This was Jose’s last Friday with us before he leaves for Aswan, so we decided to do something different and take off in one of the hot air balloons that fly over Luxor every morning!
Jose, Jaume, David, Reed, Carmen, Iria and Bea woke up even earlier than usual to enjoy the Theban mountains from the sky. However, the wind had other plans.
The balloon crew warned that it was possible that the trip would have to be cancelled if the wind did not slow down. The team waited for two hours but the situation only got worse. The wind was blowing harder and finally, the ride was cancelled.
Faced with this setback, the team looked for an alternative plan. Some of Mohamed’s students, who are beginning their studies in Egyptology, came to visit him. Therefore, what better place to visit than Deir el-Medina?
Carlos and Ella also joined the group and all of them went to one of the most amazing sites in ancient Egypt. They visited the tombs of Sennedjem, Pashedu, Ankher and Nakhtamun where Carlos explained the most important features of the epigraphy and the funerary world of those tombs. Iria explained the history of the site and some of the most significant domestic structures of the settlement. They also explored the Hathoric Temple and the great pit where hundreds of ostraca were found in the 1930’s.
Later, Reed, Bea, Mohamed and his students visited the Ramesseum. They were lucky because it was lunch time and there were not many tourist, so they enjoyed the temple as its best.
The day ended with almost the whole team playing cards. However, it was so windy that we had to have dinner inside the Marsam. Hopefully, the wind tomorrow will allow us to work without too many problems!
