Blue water and limestone cliffs at the Red Sea off the shore of Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt

The waters off Sharm el Sheikh can be really beautiful. Sharm el Sheikh is located near the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula, and boasts of some great weather (and more importantly for tourists, the weather here remains temperate during the freezing and icy winter months for Europe and North America). The sea coast here is extended and provides some great sun and tanning for tourists. The location of Sharm el Sheikh on the Sinai peninsula, on the Red Sea is very strategic. As a result of this location, Sharm was developed as a naval base by the Egyptian army, and was also conquered twice by the Israelis during the combat with their neighbors; and was returned to the Egyptians as part of peace settlements. For the past 40+ years, the Egyptians have been developing Sharm el Sheikh as a tourist location, and the water, the shore line, and the coral formations make this a much visited tourist location. Tourists from all over come here, including many who come here but do not visit the monuments of ancient Egypt.

Sharm El Sheikh (New Millennium Collection: North Africa)	View Larger Map

View of the stone cliffs right above Queen Hatshepsut's mortuary temple at Deir El Bahri, near Luxor

Another amazing item about the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut in Deir El Bahri is the structure of the stone cliffs that over-shadow the temple and are part of the beautiful image of the temple. You can see how these limestone cliffs have a shape and structure of their own, and look chiseled and carved on their own.
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Inscriptions on the sides of the limestone cliffs next to the Hatshepsut mortuary temple near Luxor

Actually, these are not inscriptions or carvings, but cuts in the stone cliff. This is a section of the cliff next to the Hatshepsut mortuary temple, so could be that the stone was cut from the bottom of the cliff, or it was naturally eroded away, and as a result, the stone section showed this jagged and irregular cut. It looked good, and seems to have come out decently well on the photo.

The jagged nature of the limestone cliffs next to the Hatshepsut mortuary temple, near Luxor

The next photo (when it comes out) will show a more detailed view of the jagged nature of the base of the limestone cliff. In this photo, you can see as to how the whole structure of the cliff seems so beaten down, so weathered. This type of stone gets more easily broken down by the weather, and was also fairly suitable for building the large chambers which served as the final resting places for many pharaohs.
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The high cliffs next to the Hatshepsut mortuary temple in Egypt

The famous mortuary temple built as the mortuary temple of the queen pharaoh, Hatshepsut, is located in a very interesting location. It is literally built into some huge limestone cliffs. In this photo, you can see only a portion of the temple, instead, you can see a larger section of the high cliff and the commanding position it has with respect to the temple.
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View showing the high cliffs towering over the Hatshepsut mortuary temple in Egypt

The Hatshepsut mortuary temple was built somewhat differently from other mortuary temples. The main reason was the placement of the temple with respect to the high cliffs over it. In this photo, you can see how the high limestone cliffs tower over the temple and, were it not for the magnificence of the temple, the cliffs would seem incredibly beautiful by themselves.

Caves and other structures to the side of the Hatshepsut mortuary temple, made in the limestone cliffs

Most visitors to famous sites such as the Hatshepsut mortuary temple have a set agenda, they come to the place, admire the beauty and the history, and then continue with the rest of their tour. It is the professionals who do the digging and excavation to unearth more history, such as these caves and gate right next to the Hatshepsut mortuary temple, dug in the limestone hills that surround the temple.
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The battery powered multi bus vehicle that carried tourists from the parking to the Hatshepsut temple site

When tourists arrive at the Hatshepsut temple, the buses are parked at some distance away. From the parking site to the actual start of the temple, there are these environmentally friendly battery powered bases that carry tourists. In the heat, it could get uncomfortable for tourists (especially the elderly ones) to walk the distance.
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Huge crowds at the Hatshepsut mortuary temple complex close to Luxor

In the previous set of photos, I have shown several photos of the Hatshepsut mortuary temple at the location of Deir el Bahari, near to Luxor, and to the Valley of the Kings. I also mentioned how popular it is; in this photo, you can actually see the large crowds that come to see the temple (and keep in mind that this was the temple where 68 tourists were massacred by militants in the year 1997 - and which led to a much increased security focus on ensuring safety of tourists).
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Large open space in front of the Hatshepsut mortuary temple at Deir el Bahari

The magnificent mortuary temple build by the female Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut at Deir el Bahari is a spectacular site, also because it seems to be in fairly good condition. It is also made to be tourist friendly, with buses being parked at a distance, from where tourists get onto battery operated vehicles that in turn lead to a large open space in front of the start of the steps leading to the temple.
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Caves all around the Hatshepsut mortuary temple complex, in the limestone cliffs

The Hatshepsut mortuary temple is surrounded by limestone cliffs that tower over the temple. When I looked at these more closely, it was clear that there were many small cave like gaps in the hills, which could be the tombs of more workers or officials. These hills were made of a material that allowed easy digging.
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The Hatshepsut mortuary temple, as viewed from a distance, set at the base of towering cliffs

The Hatshepsut mortuary temple, is one of the most important monuments located in the Luxor region, the temple dedicated to one of the few female pharaohs in Egyptian history. It is also the site of a horrific massacre, which happened in the year 1997, when a group of terrorists, disguised as police trapped tourists inside the temple and killed 58 of the tourists, resulting in a huge drop in tourism.
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The excavation site near the Valley of the Kings protected by a chain link fence

In many previous photos, I displayed photos that showed workers at an excavation site near the Valley of the Kings. It seemed a very open place; but given that is very rich in terms of history, there is some protection for the site. You can see a chain link fence that is the protection to ensure that unauthorized people cannot access the site.
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The entire Limestone hillside marked out as part of further excavation

In this photo, you can see how the Limestone cliffs near the Valley of the Kings (outside Luxor) is marked with ropes, guide points, and so on' it seems like the entire hill has been marked for excavation. Excavating the tombs of even the workers can provide a lot of information about the living standard of that time.
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Workers working on the hillside, on the limestone hills next to the Valley of the Kings, outside Luxor

When you look closely, you can see the various structures that show the restoration and excavation work ongoing at the limestone hills outside Luxor; there is always work happening there. It is recognized that there may be much more to find in the area, with tombs of some of the rulers of the period not having yet been found. Also, as the tombs of workers and nobles are found, they reveal more information of that era.
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Workers on the excavation and restoration team, working on the limestone cliffs outside Luxor

Workers, part of the restoration and excavation team, working on the tombs on limestone hills outside Luxor. This is an active and ongoing effort to find more ruins, more tombs, with the prize being the tomb of another pharaoh, or that of a noble from the time of the pharaohs.
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Tombs on the limestone cliff outside Luxor, in Egypt

Some tombs on the limestone cliffs outside Luxor, in Egypt. This area is famous for the Valley of the Kings, the burial chambers of more than 20 pharaohs over a period of 500 years (who could see that being buried in a pyramid meant that looters could break into their tombs and steal all the treasures inside).

Work happening on some tombs on the limestone cliffs near the Valley of the Kings, outside Luxor

This is a view of some work happening on the limestone hills near the Valley of the Kings, outside Luxor, in Egypt. It was not clear to me whether these were the entrances to some tombs, or whether these were the offices of the workers of the site, and located pretty close to the Valley of the Kings.
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There is always some work going on in the limestone mountains near Luxor

Many times in the past, archaeologists have believed that all the excavation work has happened in the Valley of the Kings, and there are no further tombs that are to be found. However, everytime this has been thought of, there have been more tombs that have been found. As a result, there is always some amount of work happening in the area (it is possible that some tombs are not found because their entrances have been lost due to landslides or floods).
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Closer view of the structure of the limestone cliffs, which allowed easy digging to form the burial chamber of pharaohs

Unlike some other types of rocks such as granite which are very tough to dig into, limestone (along with a couple of other types of rocks) is much easier to dig into. This photo shows a cross section of the stones, which seems to indicate that the rock can be dug into more easily than others, and in fact, can even crumble fairly easily.
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