our final stop was at alabaster shop where the shop keeper explained the process for turning alabaster into vases, cups and figurines and how to tell fake from real stone. The shop keeper was glad to see us as many gifts were purchased for Mangos’ friends and relatives. Oops – hope we didn’t spoil any surprises!
Two more student presentations were given today. Peter presented Egypt in the New Kingdom and Elizabeth C. explained Israel in Egypt: Traced up to the time of Moses.
The Mangos will take to the air again tomorrow as we head for Alexandria.
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