Valley of the Kings & Barfing at King Tut’s Tomb

We cast off and watched upper Egypt slip away as we cruised to our next port of call, majestic Luxor – site of the ancient city of Thebes. On arrival, we headed up the stunning Avenue of Sphinxes. In ancient times, it was believed that this avenue, over 1.5km long, featured around 2,000 spectacular Egyptian sphinxes. I was amazed by the sheer volume of famous monuments around Luxor. Often referred to as the “world’s greatest open-air museum,” it was all about indulging in a cultural feast. We got a close look at the Colossus of Memnon, the large remains of a once massive temple. Towering above the landscape at 18 metres high, these gigantic stone statues were pretty cool indeed!

After the Colossus of Memnon, we visited the Temple of Hatshepsut, the most successful female pharaoh reigning longer than any other woman. Usually this site is just packed with tourists. As you can see from my photos below, not a soul is present behind me! Again, traveling during the August heat and resignation of the prime minister was a fantastic time to travel around Egypt. Soon it was time to experience the afterlife and the city of the dead with a tour of the Valley of the Kings. This spectacular site is where King Tut is buried. The visit was surreal, and unfortunately I was brought back to reality pretty quickly when I barfed on the steps leading to King Tut’s tomb. Obviously my lingering food poisoning attacked me at the most inconvenient time, as usual.