Valley of the Kings, Egypt - King Tut's tomb

The Valley of the Kings lies in the desert behind the Theban Hills. In Arabic it is called "Wadi el-Muluk". It was the royal cemetery for 62 Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom during the 18-21st Dynasties. Thousands of people visit them every week. This limestone valley is located on the west bank at Luxor. Entrance to this place was a long narrow winding path. To discourage tomb robbers, sentries were placed at the entrance of the Valley and top of the hills. Robbery is a big problem as these often have gold and other precious artifacts, even the Pyramids of Egypt have been robbed in past.

It is believed that the first tomb of the New Kingdom within is that of Tuthmoses I, who started to use the valley as a royal burial site. The good quality of the stones gave the ancient Egyptians the chance to cut many tombs close to each other. The Valley was used for primary burials from approximately 1539 BC to 1075 BC, starting with Thutmose I and ending with Ramesses X or XI. The Valley of the Kings also had tombs for the favorite nobles and the wives and children of both the nobles and pharaohs. Around the time of Ramesses I (c.1300 BC) work began on the Valley of the Queens, although some wives were still buried with their husbands.

King Tut's tomb is among the 63 tombs.
Tomb of Ramses IX has very fine relief’s and very elegant ceilings, with the scenes of the Goddess Nut, Goddess of the sky
Tomb of Mernpatah is the largest in the valley
Tomb of Thutmose has full details of the "Book of the Dead"

Most of the tombs are not open to the public. Winter is the best time to go to avoid most of the heat. Tickets should be purchased at west bank ticket center and not on the valley itself. Women are required to be dresses appropriately according to the local customs, check with your tourist guide. Photography is no longer allowed in the tombs. Visitors are expected to proceed quietly and there are no tour guide lectures inside the tomb.
The Valley of the Kings is separated into the East and West Valleys, with most of the important tombs in the East Valley, but as yet to date, not all the tombs in the Valley have been fully excavated. Almost all of the tombs have been ransacked, including Tutankhamen's. The valley was surrounded by steep cliffs and heavily guarded. In 1090 BC, or the year of the Hyena, there was a collapse in Egypt's economy leading to the emergence of tomb robbers.

The modern abbreviation "KV" stands for "Kings' Valley", and the tombs are numbered in the order of 'discovery' from Ramesses VII (KV1) to KV63 (which was discovered in 2005). Near the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens is located. This is a place where wives of Pharaohs were buried.