Cheerful Egyptian in the tomb of the pharaoh

The Valley of the Kings

a couple of snapshots and remarks

The Valley of the Kings: Showing photos of Luxor & Co, especially panorama or the well-known murals, doesn’t make much sense. We know them and the internet is of course full of them. I would therefore like to show a few detailed shots that are less well-known or that are easily overlooked. Of course, it is always our mindset that decides what we let through our eyeballs. This of course also applies to my last post about stones and sand.

So first a few photos of the Valley of the Kings.


Even if I knew hieroglyphs as photos and from an earlier trip, I had never realized how infinitely beautiful, detailed, and artistic many are. And they were crafted more than 3000 years ago.

details of Egyptian hieroglyphs
Although I’m only a Hobby-Egyptologist, I’ve managed to decipher the menu of pharaoh Ramses V – at least I think so 🙂

And how do you get such a radiant smile in a photo like the one below? With a secrete Egyptian magic word that probably already showed its magical power in the time of the pharaohs: بخشش Baksheesh

Cheerful Egyptian in the tomb of the pharaoh

And this magic can bring you to a room which visitors don’t generally get to see – where the dead pharaohs were mummified.

room for the embalming of Egyptian kings
Head and Feet of Tutankhamun

And how could it be otherwise, when I left Pahrao Tutankhamun’s tomb, he meets me again on the wooden staircase that leads outside.

the hidden Pharao face

A few more details that really impressed me.

Egyptian mural with portrait
part of a mural in Luxor, Egypt
details of Egyptian hieroglyphs
Moldings and edges are also of impressive craftsmanship.


Also, I hadn’t noticed on my previous visit that some passages are quite abstract, bordering on surreal – almost extraterrestrial in touch.

surreal mural on the tomb of the pharaoh

It is in the nature of things that, as someone who also tries to paint, I look at pictures like the following from a different perspective. How would I have done it? How would I have represented the period of time when the soul leaves the slowly striving body and embarks on the long journey into the unknown? How would I have represented the farewell? Would I even have come close to what these experts recognized more than 3000 years ago and implemented in the picture?

part of a mural in Luxor
part of a mural in Luxor
ceiling of an Egyptian tomb
detail of a ceiling painting of a tomb

on the road

The people here are very friendly and I don’t just mean the hotel staff. When we took a short break on the way to the Valley of the Kings because the driver got us cigarettes, this boy came straight away and brought me two bananas.

photo on the way to Luxor

The trip back was even more spectacular. It was Ramadan and since evening had fallen, groups of Egyptians, from young to old, were standing for many kilometers and handed water bottles, fruit, and even whole packages of food through the car window. Even to me, as a non-Muslim. Or they invited to dinner.

photo of an Egyptian fire eater
Egyptian fire eater in Safaga
a slogan in perfect Arablish on wall
and finally a slogan in perfect Arablish 😎

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Comments

39 responses to “The Valley of the Kings”

  1. Listeningears avatar

    This pictures are really detailed 💯

    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar

      Thank you so much! Yes, there is so much to discover there. However, you need time and relaxed viewing….

  2. luisa zambrotta avatar

    What a wonderful post and what fantastic images!
    I appreciated them even more because they gave new life to the trip I made to Egypt last fall

    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar

      Dear Luisa, thank you very much! I remember you mentioning your vacation in Egypt last year. The choice of details was well thought to refresh your memories 🙂 Though one couldn’t erase the memories of such a remarkable place anyway 🙂

      1. luisa zambrotta avatar

        Thank you again for your beautiful reply, dear friend 😘
        Wishing you a happy day!

  3. swabby429 avatar

    Thank you for sharing these profound images. They trigger the imagination with speculation about life in the ancient world. In a different life, I would be an archeologist.

    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar

      I thank you! Yes, in a different life – me too…. But first I would need to choose rich parents:) That’s what an archaeologist professor once old me 😎

      1. swabby429 avatar

        I’ve heard the rich family statement, too.

  4. The Sicilian Storyteller avatar

    Fabulous post, Friedrich! I find all this so fascinating.

    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar

      Thank you for your encouraging words! So much to see there – but we all know this…..

      1. The Sicilian Storyteller avatar

        Funny how World Music in The Rhythm Section was all about Egypt today as well.

      2. Zettl Fine Arts avatar

        The universal spirit 😎❤️🌴🌼

  5. Rosaliene Bacchus avatar

    Thanks for the close-up photos that I’ve rarely seen.

    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar

      Thank you very much! I am happy to hear this. I should have posted more.,

  6. Mike and Kellye Hefner avatar

    These are just fabulous, Fred! Egypt is very high on my “to visit” list and has been since I was a teenager. I so enjoyed seeing this through your eyes and words.

    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar

      Thank you so much, Mike! I am glad you found this posting informativ. Yes, I do think that a trip to Egypt is something special. As always good planning helps a lot. But even in a standard tour one would come back with deep impressions.

      1. Mike and Kellye Hefner avatar

        Someday we hope to get there.

      2. Zettl Fine Arts avatar

        Good luck! I was surprised how cheap this trip was. That’s because it was pre-season. Which was what I wanted as it’s too hot in summer. But it was warm enough, 31 degrees but cooler in the morning and evening.

  7. Renee Espriu avatar

    Amazing photos all and I am certain a trip you will never forget. I believe Egypt to be of ancient history that one can never fully understand for it, like most history, is both laden with war and beauty. I love hieroglyphs and as they are a…snapshot of sorts of those brief moments in time that give a window into a time in the distant past and how people lived…. Well, they are all the more telling and poignant. Thank you for sharing places I will never travel to but wonder at nonetheless.

    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar

      Thank you once again, Renee! My favourite part of our planet are Asian countries. But ancient cultures generally fascinate me. I wonder if I should introduce my Cambodia photos. But that’s maybe off topic. Enjoy your day 🌹

  8. Edith avatar

    Du Lieber, glaubs, ich habe mich erwischt beim Anschauen, dass ich vergaß zu atmen. Sehr beeindruckend! Und ich danke dir so viel mehr dafür, dass du deine Eindrücke mit uns teilst, denn, ich gehöre zu den Menschen, die solch Faszinierendes nur von Bildern kennen und ich auch nicht mehr dort hin kommen werde.Es gehen Gedanken durch den Kopf – hier reicht oft ein dicker Schneefall, ein gar nicht mal so großer Sturm und alles Gebaute stürzt ein. Das Gezeigte und überhaupt so viel mehr noch überdauerten Jahrtausende.Und alles nur mit Händen und Geist gebaut und gestaltet. Ich werde noch ein paar mal mehr dies alles hier betrachten, du weißt, ich brauche dafür länger, weil einem Details immer erst so nach und nach deutlich werden. Und diesem Pharao im Treppenholz zu begegnen, grenzt schon an ein Wunder…
    Danke, lieber Friedrich, für deine Eindrücke, die in meiner Tiefe angekommen sind.
    Herzlichst, Edith

    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar

      Danke vielmals! Nun ist es an mir sprachlos zu sein bzw. wieder ans Atmen zu denken, ob Deines ueberschwenglichen Lobes. Es freut mich nicht nur sehr, dass Dir dieses Schnappschuesse gefallen, vor allem aber, dass Du dem geschichtlichen Aspekt Bedeutung schenkst. Allzu leicht glauben wir ja heute, dass wir die Weisheit mit Loeffeln gefressen haben – um dann draufzukommen, dass man in bestimmten Bereichen vor 3000 Jahren weiter war 🙂 Ich wuensche Dir einen wunderschoenen Tagl 🙂

      1. Edith avatar

        Nur schade, dass si h daran nicht orientiert wird. Was das Jetzige kaputt macht ist dieses Höher, Besser, Schneller, Ichbinwichtigergehabe. Ich hoffe, dass deine Kunst, vielleicht meine Gedichte auch, etwas Bleibendes in sich trägt. Machen wir weiter, bleiben wir uns wichtig…
        Ganz lieb, Edith ❤

      2. Zettl Fine Arts avatar

        Wie recht Du hast 😎 Deine Gedichte bleiben. Zum anderen Teil Deine Antwort werde ich am 22.04. posten: Ego versus Selbst aus Sicht des Daoismus. LG f

  9. leo f. brady avatar

    Very Interesting!
    Thanks;-)

  10. Dominik Alexander avatar

    Thanks for those details, esp. the fire eater. Somehow, the fire looks like some Chinese calligraphy, don’t you think? Sometimes, I still regret not to have taken more photos from the sandstone details in Wadi Rum and Petra when I was in Jordan in 2006. Hopefully, I can be there again. And, of course, Egypt. The people in the Near East share something really humbling: hospitality with the best tea on Earth!

    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar

      Many thanks! Yes, that with the fire eater was intended! Petra is an old dream of mine and will probably remain so! Yes, the hospitality is stunning and thought-provoking. However: I didn’t get any good tea! Instant sachets only…..

  11. graham mcquade avatar

    And so much stunning artwork locked away with the dead in the belief that it would help the eviscerated corpse in its “journey”

    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar

      Thanks, Graham! Yes, it’s a fascinating culture and we still come across something new.

  12. rose avatar
    rose

    Friedrich,this are not snapshots,, this are great pictures seen by the eye of an excellent painter.Was tree times in egypt, and cannot get enough of this country,
    wish you in next life a very rich family for extended studies ….

    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar

      Thank you very much 🙏😊 Yes, Egypt is a great destination for travel. 🙏☀️🌹

  13. Zettl Fine Arts avatar

    Thank you, Rose🌹3 times definitely is not enough! And then there is Angkor Wat and Petra…..I recently read an article that by 2030 science will be able to make us immortal. And then….!!!!

  14. iGaming Informer avatar

    Egypt is my dream land….one day i will visit…..much love from Kenya.

    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar

      Kenya! This is where I would like to go. Well,….Thanks a lot! ☀️🙏

  15. iGaming Informer avatar

    I love Egypt

    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar

      Thank you very much!

  16. Cindy Georgakas avatar

    Thank you for sharing this wonderful adventure. Your photos are incredible and the people are so endearing Fredrick! 💕

    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar

      Many thanks, Cindy, for your kind words! 💕

      1. Cindy Georgakas avatar

        You’re so very welcome Fredrick! 💞

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