The Treasures of Luxor and the Valley of the Kings (Art Guides) [Turtleback]

I actually live in Luxor and guide people round the sites myself so for me to buy a guide book it has to be good. This one is.

It is not a Lonely Planet giving you ticket prices and how to get there advice but a comprehensive description of the various sites, their history and what to look for. Each site has a portion on its history followed by a detailed description on visiting the site. It had masses of excellent photographs including ones taken from hot air balloons of the temple sites. There are plans and drawings a plenty detailing what to look for and where.

It has been written as a background read before you go, an onsite guide book and a souvenir to remind you of your visit and it manages to do all of these. There is loads more detail than in the more general guide books. I especially appreciated the description of the house of Sennedjem at Deir El Medina and the walk over the hills. The author Kent Weeks is currently excavating the tomb of the sons of Rameses II KV5 and is part of the Theban Mapping project so it has a lot of material from there.

My only criticism would be its lack of price information and that it doesn’t take account of how tickets are sold. Example the Nobles tombs are grouped historically but the tickets are sold by location. But as a fully detailed explanation of the sites of Luxor it can not be beaten and the photographic record is fantastic.

As a pictoral guide and introduction to all the sites it's superb. Lots of information jammed into the long and narrow pages. Wonderfully colourful images. Good place to get an idea of scale of monuments and to begin to explore work of theban mapping project led by the author. The book only has 2 pages on KV5 so if you want detailed info visit the website or buy Kent's other book. Don't expect to get a definitive historical study in this- the information is secondary to the pictures.
Highly Recommended

This guidebook about the ancient monuments in and around Luxor is written by the American archaeologist Kent R. Weeks who has lived and worked in Egypt for many years. Currently he is Professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo and Director of the Theban Mapping Project.

[The book has also been published by the American University in Cairo Press with a different title: "The Illustrated Guide to Luxor: Tombs, Temples, and Museums."]

The book begins with an introduction which presents the geography and the history of ancient Thebes (modern Luxor). There is also a brief section about Egyptian religion and religious festivals. The main text is divided into six chapters. Here is a brief overview:

* Chapter 1 - Monuments of the East Bank
* Chapter 2 - Memorial Temples
* Chapter 3 - The Valley of the Kings
* Chapter 4 - The Valley of the Queens
* Chapter 5 - The Tombs of the Nobles
* Chapter 6 - Temples outside Thebes

The book concludes with a glossary, a bibliography and an index. The book is fully illustrated with beautiful colour photos and useful maps which show the layout of the tombs and the temples.

[If you go to Egypt, you are not allowed to use your camera inside the tombs and the museums. In the book there are photos from these "forbidden" places. These photos are taken by a professional photographer who had a special permit to use his camera in these places.]

The author knows his topic very well. His presentations and explanations are much more extensive than the ones you find in a traditional guidebook which covers all of Egypt. Let me give you a few examples:

* The Temples at Karnak: Lonely Planet's guidebook about Egypt has six pages about this place; while Weeks has 46.

* The Luxor Temple: Lonely Planet has five pages; while Weeks has 20.

* The Memorial Temple for Hatshepsut. Lonely Planet has two pages; while Weeks has 16.

* The tombs of Nefertari and Rameses VI. In each case Lonely Planet has less than one page; while Weeks has 16 about the former and 30 about the latter.

This book is great and not too expensive. I have almost nothing to complain about, but I have to mention two points which bother me:

# 1: On pp. 166-169 we hear about the Memorial Temple of Amenhotep III and the Colossi of Memnon. On page 168 Weeks says: "Both colossi are covered with hundreds of Greek and Latin graffiti left by grateful visitors."

It is good that he mentions the ancient graffiti. But it is a shame that he does not elaborate a bit. There is a lot more to say about this topic. Let me explain:

Two French scholars - André and Etienne Bernand - made a careful study of the two statues more than 50 years ago. They discovered and recorded 107 texts - some very short, some a bit longer, some in Greek, some in Latin. The results of their study can be found in a book published in 1960: "Les inscriptions grecques et latines du colosse de Memnon."

Today, these 107 texts can be found on the internet: "PHI Greek Inscriptions - Colosse de Memnon." In January 2010 André Bernand wrote a brief summary of his old book which was posted on the internet: "Clio - Le Monde du Clio."

In some cases we know who wrote the ancient graffiti. Maybe the most famous author is Julia Balbilla, who was an assistant to Vibia Sabina, who was married to Hadrian, who was emperor 117-138. Together they visited the monument on 30 November 130. The visit took place just a few days after the young man Antinous had drowned in the Nile during mysterious circumstances. Julia wrote four poems which were carved on the right (i.e. the northern) statue. They are published in a book edited by Ian Michael Plant, Women Writers of Ancient Greece and Rome: An Anthology, pp. 151-154.

[Read about Julia Balbilla in this book by Emily Ann Hemelrijk, Matrona Docta Educated Women: Educated Women in the Roman Elite from Cornelia to Julia Domna (Routledge Classical Monographs), pp. 164-170. Read about Hadrian and his visit to the ancient monument in this book by Elisabeth Speller, Following Hadrian: A Second-Century Journey through the Roman Empire, pp. 131-150. Read about Antinous in this book by Royston Lambert, Beloved & God: Story of Hadrian and Antinous (Phoenix Giants).]

# 2: On pp. 540-547 we hear about the Temple of Edfu. On page 540 Weeks says: "For tourists it is the sense of mystery and drama the temple offers that are the big rewards... it is not uncommon that visitors cut short their tour of Edfu because they find its dark and silent interior so evocative of ancient rites that they become unnerved."

This is nonsense. The temple of Edfu is impressive, but there is absolutely no reason to be scared or "unnerved" when you visit this place. I do not understand why a scholar like Weeks would write something as silly as this.

Apart from these two points I have nothing to complain about. This book is highly recommended.

PS. The author hopes his readers will visit all the sites mentioned here. But he realises that this is wishful thinking. Most readers do not have the time, the money or indeed the desire to visit all the temples and all the tombs presented here. Use this excellent book to plan your visit and - once you are in Egypt - to make the most of your visit to Luxor and the immediate vicinity.