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| | | | Temple of Hatshepsut: Temple of Hatshepsup | | | | | |
| | | | Temple of Hatshepsut: Temple of Hatshepsut | | | | | |
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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