Thursday, April 13, 2006

Al-Qurn, "the Horn and the Valley of the Kings


Al-Qurn, "the Horn and the Valley of the Kings
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

With the Old Kingdom in ancient Egypt, pharoahs were buried in pyramids, but with the Middle and New Kingdoms, pharoahs were buried in hidden tombs in the Valley of the Kings, on the western banks of the Nile. The west, where the sunset, was considered closer to the underworld, and with this great natural pyramidal peak of Al-Qurn, they didn't need to built a pyramid. There are some 68 tombs discovered so far in the valley, but all of them were robbed, including the tomb of King Tutankhamon, but his was still in the best condition as the graverobbers only stole perfumes. A new tomb was just discovered six weeks prior to my visit.

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