Next on our agenda is this temple built by Egypt's only female King. Long story here, but she was probably one of the smartest of all the pharaohs and ruled for for over 20 prosperous years.
This temple is so huge, it is hard to demonstrate its size with a photograph. Look at the ramp and the people on it.
Indeed all of her likeness show her as a man.
I didn't want to include this in the blog, but the gals insisted.
At the beginning of her reign she was opposed by many in her government, so she went about to convince a few highly placed officials and the common Egyptian that she was "their man", this overwhelming approval gave her the support she needed to rule effectively. She was rightfully fearful that when she died she would not be buried in the Valley of the Kings, behind her temple on the other side of the mountain. As she ruled, she had her workers secretly dig through the mountain from the Valley of the Kings to the back of her palace so she could be taken directly to her burial site in the Valley of the Kings. Alas, the tunnel was never completed and they had to transport her over land. And, her tomb was plundered like all the rest of the pharaohs.
Our final trip was to the "worker's village". No tour busses here. But very interesting. They uncovered the remains of where many of the artisans and workers for the king lived. Probably equivalent to our middle class today. They uncovered dormitories as well as homes for families. They had bedrooms, kitchens, and bathrooms. Also, under some of the homes were tombs for the men who lived there. Two have been restored. Although very small in size in comparison to the pharaoh's tombs, they were still as beautiful. Indeed, these were to tombs of the artist's who decorated the pharaoh's tombs, why would they not do as nice a job on their own tombs! Again, no photos inside, but this is a picture of the recently excavated town.
Finally, we had to bid farewell to our traveling buddy, Laura. She is moving on to Deheb tonight. What we haven't mentioned yet is that we kept calling her Julie for the last three days. For those of you who have been at Twain Harte Dental for a few years, you will know why. She is Julie's lost sister and other daughter Margaret never told us about! Even her mannerisms and voice were identical to Julie's.
She is twenty, and as I mentioned before, a student at NYU. She is currently finishing a semester in Prague. This summer she was in a small town in Namibia starting her own non-profit to build a library. Her major is Music Business and once she gets her BA and law degree, she will be ready to tackle show business in either New York or Los Angeles. Good luck Julie, huh Laura!
