Barbara and Colin at Tutankhamun's Tomb, the Valley Of The

I am going to start with The Valley of The Kings.

One of the most jaw-dropping sites you will visit is the world famous Valley of The Kings on the Westbank of the Nile. The first few times we visited the Valley we took a small boat across the Nile and then a short mini-bus journey to reach it but the last time we visited we were taken all the way by coach. It’s only a short journey, maybe 20 minutes, but it is a little easier than taking the boat and mini-bus.

Situated opposite Luxor, the Valley of The Kings is really a giant complex of burial chambers of tombs, including that of the “Boy King” Tutankhamun. These were tombs or burial chambers reserved for royalty.

To date it is known that it is the final resting place for 63 pharaohs who ruled during the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties.

Normally there are a number of the tombs open to view but they tend to rotate and sometimes you can enter the tomb of Tutankhamun and some days you cant’.

Almost all of the tombs are beautifully decorated and preserved.

From The Valley of The Kings you will normally travel on to The Temple of Hatshepsut which I will tell you more about in my next post.

If you would like to read more about Ancient Egypt and about the sights and experiences you will enjoy on your Nile Cruise we particularly recommend the Dorling Kindersley guide book “Eyewitness Travel: Egypt“. Its’ an excellent book and tough and sturdy to take with you on your cruise. Get it from Amazon for the cheapest price.

Why not find out all about Nile Cruises by obtaining a copy of our exclusive FREE Nile Cruise Guide

…”The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt is a thorough, erudite and enthusiastic gallop through an astonishing 3,000 years. From Narmer to Cleopatra, it is the sheer longevity of Egyptian civilisation that commands awe“.

If you are taking a Nile Cruise in the near future this book will certainly give you a great overview of Ancient Egypt and I think when you visit such sites as The Valley of the Kings and Luxor Temple for instance, you will be able to put the history of these wonders into their historic perspective.

You can read more about “The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt” on the Amazon.co.uk website here.

Why not find out all about Nile Cruises by obtaining a copy of our exclusive FREE Nile Cruise Guide

If you have read our Nile Cruise Guide Book you will have already heard the wonderful music composed by Jeff Goodman. Jeff is a professional composer and musician from Los Angeles, California who very graciously allowed us to add his compositions to the Guide. As the Guide opens it is Jeff’s music that you hear and that lends so much to creating the atmosphere of Ancient Egypt to the experience.

Jeff emailed me to say that he has just produced a video to go with his composition “Anthem To The Rising Moon” and he will shortly be creating a series of videos to accompany his other Egyptian pieces and of course when he does so I will post those here.

I thought that I would add Jeff’s new video here on the Nile Cruises 4u Blog as a taster to Jeff’s music if you havent’ already heard it whilst reading the Nile Cruise Guide.

I love the feel that Jeff achieves which I think really invokes the atmosphere of Ancient Egypt.

You can learn more about Jeff’s music and about the man himself at his website Shelter of Clear Light where you can also purchase Jeff’s compositions.

Here is the video for “Anthem To The Rising Moon“.

Why not find out all about Nile Cruises by obtaining a copy of our exclusive FREE Nile Cruise Guide

There is a new BBC programme entitled “Egypt’s Lost Cities” that will air on Monday 30th of May that I think looks absolutely fascinating and might be something you might like to watch too.  Especially if you are due to take a Nile Cruise shortly or if you have visited Egypt over the last few years.

It involves “satellite archaeology” to test the theory that stunning images of lost cities and tombs that can actually be seen from space using satellite technology and to date using the technology they have located more than 1,000 tombs and an incredible 3,100 ancient settlements.

The brief about the programme says:

“The technology works by combining infra-red imagery with high resolution photography to ’see’ beneath the sands, revealing hidden mud brick structures – the typical building materials of ancient Egypt – the ghostly outlines of which can be distinguished from different surrounding soil types.

And to date Dr Sarah Parcak estimates satellite archaeology has found the location of not just undiscovered pyramids – the last major pyramid find was made more than 20 years ago – but more than 1,000 tombs and an incredible 3,100 ancient settlements.”

Archaeologist Sarah Parcal says she has discovered “thousands of ancient sites in Egypt, from pyramids to a detailed street plane of the city of Tanis, an A-Z of the region’s northern capital”.  All thanks to images from satellites orbiting 400 miles above the Earth.  The infra-red pictures are capable of tracing structures buried deep in the sands.

There have been some wonderful programmes recently about Ancient Egypt but I think the idea of “satellite archaeology” to discover even more is a real breakthrough and promises to be a really interesting 60 minutes.

Egypt’s Lost Cities is on BBC One and BBC One HD on Monday 30 May at 8.30pm, and on BBC HD at 11pm.

Why not find out all about Nile Cruises by obtaining a copy of our exclusive FREE Nile Cruise Guide

Well apparently these archaeologists at Luxor Temple have unearthed a 13m high statue of Amenhotep III, one of a pair flanking the entrance to his funeral temple.

It consists of seven large quartzite blocks and still lacks a head. Archaeologists expect to find its twin in the next digging season. It must be getting too hot now to start extensive digging.

Amenhotep III, the 14th century BC grandfather of Tutankhamun, ruled over an empre from Nubia to Syria. The 3,400 year old temple, one of the largest on the Nile in Luxor is thought to have been destroyed by an earthquake in 27BC.

So if you are visiting Luxor Temple, which you should do on your Nile Cruise, keep an eye out for this new discovery.

Why not find out all about Nile Cruises by obtaining a copy of our exclusive FREE Nile Cruise Guide

Our driver seemed to feel that he would please us more by taking the journey at a gallop whenever the traffic would allow. But we reached the temple in one piece and on our return journey he gave us the sedate carriage ride we really wanted.

Our Egyptologist explained the history of seemingly the best preserved temple in Egypt and explained the reason was because for hundreds and hundreds of years it was covered in sand which helped preserve the exterior and interior as perfectly as it is.

He also hit the spot with me when he explained that this was the temple that celebrated the 21 day “Festival of Drunkeness” ( and I would suggest “silly dancing”). Sounds just the place for me!

A nice part of the Nile cruises that Barbara and I have enjoyed previously have been our table companions. This cruise has been no different and we have shared our 8 person table with 3 other interesting and lovely couples. From Helensborough in Scotland there is Patti and Roy who are enjoying their honeymoon on board ship. From Bath there is Linda and John and from Harrogate there is Melissa and Chris. All of them have travelled extensively throughout the world but all of them always harboured a desire to visit Egypt and cruise the Nile. They have all said that both the Royal Viking and the excursions have more than lived up to their expectations. Chris and Melissa are off to Cairo tomorrow for 3 nights and then travel on to El Gouna on the Red Sea for a further 4 nights. The rest of us fly home tomorrow.

We have had some really fun evenings together sitting out on the sundeck under the stars in the warm night air just talking, laughing and swapping stories about our travels and the mishaps that life throws at you.

I’m writing this on Sunday, again up on the sundeck, enjoying a cappuccino in the warm air of Luxor. Later we are going to visit some of the hotels in Luxor that we sell in order to get a better knowledge and feel for each property.

Tomorrow we sadly have to leave Egypt and fly home and on Tuesday re-open the Nile-Cruises-4u offices and get back to normal. In the meantime it’s another coffee for me and a last few hours of relaxation aboard the excellent Royal Viking.

Why not find out all about Nile Cruises by obtaining a copy of our exclusive FREE Nile Cruise Guide

Although it was an early start (4am!!) it didn’t seem so bad when the journey was underway. The drive is about 3 hours by air-conditioned coach across the desert from Aswan to Abu Simbel, about 160 miles. We could have flown but we quite fancied driving across the desert. We took our pillows from the hotel and a breakfast box that they provided and we were off. The cost by coach by the way was £85 each. I know it sounds a lot of money but it is in fact very good value and well worth it.

As we drove through the desert our Egyptologist, Hussein, explained the story behind the Abu Simbel project and how UNESCO saved the two temples at Abu Simbel which would have been flooded in the mid 1960′s when Egypt and Sudan created Lake Nasser. The temples were taken apart, moved backwards and upwards to ensure they were saved. The project took 4 years and because of these efforts we can now enjoy the wonders of these two magnificent temples.

You’ll be able to see photos and videos on the website shortly.

We also saw the enormous Lake Nasser and some of the cruise ships that sail between Aswan and Abu Simbel. We have sold quite a few 4 day Lake Nasser cruises this year and it would be a great trip to combine a Nile Cruise with a Lake Nasser cruise.

On our return journey we actually saw a mirage in the desert which really did look like a large shimmering lake in the distance with reflections and a real feel of reality about it. But it was just a trick if the light between the sands and the sky.

If you are thinking of visiting Abu Simbel then I would definitely recommend it and I will load up pictures and videos as soon as I can.

Why not find out all about Nile Cruises by obtaining a copy of our exclusive FREE Nile Cruise Guide

Here’s more about the series itself as described by Jonathan Yeomans on the excellent www.heritage-key.com website:

“Fronted by Dr Zahi Hawass, the series sees a team of researchers apply new forensic techniques to the study of Tutankhamun’s remains. For the first time ever, archaeologists employed DNA testing on the pharaoh’s mummy and on his family.

Tutankhamun: The Mystery Revealed

Originally shown on the Discovery Channel under the title King Tut Unwrapped, the series capitalises on a whole string of unanswered questions that continue to cloud our understanding of this most famous of pharaohs.

Tutankhamun is one of the world’s icons, but beyond the golden fortune, what is known about this shadowy figure? Who were his mother and father? Why have their bodies never been found? Can historians piece together the details of his life and death and explain why his mummification is so strange?

Episode one in the series focuses on the first-ever DNA extraction from King Tut’s mummy. Using the results of the DNA sample, the second instalment follows the team as they attempt to identify and locate the Tut’s parents. Part three examines the fate of Tutankhamun’s wife. Where was she buried, and did she have any children? The final episode probes the circumstances surrounding the boy king’s death”.

Why not find out all about Nile Cruises by obtaining a copy of our exclusive FREE Nile Cruise Guide

Why not find out all about Nile Cruises by obtaining a copy of our exclusive FREE Nile Cruise Guide

It also went on to explain that the pharaohs were not all one continuous family any more than British kings and queens are all one continuous family.

The most famous Egyptian dynasty was the 19th which was established by Paramessu, who ruled as Ramesses I.  But Paramessu was not of royal blood – he was a high priest and a soldier appointed pharaoh by his predecessor, Horemheb, who was also a soldier and had no heir.  His reign lasted for barely a year before he died and was succeeded by his son, Sety I, in turn succeeded by Ramesses II, known also as “Ramesses the Great“, the so-called “Greatest Pharaoh of All“.

If you are soon to undertake a Nile Cruise or if you are thinking of doing so you might want to read more about The Pharaohs and Ancient Egypt by doing some reading beforehand. Or, you might be looking for a book to take with you to read whilst on your Nile Cruise.  (If you are actually reading about what you are seeing each day I think you are likely to get even more out of your time on the Nile).

A book I would recommend (and it was also one of the “books of the year” recommended the Economist) is Toby Wilkinson’s “The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt“.  You can read more about it on Amazon but I’m sure you would get a lot out of reading the book either before sailing or whilst actually cruising the Nile.

Why not find out all about Nile Cruises by obtaining a copy of our exclusive FREE Nile Cruise Guide