Roaming Royal Relics - Part II

Our second day in Luxor was memorable, but a little more casual than those that had preceded it.  For one thing, everyone seemed to have had the best night's sleep since arriving, which only indicates that, finally, we were all on Egyptian time which is GMT -1 or 2, I think.  Being rested makes everything easier!  Our hotel was located on the grounds of the Winter Palace of King Farouk, who was deposed in the early or mid-fifties, but who obviously knew how  to live well.

Farouk Winter Palace - Front Porch (?)

Winter Palace Pool and Garden

Our destination was back across the Nile to the West Bank (I kept hearing echos from my time in New Orleans) to the Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Valley of the Queens.

I should take a minute to comment on the East Bank/West Bank distinction in both ancient and present day Egypt.  In the ancient religion, the West Bank represented death and resurrection, while the East Bank represented birth and life.  Consequently, tombs were across the river (the Nile, not the Jordan) and the cities all were built on the rising sun side.  There were plenty of cities on the West Bank, but they were dedicated to building, decorating or interring the departed, hence, not permanent.  At Luxor, the "preferred" entrance to the realm of the dead was marked by two colossi which stand today as testimony to the importance of this transitional entry point.

Ancient entrance point to the land of the dead

I will always remember this scene because I was trying to take it in when I slipped and fell out of the bus and created some o the most spectacular bruises I've ever obtained.  They are only faded to shadows at the time of this writing, two weeks later.  There is some comfort in knowing that I am still capable of a bounce instead of a break, so, I take some comfort in that!

Hatshepsut was born a princess and married Tuthmosis II, becoming Queen.  When her husband died suddenly at a fairly early age, Hatshepsut "graciously agreed" to be regent for her step son, until he should come of age to assume full power.  She liked the job, and kept it for many years, ultimately having herself crowned "Pharaoh," and reigning successfully and powerfully for many (30+) years, I think.  Her mortuary temple is hewn out of a limestone mountainside.  She had a daughter whom she forced her step-son to marry (following a beloved Egyptian custom of marring siblings), thus becoming both step mother and mother-in-law to the man whose rightful place she had usurped.  When he did finally achieve the throne, he had all her monuments, including her tomb, destroyed and defaced, and attempted to wipe her name from the records, which he succeed in doing, until later archaeologists discovered the cover-up and restored her name to the list of important pharaohs of the New Kingdom. 

Mortuary Temple(s) of Queen Hatshepsut

The Lady, herself, as she wanted to be remembered
  

The Entrance to Queen Hatshepsut's burial chamber 

Even in its desecrated state, it is still a most impressive testimonial to the Queen's power and ambition.  The complex is bookended by a Temple to Amun-Ra on one side and Hathor on the other.  The lady chose her resurrected life companions with some care!  Interestingly enough, the elaborate mortuary temple complex that Tuthmosis III built for his own glorification lies in ruins in the shadow of the memorial he attempted to destroy.  He obviously never got the better of his wicked step mother!

What's left of Tuthmosis III's monument

Our next stop was the Valley of the Queens.  There are 75 or 80 tombs at this location, most of which are not open.  We were able to see into three, the day we were there.  They are also off limits to camera, and are smaller, but no less impressive for their accompanying art and craftsmanship.  Since most "Queens" were buried in the tombs of their husbands, these represent mostly lesser queens and princes.  The location is as desolate as its more famous male-dominated counterpart.

Entrance to the Valley of the Queens

Upon returning to the hotel, a shopping party was organized to find a place to purchase, or at least shop for Egyptian cotton.  Several suggested places were closed.  But, eventually one was found and contrary to my better inclination, I found some T-shirts and two galabiyas (the traditional gown of Egyptian men) which called out for purchase.  I'm not sure how the galabiyas will be used.  Probably early morning dress in the summer.  I did not purchase the traditional headgear and no pictures will be forthcoming.

Our next stop was the Luxor Museum which contains exhibits of artifacts located or unearth from the area.  It is very rich and requires at least a day and a lifetime to take in.  Unfortunately we had only a little over an hour, just enough time to become aware of how much was being missed.  I captured a couple of memorable displays on camera.  One I'll share is a rare bust of Akhenaten the heretic, born Amenhotep IV, who was father to King Tut.  His attempt to turn Egyptian religion into a monotheistic one, was met with powerful resistance, and his shrines and monuments were all but obliterated after his death.  This highly stylized statue hints at his true features in an elongated and exaggerated presentation which reflects his artistic preferences.  He was one of a kind!

Akhenaten/Amenhotep IV - Luxor Museum

I'm going to end this post with two pictures.  Luxor Temple in the day, and a rather poor one of Luxor temple at night.

And now, it's on to Aswan!