Winter Palace Hotel

From Kharga we travelled back to the Nile Valley, to the town of Luxor. We stayed in the famous Winter Palace Hotel, built in 1886. I think my room was at least 14 feet high, and it had an inner and outer door to the corridor.

Temple of Luxor

Luxor has almost more tourists than natives, due to the many spectacular sites. We visited the Temple of Luxor at sunset.

Luxor Temple Mammisi

The temple was partly built by the New Kingdom Pharaoh Amenhotep III. In this scene he shows how he was conceived when his mother was visited by the god Amun. The queen and the god sit holding hands, supported on a bed by goddesses.

Amenemhat III

The Luxor Museum is filled with amazing artifacts; unlike the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, here they are beautifully displayed. This is a statue of Pharaoh Amenemhat III, from the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC).

Thutmose III

This statue is of Thutmose III a famous warrior king from the early New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC). You can see how the style of portraiture has changed (although for the most part the pharaohs were so idealised they are not true portraits).

Flies of Valour

The Museum contains the mummy of Pharaoh Ahmose. His family created the New Kingdom by driving out the Hyksos who had invaded and ruled Egypt in the Intermediate Period after the Middle Kingdom. This is part of a necklace of large gold flies that symbolise valour, which Ahmose gave to his mother Ahhotep for her part in the struggle.

Horemheb and Atum

Recently a cache of statues was discovered buried at the base of one of the columns in the Luxor Temple. This life-size set is of the Pharaoh Horemheb, who ruled after Tutankhamun in the New Kingdom, making an offering to the god Atum.

Temple of Karnak Hypostyle

The largest temple complex in the world is that of Karnak. Many Pharaohs added to it. This is the great Hypostyle Hall, where the columns are 21 m tall. The roof is now gone, but the remnants of an upper storey window can be seen.

Obelisk of Hatshepsut

Karnak contains one of the obelisks of Hatshepsut. It is 30 m tall, made from a single piece of granite. Hatshepsut was one of the few women who ruled as Pharaoh.

Temple of Karnak

We visited the temple just at sunset; the moon was rising.

West Bank Village and Tombs

On the west bank of the Nile at Luxor are villages that are built on and around the many tombs of the area. Royalty to commoners were all buried on the West Bank. The royal tombs were hidden since by the time of the New Kingdom the Pharaohs had figured out that a visible tomb was a signpost to robbers.

Valley of the Kings

The Valley of the Kings, where Pharaohs of the New Kingdom were buried (including Tutankhamun), was not as crowded as usual when we visited. We saw 3 tombs (of Ramses III, VI, and IX) and visited several lovely ones in the Valley of the Queens as well. We did not have time to see any tombs of nobles.

Ramesseum

Also on the West Bank are the mortuary temples of the Pharaohs. This one is of Ramses the Great (Ramses II, 1276-1213 BC, of the 19th Dynasty). Ramses was a monumental builder but unfortunately this is not intact.

Ramesseum Column

The capitals of some of the columns still retain the original colours. You can also see the cartouches with the names of the king.

Goddess Writing Ramses's Name

In this scene, a goddess is writing the name of Ramses in the Tree of Life. The faces of the figures have been erased; this was a common act of early Christians who wanted to get rid of the pagan gods. I think the goddess is Seshat - at least it looks like Seshat's headdress.

Medinet Habu

Nearby is the Temple of Ramses III of the 20th Dynasty at Medinet Habu. Similar to the Ramesseum of Ramses II, it is much better preserved.

Starry Ceiling

By the top of a column, you can see the blue ceiling that is covered with stars, a common decorative motif for ceilings.

Hands of Enemies

Ramses III detailed some of his battles in the reliefs; this scene shows the custom of counting hands of enemies to determine how many were defeated.

Goddess Seshat

This lady is the goddess Seshat, goddess of records, writing, and the Mistress of Books.

Deir el Bahri

At Deir el Bahri is the mortuary temple of Pharaoh Hatshepsut. Quite different in design from the other temples, it is also quite beautiful, and must have been even more so when built, with trees planted at least on the lower level.

Deir el Bahri Scene

Some of the reliefs detail the expedition Hatshepsut sent to the land of Punt, to trade for such things as incense. A copy of those reliefs in the Royal Ontario Museum shows how much the originals have deteriorated in the last century. This relief is from another section and appears to show a leopard being led in a procession.