Good morning guys, I'm here in Luxor, Egypt, it's about
4:30, 5:00 in the morning, and today we're starting the day on a hot air balloon.
Here we go!
Okay my friends, landing position now. Okay, landing!
Stand up but stay in the basket please. Thank you!
Anyone leaves the basket now, the balloon goes up without control.
It lands somewhere different every time. Now here comes the crew.
Thank you!
Alright, that's it! That was awesome. Amazing views of all the temples. So if you're in Luxor,
try the hot air balloon so you can get some unique views. I tried to take the drone into Egypt,
but it was not allowed. So I had to get creative, and this was a best way to get those views.
Alright, we're on our way to the Valley of the Kings. Wow, look at the scenery here.
So we are going to the Valley of the Kings, and this is a great tour guide, Mahmoud, and Omran,
driving us today. Thank you guys. So we're gonna go check out the Valley of the Kings,
and then see what we find. Here we go!
Alright, it's like-- what time is it? 7:45 in the morning. And there's hardly anyone here.
So all those parts of the mountains and the rock areas, maybe if we dig, someday I mean, we will discover
tombs or shrines for any persons. There's so much more! Yes. If you look from here,
the mountain over there, it is like a pyramid. Because all the tombs,
all the burial chambers, under one pyramid. Wow. The idea and the concept of the pyramid
never stopped there. From the old kingdom, around 2,800 B.C., till the end of the Greek and Roman period.
And out here is different than the east bank. Everything was closer together.
This, you have to take the little train to get around. And how many tombs are here?
65 in the Valley of the Kings.... After the last discoveries.
So this is the natural pyramid. The natural pyramid. All the tombs here are buried
under one pyramid shape. That means all the rulers, everybody, everyone, buried under
this pyramid shape will be resurrected and reappear again. And they used the natural pyramid, you know,
the mountain, instead of building one, so that they could hide it better from the robbers. Correct.
Yeah. Man. So, so many of the pyramids here have been looted by people, like throughout,
you know, thousands of years. That's pretty interesting. Wow this one is? King Ramesses II.
Okay, King Ramesses II. But his tomb is in very bad condition.
Oh really? It's under restoration from a long time ago. It will be not open again, ever.
Really? Because it's very bad condition, and the mountain, and the materials inside, and the
conditions is not very well. But it's very important to stop in front of this
great king's tomb. The king Ramesses II, the most famous pharaoh ever in ancient Egyptian history.
And so, was was Luxor the the ancient capital, or was it Cairo?
It's different. From the old kingdom period, Cairo. New kingdom period, Luxor. Like this.
So here's the tomb of Tukankhamun?
Also known in America as King Tut. But Mahmoud was just telling me that--
But Mahmoud was just telling me that it's not the best tomb to visit actually, because it
was so famous for the treasures and stuff that were in there, and now they're all gone. They're
all in museums and stuff, like in Cairo. So we're gonna go check out ones that are more interesting.
Alright. So I'm going into the first tomb. It's Ramesses III. Now they have better security
than they did back in the day. And this one apparently has the best art. The best preserved
art. So check out the colors. All original. And they don't add anything, they only clear away dust.
Wow. So that was really cool. But video is not totally allowed inside, so
I'm going to do the best I can, and take some pictures, but uh.... And videos! Yeah, and videos.
Hopefully! Yeah, the kings build their own tombs while they're alive, you know, for themselves.
How long does it take them to build the tombs you think, usually? From the first day they became ruler of Egypt, until he died.
Just their whole life, they're building it. Wow. And a lot of them, they don't complete the tombs. No, no, no.
Wow, this one is enormous! And I'm for some reason not supposed to narrate
my videos, so I'm going to try to talk quietly. Even the ceiling has stuff. Wow.
Good morning. Welcome. Thank you. Where from? New York. Welcome, welcome, my friend to Egypt.
This is where the tomb was? Yes, tomb.
So, just so you guys know, the way this works here, I'm quickly learning, is
there's a guy that works at every entrance, to every tomb. And they're not supposed to
let you take video or something, and then they basically say, like, "Okay, fine, it's okay for you."
And they take your camera, they try to take your cell phone and take pictures of you,
and they let you into a "secret area" that like, is over the barrier of where you're supposed to go.
And then they say, "Don't tell your guide, it's secret, secret!" And they act like the guide doesn't
know. Of course, it all ends with you having to give them money. So if you come here, I'd recommend
you bring some very, like, a lot of small change. Or just tell them, "I don't want any help with pictures
or anything." Otherwise you're gonna end up giving out a lot of money. So, take small bills, like five
and ten pounds. Alright so this one is a little bit different than the other ones. It's gonna be
not as colorful, but it's gonna be one of the deepest tombs. So I'm gonna go in and check it out.
Wow, this one goes down so far.
Okay.... This is the special permission. Secret. Secret. Okay.
Wow! So sometimes it's worth it to give the baksheesh, the tip,
if you get a cool view like this. Wow.
Alright guys. That was quite the hike to get out of there, to be honest.
The deep tomb. I lost the sweatshirt. It's crazy how hot it gets here during the day, and how cold
it gets at night. And like, early morning, when I went on the hot air balloon, it was so cold....
Now it's really hot. Alright, I'm riding shotgun on the train on the way back down. Thank you.
So we just finished Valley of the Kings, and now we're going onward.
We're approaching the, uh.... how do you say it? Hatshepsut temple. Hatshepsut temple. Wow, it's amazing!
Wow. How old was this? Three and a half thousand years old.
Yeah, there's tombs on either side here. You can see in the mountains there,
and there. And they're just all around. It's crazy. And they're for the noble
people. They're not quite as grand as the ones for the kings and the pharaohs,
but they still get a nice tomb. Now we're approaching uh... (Still can't pronounce it) ....the temple here.
I can't believe they built all this. It's unbelievable.
Wow. Look at this, just carved into the side of a mountain. It's crazy! Such amazing scenery.
Oh my gosh. And this was all made for one person!
So I think this is my favorite one so far. It's pretty spectacular.
Just because of where it is, like with the mountains. Check that out.
You got the whole city behind me. No one around out here, guys. It's just wild.
So we're going to one more place, here on the west bank of Luxor.
We have arrived. Yalla! Habu temple here. Beautiful.
So check that scene out, guys. That's the king with a huge knife, a huge sword, and he's about to execute
the enemies, which are the Syrians. Look at that. Wow. Another cool scene here. Check this out. They're
coming home from war, and they're presenting to the king, the hands of their enemies that
they have killed, and also the tongues of the enemies. Can you see that? Pretty good!
Alright guys, that's the end of the tour of the west bank over here. I'm
on a boat as I speak, heading back to the east bank, where my hotel is
located. I'm gonna go find my friend Azzam. Sadly, he's leaving me tonight,
going back to Cairo for university. So I'll be on my own for the rest of the trip.
Did you guys like this video? Do you like tours like this, and videos like this? Let me know
in the comments. And if you did like it, don't forget to subscribe. And if you didn't like it,
still subscribe please. I'd appreciate it. Alright, thank you guys, and I'll see you next time. Bye-bye.