While there was an optional Balloon tour first thing this morning, Gail and I decided that as we have done the balloon thing this was not the trip to do it again. It is worth noting before I launch into this page on the nile cruise and the Valley of the kings and the valley of the queens, that we had yet to cruise anywhere and we were not allowed to photograph the valleys. Never the less the day had other events.
We avoided the temptation to take a horse drawn cart and opted for the bus tour to the tombs. These were an eye opening adventure when presented with the extent and seclusion of the places as well as the stories and memories of tales, to actually walk into the tombs was a special thing. Crowded, but special.
This was a close as we could get to a valley picture, there are some on the web if you want to search them up
Part of every Nile Cruise package tour is obligatory visits to tourist targeted crafts and tat shops. Nearby the Valleys of tombs is an alabaster carving village. One interesting thing we learnt was that alabaster is used to purify essential oils as it lets water out but holds the volatile oils in. At least that's what the essential oil salesman told us.
It was a shoppers paradise but only if you really wanted alabaster anything.
The funerary pile to queen Hatshepsut was a special treat where we were allowed to take photos, the scale is stunning and the painting quality for something 1460 years BC quite astonishing.
This pyramid mountain is a natural formation and probably the reason the Valley of the Kings and Queens and this temple were all located within its sight.
The Colossi of Memnon
And finally we cruise, not alone.
It was nice to escape the cool breeze by enjoying our opening window,
This was to be the night of the Egyptian party. Dress up requested and therefore I was told mandatory. We bought our outfits from some guys in little row boats who chased our cruise ship through the locks and threw garments on board for us to try. Quite a feat. We could have bought the outfits from the on-board shop but this was much more fun and Gail got one that was very different from any the other women wore.
I didn't check the size of mine, looked like I'd mugged a gay midget.egyptian .
our diner table cruise friends, Gordon, Rick and Brian
Cindy, Denise and Viv.
The tour guides performed parodies of Egyptians in a hurry,
Italians greeting and fleecing, Japanese photographing, fanning, hand wiping and mask wearing, Germans passing gruffly and street hawkers pestering british tourists. It was by all accounts a hoot. I had retired to our room for a hour while the very ordinary belly dancer, a dervish whirler and to my ears annoying music played their little tourist entertainment bits out. I returned a little later to close the night off with our cruise friends.
