This post was originally published on 25th March 2020, and updated and re-dated in April 2020 and again in May 2020
While you might think that Egyptian archaeology is a completed book this is a long way from the truth and discoveries are still being made.
During the course of 2019, a new tomb was discovered as Saqqara, and also at Saqqara the Bent Pyramid is now open to the public since 1965, similarly at Dashur a pyramid has been re-opened to the public.
The Valley of The Kings has also revealed new secrets, and there have been new discoveries at Aswan, and also out at Fayoum and Abydos to name but a few. And now more is being discovered about the finds that have already been made such as the fact that Hatshepsut died of cancer and had diabetes!
There is one tomb that would still be one of the greatest finds in Egyptian archaeology, and to the finder will go much fame, but probably little fortune... The whereabouts of the tomb of Cleopatra has yet to be discovered and while perhaps she is not the greatest of Egypt's rulers, she is certainly one of the most romantic!
In October a performance of Verdi's Aida was given in Luxor in front of The Temple Of Hatshepsut, I would dearly loved to have been there as performance of Verdi's greatest (for me anyway), opera in the country where the story was set would be amazing. Many years ago there was a performance done at Giza, maybe some day there will be another and I will be lucky enough to go this time!
The plan for spending my winters in Egypt depended a lot on being able to sell my winter house on Crete, which had in any case been up for sale for some time.
So getting back to Crete I find that the new petrol station next to my house is now complete and indeed open for business. Exactly why anybody in the day and age would even consider building a brand new gas station is beyond me, particularly as there is one about 700 metres along the road.
But this is Greece, and if you own a piece of land you can build on it. So much for town planning, or business planning come to that....
With the exception that this turns out to be the smelliest gas station ever built, mainly because they have leaking pipework and they do not seems to understand that it should not smell.....
Having put up with the steadily worsening fume for 6 months I end up writing to BP in the UK to ask them to do something about it as their sign is outside and as they have licensed the petrol station it is their responsibility, or so I feel....
As it is now impossible to sell my house, any future plans have now been shelved!!
In addition my 6 monthly check up at the hospital showed that the area of fibrosis on my left lung has got larger. My doctor tells me this is more than likely due to pollution or chemicals in the air. As there is only one thing that has changed in my environment.......
Thank you #BP #BPInternational !!!!!
By now we are in the throes of the coronavirus ''pandemic'' which has affected less people than the annual 'flu season but has involved people around the world being incarcerated in their homes, often against their wishes, for long periods of time.
Welcome to 1984! George Orwell would love it!
Up until March I was able to keep in touch with people I met in Egypt who told me that the situation was much as published on various web sites, and like other countries the measures were designed to prevent the spread so to avoid the fact that most countries have ''creaking'' healthcare systems, and there is quite a lot of political mileage in preventing healthcare systems from becoming overloaded.....
The coronavirus outbreak has also caused a further delay in the opening of the New Egyptian Museum in Cairo, I don't think many people were actually holding their breath waiting for it to be opened as there have been so many delays in its construction and opening that we are now used to it not being open!
Back in February WhatsApp announced that they would no longer be supporting my aged Samsung phone and in the process of upgrading to a newer version of Android I lost all my history and contacts on WhatsApp (in spite of having a back up, which like all back ups never actually works when you need it), as a result I am now no longer in contact with anybody for the latest news ''on the ground''.
But I am not finished yet... I still have my blog to complete of my journey to the US and Canada in late 2018, which has never been published as I did not have any photographs... Until last month when finally my hard drive was reclaimed!
Showing posts with label tombs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tombs. Show all posts
Wednesday, 25 March 2020
Monday, 20 February 2017
The Nile Cruise Part The 1st., Valley Of The Kings, Temple of Hapshetsut,
It is the first day of the cruise except we haven't gone anywhere yet because the first stop is the Valley of The King's, which is on the west bank of the Nile opposite Luxor..... The ancient city of Thebes was located here.
And at this point I have to go into the pros and cons of taking one of these cruises. First I recommend that you take the full 7 night trip to Aswan and back to Luxor because you get to see more, and as an extra plus being on board ship you do not have to worry about finding breakfast lunch, and dinner.
And the biggest plus it getting a guide thrown in for free, (well not quite, because you have to tip him at the end of the cruise!).
On the downside you have 200+ people all doing the same sightseeing trips, along with the other cruise ships doing the same itinerary, and this tends to make for crowds wherever you are going, and also limits your time at each place. But it depends how ''in depth'' your want your experience to be, and how interested you are in it all....
The Valley of the Kings is probably one of the most famous sites in Egypt after Giza, every man and his dog goes there....... The ticket you have (pre-purchased by the guide so you don't have to queue for a ticket), allows you entrance into three tombs. Which tombs varies daily because they are not all open at the same time. Entrance to some of the more famous tombs, like Tutankhamun's and
Ramesses VI's are not included on the normal ticket.
In other words you can expect a lot of people
around....
To be going on with some more pictures of the treasures from King Tut's tomb on display in the Egyptian Museum...
And the best of luck fighting your way through the tourist bazaar when you go in and out from the main gate to the car park, if you are sneaky there is a way around it!
Cameras are not allowed, but unfortunately this does not extend to mobile phones, and although you are not allowed to use them you will find people (our Japanese friends again), blocking up the walk ways taking selfies which really is unfair on the rest of us that follow the rules....
On the day I visited there was a new tomb opened for the first time, that of Ramasses IX, which had never been open before so I got a bit of a treat there! The tomb of Seti I was also open that day but it is a long deep tomb with lots of stairs and I don't do stairs so I was happy to forego that one and spent some time talking to our guide instead. (Guides are not allowed inside the tombs by the way). And don't worry if you are a bit claustrophobic like me, most of the tombs have high ceilings, are airy, and have lots of lighting and the wall paintings and hieroglyphics are so interesting it will take your mind of things!
Leaving the Valley of the King's heading for the Temple of Hatshepsut we pass by an alabaster workshop, quite a lot of these tours include visits to papyrus or linen workshops, you don't have to buy anything and quite often the free coffee is excellent!
From a distance the Temple of Hatshepsut is impressive and has some things of interest, according to our guide, not least of all is the fact that the people we can see running about on the surrounding cliffs are soldiers from the army base over the hill.
Hatshepsut ruled Egypt as a man but was actually a woman, her tomb is in the Valley of The King's rather than the Valley of the Queen's, possibly I would imagine because she was a ruler and not the wife of a ruler, if you see what I mean...
Last stop of day 1 is the Colossi of Memnon quite spectacular in themselves and part of the history of the surrounding area much of which is now lost. Perhaps one of the interesting features is that the stones used came from a quarry near Cairo 420 miles away, and supposedly are too heavy to have been brought via ship on the Nile so would have come overland.
My mind springs to Stonehenge of course, which is older, but with stones brought from Wales. You can do anything if you have the will and sufficient manpower.
Returning to the ship I find this ensconced on my bed.
And at this point I have to go into the pros and cons of taking one of these cruises. First I recommend that you take the full 7 night trip to Aswan and back to Luxor because you get to see more, and as an extra plus being on board ship you do not have to worry about finding breakfast lunch, and dinner.
And the biggest plus it getting a guide thrown in for free, (well not quite, because you have to tip him at the end of the cruise!).
On the downside you have 200+ people all doing the same sightseeing trips, along with the other cruise ships doing the same itinerary, and this tends to make for crowds wherever you are going, and also limits your time at each place. But it depends how ''in depth'' your want your experience to be, and how interested you are in it all....
The Valley of the Kings is probably one of the most famous sites in Egypt after Giza, every man and his dog goes there....... The ticket you have (pre-purchased by the guide so you don't have to queue for a ticket), allows you entrance into three tombs. Which tombs varies daily because they are not all open at the same time. Entrance to some of the more famous tombs, like Tutankhamun's and
In other words you can expect a lot of people
around....
To be going on with some more pictures of the treasures from King Tut's tomb on display in the Egyptian Museum...
And the best of luck fighting your way through the tourist bazaar when you go in and out from the main gate to the car park, if you are sneaky there is a way around it!
On the day I visited there was a new tomb opened for the first time, that of Ramasses IX, which had never been open before so I got a bit of a treat there! The tomb of Seti I was also open that day but it is a long deep tomb with lots of stairs and I don't do stairs so I was happy to forego that one and spent some time talking to our guide instead. (Guides are not allowed inside the tombs by the way). And don't worry if you are a bit claustrophobic like me, most of the tombs have high ceilings, are airy, and have lots of lighting and the wall paintings and hieroglyphics are so interesting it will take your mind of things!
Leaving the Valley of the King's heading for the Temple of Hatshepsut we pass by an alabaster workshop, quite a lot of these tours include visits to papyrus or linen workshops, you don't have to buy anything and quite often the free coffee is excellent! From a distance the Temple of Hatshepsut is impressive and has some things of interest, according to our guide, not least of all is the fact that the people we can see running about on the surrounding cliffs are soldiers from the army base over the hill.
Hatshepsut ruled Egypt as a man but was actually a woman, her tomb is in the Valley of The King's rather than the Valley of the Queen's, possibly I would imagine because she was a ruler and not the wife of a ruler, if you see what I mean...
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| Me in my Howard Carter hat looking every part of the ecccentric... |
Last stop of day 1 is the Colossi of Memnon quite spectacular in themselves and part of the history of the surrounding area much of which is now lost. Perhaps one of the interesting features is that the stones used came from a quarry near Cairo 420 miles away, and supposedly are too heavy to have been brought via ship on the Nile so would have come overland.
Returning to the ship I find this ensconced on my bed.
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