The Dead of Thebes (Luxor)

Today I took a tour of the west bank of Luxor, once known as Thebes, again with a great small group of people. Places visited:
Colossi of Memnon, Valley of the Kings (tombs of Ramses IV, Ramses VI, Ramses I), Valley of the Queens (tombs Khaemwaset [44], Titi [52], and Amunherkhepshef [55]) and Deir al-Bahri (Temple of Hatshepsut).

You know, watching some of the public television shows and seeing the experts wander around and work in these places I've always wondered what it would be like to walk in the same places as they've walked. Now I know! And can I just say? It just gets more and more incredible. In a previous blog, I had mentioned that it was a shame that not more of the color has survived because what little I saw, in my opinion, added more dimensions, richness and details. Well, that became so much clearer in all the places that I visited today for so much more color was extant here. AMAZING, FABULOUS, JUST SO DAMNED INCREDIBLE!!! One is able to see the different types of clothing that different persons, whether priests, royalty or god(dess) wore and the colors that the ancient peoples attributed to them. Yellow, blue, red, black, red, white - all painted on. They are mixtures of ground up stones and minerals with egg. Malachite, lapis lazuli, iron oxide, limestone, carbon, alabaster. The details are so fine and precise. So accurate. Since I can never do this justice with words, here are some links with pictures (not complete but to give you an idea):

http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/egypt/thebes/colossi/colossi.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/explore/memnon.html
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/ramessesvit.htm
http://touregypt.net/featurestories/ramessesi.htm
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/khaemwasett.htm
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/Amenherkhepshef.htm
http://www.molon.de/galleries/Egypt/Luxor/Hatshepsut/

So. My mantra for Egypt thus far is ... Wow!...