We wound through several small natural canyons as we worked our way up into the Valley of the Kings. Once there we were asked to leave our cameras in the bus as we toured five of the 62 tombs including that of Tutanhkaman. They were all fantastic with beautifully preserved paintings and carvings. Don't ask where these pictures came from...smile. And yes, thats him in the coffin! Exiting the site we walked the gauntlet of vendors. We all escaped with just a small amount of blood spilled...and a few Egyptian pounds lighter.
We left the site and made a stop at an alabaster factory. Yes, we actually asked for this stop. It was quite interesting seeing how they hand-carved the stone, shaped and polished the finished pieces. Guess who bought a bowl!
Next we visited the tomb of Queen Hatshepsut "Catsup Soup." We'll, that's how we remembered her name-our eyes and brains are on overload and it's easier to make up names. The temple was magnificent with its impressive colonnade, terraces, and wall carvings.
Instead of driving one hour back to the East Bank we enjoyed a motorboat ride across the Nile. There we boarded our cruise boat, a 5 Star luxury boat with all the bells and whistles. We enjoyed s buffet lunch and then checked onto our rooms.
The rest of the day was spent walking around the city. We went to the Winter Palace Hotel (where all the mucky-mucks stay) and had a fancy-dancy expensive cocktail. This hotel is considered to be the finest in Egypt and it was pretty darn nice. Afterward we wandered around a bit more before heading back to our boat for some time at the pool. Dinner tonight was five courses, beautifully presented and quite tasty.
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