POTD: The Valley of the Kings

From 2019 11 22 Valley of the Kings

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. It's across the Nile River from Luxor. Whereas Luxor itself was splendid with magnificent temples, the Valley of the Kings was deliberately underwhelming. The pyramids far to the north had all been ransacked by grave robbers in previous centuries, so later pharaohs tried to protect their tombs by digging deep into the mountains, then covering up the entrances to hide them from future grave robbers. (Spoiler: it didn't work, with one notable exception, but more on that later.) Today, tourists can walk into the valley, but other than some uncovered tomb entrances, there's nothing to see to suggest the magnificent displays deep inside.

Bonus photo after the jump.

---

Tomb of Rameses IV (died 1149 BC)

From 2019 11 22 Valley of the Kings