Medinet Habu Part II

Some scenes from Medinet Habu. Sorry I don't have good commentary from this temple. I'm just trying to get these pictures posted as quickly as I can.

Medinet Habu Temple Part I

We went one afternoon to Medinet Habu Temple. Well, Dani and Katja came to our house fro lunch and then we all went to the temple. It was a good excursion. The temple is pretty and the surrounding area is interesting because of the contrast between desert and ultra-green farmland. We walked the perimeter before we went into the temple and these pictures are from that recon mission. The town I am in front of is no longer a living town, that was one of the villages that got moved. The government built new houses but didn't actually pay people to compensate for losing their family homes (or their traditional livelihood from tunneling under their houses to pilfer tombs). Kind of sad. But life is change.

Hatshepsut

We walked around the Temple of Hatshepsut the first morning we went to work because our inspector wasn't able to meet us to open the tomb in the morning. This is a beautiful temple and I wish I could post all of the pictures from there. Alas, this thing is slow and I have to get to sleep soon so I don't have time to wait for them to load.

Going to Work in the Tomb

We are working in the tomb now and it is sooo cool! I can't find anything to complain about aside from the brutal starting hours. We have to get up at 6:30 every morning so we can leave here at 7. The transport to and from the tomb is this cool truck called a taxi balady. A lot like Guatemalan transport, but with a cover :)
Our driver is Nagag. I think that's his name.
Anyway, we have a site manager named Mustafa who is also an inspector for the SCA, but he is second in command of the Harwa project and in charge in Tiradritti's absence. He is very nice and funny, and he comes over in the mornings for coffee then goes with us in the taxi balady to the tomb. Here are some pictures of AJ, Mariam, and Mustafa on our way to work in the mornings.

More Casa Italia

Some more views from and of the Casa Italia.
The Casa is always prepared for a party, apparently :)
AJ got a room with a balcony. I just got a window. But whatever, it's all cool really. He has more mosquitoes. Not that I want him to have mosquitoes. I want him to slay them all. DO they do any good? I guess some things eat them, but not enough things eat them, I think, for them to be worth their price in blood and agony. The mosquitoes in Egypt seem to be of a particularly martial variety. But there are NO bedbugs here! Yay!!!
And we finally got the password so we can use the wireless internet, so all is good now. And I dance on the roof in the afternoons. And if you are (un)fortunate enough to have ever seen me dance, you might appreciate the full hilarity and fun-ness of that. If you haven't seen me dance, you have missed out in life. So you won't be deprived, here you go:http://jennywinnywhiney.blogspot.com/2006/12/dancing.html
I have many skills, but I never said I could do everything.

Casa Italia Arrival

We are officially part of the Italian Archaeological Mission of Luxor since we are working in their tomb. So, we get to stay in the Casa Italiana. It is fabulous and has a an awesome staff with a chef who is either magically great or I am too used to my own crappy food. I had reached a point, I thought where I was actually making good food. Then I came here. And tasted the culinary masterpieces of Abdul Nassar. Now I am abashed and humbled.
Aside from the food, which I could rave about for days, the house itself is cool. It is on the edge of the desert with a gorgeous view of the mountains that surround the Valley of the Kings. We can't actually see the necropolis, but we can see the buses going in and out and the mountains around here and the desert are beautiful.
And the flatware is all printed with the Casa Italia logo which is totally cool.