TUESDAY, AUGUST 3: VALLEY OF THE KINGS

• Visit the West Bank:
1. Valley of Kings (slide show) — A selection of tombs in the Valley of the Kings is open at any one time. Our goal is to visit a few tombs with astronomical significance (example) including Tombs of Seti I (slide show), Ramses III (slide show), and Ramses V/Ramses VI (slide show)
2. King Tut’s tomb (slide show) (we have been granted special access!) (outer coffin shown; we’ll see the inner coffins in Cairo)
3. Hatshepsut Temple (slide show)
• Lunch onboard
• Visit East bank — Karnak Temple (slide show) and Luxor Temple (slide show)
• Dinner onboard, overnight in Luxor

After the Valley of the Kings it’ onward to Deir al Bahiri to see the memorial Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, a woman who declared herself pharaoh. To support her authority to reign she had herself depicted as a man in temple art. The temple structure itself is oriented to identify the pharaonic Hatshepsut with the sun god.

Luxor Temple was the home of the annual Opet Festival, when the pharaoh was mystically joined to the Egyptian god Amun amid great celebration. Late afternoon we explore Karnak temple, a massive complex of temples, dedicated to the chief Egyptian god, Amun-Re. Karnak’s building elements and setting have astronomical references tying them to ancient Egyptian cosmology.

KNEE/HIP/MOBILITY ALERT: Regrettably there are no accommodations for people with mobility issues at the sites we visit today. Some of the sites we visit are reached via a long steep flight of stone steps up a hillside or down into hillsides. Or both! You need to think of the status of your joints, your sense of balance, and your mobility skills as you contemplate today’s adventure.