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Luxor’s Valley of the Kings

04/01/20 | Africa, Egypt, Luxor, Travel

Tombs in the Valley of the Kings If you work in a business like mine, happy first day of Q2! If that means absolutely nothing to you, keep reading!  🙂 Unlike many of these Egypt posts of places you have never heard of, this one about the Valley of the Kings, is likely a phrase that at least rings a bell. They Valley of Kings is located on the West Bank of Luxor and while it is most famous for King Tut’s tomb there are actually 64 tombs in this one area.

For the same reason Queen Hatshepsut built her Mortuary Temple nearby,  the ancient Egyptians considered this entire valley on the West Bank of the Nile to be sacred for its connection to the funerary goddess Hathor. When you visit the Valley of the Kings the 240 EGP  ticket gains you entrance into the area and admission to three tombs of your choice, of the ones that are open that day.  Every day they rotate which ones are open and on the morning we visited the tombs of King Ramesses IV,  King Ramesses III,  and, Meramita.

Valley of the Kings TicketsCliffs in Valley of the KingsMap of the Valley of the Kings

The first tomb of King Ramesses IV is one that many choose to visit as it is one of the biggest and most beautiful tomb, though it was never completed.  It’s proximity to the entrance to the Valley of the Kings makes it as easy choice as one of your three and I found it quite interesting that it was used as a hotel by Howard Carter, the famous explorer. When inside you walk down a  wide corridor into burial chamber with sarcophagus made of of red granite that used to contain the mummy.  A very popular phrase I heard during my time in Egypt is that the tomb was “known since antiquity” but it was rediscovered in 1905, however without the mummy.  One of the oddest facts is that the mummy of King Ramesses IV was discovered in 1898 found in another persons tomb with 7 other mummies and a deep shaft for the robbers

 

Sign for Tomb of King Ramesses IVEntrance to the Tomb of King Ramesses IVAncient Hieroglyphics in the Tomb of Pharoh King Ramesses IIIMain Room of the Tomb of King Ramesses IVThe Valley of the Kings - King Ramesses IV TombBoat in the Tomb of Pharoh King Ramesses IIICartouches and Hieroglyphs in the Tomb of King Ramesses IVHieroglyphs in the Tomb of King Ramesses IVHarp Hieroglyphs in the Tomb of King Ramesses IV

The second tomb was that of Ramesses III who reigned over Egypt for 32 years.  Logically Ramesses III was the father of Ramesses IV  and his tomb is a very odd shape.  With dozens of tombs in such a small space and no real map when they were digging this tomb while cutting into the rock they hit another tomb and had to change the direction. Then poor rock quality caused another direction change and the final product years later was one of the largest tombs, 85 meters from the entrance to the last inner chamber. 

In this big tomb there are three corridors and the colors of the walls so intact glass to protect. There are ten rooms off first corridors for storage including food, water, and treasure.   The second chamber has spaces for making offerings to Aman and Inubus, the jacket headed god of the afterlife, and the third chamber is the burial chamber at the was is closed. One of the most famous aspects is it was one of the first excavated in 1786 and the tomb Ramesses III is known for a portrait of people playing the harp and drawing.

Tomb of Pharoh King Ramesses IIIThe Valley of the Kings, the Tomb of Pharoh King Ramesses IIICeiling of the Tomb of Pharoh King Ramesses IIIHieroglyphics in the The Valley of the Kings - Tomb of Pharoh King Ramesses IIIHieroglyphics in the Tomb of Pharoh King Ramesses IIIMain Hieroglyphics in the Tomb of Pharoh King Ramesses IIICartouches and Hieroglyphics in the Tomb of Pharoh King Ramesses III

The last tomb I went in was that of  Merenptah.  He was the Pharaoh after Ramesses II but since first 13 sons died, he was not Ramesses III.  Despite being the 13th son he came to the throne at 72, and thus did not rule for that long.   The tomb of Merenptah had corridors and was also quite interesting.  And then as an extra tomb you can pay extra and go into the most famous tomb in the Valley of the Kings – Pharaoh Tutankhamun, more commonly referred to as King Tut.   I did not do this but my brother did so a few of these photos were taken by them.

Gate Entrance to the Tomb of King MerenptahThe Valley of the Kings - Tomb of King Meramita HieroglyphsEntrance to the Tomb of King MerenptahMerenptah's Stone Sarcophagus in KV8Boat Hieroglyphs in Tomb of King MerenptahTomb of King MerenptahSnake Hieroglyphs in Tomb of King MerenptahMummy of King Tut in the Valley of the Kings

Would you want to visit the Valley of the Kings? 

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Comments

  1. Jamie says

    April 2, 2020 at 4:59 pm

    I read your blog all the time and live vicariously through your travels…I think this makes the #1 spot for me on you Egypt trip.

    Seeing the photos of the entrance into all of that, I assume rock, and then how long the tunnels were and how large those rooms were is unfathomable. Your photos really bring it to life. I was also surprised by the blue on the ceilings. I wonder how they made the blue dye for the paint. Still unbelievable that everything is so intact to this day. Gorgeous spot.

  2. Suzie says

    April 2, 2020 at 1:57 pm

    Stunning photos…feel like I am right there with you….you certainly bring the place to life.

    Wish I had been there with you to experience it all. Trip of a lifetime.

  3. Amy says

    April 2, 2020 at 10:50 am

    I have always heard of the Valley of the Kings but until reading your post I never really knew what it was or its significance.

    What a spectacular place. The colors on the drawings are fantastic and really helps display the goings on of the times. Would have been so interesting to hear scholars views on what was going on politically, socially etc.. in those times.

    A brilliant civilization for sure.

  4. Kelsey says

    April 2, 2020 at 9:24 am

    I remember seeing your post on Instagram from here. Can’t grasp how big this is underground/inside. I wonder how long it took them to dig all of those tunnels and rooms and then build all the infrastructure when they didn’t have the tools that we have now.

    Really incredible.

  5. Rachel says

    April 1, 2020 at 8:42 am

    Wow, this looks like such an incredible experience. Thank you for sharing! I definitely would want to visit the Valley of the Kings – first got to get Egypt on my travel list! Definitely on my bucket list!

Hi, I am Kelly and welcome to Sparkles and Shoes, a fashion, travel, and lifestyle blog founded in 2012.  After six years of living in London I am back in New York with my husband and two littles! 

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