17 March 2000 (morning)

After our tour of Deir el-Medina village, Bill and Nancy offer us an Egyptonerd’s dream: a chance to walk over the cliffs to the Valley of the Kings on the same trail used by the tomb builders.

Setting out on the trail from Deir el-Medina to Valley of the Kings

al-Gurn: the horn. A “pyramid” above the Valley of the Kings.

We start from the ruins on a steep ascent and it isn’t long before we’re high enough for breathtaking views, including al-Gurn — “the horn” — a pyramid-shaped mountain that dominates the skyline. Egyptologists have long speculated that the Valley of the Kings was selected because of its proximity to al-Gurn. I guess it’s possible, although since I’m an Old Kingdom kind of girl it doesn’t do much to increase my respect for New Kingdom royals. If you want a pyramid, be a man and go build one!

After the “Luxor Massacre” (slaying of 62 people at Deir el-Bahri) three years ago, the government stepped up security. They’re building new guard stations above us, endless white slashes of stairs leading up to them across the tawny slopes. It’s comforting, I suppose, to know eyes are watching from a safe distance. The Deir el-Bahri murderers killed four Egyptian guards before they could summon help, and it took 45 minutes for first responders to arrive on the scene.

I can hardly believe I’m walking in the footsteps of the ancients, although it shouldn’t be that difficult to imagine since we’re accompanied every step of the way by their descendants.

Bill introduces us to two young men who are great-grandsons of Ahmed el-Rassul, the infamous tomb robber who discovered the royal mummy cache, first revealed to the world in 1881. The fake scarabs, ushabtis, and whatnot that they’re selling are quite nice, and their family connection makes the items all the more intriguing, but it’s tricky to walk the edge of a sheer five hundred foot cliff and haggle at the same time, so I politely decline. Not that it stops them from continuing to try with others in our group. They persist to the point that Bill gets upset with them and puts a firm end to the whole business.

Probable entrance to a tomb

Then Bill tells us of a long-standing rumor that Ahmed el-Rassul had a private “stash,” but died before he could show the spot, so I spend the rest of the hike scouring the landscape with my eagle eyes, sure I’ll be the one to notice the hidden opening that thousands before me have missed. Even as I’m looking, Bill points out a “well” at the base of a cliff face that’s most likely the entrance to a tomb.

Above Hatshepsut’s temple

We pass above Deir el-Bahri and look down on Hatshepsut’s temple, which we’ll visit later today. The temple is in the midst of extensive reconstruction. We can see some behind-the-scenes staging, plus the huge storage areas off to the sides where the blocks are set out in neat rows, waiting to be restored to their proper place.

Then at last we approach the Valley of the Kings. From our high vantage point it looks exactly as it’s always described in books: stark and hot. There isn’t so much as  a weed in evidence and the rock is blindingly white, tempered in only in a few places by a dusting of small black pebbles.

The descent into the valley is the hardest part of the trail. It’s extremely steep and there’s a lot of loose, slippery limestone debris underfoot, and no hand holds. We all make it safely, however, and then it sinks in: we are surrounded by royal tombs, and while the tidy retaining walls at their entrances and the paved paths connecting them counteract the romance to a certain degree, my brain is on fire with excitement as we make our way to Tomb 35, resting place of Amenhotep II.

Looking down into the Valley of the Kings