Luxor, Egypt

In 104 degree temperatures we went to the Valley of the Kings today to visit several tombs as well as the tomb of King Tut (Tut-ankk-Amun). The guides are not allowed into the tombs, so we were all on our own. Also, no photographs may be taken in the tombs. It was exciting to see in person the Egyptian wall paintings that we all studied when in school. All of the treasures from the tombs are in museums, so we viewed the paintings and sarchophagii and Tut's actual mummy. Tut died at age 18 after ruling for ten years. The 2005 conclusion by a team of Egyptian scientists, based on a CT scan, is that Tutankhamun died of gangrene after breaking his leg, most likely caused by a fall from some height — possibly a chariot riding accident — and may have been fatal within hours.

Next we visited Ramesseum Temple that was entirely outside so we were able to take lots of photographs. Restoration work was being done on some parts of the temple and the workers were delighted to stop working, give us a big smile, and pose for photos.

Dripping from the heat, we eagerly boarded traditional Felucca sailing vessels for lunch on the Nile. These boats were a hoot. The Egyptian men ran from boat to boat yelling at each other as they tried to organize the mass of boats. Each one held eight guests and we ate a huge meal at linen covered tables.