Temples and tombs

I think the look on my face in the picture at left captures all the awe and delight that I felt on our recent trip to Egypt.

The temples at Luxor and Karnak, Edfu and Abu Simbel were all simply amazing and breath-taking.  One of my most vivid memories, though, is of this crypt in the Temple of Hathor at Dendera.  To reach this crypt, you had to climb down a very steep stairway, and then double yourself over at the bottom of the stairs to half crawl, half wiggle through a small opening to emerge in a dimly lit space.  The hieroglyphics on the walls are spectacularly detailed.  On many of them the original colors are still visible.  This is the closest I came to feeling like Howard Carter discovering King Tut's long-lost tomb.

King Tutankhamen

Speaking of which, we did indeed get to view King Tuttankhamen's treasures at the Cairo Egyptian Museum.  We were also able to view King Tut's tomb and mummy at the Valley of the Kings.  When you see the treasures and think of the fact that King Tut was really only a minor Pharaoah, you can only imagine what treasures were stored in the Great Pyramids that were ultimately plundered and robbed.