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Scotland bans riot gear export to US

US police officers may soon find themselves in short supply of equipment that enables them to deal with protesters. The Scottish Parliament has just voted to stop exporting rubber bullets, tear gas, and riot gear to the US.

According to the official motion, the parliament “stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement, and considers that the UK government must immediately suspend all export licenses for tear gas, rubber bullets, and riot gear to the US.”

The UK has sold around $7.53 billion of munitions to the US since 2010, including $22 million in tear gas and rubber bullets and $2.5 million in riot shields. The UK’s licensing criteria states that the materials should not be sold if there’s a risk that they might be used for internal repression.

The decision is an attempt by Scottish politicians to distance themselves from police injustice in the US, and show a measure of support for the movement.

According to Insider, Patrick Harvie, co-leader of the Scottish Green Party, accused US police of using “weapons of oppression … by a racist state and it is unacceptable for us to be exporting them, putting those weapons into the hands of people who will brutalize marginalized communities. It’s important that we stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement.”

UK Parliament members are reportedly considering a similar ban. One hundred sixty-six MPs signed a letter saying that the UK is “bound by law to freeze export of all policing and security equipment to the US where it could be misused. The brutality now aimed towards protesters and reporters across the country is unacceptable.”

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Airbnb suspends host COVID-19 claims

Much is still unknown about coronavirus immunity, but some people are treating their positive antibody tests like a certificate of immortality. Martin Eaton, a Brooklyn Airbnb host who tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, took it a bit too far, declaring him an “IMMUNE HOST” in the title of his “Williamsburg Penthouse Guestroom” listing. Due to Eaton’s description of himself, Airbnb suspended his account.

Before the listing was taken down, Eaton, a 48-year-old writer, told The Guardian, “If I was having to travel, I’d prefer staying with somebody who had the antibodies versus somebody who didn’t. It’s proved pretty successful.”

Since there is no evidence that antibodies make you immune to the virus, however, using a negative antibody test to claim your property as virus-free is not accurate.

Eaton told The New York Post, “[My] account was suspended. I spoke to their basic customer service and they said it was being blocked from taking reservations … I couldn’t say I had antibodies in my title or description.”

He doubtless thought his antibodies would give travelers more peace of mind before booking with him, but according to Airbnb’s content policy, any COVID-19 reference is prohibited in listings. “Airbnb hosts may not reference COVID-19, coronavirus or quarantine in listing titles,” the policy says, nor can they promise “that hosts or listings are not impacted by or exposed to COVID-19.”

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‘Outlander’ stars travel series

It seems like Hollywood has been paused the last few months, with limited new content coming to television or streaming services due to the coronavirus pandemic. On Wednesday, Starz gave Outlander fans something to look forward to, with the announcement of a new docuseries called Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham. The series features stars Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish, who play Jamie Fraser and Dougal MacKenzie respectively on Outlander, in eight half-hour episodes celebrating Scottish history and culture.

Can’t wait for you to join us!!!
(Who’s pedalling??)

The best French butters

When it comes to describing a cuisine, stereotypes are usually never welcome. But if there’s one widespread truth we know can confidently repeat when it comes to the French, it’s that they have perfected the art of cheesemaking. And so it should come as no surprise that another French dairy product, butter, is among the best in the world.

Lush, emerald green grasslands provide nourishment for happy free-range cows (crowded barns are out of the question). In the spring, these happy cows graze on flowers. The salt used for the butter, fleur de sel, is sourced by hand from the surface of saltwater ponds. Soil infused with minerals from the salty air blowing in from the sea adds to the rich terroir. Terroir is most often associated with wine, but in the realm of French butter it makes all the difference. Most purveyors describe the taste of French butter as supremely creamy, grassy, and salty, with a nutty aroma. But what gives each artisan French dairy farm’s butter its distinctive flavor is defined by that individual soil and can only really be understood by tasting it.

These butters shine when spread on a steaming slice of baguette — an unfussy yet divine bite. But each one is also versatile and can be folded in pastry dough for shiny, flakey croissants and butter cookies (sable breton); melted into sauces like beurre blanc; and used to add richness to any potato gratin.

Here are six of the fanciest French butters every gourmet cuisine connoisseur needs to try at least once.

1. Lesecure

With an aroma of hazelnuts, a grassy flavor, and a subtle yellow, almost “radiant” hue, this butter from the Charentes Poitou region of France enjoys PDO, or Protected Denomination of Origin, status. Lesecure is favored among pastry chefs because it holds up under lamination, resulting in flakey, delicate croissants. The soft texture makes it easy to work with — a far cry from that rock-hard stuff probably languishing in your refrigerator right now. Though the flavor is most often described as delicate yet rich, one blogger more colorfully described it as “dreamy and irrepressibly creamy.”

2. Beurre d’Isigny

Photo: Pack-Shot/Shutterstock

Farmers have been making butter in Isigny-sur-Mer for 400 years. This cow’s milk butter, made in the Baie des Veys region of Normandy between Manche and Calvados, has also been awarded PDO status. The region’s lush valleys and temperate climate near the sea infuse the butter with a grassy, mineral flavor and pleasing hazelnut aftertaste. Well balanced between sweet and salty, Beurre d’Isigny is “silky and supple.” It’s also a favorite among chefs because it has a long shelf life and remains stable during the cooking process.

3. Echiré

This esteemed butter is exclusively produced in the village of Echire in Western France. The Independent calls it the “queen” of French butter and reports that the milk for each batch has come from the same “66 farms, all within a 50 [kilometer] circumference” since 1984. Echiré butter is churned in oak barrels, resulting in a creamy, delicate texture. Perhaps what has earned Echiré the highest praise, though, is the butter’s subtle flavor, infused with the terroir of the region, and the grass and flowers enjoyed by the dairy cows. It’s so celebrated that there is an entire shop dedicated to selling Echiré products in Tokyo.

4. Le Beurre Bordier

Photo: Le Beurre Bordier/Facebook

This butter is considered one of the best in the world. One Savuer writer admitted she loves it so much she’s had it “overnighted from a friend in Paris.” Bordier is a beurre de baratte, or butter produced using traditional French techniques including being “cultured, churned, then handled by two small wooden paddles.” Bordier butter is versatile, working overtime as a spread, an ingredient in baked goods, and as a browned base for pasta sauce. The milk is sourced from Brittany and Normandy, and Bordier butter is churned and kneaded by hand. The flavor is complex, encompassing salty, floral, earthy, nutty notes. One food writer perhaps put it best when he wrote on his blog, Churn Craft, that Bordier is “heavenly.”

5. Rodolphe Le Meunier

Cows from Normandy provide the milk for this rich and creamy French butter. Salted with fleur de sel, Rodolphe Le Meunier is golden yellow in color and has a texture closer to cheese than the typical grocery store butter. Rodolphe Le Meunier comes from a famed lineage of dairy farmers of the Loire Valley; his grandmother was a goat farmer and herself a cheesemaker. He is nicknamed the “French butter rock star.”

6. Pascal Beillevaire

Photo: Beillevaire/Facebook

The dairy products from this famed farm in the Loire Valley are a favorite of Gwyneth Paltrow, and in particular the butter her blog Goop calls “crazy delicious.” The fleur de sel for this butter is harvested from the surface of salt ponds “by hand early in the morning using old fashioned wooden tools,” according to the Borough Market in London. Later, the milk is churned while the milk is still warm from the cow. The wild grasslands near the coast in Marais Vendéen where the Beillevaire cows graze is the ideal terroir for the dairy’s butter especially, which is stamped with an image of a young girl milking a cow.

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Triple Crown races official cocktail

The start of summer just isn’t the same without the Triple Crown races. It feels downright unnatural not being able to show up to a local Derby Party looking like a colorblind Mr. Moneybags or wear a garish yellow sundress you only break out once a year. Even though those extravagant Derby hats are great social-distancing tools, the coronavirus pandemic has made the Triple Crown races impossible to hold in their traditional form.

The Kentucky Derby has been postponed until September 4, the Preakness to October 3, and the Belmont Stakes — typically the last of the Triple Crown races — until June 20 (without crowds). But just because you can’t go to the racetrack in person doesn’t mean you can’t pour one out for the Triple Crown at home and get in the spirit for when the races eventually resume.

Each race has an official signature cocktail that’s designed to make you seriously consider donning a striped purple suit and staking your last student loan payment on a horse with a cool name. They are, without a doubt, the most popular cocktails in horse racing.

Kentucky Derby: mint julep

Photo: Julie Vader/Shutterstock

Much like the Kentucky Derby itself, the mint julep is the drink most widely associated with horse racing. It’s been popular in the American South since the late 1700s and was initially used as medicinal remedy for stomach aches. Mint juleps have always been surrounded by an air of wealth and prestige, as not many people had access to ice or pewter cups in the 18th century.

It was named the official drink of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in 1938. In a typical year, around 120,000 mint juleps are sold over a weekend, which requires 1,000 pounds of mint and 60,000 pounds of ice. The juleps are sold ready to drink in plastic, or classed up in pewter cups inscribed with the names of all the Derby’s previous winners (there’s also a $1,000 option). You probably don’t have one of those cups lying around your kitchen, but you can order one online.

For all the fanfare surrounding the mint julep, it’s actually a pretty simple drink to make. A typical recipe calls for bourbon — Churchill Downs uses Old Forester or Woodford Reserve — simple syrup, some mint leaves, crushed ice, and a mint sprig for garnish.

Preakness Stakes: black-eyed Susan

Photo: Preakness Stakes/Facebook

The black-eyed Susan has been the official drink of the Preakness Stakes since 1973, but unlike the mint julep, it’s yet to achieve truly iconic status. It’s undergone several iterations since it was first served at the Baltimore track. Early versions consisted of vodka, rum, and triple sec mixed with orange and pineapple juice. More recently, bourbon and sour mix make an appearance, as well as the occasional peach schnapps and grapefruit juice. Usually a cherry serves as the “black eye,” but some contemporary versions have substituted the cherry for a blackberry. As the Black-Eyed Susan has cycled through many identities over the years, it’s more of a novelty drink than true symbol of this leg of the Triple Crown.

Belmont Stakes: Belmont jewel

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The youngest of the Triple Crown cocktails, the Belmont jewel was born in 2011. It’s the oldest of the three races and dates back to 1868, but the jewel wasn’t the Stakes’ first signature drink. The Belmont Stakes has had not one, not two, but three official drinks throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

At first, the Belmont’s official drink was the white carnation, named after the garland of flowers draped over the winning horse. That concoction of vodka, peach schnapps, orange juice, club soda, and a splash of cream lasted until 1997 when it was replaced by the Belmont breeze. The breeze was designed by renowned bartender and cocktail book author Dale DeGroff and was made with bourbon, sherry, lemon, orange, cranberry juice, and seltzer water.

The Belmont breeze lasted for 14 years but was eventually phased out in 2011 in favor of the Belmont jewel — a simpler drink thought to be more fan-friendly. The jewel, now coming up on its 10-year anniversary, is made with bourbon, lemonade, and pomegranate juice served on the rocks.

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What is Midsummer

Ari Aster’s 2019 horror flick Midsommar did for Swedish holidays what James Cameron’s Titanic did for transatlantic voyages in 1997. It used a real-world event, an annual one in Aster’s case, as the backdrop for a film so indelible it was all anyone could talk about for weeks after they saw it. Only instead of drumming up interest in steamship engineering through what some consider the greatest love story of the 20th century, Aster spiked Google traffic in favor of Sweden’s most significant summer holiday through a psychedelic nightmare that was equal parts distressing and breathtaking until its final frame.

It’s fitting that Midsommar is framed around American anthropology students who are invited to experience the festivities for themselves. With curiosity piqued, Midsummer tourism has the potential to become a new requisite for scary-movie-loving Eurotrippers. As with any cultural practice foreigners are keen to observe, though, the first step to participating respectfully is being informed. And even if Aster’s terror-filled take on the events scared you off from attending a Midsummer celebration in person, it’s a fun and fascinating event that’s worth learning about.

Here’s everything you need to know about Midsummer, from what the movie got right and wrong to what’s going on with the festivities this year.

Who celebrates Midsummer?

Midsummer, known as Midsommar in Sweden and by other names elsewhere, takes place during the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, falling in late June on the longest day of the year. In Sweden that means the sun never, or just barely, sets on the festivities.

Midsummer is massive there, with flower crowns and maypole dances, fresh air and love in the air, plates of pickled herring and drinking songs belted over spiced schnapps. Some have even petitioned to make Midsummer’s Eve the country’s national day, which currently falls on June 6.

Swedes are not the only ones who celebrate the summer solstice in pre-Christian style, however. A festival called Juhannus is similarly considered a national holiday in Finland. In Norway, Midsummer goes by Sankthansaften, while in Denmark it’s called Sankt Hans Aften.

Beyond the Nordic bubble, European nations from Portugal to Hungary, and even a few outside like Canada and Brazil, participate in the Christianized St. John’s Day. In Latvia, St. John’s Day is called Ligo or Jani, and it’s the biggest event of the year.

How’d it all get started?

Photo: Conny Sjostrom/Shutterstock

Midsummer festivals began as agrarian rituals designed to welcome summer and encourage fertility. Sweden’s festivities originated in the center of the country, revolving around the white night that follows the midnight sun, whose lasting power increases as you travel north toward the Arctic Circle. According to pagan lore, folk magic abounded when the line between day and night, our world and the world of spirits, good and evil, was thinnest.

Bonfires have marked the occasion across Europe since the sixth century. Over time, the Midsummer celebration developed more intricate traditions. Maypoles were introduced around the 16th century. To this day, they’re covered in foliage and flowers, which celebrants will also use to adorn their houses and themselves. In the past, “green men” similarly outfitted themselves in ferns from head to toe, and many still don colorful wreaths in their hair.

As Christianity swept Europe in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, John the Baptist’s nativity, which is recognized on June 24, became entangled with the pagan solstice festival that typically fell between June 19 and June 25. Accordingly, Midsummer’s Eve is, in many places, called St. John’s Eve, though the original traditions remain relatively intact. In Sweden, the holiday’s Christian heritage has been largely cast aside with any pagan lore, as celebrants once again gather simply to appreciate the arrival of summer itself.

Is Midsummer in Sweden anything like the movie?

Photo: David Tadevosian/Shutterstock

Aster did his research when writing the script for Midsommar, but what viewers see on screen is the product of artistic liberties, some obvious and others less so. The film gets the general aesthetic right: Greenery-covered maypoles do take the shape of a cross with wreaths hanging from either end. People do dance around them or sing silly, sometimes racy, folk songs. Some dress up in traditional garb like you see in the movie, though the all-white costumes were a cinematic touch, while others dress normally but put on flower crowns.

Other aspects of the film feature half-truths. Midsummer is a party, and inhibitions are lowered accordingly. Drinks flow freely, primarily beer and schnapps, but psychedelic drugs are not associated with the festivities as seen in the movie. Midsummer is identified with love and fertility. Women traditionally picked flowers to lay under their pillows and ate salted porridge so their suitors or husbands, respectively, would visit in their dreams. Today, flings are expected as they are during any event in which copious amounts of booze are consumed, yet the love and sex rituals portrayed on screen are wildly exaggerated, if altogether fictionalized.

And then there’s the ending. Spoilers aside, it’s safe to say that the movie’s most scarring, climactic scenes are inventions of the horror genre. Themes involving violence and death are mainstays of scary movies, not Midsummer staples. Rest assured that if you ever get invited to celebrate in Sweden, the worst that’ll happen is waking up with a wicked hangover.

Are the festivities happening this year?

This year, in particular, the chances of winding up in a horror plot in the Swedish countryside are nil. Like most other group gatherings, in-person Midsummer events are canceled due to COVID-19. Festivities are being live-streamed via Visit Sweden on Facebook, however, so the curious can participate more easily than in years prior.

Tune in on Friday, June 19, for local-led virtual activities like wreath-making, socially distant maypole dancing performances, and lunchtime complete with “sill and snaps,” the combination of pickled herring and Aquavit, a spirit distilled from potatoes or grains. The event will close with a peek at the midnight sun and a skiing demonstration in Swedish Lapland.

Normally, travelers in Stockholm during Midsummer should swing by Skansen, an open-air museum, or see what’s going on in public parks. Gothenburg, Sweden’s second city, also puts on a show at the Gunnebo castle and gardens. For the most traditional celebration, however, nowhere beats Dalarna, the province in central Sweden where the festivities originated.

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Positive environmental news June

This is The Climate Win, the most positive sustainability news around the world every week.

This week’s Climate Win column focuses on one of the most overlooked aspects of conservation: the environmental justice movement. The keyword here is justice. What separates the environmental justice movement from mainstream environmentalism is the fact that it was born out of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, instead of evolving solely from the modern environmental movement that began during the same time period.

Environmental justice focuses on the impacts of environmental degradation on minority and underserved communities. The movement as we know it today began at a sit-in organized by the NAACP in Warren County, NC, in 1982. In search of somewhere to dump vast quantities of hazardous materials, the state singled out a landfill in the majority-Black county to host hazardous waste containing polychlorinated biphenyls, known then to contain a multitude of threats to a person’s health. The protest, which ultimately proved unsuccessful in preventing the waste from being dumped in Warren County, did manage to launch the environmental justice movement and shine light on a different aspect of systemic racism in the United States. For more on the incident, the US Office of Legacy Management has information on the sit-in and the launch of the environmental justice movement.

The environmental justice movement slowly gained steam in the ensuing decades, but it wasn’t until nearly 20 years later that it, and the undeniable correlation between environmental action and social justice, reached the mainstream. It is impossible to discuss the environmental justice movement without talking about Dr. Robert Bullard. In October of 1990, the first edition of Bullard’s book Dumping in Dixie was published, which documented the efforts of five Black communities to maintain their environmental dignity. Bullard’s book and ensuing life work not only provided a voice for unheard activists, but his research and writing also made starkly clear the connection between environmental degradation and disadvantaged populations.

Also in 1990, Black justice advocates submitted a formal letter to a coalition of largely white environmental groups known as the “Group of 10,” citing the group’s lack of diversity in its leadership and action planning. These advocates succeeded in disrupting the agenda of the Group of 10, and many of its members began incorporating environmental justice into their work.

These efforts, combined with other BIPOC movements, helped to spur the formation of the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit, which took place in Washington, DC, in 1991. From the 1990s until today, the environmental justice movement has worked to address systemic racism in both environmentalism and social policy. In 2019, climate leaders and environmental justice advocates came together to push for an Equitable and Just National Climate Platform. In addition to addressing mainstream climate action agenda efforts like moving toward renewable energy and reducing transportation emissions, the platform hopes to push for clean air and sustainability-related technological advancements to be delivered to all of American society, not just wealthier areas where residents can afford solar panels and rooftop gardens.

To get involved with the movement, consider supporting the following organizations and advocates:

WE ACT is a national nonprofit whose mission is “to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low income residents participate meaningfully in the creation of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices.”
The NAACP hosts an Environmental and Climate Justice arm as part of its advocacy efforts.
In Texas, Tejas Barrios educates citizens and advocates for environmental justice in minority and underserved communities across the state.
And no matter where you live, make environmental justice a priority in your voting decisions. Both national and local elections this fall will have a massive impact on environmental issues in the coming years. This list ranks all members of Congress on their environmental action, and a quick Google search for eco-advocate politicians should turn up information on how to vote green in local elections.

This week’s good news from the climate fight

The New York Times reported this week on advancements in offshore wind turbine technology that are allowing wind power to be generated in waters deeper than the traditional 200-foot maximum depth. Installed on floating “islands,” moving wind turbines further from land will not only help power to be captured from previously inaccessible high-wind areas but they also give producers an answer to residents’ complaints about “eyesores” off the coast.
Animal conservation is making a giant leap — into space. A massive antenna and other technological advances are being installed on the International Space Station to track and manage wildlife, a move that will give scientists and conservation advocates more data on herd population numbers, movement, and risks.
Bicycling is thriving during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is great news on many fronts. For icing on the cake, CSS Composites has taken a massive step forward in the evolution of environmentally friendly bike products: the recyclable tire rim. Its FusionFiber rims don’t use the epoxy that normal carbon fibers necessitate, meaning they can be recycled. Revel Bikes, a partner of CSS Composites, has already turned scrap from the rims into tire levers.

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Egypt's Valley of the Kings guide

Egypt is full of incredible sites to visit, from the Great Pyramids in Cairo to the banks of the Nile to Abu Simbel in Aswan. There are temples upon temples, each just as unbelievably impressive as the last, but one site in particular stands out as the perfect place where a person could lose themselves for one entire day — the Valley of the Kings.

As its name suggests, it’s an enormous valley where the kings of Egypt who ruled from 1539 to 1075 BCE were buried after their death. Many of them began building their tombs in the valley while they were alive, with sizes ranging from small hallways with a single burial chamber to hundreds of feet long with multiple annexes. It became a Unesco World Heritage site in 1979, and for good reason. It’s a testament to ancient Egyptian history — burial traditions, lifestyles, beliefs, an entire language, and artistry the likes of which we don’t see today.

There are some 60 tombs that have been discovered over the years, and no one can be certain that there aren’t more just waiting to be found; excavation work goes on to this day. Only a small portion of the tombs are open for public viewing, but it can still be daunting to figure out how to organize your visit. To help you plan it all out, here’s how to make the most of your visit to the Valley of the Kings.

Before you go: the #1 piece of advice before visiting
The best times to visit
How to get to there
Tours
Must-see tombs
If you have more time



Before you go: the #1 piece of advice before visiting

Photo: Aryana Azari

Pay attention to the tickets you’re purchasing; otherwise, you may end up unable to enter multiple tombs. While there are well over 60 discovered tombs in the Valley of the Kings, only a small few are open to the public.

It’s worth noting that prices can vary, and the numbers may be different on your future visit. The initial entrance ticket you purchase, which costs 200 Egyptian pounds ($12), will let you pick three of eight tombs to visit. These are Ramses VII, Ramses IV, Ramses IX, Merenptah, Ramses III, Tausert-Setnakht, Seti II, and Siptah. If you’d like to visit all eight, you’ll need to purchase three tickets.

There are three tombs not on the above list that each require a separate, individual ticket that can be added on. You can visit all three, one, or none. These tombs belong to Ramses V and VI, Tutankhamun, and Seti I, and cost 100 ($6), 250 ($15), and 1,000 ($62) pounds respectively.

Additionally, if you don’t want to walk the long distance from the visitor center to the actual valley, you can purchase a tram ticket. When you pass through the visitor center, you’ll see trams taking visitors to and from the valley. The tram ticket costs four pounds ($0.25).

You may or may not need to purchase a photography ticket as well. As is customary among many of Egypt’s famous sites, a photography ticket is needed to be able to take photos and videos. The rules on photography tickets are constantly changing and can be dependent on exactly which site you’re at — sometimes the ticket is required even for cell phone photos, sometimes it’s only for everything but a cell phone, and other times it’s not required at all.

If you don’t see any signage at the ticket booth about it, ask the workers or your guide. If they say yes, get the ticket. Workers will continually ask for it throughout your visit, and some go so far as to make you delete the photo if you don’t have it or take your camera away for pickup later, so it’s best to get one and keep it somewhere that’s easily accessible. The price of a photography ticket is between 300-350 pounds ($18-$22). It’s a small price to pay for memories that will last forever.

It’s important to note that once you arrive where all the tombs are, you will be unable to purchase any more tickets and cannot go back to add on more. That means if you only purchased the initial entrance ticket and then suddenly decide you want to see King Tut’s tomb, you’re out of luck.

The best times to visit

To make the most of your visit and see several tombs, you’ll want to get there as early as possible. Doing so will allow ample time to take everything in, and you’ll beat the crowds — if it does get crowded during your visit, you can use that time to take a break and have a snack. During the summer season, operating hours are 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and during the winter season it’s 6:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Luxor’s high season is from October to February as the temperatures are generally much more manageable, still warm but cool enough that it’s not bothersome. Visiting on the fringes of that seasonal range is your best bet if you’re worried about crowds. Luxor’s low season is the summer months of June to August, and it’s that way for a reason. Summers can be unforgiving with their scorching heat — temperatures can go as high as 106 degrees.

How to get to there

The Valley of the Kings is located on the West Bank of the Nile River, approximately 45 minutes by car from Luxor, one of Egypt’s most famous cities — chances are that if you’re visiting the valley you’ll be basing yourself out of Luxor, at least partially, to also see the many other historical sites near it.

Public transportation is not an option to get to the valley, but there are a number of tour companies that take visitors there from Luxor daily. Some of these are part of multi-day tours, like Timeless Tours, but there are also day-trip options, like the offerings from Egypt Tailor Made. Others can be found through tour aggregators like GetYourGuide and Viator.

The other option is by taxi or car service. Taxis are reasonably priced throughout Egypt’s major cities, but expect to pay a bit more for the longer distance; the ride should still cost under $25 though it may depend on your negotiation skills. You can also hire a driver for the day, which your accommodation should be able to help you with booking.

Tours

Visitors can meander through the Valley of the Kings at their own pace, with or without a guide. Guides are not permitted within the actual tombs, so if you do get a guide, they’ll give you information about each tomb right before you enter them. However, we highly recommend you do get a guide so you have some context for what you’re looking at.

Must-see tombs

Each and every tomb open to the public is phenomenal in its own right and will not disappoint in the slightest. However, if you’re unable to fit all the tombs into your trip, then these are the ones you should prioritize. And if you have the time to see all of them during your trip, head to these first as they’re some of the more popular and will fill up by midday.

Ramses IV

Photo: agsaz/Shutterstock

Ramses IV ruled Egypt from 1156 to 1150 BCE. His tomb consists of a single, long hallway that seems to stretch on infinitely before coming to a stop at an antechamber that leads into the burial chamber. While overall it’s pretty simple, the colorful hieroglyphics covering every inch of the walls are what bring it to life. Besides the typical veneration of gods, there are scenes from the Litany of Ra and books of Caverns, the Dead, Gates, and the Night — all funerary texts, commonly displayed in tombs — such as how the dead will be judged and what people can expect in death, as well as scenes from the Ramses IV’s life and his journey through the underworld.

Photo: agsaz/Shutterstock

Even the ceiling is a sight to behold, with depictions of Ramses IV and Ra, the Egyptian god of the sun, becoming one. There’s a fair bit of Coptic Christian and Roman graffiti on the walls, however, such as the scratching out of the Egyptian deities’ faces and drawings of crosses.

The burial chamber is small compared to the hallway and antechamber, and in the middle of it all stands a gigantic sarcophagus. Ramses VI’s mummy is located at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Ramses IX

Photo: Aryana Azari

Ramses IX ruled from 1126 to 1108 BCE. Similar to Ramses IV’s resting place, Ramses IX’s tomb is simple but beautiful. The visit to this tomb is a short one, so it can easily fit into any itinerary, but what makes it worth checking out is the burial chamber at the end of the hallway (the mummy can be found at the Egyptian Museum). Much smaller than average burial chambers for rulers, the hieroglyphics here are not as vibrant as some others but display an interesting series of images. In addition to scenes from the Book of the Earth, there are images of Egyptians on sun boats — barges thought to be used by Ra to move through the skies.

The ceiling’s scene is astronomical in nature, with images of the sun’s nightly journey through the body of Nut, the goddess of the sky and heavens. Some believe that she consumed Ra every night and then gave birth to him in the morning, and the reverse being true for the moon god, Thot. Nut is a common figure that appears in tombs because she was believed to protect the dead until they were reborn into the afterlife.

Merneptah

Photo: agsaz/Shutterstock

Merneptah was one of Ramses II’s sons and ruled from 1213 to 1203 BCE. While the lower half of many walls have been damaged by floods, the hieroglyphics will still pique your curiosity. The most interesting part of this tomb, however, is not even the hieroglyphics — it’s its sheer size. Merneptah’s tomb is utterly, though not as large as his father’s nearby. There are multiple corridors off the long hallway, and the burial chamber itself has several annexes; one of the corridors is even dedicated to Merneptah’s father.

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The burial chamber’s decorations are mostly gone, though remnants on the upper half of the walls still remain. Merneptah was buried within four sarcophagi, each larger than the last; his mummy is now at the Egyptian Museum. The lid of his second sarcophagus can be seen on the left side of the pillared chamber, made with red Aswan granite, and is intact due to restoration efforts. The top of the lid takes the shape of Merneptah, holding a crook and flail. His sarcophagi were so big that pillars and doorways had to be removed just to be able to move them in and out.

Tutankhamun

Photo: Sergei Butorin/Shutterstock

Arguably one of the best-known and popular Egyptian rulers, if not the most, the world has been gripped with a wild fascination for the boy king. Tutankhamun ruled from 1333 to 1323 and died at just 19 years old. It’s hard to define exactly why the world feels so strongly about Tut, but his tomb’s discovery in 1922 was one of the most significant.

His tomb, unlike so many others in the Valley of the Kings, was almost completely untouched. Found were thousands upon thousands of treasures that were buried with Tut, from jewelry to clothing to furniture. The tomb has been robbed at least twice in its existence and was resealed after both times, though robbers never made it to Tut’s greater treasures past the antechamber. Why, exactly, it’s so intact is unknown, though some theorize it could be due to its low-profile location, being accidentally buried by workers who were working on other tombs nearby, or the robbers being caught in the process.

Photo: Nick Brundle/Shutterstock

The treasures have since been moved to the Egyptian Museum and will be transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum once it opens. Also found in their original state and location were his sarcophagi and mummy. The innermost sarcophagus, its gold still glistening even after some 3,000 years, still sits in the tomb today (the others have been moved to the museum), as does his mummy.

Entering his tomb requires a steep descent down a long stairway, and only one room is open to the public — the one with his sarcophagus and mummy. While small, the room is absolutely breathtaking. The hieroglyphics are still flawless and vibrant beyond belief, with not a single mark of graffiti or face scratched off. The only mark they have is that of time, with some of the paint eroding in places.

Pictures in this tomb, as well as any of the extra ones not on the entrance ticket, are generally not allowed. While Tut’s tomb is an additional fee, it’s worth every single cent.

If you have more time
Tausert and Setnakht

Tausert ruled from 1193 to 1190 BC and was succeeded by Setnakht, who ruled from 1190 to 1187 BC. The particular tomb that they share has a complex history as its construction began two rulers before Tausert herself and was finished once she became queen. The previous rulers were going to use it, but it was unfinished during their time, so Tausert ended up being buried there instead.

Setnakht began building his own tomb during his reign, but it wasn’t finished before he died and his burial for unknown reasons. Setnakht’s son and successor, Ramses III, decided to bury Setnakht in Tausert’s tomb and take his father’s tomb for himself.

Before you enter the tomb, you’ll ascend a staircase to reach a higher point in the valley, and then descend deeper down once you’re inside it. Most of the design from Tausert’s plan for the tomb stayed the same even after Setnakht usurped it, save for some of the hieroglyphics with her name that were changed to Setnakht’s. Images of Tausert among various deities were also visibly plastered over to show a king, rather than a queen, for Setnakht. A sarcophagus can still be found in one of the burial chambers; to this day, neither of the two mummies have been found and identified.

Ramses V and VI

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Ramses V (ruled 1150-1145 BCE) and Ramses VI (ruled 1145-1137 BCE) shared the same tomb. It was built during Ramses V’s reign for him, and it’s unknown why his successor, also his uncle, decided to just enlarge the tomb and be buried there rather than build his own. The double interment meant the tomb was larger than most, and it’s speculated that this tomb’s close proximity to that of Tutankhamun’s is why the latter went unnoticed by robbers.

Photo: Jakub Kyncl/Shutterstock

The hieroglyphics along the nearly 400-foot-long hallway have sustained some damage over the years, and their colors have faded away somewhat, but the further in you go, the more intact they seem to be. It culminates in the burial chamber at the end, which contains an unfinished pit in the center and a sarcophagus that was broken by robbers. Both mummies have been recovered and are located at the Egyptian Museum. The ceiling of this room is similar to that of Ramses IX’s tomb, with the image of Nut and the heavenly bodies’ journey but on a much larger scale.

If you can’t make it in person, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, together with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, released this 360-degree virtual tour of the tomb. It won’t compare to seeing it in person with your own eyes, but it’s still pretty exciting and will make you want to visit even more.

Valley of the Queens

Photo: Oleg Elkov/Shutterstock

Just as the kings have their spot, so do the queens. Just a few miles away from the Valley of the Kings is the Valley of the Queens, where queens, princesses, and other nobility from the 11th and 12th centuries BCE were buried. While its tombs are not as ornate as that of its counterpart, there are more than 90 known tombs. Of the tombs, the one for Nefertari, Ramses II’s favorite wife, is the most popular. Hieroglyphics of Nefertari being guided by the gods, in addition to the typical funerary text images, can be seen on its walls.

Valley of the Queens is open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Entry costs 35 pounds ($2), and to see Nefertari’s tomb will require a separate ticket that costs 100 pounds ($6). If you’re willing to pay an extra 25 pounds ($1.50), you can also visit the Deir El-Medina, which is an area just a little off the road leading to the tombs that contains a Ptolemaic temple dedicated to Hathor, the Egyptian goddess of the sky, women, fertility, and love, as well as ruins of the village that used to house the workers who built both valleys and their tombs.

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Best small towns in Portugal

Lisbon has been Europe’s travel darling for the last half-decade. Visitors may have been slower to catch on to the Portuguese capital than they were to cities like Paris and Barcelona, but now that the secret’s out, it’s starting to feel like there are no tourists left for the rest of the continent. Lisbon and second-city Porto are far from the only places that make Portugal Europe’s “it” destination, however. Make a point to venture to these smaller towns and villages when you visit, and you may find them more attractive than the big cities altogether.

1. Óbidos

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Óbidos trickles down a hilltop high above the Atlantic, bounded by crenelated walls that clue travelers into its medieval history. King Dinis gifted the town to his wife, Queen Isabel, on their wedding day in the late 13th century, and it looks remarkably unchanged today. Visitors come for annual events like the International Chocolate Festival and Medieval Market fair, though the average traveler may not realize that Óbidos is just an hour north of Lisbon. Those who do find their way are rewarded with the chance to sleep inside a Moorish castle, now a Pousada (a chain of luxury historical hotels), and uncover a bookshop on every cobblestoned corner not occupied by a church. An added treat: It’s the ideal setting to sample ginjinha, a sour cherry liqueur that originated in the region.

2. Monsanto

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The village of Monsanto, an endearing oddity in central Portugal near the Spanish border, peeks out from giant boulders. Some rest atop houses like statues of Atlas with the world on his shoulders. Others sandwich front doors overhung with vines like Hobbit houses made of granite. There’s not much beyond the village walls, which has long been part of Monsanto’s appeal. What once served as a strategic mountaintop position to defend against invaders now gives way to a web of walking trails through the surrounding plains. Hike to the disused Templar castle perched above town for the best views of both.

3. Lamego

Photo: Marc Venema/Shutterstock

Lamego lies in the heart of the Douro Valley, where most visitors to Porto run off to for wine tastings. Wine is indeed one of the town’s draws — namely its Raposeira sparkling wine. Travelers can work up a thirst for the local bubbly by switchbacking up the staircase in front of Igreja de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, a baroque church and cardinal pilgrimage site whose azulejo tile artworks encourage guests to keep climbing for a closer look. The town itself is no less lovely, with plenty more historic holy sites and an art museum housed in an 18th-century palace.

4. Costa Nova

Photo: Michal Ludwiczak/Shutterstock

A stone’s throw from Aveiro, one of Portugal’s most romantic waterfront cities, Costa Nova is just begging to be the setting of a Wes Anderson film. It may not have Aveiro’s canals and gondolas, but the old fishing village does have its allure. Notably, a lineup of candy-cane-striped beach huts in all different colors and a shoreline to match. Wave chasers frequent the area, but even the surf averse will enjoy the beach-town feel, complete with a scenic lagoon and some seriously fresh seafood.

5. Monsaraz

Photo: Gi Cristovao Photography/Shutterstock

Évora is the city most travelers visit to dip their toes into the Alentejo region. Only some continue on to Monsaraz about an hour east. Those who do are met with everything Alentejo’s famed cuisine promises, including wine and oil harvested from the surrounding vineyards and olive groves, packed into a smaller, somehow quainter slice of the Portuguese countryside. Off-whitewashed walls, red-tiled roofs that were presumably once uniform, and crooked cobblestones that you’d never dream of straightening give Monsaraz its charm, as do its quiet mornings and slow afternoons. A castle on one end lends the village a modest grandeur. From there, visitors are perfectly positioned to admire the Alqueva Dam in the distance.

6. Talasnal

Photo: Jorge Anastacio/Shutterstock

Talasnal is among the finest examples of Portugal’s schist villages. The sandy, rusty hues of the village’s stonework make it appear as if it’s perpetually bathed in sunset lighting while the surrounding forest all but engulfs the village in the mountain scenery. Outdoor activities are a given, yet even walking through town is achingly pleasant, with several small restaurants and shops to pop into. Wooden handrails lead the way, at one point guiding visitors to a sweet little fountain. For something even sweeter, snack on the village’s famous convent cakes.

7. Marvão

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Marvão is proof that new is not always better. Dating back to the ninth century, when it served as a hideaway for the Moorish Sufi and soldier who gave the walled village its name, Marvão watches over Alentejo from the Serra de São Mamede mountains. It’s these very views that make it a must-see. A medieval castle and labyrinthine garden star as the crowning attraction, but architectural touches like gothic arches and Manueline windows turn any day of dining and shopping into a walk through a living museum. Marvão is worth a visit any time of year, but anyone passing through in November will get an extra treat with the annual Chestnut Festival.

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Ann Cleeves' Shetland novels

COVID-19 has wrecked our 2020 travel plans and made the idea of taking a spontaneous trip ridiculous. And while travel restrictions are easing up around the world — with Greece, Iceland, Portugal, and Sri Lanka reopening their borders to eager tourists — the CDC still recommends that we avoid all non-essential trips, so a jaunt abroad might not yet be on the agenda.

But there are other ways to be transported to faraway places, one of which is diving deep into a good book. We’ll admit that reading international literature is not the same as experiencing a new, foreign place with all our senses, but it’s the next best thing right now. And those who currently dream of escaping to the wild landscapes of isolated lands, where the chances of bumping into another human being are thin, will enjoy an entire series devoted to Shetland, a Scottish cluster of islands that’s 600 miles north of London, 400 miles south of the Arctic Circle, and home to only of 23,000 people: the Shetland detective series by Ann Cleeves. It’s not a brand new series — it even has a TV adaptation — but if you’ve never dived in, it may be your best discovery during lockdown yet.

Photo: Google Maps

Ann Cleeves is the master of crime novels set in this part of the world. Her eight-book Shetland series takes readers around the remote archipelago — from Fair Isle, its southernmost point and the most remote inhabited island in all of Britain, to Unst, the nation’s most northerly isle — solving murder mysteries along the way.

Throughout the entire series, starting with Raven Black and ending with Wild Fire, we follow Jimmy Perez, a quiet and self-conscious police officer who left behind his native Fair Isle, and the farming aspirations his parents had for him. He works in Lerwick, Shetland’s capital town of 7,500 inhabitants located on “Mainland,” the largest Shetland island. Perez makes for an unusual detective, being introverted and anxious, but he is a product of his environment — a place with more sheep and birds than people, where the constantly changing weather and light play with your mind, easily turning one into a brooder.

Cleeves does not live in Shetland, nor is she from there, but she has intimate knowledge of the archipelago and experience of small-island living. Her stint as a cook at the Bird Observatory on Fair Isle as a young woman (which inspired book four of the series, Blue Lightning) and her living on the island of Hilbre with no one else but her husband for several years inspired her to write about remote places. She understands the beauty as well as the hardship of the lifestyle, and she knows it is fertile ground for creativity — she started her very successful writing career on Hilbre — but also small-mindedness, where tight-knit communities thrive.

Photo: Morgane Croissant

And while this is a series of gripping whodunit novels, in which readers are asked to look for clues and decipher every word and action from the characters while following Perez, it’s also much more than that. There’s romance, enthusiasm for the natural world, and a deep love for the location within the pages of the entire series.

Cleeves’ knowledge and passion for the islands are all over the books. She spends time describing the stunning landscapes and wildlife of Mainland, Whalsay, Fair Isle, and Unst through the eyes of her characters, but she digs deeper than the obvious geographical beauty of the islands. She immerses her readers into Shetland by integrating little-known local customs and folklore in fascinating details, from the famous knitting patterns described in Wild Fire to the wedding traditions of Thin Air and the music, dancing, and large events like Up Helly Aa — a fire festival rooted in Shetland’s Viking heritage — throughout the series. She also makes sure the local history is front and center. In Red Bones she describes the rich archeological sites present in the archipelago and the significant role of Shetland in WWII, helping the Norwegian resistance fight against the Nazi occupation.

But while the natural environment, the local customs, and the history of the islands are all shown in a positive light, Cleeves does not try to make Shetland look like a slice of paradise where everyone is as angelic. In nearly every volume she acknowledges the lack of privacy and the cruelty of gossip one can be subjected to in such a small place. And she never shies away from describing the island’s huge part in the oil and gas industry and its impact on the landscapes and its inhabitants. The Sullom Voe Oil Terminal on Mainland is described as an eyesore, as well as an important development that has brought money and opportunity, along with greed and flashiness, to a place where there was previously very little of either.

The books were adapted to TV in a critically acclaimed series called Shetland. The first three seasons are on Netflix and season one, two, and four are available on Britbox, but only the British public who has access to BBC One and ITV can see the full five seasons (season six and seven are in the works). We recommend that travelers in need of some escapism pick up the books first. After all, Cleeves won multiple literary awards for the series, so you can’t go wrong by picking one, or eight, of her novels, for a good, and riveting, time in Shetland.

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