We woke up early to grab breakfast before we headed to the West Bank. The West Bank is one giant archaeological site! It is most well known as the home of The Valley of The Kings. This was to be our first stop of the day.
The Valley of The Kings is a giant valley between mountains where the ancient kings were buried. Now they weren't just buried here... huge, elaborate temples were built for them. The tombs building took place for 500 years, between the 16th to 11th century BC. The valley is currently known to contain 63 tombs and chambers, ranging in size from a simple pit to a complex tomb with over 120 chambers. When you visit, your entrance ticket allows you to visit 3 tombs.
Before we visited the tombs, we ventured up to the top of one of the peaks with a local. The view was breathtaking! (And yes, that is a hot air balloon behind me, that is how high up we were!)
After hiking back down, we picked the 3 tombs we wanted to visit and set out in search of them. It is amazing how well the inside of the tombs have been preserved... the colors are still extremely vibrant. One tomb was similar to something right out of an Indian Jones movie... the tomb and entrance were built into the side of a mountain so in order to enter, you had to climb up this tall metal stair case, and then walk across this narrow metal walkway, then down even more stairs once you reached the entrance of the tomb. I wish I had pictures to share, however, cameras and photos were forbidden.
***Funny while not so funny story: In our last tomb, I decided to take a picture (without flash, hey I'm no dummy...) I seriously slipped my camera out of my purse placed it right in front of me and snapped the most discrete picture you have ever seen. However, the local worker man saw me (do not ask me how). And he confiscated my camera and said he had to turn me in... then he started "operating" my camera, pushing random buttons etc. And I was like hey ok, I will delete this photo and pay you (50 Egyptians pound which is about $7), just please do not mess up my camera and delete all of my pictures from a once in a lifetime vacation!! If you ever need to get away with anything... the Egyptians are very easily bribed... so easily it is almost scary. SO moral of the story, if it says no pictures, do not take any. Also, when in need, just bribe the guy.
Next, we visited the Temple of Hatshepsut. Talk about Art History 301 coming alive... we studied this temple (among others) my freshman year at UT.
We drove around the West Bank some more before heading back to the hotel. We had to head back a little early to make sure we could secure tickets on that night's train back to Cairo. However, all of the tourist tickets were sold out... so we had to purchase tickets for the overnight bus.
Before departing on the bus, I ventured to the local market to pick up some souvenirs... I was very proud of my haggling abilities, and got some great items!! I am looking forward to sharing them with my loved ones!
Now onto the bus. You know, the 9 hour bus that goes "straight" to Cairo.... Not! It ended up being a 14 hour bus ride across Egypt. The route was everything but direct. But it ended up only adding to the experience/adventure. Ask me about the bus stop with Egyptian coffee and the kind lady sitting next to me who shared her dinner with me.
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