Egypt: Valley Of The Kings

A morning tour of the West Bank brings you to the Valley of the Kings made famous in 1922 by the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun by Howard Carter. The Egyptian belief that "To speak the name of the dead is to make him live again" is certainly carried out in the building of the tombs. The king's formal names and titles are inscribed in his tomb along with his images and statues.

Beginning with the 18th Dynasty and ending with the 20th, the kings abandoned the Memphis area and built their tombs in Thebes (Luxor). Also abandoned were the pyramid style tombs. Most of the tombs were cut into the limestone following a similar pattern: three corridors, an antechamber and a sunken sarcophagus chamber. These catacombs were harder to rob and were more easily concealed. Construction usually lasted six years, beginning with the new reign. The text in the tombs are from the Book of the Dead, the Book of the Gates and the Book of the Underworld.

Your guide will interpret the tales of brightly coloured wall paintings in these fascinating tombs. Why not take a hot air balloon flight to fully appreciate the landscapes of the Nile Valley? Many of our Egypt holidays visit The Valley of the Kings, but below are some of the most popular.