Exploring the West Bank and sailing the Nile

Early morning wake up call at 6.30 in order for us to be up, dressed and breakfasted in time to meet Mohammed in the lobby so that we could head off to the West Bank of the Nile to visit three amazing places ... the Colossi of Memnon, the Valley of the Kings and Queen Hatshepsuts Temple. Ian and I had recently watched a documentary on the temple so we were pretty keen to see it. Mohammed whisked us off the boat (remember we have to walk through all the other boats docked) and out to meet our driver and we were away.

A 30 minute drive had us pulling into a car park right on the roadside where two enormous statues stood. These were the Colossi of Memnon. There are 2 close to the road but further back are several others that have just been recently discovered by Egyptologists that had fallen down as a result of an earthquake and been buried in silt and sand and are slowly being stood back up to their original positions. Behind those is a massive excavation site where a newly discovered temple is being uncovered.

On to the Valley of the Kings. This is located in the the Theban Hills and was where the Kings were entombed upon their death. The Valley has 66 tombs ... although more are expected to be in the area and excavation work continues. Our ticket of entry allowed us to go into 3 tombs. Mohammed selected the first 2 ... both because they were his favourites and because they are the most beautiful. He allowed us to select the third based on a small tomb or one that went deep into the mountain and down into the mountain ... guess you know which one we selected! The tombs are beautiful with elaborate wall paintings and hieroglyphics. 

Our final site to visit was Queen Hatshepsuts Temple ... she was the only female King and built the most incredible temple for herself into the side of the mountain. It is huge and has three levels, elaborate paintings and statues and a grand entrance. It is truly spectacular and we were lucky to have our guided tour with Mohammed and then 45 minutes to explore on our own.

Back on the boat by 12.30 ... in time for a quick dip for Ian in the pool (it was freezing and he didn’t recommend I go for a swim!) and then off for lunch before we set sail for Esna where we will dock for the night. Sailing the Nile is incredible. We found our perfect spot to sit ... at the back of the boat to be able to look at both banks of the river whilst we sailed. Traders and spruikers would pull up next to the boat to try and sell things to people by throwing goods onto the boat and then bartering for  the best bargain, it was hysterical to watch the traders screaming deals at the people on the boat with goods being tossed backwards and forwards between the upper deck and the boat below. We also took the time to complete some questions for the geocaches located at the sites we visited today ... because we cannot go somewhere and not grab a cache or two! Tonight we will be going through the Esna locks ... which we hope to be able to see before heading to dinner. And finally the sunset from the boat was incredible ... a fitting way to end a magnificent day.