Sacred time at Hatshepsut Temple

Mysterious Temple and mysterious Queen Hatshepsut.(reigned 1479-1457 BC)

Hatshepsut was the most important of the rare female Pharaoh and therefore created disapproval in this patriarcal society.

Many attempts after her death to eradicate her trace on hieroglyphs but this temple is here to stay and still in good condition. Despite Toutmosis III’s ambitions to destroy her history (successor), she is, 3500 years later, a famous Pharaoh, playing between been man and woman representations, what else! (She assumed, for exemple the traditional false beard and the symbols of Pharaohs)

Located in Deir el Bahari, a complex of Mortuary Temples, it is dedicated to the Sun God Amon-Ra . Its most striking feature is a long colonnated terrace filled with many tall sculptures representing the Pharaoh and Deities.

The architecture’s Temple contains pylons, courts, a hypostyle hall, a sun court, a chapel and a sanctuary.

The chapel of Hathor, goddess of joy, mucic and love

The surviving reliefs on the wall document the birth of the first divine female Pharaoh and an expedition to a mysterious country near the Red Sea (the Land of Punt) from where they brought back copper, asphalt, naptha, carved amulets, myrrh and incense.
Hatshepsut’s temple is considered an incomparable monument of Ancient Egypt.

Beautiful original colors, The sacred Stars for eternity, with relief of her         Divine Birth.

A simple wa’u….. for this destiny,this fine architecture, and her history.

To enjoy really really good, I propose you to discover the Temple after a walk up the mountain. It’s just amazing, you feel the temple like a present given from it. Wallahi!

Just Enjoy the next pictures, a normal health conditions is required.

Isn’t it Beautiful?

You walk up the Big Eternal Hatshepsut’s Monument and from this view, you could see others marvels of Ancient Egypt but…sshutt.. I’ll let you discover by yourself when you will come 😉

Hatshepsut was a great Pharaoh of the XVIII  Dynasty, she built in Karnak the Red Chapel and famous Obelisqs. She wished gold obelisk for Amon Ra…With all her love, she built it in granit, with all her love too.

Hatshepsut, with all my love, you are a great Pharaoh.

Just a note : Luxor is amazing to gather all this Ancient History, following the biggest Pharaohs from the begining of them reign until them death, by Temples and tombs.

Great feast for Spring by the Nile

On Monday this week, the quiet peaceful banks of the Nile let place to a happy crowd. Families and children come to celebrate Cham-el-Nessim, the beginning of Spring.

Everybody enjoys this time, children are jumping in the fresh Nile river, and families are sharing food, specially old and salted fish (Fiseekh) with eggs, onions and salad, cooking in different ways. It’s exactly the day following the Coptic Easter, it was really a lucky day with a fantastic weather.

The festival was already celebrated in ancient time to honor agriculture and fertility. Ancient Egyptians believed the vernal equinox as a new life, new cycle, and made rituals and offerings to the divinities. They prepared old fish kept in salt from the best days of fishing on the latest season to invoke the new one’s coming. Salted fish, lettuce, onions and eggs were significance of hopefulness, the safety of the soul and  regenerative life.

In all Egypt, everybody enjoys the breeze of spring, going into green spaces or on boat by the Nile.

Don’t miss a felucca or traditional motor boat trip on this day! Enjoy the feast!

A visit to Carter’s House

Visit the world of Howard Carter takes us back to early last century in the fabulous story of his discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb and its Treasures.

Enter his home is also a great tour to see all objects of his time. His office, his sketches, his library. His typewriter that allowed him to maintain his correspondence with Lord Carvarnon, his camera at the time and his photo lab but also intimate places like his bedroom. The living room contains old objects, piled like the treasures stored in the tomb of Tutankhamun.
We relive and imagine his daily life, at the entrance to the Valley of the Kings, where he devoted all his life, his love and passion for Egypt.

Idea : You can complete and enjoy this day with a visit of Tutankhamun’s Tomb in the Valley of the Kings (including 3 other tombs) and discover pieces of his treasure in Luxor museum

Howard Carter, British archaeologist and Egyptologist born in 1874 and died in 1939, to 64.

Talented  painter, he discovers Egypt at the age of 17 , reproducing in the site of Beni Hassan, between Cairo and Luxor,  frescoes  of princely tombs, richly decorated with scenes of agricultural and artisanal life. Then, he becomes  a big fan of all these wonders Pharaonic.

The many stages of his life lead him to become one of the most renowned archaeologists, crowned by his victory of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb.

Howard Carter will work with the greatest Egyptologists of his day, Flinders Petrie and Gaston Maspero who offered him to work for the Department of Antiquities as inspector general of monuments in Upper Egypt. But his impetuous nature will make him crossing period of loneliness  and he resigned for excuses he will never do to wealthy French tourists demanding repayment of the ticket of a site considered too dark!
Maspero who regrets the departure of the talented Carter, introduce him Lord Carnarvon, who excavate in amateur since 2 years without success. He needs a man to supervise his action and will finance his work.

They will work together over 10 years,  searching many sites without great succes and finance and Lord Carnarvon’s hopes are diminishing with time. After evidences of an unknown pharaoh was found, a so-called thutankhamun, the famoustly obstinated Howard Carter began looking for his grave in an unprospected area. November 4, 1922, four days after starting excavations, Howard Carter had his consecration by discovering the first steps of the entrance to a tomb never plundered. Anubis on the door announced a great person. November 25, the opening of “the door” left Carter’s team in shock, faced with these historical treasures and millennia we have the chance to visit today, in several museums.

A special room is dedicated in Cairo’s museum, where it is magical to watch the perfection and beauty of the gold mask of Tutankhamun’s mummy, and also other  beautiful objects in the museum of Luxor.

1922 – 2012

90 this year, after the discovery of these magnificent treasures.

His office, where we imagine him with several feelings, to see his sketches, his library,

We guess a few moments of relaxation while listening to music or typing on his machine..

Through the light, Carter is still here…

A video projection is provided with Carter that speaks to us in hologram, not available this day…anyway, it’s an enjoyable trip!

Have a look to the oven working with external air!

Some everyday items

Decrypting the treasures of Egypt

Hello World!

Is anyone interested?

http://www.mndaily.com/2012/02/09/excavators-find-treasure-egyptian-trash-heap

KV 64

KV 64   We know more about this discovery!

During the season of 2011, three edges of an unknown manmade feature appeared at 1.80m to the north of KV 40, on the 25th of January, the first day of the Egyptian revolution. Due to the situation, it was immediately covered with an iron door.

As this structure is so close to KV 40 and as it was impossible to know whether it was just a short unfinished shaft or a real tomb, we gave it the temporary number 40b. This number is now replaced by the final designation KV 64. The KV numbers should definitely be used exclusively for real tombs or deposits and not for possible cavities and yet unascertained structures. (…)
The tomb has a single chamber of approx. 4m (north – south) by 2.4m (east-west). The room was filled with debris to about 0.8m under the ceiling. On the left (north) side of the chamber, a black wooden coffin lies upon the thick layer of debris. On its sides, large yellow hieroglyphs are painted. Traces of yellow decoration are visible under the dust on its upper side. Next to the feet of the coffin stands a small, wooden stelae (27.5 x 22.5 x 2cm) with very bright colours. The type of stelae and coffin clearly indicate to the 22nd dynasty, 9th century BCE. It is one of the very few burials of this period in Thebes that can be observed with its objects still in their original position. It is located on the path leading to Tuthmosis III’s tomb.

From the texts on the stelae and on the coffin, it appears that the burial belongs to a lady who was a chantress of Amun, called Nehemes-Bastet. Her father was a priest in Karnak.” (Universität Basel). She was a temple singer during Egypt’s 22nd Dynasty (approximately 945 – 712BC), according to an inscription in the tomb.

Professor Susanne Bickel of the University of Basel told the BBC that the coffin was opened on Monday and she was able to see the “nicely wrapped” mummy of the woman who was buried in the tomb.”  The coffin found in the tomb contains an intact mummy from almost 3,000 years ago.

Until now the only tombs found in the historic valley were those linked to ancient Egyptian royal families.