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| Complex of Hatshepsut |
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| Leading up the ramp |
The mortuary complex of Hatshepsut is in Luxor on the way to the Valley of the Kings. She ruled Egypt as a Pharaoh and is actually buried in the Valley of the Kings, or at least she has a tomb in the Valley of the Kings.It is believed that her mummy was removed from her tomb and placed with that of her midwife. It was regarded as an unidentified mummy, but there is some good evidence that this is actually the mummy of Hatshepsut. When Marie and I visited Luxor some time ago, we just stopped at the gate to this amazing place and I always wanted to go in and explore the inside of this amazing structure. The guide that took Marie and I around suggested we talk about "Hot chicken soup" when trying to remember the name of Hatshepsut and that name has pretty much stuck with me.
Hatshepsut was the 5th Pharaoh of the eighteen Dynasty of Egypt and she ruled, as a pharaoh from 1507 - 1458 BC. Her rise to power was remarkable and it relied on her understanding of religion and her bloodline. She was the daughter, sister and wife to a king, so there was the bloodline. This alone would not allow her to rule Egypt, so she established herself as the god's wife of Amun. Much of the inscriptions in her temple in Luxor explains how she was the wife of a god. Officially, she was a joint ruler with Thutmose II, who was only 2 years old when he ascended the throne. Her reign was estimated to have been about 22 years long and ended when Thutmose III started his first foreign campaign.
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| Trade with the Land of Punt |
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| goddess of fertility |
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| Indications of relationship with the gods |
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| Reliefs in the sanctuary area |
Her reign was regarded as one of peace and prosperity, with the establishment of new trade routes. She was also regarded as a great builder and apart from the amazing temple cut into the rock, she also worked on constructions at Karnak where she had two obelisks placed at the entrance of the temple. At the time, these were the largest in the world. The unfinished obelisk at Aswan was one of the obelisks which she commissioned to celebrate her 16th year as ruler. This broke during construction.
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| Top terrance |
So, the first real stop on my day trip to Luxor was at the mortuary complex of Hatshepsut. This is an amazing temple which has been carved out of the mountain. The focus point of the complex is the colonnaded structure which was build around thousand years before the construction of the Parthenon. There are three terraces leading up to the main area which has the colums which were cut out of the rock cliff face. The terraces are connected with a long ramp, and the remains of one of the frankincense and myrrh trees which were brought back during the establishment of a trade route with the Land of Punt can still be seen. The mortuary complex has pylons, courts, hypostyle (roof supported by columns), sun court a chapel and a sanctuary.
The reliefs all over the complex explain the divine birth of of a female pharaoh and stories of the expedition to the land of Punt on the Red Sea coast. Much of the art and reliefs were destroyed on the order of her stepson Thutmose III, in order to destroy the records of her reign as a female Pharoah. After the years of peace during the reign of Hatshepsut, the reign of Thutmose III was characterised by much conflict and conquests and the records of these conquests can be seen in the complex at Karnak.
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| Obelisk at Karnak |
A visit to this amazing complex is well worth it when you visit Luxor. There is just so much to see and do in the area and spending quite a few days in Luxor would be my plan for my next visit.
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