On the first day of our Nile Cruise, we were picked up in a van from our Airbnb by our guide for the duration of the cruise, Omar. Before boarding the boat, we visited the major archaeological sites of Luxor’s West Bank with Omar.
Central to the religion of Ancient Egyptians was the belief in the afterlife. You could say that the living, particularly the pharaohs, were deeply preoccupied with the afterlife and this obsession was interwoven into every aspect of their lives as they ruled Ancient Egypt.
After death, the immortal soul yearned to exist in the afterlife. Entry into the afterlife was not guaranteed and there were a number of things that would need to happen before entry into the afterlife was granted. The deceased would need to traverse a difficult and dangerous path before the soul was judged for worthiness. Much of the responsibility was placed on the living as there were sacred rituals that had to performed to prepare the way for the deceased. For example, boats needed to be built to carry the deceased during the journey. The body needed to be mummified so it would be preserved and ready to be reborn in the afterlife. Everything the deceased needed or wanted in the afterlife would have to be buried with him or her so the objects of daily use and special luxuries would be available in the afterlife.
In this context, the tombs of the pharaohs and queens were built entirely to facilitate their entry into the afterlife. Typically, construction of the tomb began when the pharaoh ascended the throne and ended when he died. In general, the longer the pharaoh’s reign, the larger and more elaborate the tomb. Some tombs were sealed before they were completed because the pharaoh had died unexpectedly and needed to embark on his journey to the afterlife.
Queen Hatshepsut's Temple
Queen Hatshepsut is likely the second woman pharaoh who ruled Egypt and is considered one of the greatest pharaohs, man or woman, in Ancient Egypt. During her 15-year reign, Egypt enjoyed a peaceful and prosperous period and was strong both militarily and economically. Trade with neighboring regions was booming and her expedition to a place called Punt (most likely modern-day Eritrea or Somalia) brought back luxury items like gold, ebony, incense as well as exotic animals like giraffes, and vegetation to Egypt. Scenes from the expedition were depicted on her mortuary temple.
I found Queen Hatshepsut to be one of the most fascinating pharaohs. Our guide, Omar, told us the story of how she came to power and the challenges a woman king had to contend with, which was similar to the one that our guide in Cairo, Iman, had told us when we visited the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization where Queen Hatshepsut’s mummy is displayed.
Hatshepsut was the daughter of Tuthmosis I. Not unusual during that time, she married her half-brother Tuthmosis II. Her stepson/nephew, Tuthmosis III (whose mother was a secondary wife of Tuthmosis II) was only a child when her husband died, so Hatshepsut ruled as a regent to her stepson/nephew but effectively assumed the full authority of the throne. In the meantime, Hatshepsut sent her stepson/nephew away from the capitol to pursue military training.
To gain legitimacy as the pharaoh in the eyes of her people, she built herself the grandest mortuary temple at that time. She portrayed herself as the daughter of the most popular god, Amun, thus divine at birth. She also depicted herself as a male pharaoh with the customary pharaonic beard, crown and regalia.
After her death, Tuthmosis III finally claimed the throne for himself and became a powerful pharoah in his own right, best known for his military prowess and expansion of Egypt’s territory, which brought great wealth and riches to Egypt. As pharaoh, Tuthmosis III attempted to erase all trace of Hatshepsut’s reign from temples, public monuments and records. Experts believe that it wasn’t because he resented her or was out to get revenge. The more probable reason was because he did not want the legacy of a female pharaoh to be remembered, much less celebrated. To maintain balance and harmony, he believed that kings of Egypt should be men.
As a result, for thousands of years, the name and accomplishments of Hatshepsut were forgotten. It wasn’t until hieroglyphics could be deciphered with the Rosetta Stone that the existence of a female king during the New Kingdom became known.
It is simply fascinating that the same story of women being under-estimated, under-recognized, and under-valued has been told since the earliest civilization. This same story continues to be told today, over 3000 years later.
Valley of the Kings
Valley of the Kings was the burial site primarily for pharaohs but also for queens, high priests and nobles from the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties during the New Kingdom. The earliest tombs for Ancient Egyptian pharaohs were the mastabas (flat tombs) and pyramids found in Lower Egypt. It is believed that the preference for rock-cut tombs like those found in the Valley of the Kings (and Valley of the Queens) developed due to the more secluded and hidden nature of these tombs. This style of tomb, compared to the pyramid, was believed to be more difficult for grave robbers to loot the treasures that were buried in the tombs, as had already been happening for centuries. It also took considerably less resources to build a rock-cut tomb compared to a pyramid.
In all, 64 tombs have been discovered in the Valley of the Kings. King Tutankhamen’s tomb was the 62nd tomb to be discovered in 1922. It was surprising to learn that new tombs have been discovered in recent years. In 2005, the 63rd tomb was discovered, initially thought to belong to King Tutankhamen’s mother but later concluded to be a storage chamber. The most recent discovery was the 64th tomb, a small tomb unearthed in 2011 containing the remains of two people. One was an Egyptian priestess named Nehmes Bastet and the other remains unidentified. To date, King Tutankhamen’s tomb was the most impressive discovery because it was largely intact and filled with priceless treasures. Even today, there are still undiscovered tombs in the Valley of the Kings and excavations are ongoing.
The tombs in the Valley of the Kings have been looted for thousands of years. Grave robbers, thieves and plunderers from invading forces looted most of the treasures from the tombs over the millennia. In an effort to protect the mummified remains of the pharaohs from the previous centuries, sometime between 1077 BC to 950 BC, priests of the 21st dynasty removed many pharaonic mummies from their original tombs and held them for safe keeping hidden in the tomb of the High Priest of Amun. Eventually, this mummy cache where over 50 mummies were discovered, became known as the Royal Cache or Deir el-Bahri cache. Another mummy cache was discovered in the tomb of Amenhotep II and appeared to be the “overflow” area where priests kept more royal mummies safe. During our visit to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC), we actually saw some of the mummies found in these two mummy caches in the Mummy Hall.
The general ticket to the Valley of the Kings includes entry to three tombs. On any given day, around eight tombs are open on a rotating basis. There are a few other tombs, including King Tutankhamen’s tomb, that you can enter by purchasing an additional ticket. We visited the following tombs – Rameses IV, Rameses IX and Meremptah.
In the middle of November, it already felt pretty hot when we visited the Valley of the Kings. The temperature was not particularly high, in the low 30 degrees c. but the sun was very intense and the tombs were stuffy and hot inside. We were very lucky to avoid the nearly unbearable heat of the summer when temperatures are easily 10 degrees hotter.
Rameses IV reigned for only about 6 years after the murder of his father, Ramses III. His reign is considered by Egyptologists to be a period of economic decline. His mummy was not found in this tomb but was discovered in the mummy cache in the tomb of Amenhotep II. The mummy is on display at NMEC. The tomb has been open since antiquity and there are Coptic and Greek graffiti all over the walls. The oldest graffiti dates back to Ptolemaic times, 278 BC. The tomb was used as temporary lodgings for early explorers. The colors of the tomb walls are still vibrant, especially the blue on the ceiling.
Rameses IX reigned for just over 18 years. He reestablished stability after a chaotic period. This tomb is the most visited tomb in the Valley of the Kings. When we visited, it was crowded with a long line to walk to the back of the tomb. We got in line not knowing what we were lining up for. It took us about 15 minutes to get to the front and realized it was just to snap a photo of the burial chamber. This is another tomb that has been open since antiquity and there are ancient graffiti on the walls. The body of Rameses IX was also found in the mummy cache and not in the tomb. The mummy is on display at NMEC.
Meremptah was the 13th son of Ramses II. He took the throne at the age of 60, after the death of his father, because his 12 older brothers had died before the death of their father. Meremptah reigned for 10 years. It is believed that he reigned jointly with his father before he ascended the throne so he began construction of his tomb before he actually became pharoah. His tomb is the second largest in the Valley. In an uncharacteristic miscalculation on the part of the tomb engineers, the exterior sarcophagus was too large so when the pharaoh died, some of the pillars in the tomb had to be cut away to allow the sarcophagus to fit through. Some of the lower parts of the walls in the tomb have been damaged by flooding. The body of Meremptah was also found in the mummy cache and not in the tomb and is on display at NMEC.
Colossi of Memnon
The Colossi of Memnon are two giant statues that represent Amenhotep III who ruled in the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom. Amenhotep III inherited the throne from his father Thutmosis IV and was an exceptional pharaoh who expanded the wealth and prestige of Ancient Egypt. He is also known for being a tremendous builder, commissioning an impressive number of public works, monuments and temples.
The Colossi of Memnon were constructed around 1300 BC from two single blocks of sandstone and stand 18 meters tall. They were originally built to stand guard in front of a grand mortuary complex of Amenhotep III that once stood behind them. The mortuary complex which was once larger and more impressive than the Temple of Karnak, has since been reduced to rubble due to the recycling of building materials by subsequent rulers in ancient times. The statues are all that remain on the site, having survived earthquakes and floods, but badly damaged.
If the statues are of Amnehotep III, why are they called the Colossi of Memnon? Students of Greek mythology would be familiar with Memnon, an Ethiopian king who fought with the Trojans against the Greeks in the Battle of Troy. Memnon was killed by the Greek hero, Achilles. The Colossi of Memnon have been tourist attractions since the time of Ancient Greece and graffiti thousands of years old is visible on the base of the statue. The two statues were mistaken by Ancient Greek tourists to be statues honoring Memnon. The misnomer has stuck with the statues to the present day.
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11/20 哈特謝普蘇特神廟（Hatshepsut）
氣勢恢宏嚇嚇叫，背嵌山崖女王廟。
坡道階梯寬柱廊，彩繪壁畫石浮雕。
豐功偉業女法老，雕像鬍鬚神氣傲。
自稱阿蒙神之女，一代女皇永不老。
人稱埃及武則天，早唐兩千五百年。
風調雨順民安樂，流傳百世神廟殿。