When I was 8 years old, I read a book about the famous archaeologist Howard Carter and how he discovered King Tutankhamen's tomb. Ever since then, I have I wanted to go to Egypt and see the Valley of the Kings for myself. And, after 55 years, that dream finally came true this past October. It was a grand and glorious trip. We saw all the wonders of ancient Egypt, cruised the Nile on a dahabiyah for four nights, ate well and had a great time.
But, the tomb of Tutankhamen was actually not all that impressive. It was small and crowded and the designs were just painted on the wall rather than carved into the stone and then painted like the other tombs. And aside from his mummy in a glass case, there was nothing else in the tomb.
Going inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza was also somewhat disappointing. First, it is about 100 deg. inside, and for about the first 100 feet you are climbing through a tunnel angled up at about 30 degrees. It is roughly 3 feet by 4 feet, so you are hunched over the whole time, nose to tail with the people ahead and behind while squeezing past sweaty people coming the other way. After awhile, you reach the grand gallery, which is tall enough to stand up, but still only about 3 feet wide with a press of people coming the other way. And your reward is the King's Chamber, which is plain stone room completely devoid of any decoration whatsoever. No paintings, no hieroglyphics, no nothing.
I will say that those were only minor disappointments, and I'm still glad we went.
