Valley of the Kings

We got up bright and early to avoid the heat in the valley of the kings. After dodging aggressive salesmen selling everything from scarves to hieroglyphic slabs to pyramid paper weights, we arrived at the first tomb where we had to climb up 2 steep flights of stairs. Not a huge deal unless you're carrying a 30lb dead weight - aka Maya. we then climbed 90 feet down into the tomb narrowly avoiding solid stone walls, a jagged rock ceiling and ignorant french tourists taking the entire pathway for their ascent. the tomb was about 40 Celsius and more humid than a steam room. It was well worth the effort as the hieroglyphics were in various completion stages from the original sketch, then slightly carved to completed carved and painted. Maya and Jason had a great time looking for birds, snake and bee hieroglyphics. On our way to the other tombs, Maya made friends with some Egyptian girls who couldn't get enough of her. She was so exhausted that she fell asleep on Jason's shoulders before we could make it back to our hotel.

we finished the day off with a spectacular sunset felucca boat down the Nile. we sat back and watched the life go by. There were water buffalo, donkeys, the occasional camel and kids playing in the water. the sunset was so intensely orange that it actually looked fake. We returned to our hotel to find local musicians, a belly dancer and a whirling dervish on our rooftop patio. it was a great show for our last night in Luxor.

With love,

Kareena, Jason and Maya