mummys, donkeys and sweaty americans
we dragged ourselves up at six yesterday to head across to the valley of the kings in the early morning. after loading up on free breakfast vicks and i bundled into the back of the affable gamei hussein's crumbling peugeot and trundled off to the west bank, to the necropolis in the theban hills.anyone who's read my rants about the pricing of tourist sites abroad, especially in india, knows how much it enrages me that all foreigners get lumped into the wealthy category. the egyptian antiquities authority however offer generous student discounts, which at least shows an appreciation that us occidentals have different budgets, so well done them. unfortunately i'm no longer a student, so not well done me. still, the principle's correct.
the valley of the kings is a bit of a disappointment, and not just because it's overrun with tourists. in an effort to combat theft, almost all of the artefacts have been bundled off to the museums in cairo. unfortunately, all that remains are dusty, empty, tombs, many of which are not even open. there are hieroglyphics on the walls, and the occasional ingenious device to dissuade tomb raiders (although they should refill the pits with snakes), but it all looks a bit tired and hollow. it's the sheer volume of possessions that these guys wanted to take with them which was impressive, their expectations of an opulent afterlife... without any true indication of that the whole experience felt a bit jaded.
tutankahmun's tomb was also a bit of a let down: the legend's intriguing, but the tomb itself is small and not that impressive, a reflection of the brevity of his life. it's certainly not worth the additional fee you have to pay to get in: still, i suppose you can't begrudge the authorities a bit of opportunism, especially when it seems like the money is being well spent on restoration and the like.
after a hike over the theban hills we got to dein el bahri. now this temple is truly impressive, looming out of the mountain face like ellora... the view is particularly breathtaking when you cross the ridge of the hilll and suddenly see this huge edifice striking out of the living rock. again, it's the scale of the buildings, coupled with the timescale in which they were constructed that makes them so impressive.
all good stuff, but i think i preferred luxor temple, and will probably be even more enthused by abu simbel in the south (only 40kms from sudan! vicki has cut any silly ideas out of my head).
there's an arab fight breaking outside, so off for a gander...
posted by bicrom @ 8:58 am
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