Valley Of The Kings and more

October 31 arrived and there I was 60 years old!  This had been unimaginable to me and I was not looking forward to the day.

I was distracted by a very early wake up call (0315) and went for a sunrise air balloon ride over the dessert!  It all started in the pitch dark with stars shinning overhead.  We had to cross the Nile to the West bank on a small boat and then took a bus to the launch site. 

 We watched as the balloons were inflated.  In front of our eyes these huge behemoths rose up and were so beautiful against the dark sky!

 Before we knew it we were climbing into the basket which was held down by strong men until launch time.  When we were ready the balloon lifted doubtlessly into the air and the scenery appeared below. What followed was 45 minutes of incredible scenes, including an Arial view of Hatsheput's temple. 

We landed and were spirited off to meet our tour group which was in its way to see Hatsheput's temple from the ground.  This was incredible as we had already seen it from the air.  Also, this is the tomb of my very favorite ruler if the Egyptian people, being the first female who ruled with no male superior.  She was very successful and saw the country through a period of great prosperity due to her policies.  She declared herself a King despite her sex and felt that she should therefore be buried in the Valley of the Kings.  She was refused this honour and instead she built her temple and tomb on the opposing side from the valley and tunneled through the mountain to place her tomb in the Valley of the Kings despite the prohibition.   She rocked and her temple was incredible!

This was followed with a visit to the Valley Of The Kings where 80 Pharoh's are buried and where King Tut's Tomb is located.  We learned along the way that this valley was chosen for this purpose for many reasons, including the fact that the natural landscape provided a remote valley with a natural mountain formation at its head in the shape of a pyramid.  It was an incredible experience, to stand among these tombs under the scorching sun and to feel it's mystical quality.  Camera unfortunately are not allowed in the tombs.  We visited three of them and they were incredible!  The colours are intense and many of them are untouched!  The tombs themselves are empty, except for sarcophagi but the walls are decorate and splendid.

Then it was back to the ship for a lovely birthday supper topped off with a rendition of happy birthday in Arabic and in English and a lovely cake.

BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!