My Egypt – Day 9
VALLEY OF THE KINGS AND KARNAK
BY: NANCY HUBER
Photo courtesy: Nancy Huber
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Another exciting day in the land of Egypt. Highlights today were the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple, and of course Luxor, and the Karnak Temple. This will be our last tour day visiting ancient sites.
We began our journey this morning by visiting the Valley of the Kings. After I had to leave my camera behind at one of the checkpoints, we ventured on towards the tombs where sixty-three of the most important pharaohs in the ancient history of Egypt lie beneath the sun-blasted gorge of generic red rock and dust.
We first visited the tomb of Rameses IV of the 20th Dynasty, who ruled a total of 6 years. Afterwards we saw the tomb of another Rameses, number IX, also of the 20th Dynasty, who had ruled for 20 years. Even though he had ruled so long, his tomb was still incomplete. Why one might wonder? During his reign were 7 bad years, similar to the times of Joseph. Perhaps there were also problems with war. When Rameses IX died, during the 70 days of procession, the workers stopped all other work in the tomb to quickly finish the main sanctuary section.
Then we visited the tomb of Merenphtah from the 19th Dynasty. As we entered the tomb, we had to descend over 90 steps, taking us deeper and deeper into the heart of the rock. Merenphtah had been 65, when he became pharaoh, and yet still was able to rule Egypt for another 14 years. He married two of his daughters; not for sexual reasons, but mainly to give them the title and respect he thought they deserved.
We left the Valley of the Kings, and not too far away we came upon the mortuary temple built during the reign of Pharaoh Hatshepsut of the 18th Dynasty, which stands out as one of the most impressive at Deir-el-Bahri. The building was constructed by her lover and architect Senmut.
Now, for those that don’t know who Hatshepsut was; let me explain. She was a woman living in a man’s world. But that did not hinder her from what she wanted to do. She dressed up as a man, which included the famous pharaoh beard, and practically marketed herself as such.
Hatshepsut was the 5th pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty. And she was the second historically confirmed female pharaoh, after Sobekneferu. She was the daughter of Thutmose I and Ahmose, and married to Thutmose II, who was too young to rule – so Hatshepsut conveniently took the position.
She is well known for her architecture and major trade networks, the beautiful artwork and story painted on the walls inside the mortuary temple. Most of the pictures have been destroyed by a very angry Thutmoses, jealousy enraging him to do such an act. He tried to erase her history, but thankfully did not succeed.
Inside the temple one can still admire bits and pieces of the incredible history, telling an interesting story of Punt, an unknown African coastal land. Pictures of different kinds of fish not available in Egypt cover the wall, colour pigments still attached to them. A sea turtle can be found amongst the fish. Then pictures of houses with ladders reaching up to the first level appear on the scene. Queen Hatshepsut led a 3-year exhibition to this country, returning with young trees, to be planted in Egypt. The leaves were used for incense. In one of the paintings one can see Queen Hatshepsut offering the leaves of the incense trees to Amun-Ra, her father.
As we leave the temple compound, we gaze back once more, admiring the stunning backdrop of the mountain against the astonishing architecture. As we turn, we notice vultures circling above us.
We were brought back to the boat, to rest for a couple of hours. Abdul finds me on the deck, and tells me exciting news. He happens to know someone working on the “Karnak” (Sudan), the boat which was used in “Death on the Nile.” Don’t you love moments like these? With a huge smile he lets me know that the boat will pass ours in a few minutes. I just stare at him, unable to speak. Soon after, we can see the famous boat approach in the distance. If one wants to spend a night on this boat, and sleep in the famous Agatha Christie suite, one needs to pay $8,000. Wow!
The few hours of rest go by too quickly. Abdul pushes us on towards Karnak and the Luxor Temple. Our brain is on overload as we walk past the ancient statues, and one temple begins to look like the others.
But our spirit comes back to life as we enter Karnak Temple. It is here that “Death on the Nile” was filmed, and we walk by the row of lion statues, which appeared much longer in the movie. Abdul also showed us the stairs leading up to the roof top and he showed us the spot where the rock fell from; for those of you that remember the scene. We also learned that “The Spy Who Loved Me” was also filmed here in the great hypo style hall.
One feels tiny and unimportant when standing amongst the huge, overpowering pillars inside the hypo style hall. To think that this entire area was once completely covered by a roof and kept in darkness to re-create creation. It’s unbelievable.
After a long day it’s time to say our good-byes to Abdul. He had been an amazing tour guide, and we will miss his laughter and humour. Tomorrow he will take the train back home to Aswan.
The driver takes us back to the boat, where we literally fall on our beds. This day has been most exuberant, breathtaking, unforgettable and exhausting.
