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“ara selon . Jonathan van B 4 Lost In The Valley of The Kings Having travelled extensively | am often asked which country is my favourite. The answer is immediate: Egypt has won my heart. Atwo hour flight from Cairo takes you to the Val- ley of the Kings, the burial place for many of Egypt's Pharaohs, including Tutankhamen. King Tut’s tomb was discovered in 1922 fully intact, having escaped encoun- ters with looters. Egypt's dry climate is responsible for the preserva- tion of its ancient architecture, paralleled by no other sites on the planet. | was greeted by two colossal statues, which marked the entrance to the valley. It was here | experienced a different side of Egypt. Being a pho- tographer | am always = 70 FOCUS - JULY 2013 challenged to find the ‘perfect shot’. During my trek | learned the Egyptian Government imposes a fee on any- one who wishes to take photos. The money is well used; however, a different permit is required for each archeo- logical site. | had bought several, but did not have time to get one for here. | had never been asked to present previous permits and decided it would not be a problem, besides, | saw very few security guards | covered my camera and discreetly began shoot- ing. | was doing well when | heard someone shouting. | tumed and saw two men running toward me. They were dressed in typical Egyptian cotton smocks and shouted, “photo, photo!” They were security guards, dressed as civilians, a practice which seemed unfair. | debated confrontation, but my Arabic is limited to the word ‘shokran’, which means thank you (probably not of much help in this situ- ation). | feared if caught without a permit my equipment would be seized and that was just not going to happen. | considered offering them money, but recalled a similar act in China where | nearly found myself arrested. | had but one choice — run like the wind. For those of you who have never been to Egypt, the temperature in summer reaches 46 degrees. Locals tell you it’s a dry heat, which you do not feel, but trust me, 46 degrees is hot; dry or not! I started my sprint up a hill with the guards shouting behind me. Visions of Mid- night Express raced through my mind and | dared not stop. After Mw a The great pyramids at Giza