|
Monday, May, 15, 2006 
The valley of the queens is an isolated cemetery at the southern part of the vast necropolis of Thebes on the west bank of Luxor. It contains about 70 tombs mainly belonging to queens, princesses and nobles who lived during the period of the XIX and XX dynasties.
In general these tombs are smaller than the ones of the Kings. The plan of these tombs usually consists of a small antechamber, long narrow corridor with several side chambers and at the end the burial chamber.
One of the most important tombs of this valley is the one which belongs to the famous queen Nefertari. In fact that beautiful tomb was in a bad condition because of the salt crystals seeping through its poor quality limestone. It was restored and reopened for visitors. Nefertari was the principal consort of king Ramses II. Her tomb consists of a stairway leading down to a hall where on the walls there are representations of the queen with different gods and goddesses, the hall leads to an inner side chamber decorated with religious scenes such as queen Nefertari making burning incense and giving offerings to Osiris and Atom. A corridor then leads to the burial chamber whose wall is decorated with scenes of the Book of The Gates.
Also located in the valley, are tombs of three sons of king Ramses III who were buried there.
The tomb number 55 is considered one of the most important tombs among them; it was dedicated to prince Amon-hr-khepshaf, son of king Ramses III who died at an early age. among the most beautiful scenes of this tomb, that a visitor can see on the walls of the 1st chamber is a scene representing the prince together with his father while the King makes offerings to various deities. The large hall is decorated with some scenes of the Book of the Gates.
Tomb number 44 in the valley, belongs to prince Khaem-waset who was another son of Ramses III, it consists of 2 long corridors with 2 side chambers and square burial chamber. The walls of this tomb are decorated with various painted scenes; some of them representing the prince with different deities and with his father in front of the deities of the afterworld.
Monday, May, 15, 2006  When the name of Alexandria is mentioned I feel a bright light in my eyes. It is as if Alexander the Great is back to life again, this young great leader came to Egypt to fight against the Persians who have invaded Egypt a few years before
When Alexander entered Memphis the ancient capital of Egypt at 333 BC, he was welcome and hailed as a king by the Egyptians and he was a quite clever diplomat as he showed great respect and veneration to the gods of ancient Egypt especially, god Ptah the patron god of Memphis. afterwards Alexander then decided to visit the famous Oracle temple of Amon, located in the oasis of Siwa in order to consult the hear about his destiny.
At the beginning of the Roman period about 30 BC, a new city was built here by the Romans bearing the name of ?Nicopolis? which means the city of Victory in order to commemorate the victory of Octavian over Mark Anthony in Aktium in 31 B.C.
Most of it was destroyed or vanished for several reasons including disturbances, civil wars, revolts, natural disasters, subsoil water and unplanned urbanization etc.
Among those fabulous monuments which were mentioned by ancient Greek books, are the Enclosure walls and the gates of the city, the lighthouse, the Great Library, the Royal Necropolis including the Tomb of Alexander and the museums.
Monday, May, 15, 2006  Luxor is a city located in upper Egypt, it was the ancient city of Thebes the capital of ancient Egypt, Luxor is a small town located in the province of Qena, Its name was given by the early Arab travelers who admired Luxor for the numerous monuments and ruins on its both sides. Luxor means " palaces ".
The city is among the most famous tourist cites in Egypt, it is major and must to see while you are in Egypt, thus In Luxor all major travel agencies have a main regional tourist office that act as a destination service office .
Weather in Luxor is fairly hot all year around. temperature can reach up to 40-50 C during the summer time.
Monday, May, 15, 2006 When you are in Egypt there are so many sites that you will want to visit, the length of your trip may not seem long enough. I often meet people on my tours who have been to Egypt more than 15 times, and every time they come to see something new!! And they keep asking about this place, or that new tomb that has been recently uncovered. Here in Egypt, you will always find new sites to visit and enjoy.
The adventure that is Egypt never ends. That is why it is a shame if you come to Egypt for the first time and miss the grandiose sites such as the pyramids of giza, abu simblel or the west bank of Luxor to name but a few. There are so many travelers who fly direct to Upper Egypt to see Luxor and Aswan hoping that they will be stumble across the pyramids as well!
Later they realize they are not next door to the pyramids as they had imagined and they have to go 720 KM to reach Cairo where the pyramids are! They often end up paying 400$ extra to travel to Cairo just to see one site! Most probably it is almost half of what they paid for their entire trip!!
Monday, May, 15, 2006 Egyptians, if offered anything, will refuse the first invitation which is customary.
Therefore (unless you`re dealing with Egyptians used to Western frankness) you should do the same. If the offer is from the heart and not just politeness, it will be repeated.
If you`re invited into a home, especially in small villages, and have to refuse, the householder will often press for a promise from you to visit in the future, usually for a meal. If you make such a promise, keep it, for having foreign guests is often considered a social coup.
If you fail to arrive, your would-be host will be humiliated. To repay invitations, you may host a dinner in a restaurant, a common practice. Monday, May, 15, 2006  Foreign women, traveling alone in Egypt are generally very safe, however will be noticed much less in larger cities than in smaller towns or in the country side. Should any problems or difficulties arise, then help should be sought from the police or any shopkeeper in the vicinity.
Women shouldn`t walk in isolated areas alone, which is true in any other city or place around the world.
Though most male advances are innocent and harmless, women should not accept these advances from strangers. And dressing appropriately is just plain common sense.
Monday, May, 15, 2006  Welcome old travelers and new ones to Egypt Travel Information. I created this site to inform you about traveling to Egypt. Here all information and travel tips you may need to have a successful holiday in Egypt with less hassle.
So, if you are thinking about visiting Egypt, read my pages and hopefully they will be able to provide you with the proper travel advice to Egypt and give information to make your trip to Egypt with less hassle.
|
