Travel Inside Ancient Egypt

with Kent and Susan Weeks to Support Theban Mapping Project

CAIRO, Egypt, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/
Have you ever dreamed of walking through the tombs and temples of Ancient Egypt alongside famous archaeologists? Imagine learning firsthand what they’ve discovered and what they are doing to protect their finds.

An extraordinary opportunity invites you to travel throughout Egypt for 16 days with Dr. Kent and Susan Weeks, who have been digging in Nubia and Egypt for 40 years, most recently in Thebes and the Valley of the Kings. This trip is a unique opportunity to learn what it is like to be an Egyptologist, living and working in a land some consider Paradise.

The Weeks are currently excavating KV5, the largest tomb in the Valley of the Kings. They are working to prepare a comprehensive archaeological database of Thebes to record its thousands of tombs and temples, one of the world’s most important archaeological zones.

From January 7-22, 2005, you can join a tour that gives a taste of what it is like to do archaeological work in one of the world’s most fascinating lands. The Weeks will lead their group into locked tombs, to temple sites where tourists rarely go, and to museums where many of the objects they discovered are displayed.

The world-renowned Egyptologists have organized this behind-the-sites tour to raise funds to support the important work of the Theban Mapping Project (TMP). Each tour member will contribute $1,000 (tax-deductible) towards the TMP’s ongoing efforts.

Guests will have the opportunity to see many monuments the archaeologists have worked on over the years and learn firsthand what they are doing to protect them. They will also meet excavation workers and their families, stopping along the way for tea.

“This is a rare opportunity to go inside KV5 for a once-in-a-lifetime tour of the Valley of the King’s most interesting tomb, normally open only to researchers,” said Dr. Weeks. “In this tomb with over 125 chambers we have already found a beautifully carved copy of the Book of the Dead and life-size painted figures of Rameses II.”

The visit to KV5 is by special permission from the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), headed by Dr. Zahi Hawass. The SCA recently selected the Theban Mapping Project to develop a management and conservation plan for the Valley of the Kings, a project of enormous responsibility.

Lectures and site visits with other famous Egyptologists include:
Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA, at the Sphinx Enclosure
Dr. Mark Lehner, Director, Giza Mapping Project, at the Village of the

Workers
Dr. W. Ray Johnson, Field Director, Chicago House in Luxor, at Luxor Temple.
Deluxe accommodations, including Nile Cruise.

For reservations call 800-480-3395 in the US or 815-220-8283 outside the US.

For tour details visit Theban Mapping Project News page

Source: Theban Mapping Project