The valley of the Kings
                                  Biban el-Muluk

The "Valley of the Kings" runs directly into a mountain range near Thebes, where a mountain peak forms a natural pyramid. The valley derives ifs name from the stunning carved tombs of the pharaohs of the 18th,19th and 20th dynasty. These royal tombs, some carved some 200 meters into the mountain, consist of side chambers, niches, connecting tunnels and a burial chamber. The walls are decorated with scenes from the book of the dead. These scenes portray joy and suffering in the after life.

The belief in an after life drove the ancient Egyptians to go to great lengths to ensure themselves a comfortable after life. As counterpart to their tombs a funeral temple played an important and necessary part of the preparation and fulfillment of the after life. These funeral temples are usually several kilometers from the tomb and located in the Nile valley. The best examples are the temple of Ramesses II. (Ramesseum), Ramesses III. (Medinet Habu) and that of Hatshepsut (Deir el-Bahari).

We can only imagine the great treasures, which were meant to accompany these great kings in the after life. The discovery of the tomb of the rather unimportant king. Tutankamun gives us a small hint as to the treasures, which were to be enjoyed by the pharaohs in the after life. Most of these tombs were opened and plundered in ancient times, leaving only the royal mummy. In the 19th century an archeologist discovered a tomb, where many of these royal mummies had been moved and collectively buried. These royal mummies can be seen at the Egyptian museum in Cairo. The mummy of King Tutankamun is in the Valley of the Kings where it was laid to rest some 3.000 years ago.

Of the 65 discovered tombs only about 10 are really worth visiting.
In chronological order:
Thutmose III. (Nr.34), Amenophis II. (Nr.35), Tutankhamun (Nr.62), Horemheb Nr.57), Ramesses I. (Nr.l6), Sethos I.
(Nr. 17), Merenptah (Nr.8), Ramesses III. (Nr. 11), RamessesVI (Nr.9) and Ramesses IX (Nr.6).

Expect to spend about 4-5 hrs. to visit the Valley of the Kings.

Burial chamber tomb Ramses VI.