Valley Of The Kings Might Top Them All

I really didn't expect much from the Valley of the Kings.  After all, grave robbers had been stealing from the graves since kings started to be buried there, even with all the precautions taken.  So, I wasn't sure what there was to see, other than a bunch of empty tombs not as important as the one in Jerusalem.

Well, I did not count on the explosion of color in the carvings, reliefs, and hieroglyphics in the various tombs.  

Right now, I would rank the sights in Egypt as:

1. The Valley of the Kings
2. Abu Simbel
3. The Great Pyramids
4. Everything else.

And, btw, ranking "everything else" doesn't mean "everything else" isn't stupendously mind-blowing as well, it's just that everything else doesn't rise to the level of the top three.  "Everything else" is still incredible and worth the trip.

On the West Bank of the Nile across from Luxor, partially hidden in the mountains there, the Valley of the Kings was THE burial place for Egyptian Kings/Pharaohs for 500 years, which is a pretty good run.

Started in the 16th Century BC (that's NOT a typo) and used through 11th Century BC (not a typo), the Valley of the Kings was founded by Pharaoh Tuthmosis I when he went looking for a suitable burial place (pharaohs planned ahead) and came upon a secluded valley.

Those who worked on the burial chambers were blindfolded each day, and led into the valley holding onto a long rope so they wouldn't know exactly where it was.  In addition, the Egyptian Burial Union (EBU Local #9854) was not very powerful.  So far, 63 tombs have been discovered, although only 20 were those of kings.  The rest found thus far were queens, children, or nobles.

I can't exclude this from Wikipedia:

The official name for the site in ancient times was The Great and Majestic Necropolis of the Millions of Years of the Pharaoh, Life, Strength, Health in The West of Thebes (see below for the hieroglyphic spelling), or Ta-sekhet-ma'at (the Great Field).