Egypt ~ part 2

On Sunday morning we had to wake up very early so we could be loaded onto our shuttle bus (home for the day) by 5am. Now in the world of Cathy there is only one 5 o'clock and it doesn't have an 'am' in it... but we had a long drive in front of us & lots of exciting things to see. We were off to Karnak Temple, the Valley of the Kings, and a ferry ride on the Nile River.

Our first stop was Karnak Temple. The sight is a huge open-air museum that has not been completely excavated. It is one of the largest ancient religious sites in the world and a must see when visiting Egypt.

The first picture below is of the entrance area to the sight, notice all the lion-sphinx statues...

notice Pink Baby even got to visit the Karnak Temple...

Ok, you need to know the story here... first it was really hot & we were all getting a little tired of walking around so Kevin bribed us with ice-cream. Next, according to tradition, if you march around the object immediately behind me 20 times counter-clockwise you are to be granted a pregnancy within the year (it is a fertility statue/god). So I was determined to prove it wrong & proudly marched around it counting with a very loud voice (hence the picture with my mouth half open). Ten months later there is no baby in the Duffy future - HA, I proved it wrong!

After a very long morning we were glad to enjoy a nice lunch buffet overlooking the Nile River.

We then took a short ferry ride on the Nile River.

Next we visited the Valley of the Kings. Now most of these pictures are actually from the internet because no pictures are allowed. And don't you dare think that you can sneak a picture because security is on you like stink on poop ~ no chance! (Now we didn't try to sneak any pictures, but it was interesting to see people try & some even loose their cameras for trying)
In the lobby area there was a display that showed how the tombs have been found...

and the underneath of the display showed how the tombs went deep into the caverns

entrance to a tomb

example of inside of tomb ... a lot more roomy than expected and very colorful decorations

We did not go into King Tutankhamen's tomb, because it is an extra charge. Also, we have previously visited the traveling museum artifacts for the tomb so we weren't sure that we would learn anything more by going into this tomb ... plus it was on the other side of where we were & it was really, really hot - too hot for the extra walking

Our last stop in the Valley of the Kings was to a separate location to see the Queen Hatsheput Monument. This was built by a Queen who was able to obtain Pharaoh status based on her statues having beards. Below is a picture of our shuttle ride from the buses to the actual monument; you know they say that Caterpillar equipment is durable & useful ~ leave it to someone to decide that a fork lift can be converted to a tram/shuttle engine.

The lovely Shaffer family pictured above

The girls & I were hot & tired so we sat in the shade while everyone else toured the humongous sight :-)

After this last stop we all piled back onto the bus for the return journey ~ most of us feel asleep on the way. Then we stumbled back to our hotel rooms in hopes of getting a good nights sleep because Monday was a day for swimming, eating, and more swimming ~ well, Cathy & Kevin also worked in a massage each.