[We have photos for this post, but our internet connection is so unstable that Blogspot times out before we can upload them. We're trying!]
Driving from Luxor's West Bank through the craggy, parched landscape of the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens, their tombs scattered through the cliffs, and through the Valley of the Nobles or even the Rameseum on the plain, it all seems laid out rather scatter-shot. Standing on the huge expanse of the great court of the memorial temple of Hatshepsut, however, I now get it. With its three levels cut into the side of the mountain which stands high over the temple then dips flanking it like arms, the vista from the massive great court or middle or upper terrace encompasses all the valley from the Rameseum on the left of the Medinat Habu, the memorial temple of Rameses III on the right. Straight down the middle following the imposing line of processional ramps into the far distance off to the east lies Karnak on the other side of the Nile. Directly behind the temple on the opposite side of the mountain lies the Valley of the Kings. Depending on the sun's angle, the limestone cliffs might be a yellow tan, then a pale rose. The setting is dry and hot, and absolutely gorgeous. The scale of nearly all of the temples we've seen is impressive but the memorial temple of Hatshepsut is unique. Its massive geometrical layout looks modern from afar. Wherever you stand, the vista is very Riefenstahl. Up close, most of the decorations of Hatshepsut or any of the hieroglyphs of her name were destroyed by her step son-successor. Many wonderful fragments remain however, my favorite showing Somali landscapes and ships with uniformed sailors.
The Tomb of Nefertari was important to us as it was the closest we would come to Rameses II tomb, and Rameses II was the ruler we chose to follow having the longest rein and being a most prolific builder. Alas, his tomb was heavily damaged by a freak flash flood and was closed for restoration. By a twist of fate, the tomb of his wife Nefertari was just recently opened after years of restoration. Considered the finest and most colorful tomb, and demanding the highest price of admission until very recently, we took advantage of the dramatic drop in fee and descended down the tunnel, its deep blue ceiling holding a myriad of stars. These were the finest painted chambers we'd seen yet, every inch of wall and ceiling decorated if not with the gods or Nefertari herself, then with script from the Book of the Dead. No photos are allowed in any of the tombs, especially here where the time limit for viewing was 10 minutes. The guards face lit up when he saw me from yesterday's Tut tomb where he encouraged my taking a picture in a discreet corner for a wee tip. Seeing cash coming his way, he offered me a chance to snap a few shots in this tomb of tombs but alas, I was camera-less. His face turned sad, but then he lit up again: you stay 20 minutes!
The Valley of the Workers was high on my list as I knew so little of ancient daily proletariat life so to speak and besides, this valley lead to the small but beautiful Temple of Hathor, an important god to Nefertari. Seventy mud brick homes have been revealed in this valley with roadways to the worksites. They were tightly clustered together by a warren of walkways, below cliffs holding many of their own burial chambers which we stuffed ourselves into in order to explore. Much smaller than the tombs in which they plied their crafts for a living, these tombs were highly decorated but in a less formal way. Their paintings focused less on the images of the gods and rituals but more on daily family life. The colors employed were more of earth tones than the richer golds and blues of the royal tombs but they held a sweetness and more colloquial character that was endearing. This workforce was made up of skilled artists and craftsmen, whose sons carried on in their fathers footsteps. The work week was 10 days on and two off. The entire west bank was reserved as a necropolis, so there were no towns or villages allowed, just this one small community. On the way to work they passed a sweet little temple dedicated to Hathor, goddess similar to Athena and Maat, Goddess of Truth.
"Rameseum" was the name given by the scholar who deciphered hieroglyphs. Rameses II built this massive temple to preserve his memory and in spite of being in ruin, by golly, it works. Many huge reliefs of his exploits remain, but it's the massive sculptures that make his temple unique. Alas, they fell during an earthquake, the ruins inspiration for Shelley to write his famous poem Ozymandias.
The Howard Carter House was our last stop in the hot, dry valley before heading back to the bustle and lushness of east Nile bank Luxor. Consisting of a perfect rectangle of English colonial oasis a la 1900 with a back yard essentially full of New Kingdom treasure tombs waiting to be discovered, this compound served as the archaeologist's home at the time of his discovery of the treasure-loaded King Tut tomb. Alas, the treasures within the Carter home don't quite measure up to Tut's, but the overall effect of the home, with its vintage furnishings and photography studio does evoke that freewheeling era. I'm afraid I can't say it enough: what a great day!
Driving from Luxor's West Bank through the craggy, parched landscape of the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens, their tombs scattered through the cliffs, and through the Valley of the Nobles or even the Rameseum on the plain, it all seems laid out rather scatter-shot. Standing on the huge expanse of the great court of the memorial temple of Hatshepsut, however, I now get it. With its three levels cut into the side of the mountain which stands high over the temple then dips flanking it like arms, the vista from the massive great court or middle or upper terrace encompasses all the valley from the Rameseum on the left of the Medinat Habu, the memorial temple of Rameses III on the right. Straight down the middle following the imposing line of processional ramps into the far distance off to the east lies Karnak on the other side of the Nile. Directly behind the temple on the opposite side of the mountain lies the Valley of the Kings. Depending on the sun's angle, the limestone cliffs might be a yellow tan, then a pale rose. The setting is dry and hot, and absolutely gorgeous. The scale of nearly all of the temples we've seen is impressive but the memorial temple of Hatshepsut is unique. Its massive geometrical layout looks modern from afar. Wherever you stand, the vista is very Riefenstahl. Up close, most of the decorations of Hatshepsut or any of the hieroglyphs of her name were destroyed by her step son-successor. Many wonderful fragments remain however, my favorite showing Somali landscapes and ships with uniformed sailors.
The Tomb of Nefertari was important to us as it was the closest we would come to Rameses II tomb, and Rameses II was the ruler we chose to follow having the longest rein and being a most prolific builder. Alas, his tomb was heavily damaged by a freak flash flood and was closed for restoration. By a twist of fate, the tomb of his wife Nefertari was just recently opened after years of restoration. Considered the finest and most colorful tomb, and demanding the highest price of admission until very recently, we took advantage of the dramatic drop in fee and descended down the tunnel, its deep blue ceiling holding a myriad of stars. These were the finest painted chambers we'd seen yet, every inch of wall and ceiling decorated if not with the gods or Nefertari herself, then with script from the Book of the Dead. No photos are allowed in any of the tombs, especially here where the time limit for viewing was 10 minutes. The guards face lit up when he saw me from yesterday's Tut tomb where he encouraged my taking a picture in a discreet corner for a wee tip. Seeing cash coming his way, he offered me a chance to snap a few shots in this tomb of tombs but alas, I was camera-less. His face turned sad, but then he lit up again: you stay 20 minutes!
The Valley of the Workers was high on my list as I knew so little of ancient daily proletariat life so to speak and besides, this valley lead to the small but beautiful Temple of Hathor, an important god to Nefertari. Seventy mud brick homes have been revealed in this valley with roadways to the worksites. They were tightly clustered together by a warren of walkways, below cliffs holding many of their own burial chambers which we stuffed ourselves into in order to explore. Much smaller than the tombs in which they plied their crafts for a living, these tombs were highly decorated but in a less formal way. Their paintings focused less on the images of the gods and rituals but more on daily family life. The colors employed were more of earth tones than the richer golds and blues of the royal tombs but they held a sweetness and more colloquial character that was endearing. This workforce was made up of skilled artists and craftsmen, whose sons carried on in their fathers footsteps. The work week was 10 days on and two off. The entire west bank was reserved as a necropolis, so there were no towns or villages allowed, just this one small community. On the way to work they passed a sweet little temple dedicated to Hathor, goddess similar to Athena and Maat, Goddess of Truth.
"Rameseum" was the name given by the scholar who deciphered hieroglyphs. Rameses II built this massive temple to preserve his memory and in spite of being in ruin, by golly, it works. Many huge reliefs of his exploits remain, but it's the massive sculptures that make his temple unique. Alas, they fell during an earthquake, the ruins inspiration for Shelley to write his famous poem Ozymandias.
The Howard Carter House was our last stop in the hot, dry valley before heading back to the bustle and lushness of east Nile bank Luxor. Consisting of a perfect rectangle of English colonial oasis a la 1900 with a back yard essentially full of New Kingdom treasure tombs waiting to be discovered, this compound served as the archaeologist's home at the time of his discovery of the treasure-loaded King Tut tomb. Alas, the treasures within the Carter home don't quite measure up to Tut's, but the overall effect of the home, with its vintage furnishings and photography studio does evoke that freewheeling era. I'm afraid I can't say it enough: what a great day!
Fantastic!
ReplyDelete