Today we started with an early morning hot air balloon flight. The cruise had packed us a boxed breakfast. As we arrived at the launch site, children came begging for food. The drivers discourage giving the children food because it just encourages them to do it again and they run so close to the van that it is of course dangerous. We could see many of famous Egyptian landmarks while gracefully gliding across the sky and watching the sun rise and flowing farm land along the Nile River. In this part of the country, most of the population is very poor. Due to this and the fact that it is so hot most buildings do not have roofs. Therefore, as we sailed by we could actually see into peoples houses.
Valley of the Kings:
After our balloon flight we visited, on foot, the Valley of the Kings and saw the tombs of Ramses IV, Ramses the IX and Seti II. The whole west bank is honeycombed with tombs, not just of the ancient Egyptian Kings, but of their families and the noblemen who served them. There are thousands of numbered tombs of which 63 are of known royalty. The entrances were wide and slopping and the walls and ceilings were covered with hieroglyphics. Prayers, spells and hymns were carved into the tomb walls from the Book of the Dead to guide the person through the afterlife and provide for their future needs. The tomb of Seti II was unfinished with just the pictures being drawn in with red paint with the black paint corrections. Ramses IX had evidence of a large bat population which had destroyed the paintings on a section of the tomb. The tomb of King Tut is so remarkable because it was found intact. It was undisturbed because they had built on top of it. They believed that a dead person's soul traveled into an underworld called Duat. Here it had to pass through many trials and ordeals before it could reach the next world, the kingdom of the West. Burial took place on the west bank of the Nile because the sun sets in the West. There it would lead a life very like the one it had known in Egypt, but free from trouble. They believed the person had three souls the Ka, the Ba and the Akh. Even the poor who were simply buried in the sand would be rewarded with a happy eternal life if they had led a virtuous life.
Tomb paintings show hunting scenes, feasts, parties, games and dancing: all activities the wealthy Egyptians hoped to continue in the afterlife. The upper class were the priests, nobles, important soldiers and officials. Below them were the scribes, soldiers, craftsmen, laborers, slaves and peasants. The children of peasants remained peasants. Craftsmen pasted on their craft to their children while the sons of nobles inherited their positions. Scribes kept careful records of crops and animals. Many servants worked in the vineyards or looked after herds of cattle, goats and antelope. The indoor servants cooked, brewed beer, laundered, wove linen and served at the table.
Feasts were very popular with huge amounts of wine and beer, for Egyptians enjoyed drinking. Adults enjoyed board and dice games. When not studying, boys wrestled or played tug-of-war. Girls practiced dancing.
Both men and women wore eye makeup called kohl of crushed cobalt or iron ore and copper mixed with oil. The kohl has an antiseptic component and helped prevent eye infections so the Egyptians had a low incidence of blindness. Lips and cheeks were painted with red clay (ocher) mixed with water. Both men and women wore makeup and jewelry. Perfumes made from oils scented with cinnamon and myrrh were widely available. Wealthier people also wore headdresses and wigs.
Temple of Hatsheput:
At the Temple of Hatsheput or Deir al-Bahri the arms of the earth cradle the temple. An avenue of sphinxes once led up to the shining limestone temple beneath the cliffs at Deir al-Bahri. It used to have a courtyard of gardens watered by donkeys carrying jars of water up to it. Hatsheput built the temple to honor Amon-Re, the sun god. Queen Hatsheput, widow of Thutmose II and stepmother of Thutmose III, like the male pharaoh's, claimed divine birth. Re, the king of gods, decided to create a female queen of Egypt. Up until that time only Isis had ruled while Osiris was away. He was told of the beautiful new bride of Pharaoh Thutmose, her name was Ahmes. Re decided she would be the mother of the new queen. So Re took the form of an ibis and went to King Thutmose and Queen Ahmes and while they slept he held to her nostrils his divine symbol of life. When Hatsheput was born Re and Hathor, the goddess of love and her seven daughters, the Hathors, who weave the web of life went to Queen Ahmes and King Thutmose. Re blessed the baby Hatsheput and gave her the kiss of power as his daughter. The Hathors wove the web of life before the eyes of Queen Ahmes so she could see what Queen Hatsheput's life would be as Pharaoh of Egypt wearing the double crown bringing the north and the south together. Her statues show her wearing the double crown and even the ceremonial royal beard. The temple depicts a trading expedition sending necklaces, daggers, hatchets, linen, papyrus and gold from Nubia for horses, cattle, silver, bronze, wood, ivory, trees and animal skins. After Hatsheput's death, her step-son removed her name and image from buildings and monuments. He sent military expeditions to Asia and demanded tribute. With this treasure, he built the temple of Karnak to honor Amon-Re.
Jim bought a hat at the Valley of the Kings because he had gotten a bad sunburn and needed protection. We later figured out that it was the antibiotic that he was taking that made him so sensitive to the sun. At the Temple of Hatsheput I bought a hat while leaving and he followed me all the way to the exit before we agreed on a price.
Colossi of Memnon:
We stopped briefly at the Colossi of Memnon which we had also seen from the air that morning.
The Ship:
We leave Luxor where the cruise has been docked and start our journey on the Nile. While docked several ships are docked alongside and you just walk through until you get to your ship. It was an opportunity to see other ships. The Odyssey was not the grandest ship but it was the cleanest.
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