Luxor - open tombs and shopping
 

Thanks for all of the postings and travelogs. I have read and printed almost all. A couple of added questions for travel in 2 weeks:
In Valley of Kings, Queens, Nobles, are the tombs accessible if you can't stoop over and walk (bad back and knees)?
Valley Kings- anyone know if KV35 and KV17 are open(Amopnhotep and Sete I)?
Valley of Queens/Nobles - tombs open?
Since can't take pictures, are they good books or postcards or do you rely on books at home?
Are there books available that have the acetate overlays that show what the temples used to look like? loved the ones in Greece.
Is it worth searching out bed sheets of Egyptian cotton - better than at home? any ideas of where to shop?
If travelers have names of shops/stores to get good papyrus and museum quality reproductions(one of the reply's mentioned one but didn't give name/where in Cairo.
Any and all other ideas and suggestions very very welcome - also LOVE jewelry. We are going on a GCT tour-Cairo and Nile -15 days. Thank you!!!!

tombs are easy to walk into, no stooping to enter or get through.
Than and now books are optainable for eqypt, but not to be found everywhere.buy them when you see them.Have no fear, your guide will take you to papyrus shops, at least you will be getting the real thing.

If I recall, the only place one walks stooped over is in the Great Pyramid in Giza.

We didn't find any of the tombs open in VofKQ, most were slopped downwards, once inside it was easy to walk around. There are a few tombs into which you have climb down a ladder; don't recall which, but if adventurous enough (I wasn't, but friend did) the tomb is a beauty. And there is another, again don't recall which, that you have a very long stairway up before entering the tomb.

I believe work is still being done on KV35, so I wouldn't thing there is any access. Not familiar with KV17. Your guide will be able to take you to one or two as part of the tour, then you have about an hour or so on your own to discover others. In all honesty, this extra time isn't sufficient... the area is way to big, that even days wouldn't be sufficient.

Besides, it gets very hot by 9am. Your tour here will get you to the site early, often by 6am, or late afternoon when the temps may go down. Every tour is different, so only GCT can advise which tombs they visit. If you have a day of leisure to yourself, maybe you can venture forth on your own whether just the VofK or also VofQ.

We were able to take photos in the tombs, by buying a photo ticket before entering (very inexpensive, maybe $1), but it's limited to photos in only 3-tombs. The guard punches the ticket, so they know whether you're cheating. It's possible the procedure has changed and there is now no photo taking allowed... you'll find out when you get there.

And, as I recall, if you are found taking photos and don't have a ticket or you have used your allowance, the guards will take your camera, so be careful.

There was a thread or post on this board sometime back about Egyptian cotton sheets. If you do a search in the box on the top of this board, entering "egyptian sheets" the threads containing infomation will appear in the left column. But remember, if you do consider purchasing sheets - they are heavy and may bring you over weight limits for your flights. If you're in the US, there are excellent Egyptian cotton sheets available at may places at very reasonable prices... even on QVC or HSN.

When it comes to buying papyrus, unless you want to buy some as gifts for others, avoid those sold in plastic sleeves with lots of gold on them. These are banana leaf and not real papyrus. There are many shops in Cairo that sell real papyrus or at the Khan el Khalili Bazaar (better prices, with some bargaining) where these can be purchased.

Likewise, your guide will take you to jewelry stores where you can purchase jewelry, or again from shops at the bazaar.

Happy travels.

There is a new forum to post to: www.luxor4u.com. click on the forum section and ask your questions there.

We just returned from Egypt in November. To answer your questions, some of the tombs you walk right in, there was one (Ramses, I believe) that was very steep and hard to get into and out of. They alternate what tombs are open at the Valley of the Kings, so you never know which ones will be open until you get there. The Valley of the Queens is closed indefinitely (although our tour guide said for approximately $5000 you can get the Department of Antiquities to open it!) You are not allowed to take pictures inside the tombs, they even take your camera from you at Tut's tomb. They rip the corner of your ticket so that they know how many tombs you have visited (3 maximum) not for pictures. Maybe if you bribe an Antiquities Police Office (which is possible) you can take pictures, but I didn't even see that. I bought one of the books you're talking about at Karnak Temple.

We were in Luxor for a week at the end of November. In the Valley of the Queens, 3 tombs are open--Khaemwaset, Amenherkhepeshet, and Titi. Nefertari's tomb is closed. At Deir El Medina, the Workers' Village, 3 tombs are open--Anherkhau, Sennedjem, and Peshedu. At el-Qurna, Tombs of the Nobles, 7 tombs are open--Nakht, Menna, Rekhmira, Sennefer, Ramose, Userhet, Khaemhat. The tombs that are open in Valley of the Kings varies, but at least 8 or 9 will be open. Make a list from 1 to 10 and pick what's open. Except for the King's Tombs, you could count on one hand the number of fellow tourists.

If time permits, both the temples of Rameses III, (Medinet Habu), and Ramesseum, (Rameses II), are must sees. We were not with a tour but had our own driver, so we were not stuck wasting time at Alabaster, Papyrus, Carpet, or Perfume "Museums".

Heat will NOT be a factor in January. At the end of November, it was quite pleasant. At any of the sites, 11:30 to 1:30 were devinely empty (lunch time). No photos are allowed inside the tombs, but books are plentiful.
Also the Luxor Museum is a treasure. Wonderful displays in a beautiful modern building.