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~Valley of the Kings, Luxor and Karnak~
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TEMPLE OF QUEEN HATSHEPSUT
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~ VALLEY OF THE KINGS, LUXOR AND KARNAK
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~ THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS AND QUEENS ~
We entered two or three other tombs after Tut's in the Valley of the Kings, but none of them left much impression on us or affected us deeply. We did venture into a long and tall unfinished chamber that was full of earth energy; its walls resounded with resonance. We toned and felt our hearts open joyously. The art in every chamber was vibrant and fresh; the chambers in the earth proved a great protection from the harsh elements of the Valley. Whole sections of murals had peeled away in places, but what remained seemed as though it had been painted yesterday.
Throughout all of the journeys to sacred sites from our cruise ship we were accompanied by the same extremely irritating young guide. In the Valley of the Kings, he was ever-present. We tried to have some moments alone to tone and connect to the energy around us numerous times, but he insisted on following us everywhere we went. When I asked him to identify the long-eared animal adorning the staffs held by royalty in Egyptian art, his claim to fame was telling me that it was a donkey! We soon found out his rather obvious error, as we came to recognize the important jackal God Anubis. At least he was highly attentive, and we eventually got through to him and he allowed us some moments alone to meditate and tone.
Upon departing the Valley of the Kings, our next stop in the West Bank was the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Her great mortuary temple stands alone, carved directly into a huge, sandy cliff-face. Her temple complex had an amazing energy, greatly connected to the earth and all of the elements. The history of the Pharaoh Queen is quite interesting.
Hatshepsut declared herself a Pharaoh as her nearest rival for power, Thutmose III, neared manhood. She had co-ruled with him during his years as a minor, when he was too young to be declared Pharaoh. Curiously, she was supported by the priests of Amon at their temple in Karnak, and with their blessing, ruled Egypt for over 20 years. She kept herself in the priests' favor, making great improvements to Karnak, including the commissioning of several great obelisks. The most massive one ever attempted in Egypt was commissioned by the Queen, but it cracked during carving and still lies unfinished in the ground at Aswan.
She officially declared herself “God’s Wife of Amon”, a title which she kept as Pharaoh until bestowing it upon her daughter Neferura. Hatshepsut relinquished the clearly feminine title when she took over the full role of King. King Hatshepsut gradually took on the fullness of the male roles that she claimed as hers, including all titles. No other female leader of Egypt, including those few women considered Pharaoh, were enthroned as Kings. She even went to the extreme of wearing men’s garb and a false beard, and her depictions in art often show her in this male finery.
Her power was eventually usurped by Thutmose III, whom many considered to be the true heir to the throne of Egypt. Her great works were systematically defaced and destroyed. Her name is not included in any ancient list of Egypt’s Pharaohs. She nearly disappeared from history, and remains an enigma yet today.
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CHAPEL OF ANUBIS, TEMPLE OF QUEEN HATSHEPSUT
Her magnificent Temple of Deir el-Bahri is a terraced structure, a compliment to the rock face in which it nests. Older tombs were located here, and by choosing this site for her funery complex, she abandoned her original location in the Valley of the Kings. The lower levels of the complex, particularly the right side in the Chapel of Anubis, have exquisite and brightly colored reliefs that capture the eye, and the imagination. The ceilings are decorated with gold stars on a bright blue background, and represent some of the most vibrantly preserved murals in Egypt. We lingered here, absorbing the beauty and grace etched in the walls above and around us. It felt like being in an envelope of timelessness; and gave us an essence of the original splendor that all of the temple art once held.
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SNAKE, TEMPLE OF QUEEN HATSHEPSUT
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