Waking up early for our 6am bus departure today, no breakfast due to my real upset stomach, ah Egypt.

The journey this morning was about 3 hours’ drive – on my way to the Valley of the Kings, very exciting day ahead. I’m bringing my childhood history lessons to life, visiting the tomb of Tutankhamun is something I’ve always dreamed of, standing where Lord Carnarvon stood. In primary school, I recall performing a play which re-enacted the discovery of Tutankhamun’s burial chamber, it was going to be a full-circle moment. I couldn’t help but keep my eyes peeled, maybe I would notice something, a funny hill or unusual valley which held a tomb, the possibility of discovering an ancient treasure in the desert is thrilling.

Valley of the Kings

Once through the entrance at the Valley of the Kings, we hopped on a golf caddy and were taken to the main complex, our ticket was valid for entry into 3 tombs, our guide recommended Ramsses 3, 4 and 9, as the most impressive and best preserved.

I entered the tomb of Ramesses IV, and was immediately blown away by the colours, they were so vibrant, it was unbelievable how the entire passage was covered in hieroglyphs. We walked along the platform and admired the carvings, the walls themselves looked 50-100 years old, with some missing details and a little faded colour. Strangely, the majority of the tomb looked like it had been freshly chiselled and painted, it was so difficult to grasp that this tomb was thousands of years old, perfectly preserved under the desert.

Ramsses IV’s tomb had a series of blue and yellow stars on the roof and all these depictions of gods and the afterlife, it centred around an amazing stone sarcophagus in the centre. The walls weren’t covered in glass or protected in ANY way, so I really had to halt my impulsive need to touch the walls and just pretend I was here upon construction. It is unbelievable to think that I am here now, underground in a tomb which was prepared for a Pharoah, a resting place for the dead on their way to the next world, surreal.

Next were the tombs of Ramsses III, and Ramsses IX, which were even larger temple complexes, rooms and halls full of intricate and detailed carvings and art from floor to ceiling. The construction of tombs begins when the Pharaoh takes the throne, and thus, some these had taken 30 years to quarry and prepare (in the case of Ramsses III).

The last tomb I entered was the boy-king Tutankhamun, it was an additional cost, but I knew that I had to take the opportunity while I was here. As Tut had a relatively short reign, his tomb was quite small, but mummy is still in his tomb! It was quite eerie looking over the body of a young pharaoh, mummified all those years ago, but still recognisable, preserved in a little glass box. This made me super eager to visit the Cairo Museum and see his sarcophagus, his death mask and to have a look at all the artefacts he was buried with. The temples and tombs are seriously mind boggling, they’ve stood the test of time, ancient construction and art that could have been finished a day ago. 

It was beginning to get hot, I returned to the golf buggy and headed toward Hatshepsut’s tomb. A 3-story temple which looked fantastic at the base but was pretty weathered away due to sun/wind exposure and vandals. I walked up to the top and took some photos but was keen to get out of the heat ASAP, it was exhausting to be out in the sun.

On my way to the temple of Karnak next, apparently 20,000 priests lived here when the temple was at its peak. This complex was buried under 7 m of sand when it was discovered, and high upon the walls of the grand entrance, there is graffiti from Napoleon, still visible to this day.

The temple was enormous, it had beautifully decorated stone columns and even though it was outside and exposed to the elements still retained some colour, unbelievable. There were said to be 120 columns when the temple was complete, but a lot of the temple is in ruin. It was an interesting mess of old and new kingdom, recycled stone from various projects and fallen columns, loads of raw rock, half complete statues, it seemed like everything had been in an attempted rebuild. Out the back, they’ve got an outdoor museum, like a giant yard of puzzle pieces, stones with writing, hands, feet, heads, hundreds of broken statues and body parts just litter the temple. The day was getting unbearably hot to stay any longer, after looking through the open-air museum, we walked around the fertility stag beetle and then got back into the bus.

It was around 3 hours to drive home, we stopped into an alabaster shop and witnessed a demonstration before looking at the vases, statues, scarab beetles and knick-knacks. I got a small bracelet with a scarab beetle and hopped back aboard the bus, keen to crank the A/C and get in an afternoon nap! I’m beginning to understand why the ridiculously early mornings are required, as doing anything in the peak sun really takes up all your energy.

An epic day was complete with a buffet dinner and a couple cocktails, off to bed now.