Shiney in Egypt

Balloon Ride from Luxor to the Valley of the Kings





Start the engine




It'll never fly!




Yes it will!




On the way to the Valley of the Kings









Queen Hatchepsut's Palace



[ 02. December 2007, 02:21 AM: Message edited by: shiney ]

 

Fertile Nile Valley




Coming in to land




Whoopsss!!!!




In the Valley




It's pretty barren and very hot and dry.




Mrs shiney




It's quite a slog up and down the hills in the heat.

 

Lots of paths








And no photos allowed inside the tombs

 

It's quite handy that the guide/archeologist is a friend


The Colossi of Memnon

 

Across the rooftops of Cairo




Towards the Pyramids




It's a woman's job to do the rowing!

 

Edfu Temple







The God Horus




The sacred boat




Trying to read the story on the wall!

 

Hi Kedi, the ride was fantastic. It was very smooth and the basket was landed the correct way up. This is probably because it takes 20 passengers and has a very broad base. Of course, you have to get up before dawn to get there in time to catch the sunrise.

More to come.

 

Karnak Temple is my favourite but that is probably because it is so vast. It is in the centre of Luxor and covers an area of 69 acres. A lot of this is just sand and rock and they shall be excavating for decades to come.

The way in.








I like this one's hairstyle




Pink obelisk

 

Another story being told.

 

Hi mira
Yes, it was the first time I have flown in a balloon and it was really good. The ascent was very smooth and if you couldn't see the ground changing below you wouldn't know you were moving. There is total silence except when the pilot needs to use the flame to ascend. A wonderful experience.

 

There are areas that the public are not allowed in.





but if you are with one of the sites bosses you can go almost anywhere




They are putting fallen (and excavated) pieces back together




Going further in




The Goddess Sekhmet is generally known to westerners as a very vengeful and vicious god but that is not what the Egyptians think of her at all. Although she is said to have killed many people to defend the rule of the Gods she is now mainly known as the goddess of healing. The priests of Sekhmet were skilful surgeons and healers.

They uncovered a small temple dedicated to her which is completely away from all the other temples. It is in a very peaceful location but is not open to the general public.

Inside her temple.




The view from the roof shows how isolated it is.



[ 02. December 2007, 09:54 AM: Message edited by: shiney ]

 

Moving on. Even barreness can look interesting





When things are explained by an expert it helps to bring it to life




The Seven Doors are a sacred symbol




They built many temples with seven doorways to the inner sanctum where only priests were allowed.




You're NOT allowed in here




To look at this




Some of the pieces waiting to be collated and put together where possible




They are pretty big close up