 In
this bleak area, in the Valley of Kings, the pharaohs of the XVIIIth –
XXth dyn. (1550-1070 BC) have hidden their tombs to protect them
from being plundered, which finally, however, could not be prevented so
that the mummies were eventually brought without their valuable funerary
objects to a secret place. After thousands of years, in 1875, they
were discovered by grave robbers. Some of the mummies could be saved
and in 1881 be transferred into the Egyptian museum in Cairo.
entrances
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Up to now 62 tombs have been found,
last of all in 1922 the famous tomb of Tutankhamun by Howard Carter.
The first pharaoh buried in the Valley of the Kings was Tuthmose 1.
In principle all these tombs consist of a long corridor with several rooms,
which leads to the burial chamber, cut deep into the rock at a depth of
105 m. Walls and ceilings are decorated with marvellous coloured reliefs
and paintings of breathtaking beauty which, in the dimly-lit rooms, revive
the myths of old Egypt, its culture and history. For the fact that
the colours have survived thousands of years, we have to thank the old
Egyptians, who used mineral substances.
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Ramses III ( KV11)
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Ramses IV(KV2
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Ramses VII (KV1)
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 The
Valley of the Kings at Thebes West was another fascinating highlight during
our stay at Luxor, and so it is for thousands of tourists.
Due to the great rush of visitors, we were only allowed to visit 3 tombs
and, moreover, photographing was, generally, no longer permitted – so,
no pictures of the interior!. We visited the tombs as shown above.
The Taf-Taf trains saved us the walk in the heat and brought us here in
comfort, as they had at the Temple of the Hatshepsut. |
