Valley of the Nobles (Tombs of the Nobles) Tours and Tickets

I arrived in Luxor with a group of 20 fellow travellers in which I was free to join them in visiting the Valley of the Kings the next day. However, I choose for the Valley of Queens instead which is one of the reasons for having booked the Luxor West Bank Valley of Queens tour. In royal tombs you can usally see a funeral of the deceased king as well as his trip to the afterlife. The Valley of Queens is less in mind, therefore out of sight for the majority of travellers visting Luxor. Still, it deserved my attention because in here the tomb of Queen Nefertari is located and said to have the most beautiful wall paintings in Egypt. Note that the Nefertari tomb visit is not included to this Luxor West Bank tour. I have purchased this ticket separately through the travel agency. Despite the high ticket price and 10 minute limit it was well worth the visit! The tomb is a beautiful display of Nefertari’s journey to the afterlife. Mind-blowing bright colored paintings! Thanks to Mohamed of Far And Beyond Travel for his assistance in purchasing the Nefertari Tomb ticket prior to my visit. I was also interested in people’s day-to-day life such as agriculture, hunting, craftmanship, get-togethers etcetera. That is what I hoped to see on the wall paintings within those smaller tombs in the Valley of the Artisans as well as the Valley of the Nobles. This is where my guide Hassan came in. Before entering the tombs he explained to me the function of tombs regarding the concept of resurrection. As the sun as well as the moon can set and rise through the sky Godess of Nut people pass away and expected to rise one day. That is why the body needs to be preserved and stored as a mummy in a tomb. Hassan lives at the West Bank. It has been a privilege for me to hear such stories from a very local person in my case. From Hassan’s point of view I was his guest taking a deep dive into ancient Egypt with a nice cup of coffee in our hand! We felt a mutual connection in our interest for the stories of Egypt. After each ‘’lecture’’ Hassan gave me free time to visit the actual tomb. It all worked out well for me. I want to thank Hassan for making this particular tour pleasant experience! Hassan’s colleague Omar has driven me around in a nice air-conditioned Lexus SUV. We picked up Hassan first and talked shop on our way between the different valleys. Omar is a is a talkative and considerate persoon. I want to thank him for the soft music in the car which is very relaxing. The lunch, which is included to this tour, in Malkata house was delicious. I enjoyed the local cuisine once again.