The Valley of the Kings

We drove by bus to the Valley of the Kings, a desert valley set between limestone cliffs, very picturesque. To date, 62 tombs have been found in the rock here, with the most famous being the tomb of Tutankamun -- famous because it was the only tomb that had not been robbed by grave robbers over the centuries. We saw most of the gold pieces and artifacts from his tomb at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

We were on a tight schedule, but we managed to visit 3 tombs: Ramses III, Que S/T, and Ramses IX. The colorful paintings and drawings on the walls were amazing to see -- so well preserved after 3,000 years. We also passed KV5, the tomb recently discovered by Kent Weeks. I read the book a few years ago "The Lost Tomb" about the discovery of the tomb, the largest in the valley, which is believed to be for Ramses 55 sons. I would love to have seen this tomb, but it is not yet open to the public.