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 by Innovator
The valley is stands on the west bank of the Nile, across from Thebes (modern Luxor), under the peak of the pyramid-shaped mountain Al-Qurn. It is separated into the East and West Valleys, with most of the important tombs in the East Valley. The West Valley has only one tomb open to the public: the tomb of Ay, Tutankhamun's successor. There are a number of other important burials there, including that of Amenhotep III, but these are still being excavated and are not publicly accessible.
The official name for the site was The Great and Majestic Necropolis of the Millions of Years of the Pharaoh, Life, Strength, Health in The West of Thebes, or more usually, Ta-sekhet-ma'at (the Great Field).
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Amenhotep III (18th Dynasty) built a mortuary temple in Thebes that was guarded by two gigantic statues on the outer gates. All that remains now are the 23 meter (75 ft) high, one thousand ton statues of Amenhotep III. Though damaged by nature and ancient tourists, the statues are still impressive.
Ancient Egyptians called the southern of the two statues "Ruler of Rulers". Later travelers called them "Shammy and "Tammy", which may have been a corruption of the Arabic words for "left" and "right". Today they are known locally as "el-Colossat", or "es-Salamat". The statues are made from carved blocks of quartzite quarried either at Giza or Gebel es-Silsila. The Northern statue depicts Amenhotep III with his mother, Mutemwia, while the southern statue is of Amenhotep III with his wife, Tiy and one of his daughters. On the sides of the statues are reliefs depicting Nile gods joining together plants symbolizing Upper and Lower Egypt.
Due to an earthquake in 27 BC, these statues became known for a bell like tone that usually occurred in the morning due to rising temperatures and humidity. Thus they were equated by the early Greek travelers with the figure of Memnon, the son of Aurora who's mother, Eos, was the goddess of dawn. To be granted a song meant that you were very much in favor of the gods. Visitors came from miles around to hear the music, including Emperor Hadrian, in 130 A.D. The Roman emperor Septimius Severus, seeking to repair the statues in 199 AD, inadvertently silenced them forever. Leave a Comment
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For €10 with your touroperator you can do a city roundtrip by horse & carriage. The young boy tries to give you cigarettes on the way, drinks (out of filled bottles water - beware) and plays spicegirls music for your girlfriend - in order to impress and get a big tip ;)
His arabian music is much better than the spicegirls :) Leave a Comment
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The fabulous terraced temple here (and the area itself) is called Deir al-Bahari, or "Northern Monastery". A more engient name is Djeser Djeseru, "Splendor or SPlendors". The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut is a huge tourist attraction, a tremendous monument to one of the few women in Egyptian history who rose to the throne. She was the daughter of Tuthmosis I and married Tuthmosis II and eventually took the throne after being regent for Tuthmosis III.
She is not the first woman to assume the throne -- Tausert ha done it before her -- but she was perhaps the first to assume the trapping of pharaoh such as the headdress, kilts, and false beard.In most statues and images, she is shown in masculine clothing.
But that was not enough. Hatshepsut came up with a fabulous story that she was directly descended from the gods and thus destined to be pharaoh, a claim that she shows in many reliefs on her temple.
The temple itself was buried in the sand until 1905 and has been iinvestigated and restored ever since. The temple was built in about 8 years, starting in the 8th year of her reign by her architect Senenmut. He was also her steward and courtier and, some have posited, her lover.
The temple is built in three terraces. THe uppermost levels are closed to tourists, but the first and second terraces woiuld have been lined with fountains and trees, and gardens would have decorated the enormous courtyards. In the lower courtyard, the stumps of trees have been found that are 3500 years old. THe current ramp and staircase is a reconstruction, of course, but if you stand on the first second courtyard you can see the faint outlkine of an avenue that reached al the way to the Nile, aligned perfectly with the avenue at Karnak.
Inside the colonnades are reliefs that show the transportation of the two enourmous obelisks (one stands at Karnak, the other in Paris). These are being restored.
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 Temple of Hatshepsut by Blatherwick
The focal point of the temple was the Djeser-Djeseru or "the Sublime of Sublimes", a colonnaded structure of perfect harmony nearly one thousand years before the Parthenon. Djeser-Djeseru sits atop a series of terraces that once were graced with gardens.
After her death, many of her monuments were defaced or destroyed. You can see this at the temple as many of the images of where Hatshepsut was are scratched out. The traditional belief among historians is that her son, Thutmose III, was responsible because he was jealous. Talk about a bitter son!
Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I and Queen Ahmose. After the death of her father in 1492 BC she married her half-brother Thutmose II and assumed the title of Great Royal Wife. Thutmose II ruled for only a few years, during which it is believed Hatshepsut exerted tremendous influence. Thutmose II had only two daughters with Hatshepsut, Nefrure and Meritre, but managed to father a male heir, Thutmose III, by a lesser wife named Isis before his death.
As Thutmose III's aunt and stepmother, Hatshepsut was selected to be regent until the boy king came of age. At first it seemed that Hatshepsut was patterning herself after the powerful female regents of Egypt's then recent history, but she had herself crowned Pharaoh which was an exclusively male title at this point in Egyptian history. Over time all depictions of her only showed her in a masculine form. Leave a Comment Directions: On the West Bank of the Nile in between the Valley of the Queens and the Valley of the Kings.
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I took felucca for an hour in Luxor at see the sunset for 30 EGP. The boatman will make tea for you on the felucca to enjoy the sunset. Of course it comes with a fee or high expectation of tip in return. See more pics for sunset. Leave a Comment
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 by Sambawalk
In Cario's Egyptian muesum, you need to pay 70 EGP extra for entrance to the mummy room to meet 8 "Royal members". If you are sort of $$, I recommend you visit this muesum, but not to meet the Royal members. Leave a Comment
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Medinat Habu (Ramses III) is one of the most beautiful temples in the West Bank Luxor. This was my last stop for the day in the west bank and I was so tired. The large court inside allows you to rest and have a short nap. Leave a Comment
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