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Wednesday 10th April
After 5 days at sea we are in the Red Sea and early this morning we berthed at the port of Safaga. Today Russ and I have decided to go on different tours. As Russ didn't want to go on a 13 hour trip he went on a yellow submarine ( cue for a song surely!) to see the fish in the Red Sea. He said it was really good but as I had the camera he couldn't take any photos to show me.
I got up early for my trip to the Valley of the Kings and Karnak. It was a very long drive - 4 hours! For half the way it was desert but when we got nearer to the Nile it turned green. We crossed the Nile to the West Bank and the Valley of the Kings. After going through the hundreds of vendors to get to the entrance we took the land train up to the tombs (vendors cling to the sides as you go up the hill!). There are 62 discovered tombs in the valley although not all of them are royal. The ticket allowed entry into 3 tombs. Our guide recommended the tombs of Ramses 111, 1V and 1X. The walls and ceilings inside were wonderful. The walls were carved and then painted with amazing pictures and hieroglyphics. The colours were still quite vibrant which after over 3thousand years is astonishing. I also paid extra to go into the tomb of Tutankhamun. This is a very plain tomb as it wasn't meant for him so it doesn't have the lovely carved walls. Inside is his sarcophagus and his mummy.
After lunch at a hotel in Luxor we went to the Temple at Karnak. The photo is taken in the temple in the Hypostyle Hall where there are over 100 columns. All these columns are carved and would have originally been painted. This was my favourite part of the temple as not only was it really interesting with all the carved pictures and hieroglyphics but in the very crowded temple it was surprisingly quiet.
After a wonderful day it was another long journey back to the ship. The first part was along the banks of one of the irrigation canals which was very interesting. People here use donkeys to pull carts, carry things or ride. I have never seen so many donkeys!
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