Luxor and the West Bank
This morning is another early start as we head across the river to the west bank , home to the Valley of the Kings. The immediate impression is not as momentous as you might expect, at this point along the Nile, the cultivated area is somewhat broad and there are small villages and fields as far as one can see. The first indication of the wonders to come is the Colossi of Memmnos . These gigantic statues, now on the roadside in the midst of fields, sit partway between the river and the hills, staring east across the Nile to Thebes. They are badly eroded by generations of flooding, the features lost to time.
Our first stop is one of the more recent areas of interest, the worker's village and tombs. The Pharaohs built a separate community to house the skilled artisans who designed, built, and decorated their tombs. Located in the hills, it is both separated from the agricultural towns below and the tombs a ridge over. There must have been a support system to feed and sustain this community of valuable workers, most likely including guards and informers. After all, who better to rob the tombs that they spent so much time engineering? In the hillside above the town, these artisans constructed their own tombs, small but just as fine as the kings'. The artwork is lovely, somewhat more naturalistic and less formulaic than that in the royal tombs. These provide a picture of life among the skilled classes, and a more realistic version of Egyptian life than had been seen since the first Dynasties.
We continue to the north to the lovely temple of Hatshepsut called Dier el Bahri . This structure is similar to other mortuary temples in some respects, but its proportions and grace are unlike anything in Egypt. The columns stand plain and stark against the hill into which the temple is cut, clearly visible from a long distance. One must approach it along the walkway, perfectly aligned and centered, to fully appreciate both its scale and its careful design. The walls, generally reserved for depictions of military triumphs, are here used to immortalize Hatshepsut's commercial prowess. Two scenes of note are the expedition to Punt, featuring a rather too-accurate take on the corpulent queen and the quarrying and shipping of her enormous obelisks now at Karnak. The reliefs are both lovely and unusual as compared to the Ramessid wars.
In contrast to this commercial focus stands the temple of Medinet Habu , the mortuary temple of Ramses II. It sits on the edge of a village in the valley, yet was largely above the flooding or was protected by walls. The temple is in a fabulous state of preservation, the carvings deep and clear, some painting remaining on lintels and columns. The themes are far more martial, including some gruesome scenes of counting severed body parts of enemies. One hopes the artists took some license to exaggerate. Some of the peoples shown as captives are known to us by their distinctive appearance, others are intriguing mysteries.
At last, to the Valley of the Kings. It is perhaps appropriate that this is one of our last archeological stops, from the Pyramids to the Valley of the Kings suits every conception of Egypt. The reality of both is a bit disconcerting. While there is no KFC here, there is a huge bus parking lot and the most ridiculous toy tram for transport we had ever seen. On any given day, only about a third of the tombs are open to the public. Some are under restoration, other are recovering from the impact of visitors, largely the humidity of their breathing. Although all of the tombs have some level of ventilation, lighting and plexiglass shielding, they are by no means completely protected. The only tomb that is open every day is that of Tutankhamon, though it is probably one of the smallest and least interesting strictly as a tomb.
Each visitor has the opportunity to see three tombs with a ticket, (excepting Tutankhamon, for which you can buy a separate ticket), and must choose where to go. Guidebooks often only cover a few of the thirty or so tombs, of which at most one might be open, so there is an element of discovery (and disappointment) in the crowd. Tombs that "seem good" or are easy to access have long lines, almost Disneyesque queues in the heat. We were advised to see three tombs that were a bit off the beaten track, each different and showing a unique artistic style. There also were shorter lines, so it was all to the best. Fortunately for posterity, photos are strictly forbidden in the tombs, so one must rely on memory to capture the strange beauty of the painting.
The first tomb we choose to visit is that of Thutmosis III, up a hill and several ladders. Due to the heat and the ladders, it's not a very popular destination this afternoon. The interior is wonderfully cool and inviting, a long series of rooms and tunnels leading deep into the hill. The paintings are in a different style than those we had seen previously. The wall is largely yellow, and the gods and other figures are painted in black in a spare style, almost stick figures. The art is delicate and lovely, more abstract than most of the temples.
Second on our list is the tomb of Meremptah. This is a simpler tomb, a short corridor leading to a large vaulted room. The sarcophagus lies in the middle of this huge room, its shape mirrored in the room itself. The walls of the straight corridor down are lined in paintings, though the room itself is mostly bare. The sarcophagus is in place, and by crawling underneath and using a mirror, you can see the delicate painting both inside and outside the stone coffin.
Next we make our way to Tutankhamon's tomb, the "must see" of the Valley. The tour groups come and go in waves, and we walk past several times before the line seems managable. After turning in all of our bags and belongings to the guard, we climb in the narrow opening and into the central foyer of the tomb. There are two small rooms opening off of the unpainted foyer, one that contained all the grave goods, tossed in quickly and without regard to order, and the other with the sarcophagus. This small room has some painting, but these are not as elegant or as extensive as most tombs. Comparing this to the others, it is clear that this was a rapid, not particularly rich burial. It is such a cultural magnet that we are all drawn to it and its legends, but the reality just doesn't live up to the hype. The marvelous funerary treasure of Tutankhamon does, however, and a visit to the Egyptian museum is a must. The tomb itself is almost more interesting both for its contrast to the others, and as a part of the famous story.
Finally, we wander a bit in the other direction to choose a Rammesid tomb. We finally settle on Ramses IX, which seems to be large and interesting. We are rewarded with a lovely straight corridor covered in delicate, colorful, suburb paintings. It is definitely much more artistically ornate than the others, although the tombs have very different styles. Apparently some of the other Rammesid tombs of this later period are similarly fine, but generally only one of the series is open at a time. After admiring four musty, overheated tombs with hundreds of other people, it's not clear that we could manage many more without a rest and something to eat anyway. Tired and a bit weak, we make our way back to the hotel and to a nice long shower.
We are lucky to have several free hours in the late afternoon, as our flight to Sharm is at 9pm. After cleaning up and packing, we checked our email, wandered the ci ty a bit, and had plenty of time to get back to the hotel for afternoon tea. As with any old Colonial hotel, tea is served in a typically well-placed location, in this case on a balcony on the second floor overlooking the river. As the sun sets, we sip tea (Coke in Steve's case) and spend a quiet hour reading. This is a sad time, as we are leaving the Nile and its ancient monuments and moving a different aspect of Egypt. I'm looking forward to the Sinai peninsula, but it does seem sad to leave this behind just as we're learning to discern basic timeframes and heiroglyphics.