Journal: Sunday 27 November 2005
On our last day in Egypt, Sam, Jim and Jane wanted to stay around the hotel and relax, so I went over to the West Bank with Fiona and Malcolm. Since they had first experienced the local passenger ferry for the first time earlier on this trip, we had been to the West Bank taking the minibus over the bridge so they were keen to go on the ferry again, loving it as I do.
We sat up on the top deck that gives a lovely view downriver and chatted to a few of the locals on the way. When we reached the other side we had to fight our way through the hoards of touts and taxi drivers before making our way to the arabeya station. I bumped into an old friend that I’d known for years and he guided us through the bus station to get us onto the right arabeya for the ticket office. We paid our 50 piasters, went to buy tickets for the Seti Temple and Deir el-Bahri and hopped on another arabeya to the end of the monument road.
We entered Seti’s Qurna Temple, which he named ‘Glorious Seti in the West of Thebes’, through a side gate in the northern wall. From the now-ruined First Pylon there was once an avenue of sphinxes which lined the processional
way, but only a couple of these are still in place by the main gateway. It must have indeed looked glorious in it’s heyday. The façade is quite different to Seti’s Abydos temple and the reliefs inside are beautiful, but unlike Abydos have lost much of their colour. Seti dedicated this temple to the god Amun-Re and his father Rameses I, but it was Seti’s son who completed the decoration. The temple has had a great deal of restoration work since the 1970s by the German Archaeological Institute and now looks very smart. We wandered through each of the side rooms and marvelled at the six elegant papyrus columns in the Hypostyle Hall. My favourite part of the temple is to the south of the Hypostyle Hall where a series of chapels were associated with the royal mortuary cult. The central chapel was dedicated to Seti’s father Rameses I and has a beautifully-preserved false door at the rear showing Rameses I in a kiosk with a falcon above it. This is an unusual feature in a West Bank temple. We investigated the rear of the temple which is less well-preserved and finally looked at the ‘Solar Court’ built on the northern side and unmistakably decorated by Rameses II.
By lunchtime the temperature had risen so we decided to walk along to the Ramesseum and have lunch in the cafeteria there. It was very pleasant in the shade watching the little sparrows hopping around our feet in search of crumbs. After our break we set off towards Deir el-Bahri, cutting across the sandy area of Asasif and looking at the remaining wall of Hatshepsut’s causeway along the way. When we got to the famous queen’s temple I was surprised a how quiet it was. We must have arrived at just the right time in between coach parties.
The next couple of hours we spent exploring the terraces of Hatshepsut’s picturesque temple. We worked our way along each of the terraces looking at reliefs of Hatshepsut bringing her obelisks by river from Aswan to be erected in Karnak Temple, the expedition to the land of Punt and the variety of incense and trees that were brought back. Birth scenes on the second terrace showing the queen’s divine birth, gave legitimacy to her claim to the throne. My favourite area here has always been the Hathor chapel on the southern side of the second terrace, with it’s beautiful Hathor-headed columns and reliefs depicting the queen suckling from the Hathor cow. The third terrace, now open after many years of reconstruction by Polish archaeologists, has some beautiful and colourful scenes from Hatshepsut’s ‘Beautiful Feast of the Valley’, where the statues of the Theban triad were carried on barques from Karnak each year, along with statues of her ancestors to take part in the festival.
We left Deir el-Bahri as the late afternoon crowds once more began to filter into the temple and the sun began to slide down behind the mountain. This is a temple which is ideally best viewed in the morning when the reliefs have the full sun on them, but of course that is also the time when it is most crowded. We walked back to the main road, taking in all the sights and sounds of the West Bank for the last time and saying a fond farewell to the mountains. After a short arabeya ride to the ferry dock and jumping onto the ferry that was just leaving, we were back in Luxor as the sun was setting over the river, turning it a fiery golden-red and dozens of little feluccas were out sailing in the evening breeze.
In the evening we were a large party dining at Maxim’s, as we were joined by the two Abduls who had accompanied us on many of our trips, faultlessly driving us wherever we wanted to go and smoothing the way considerably. The owner of the minibus, Badawi, also joined us for the meal and we all went for coffee afterwards at the Novotel, which is now under new management and called the Iberotel. It will always be the Novotel to Sam and I who have stayed there several times. As we sat on the terrace looking out over the river Nile, we all were sad to say goodbye to Egypt for another year.
Festival Temple of Tuthmose III. The ‘botanical reliefs’ in the back of the temple were beautifully lit by the afternoon sun. Later I went into the open-air museum to see what was new. The Chapelle Rouge, the barque-shrine built by Hatshepsut has been reconstructed by the French team working in Karnak over the past several years and now completed, it looks magnificent. I spent a long time photographing each block in the shrine, remembering those that used to be stored on risers many years ago. It is a work of pure dedication. The portico of Tuthmose IV at the back of the museum has also had much more added since I was last here. The colourful reliefs of the King and the Gods, today shining in the sun, really bring it to life.
Arabian Palace and had wanted to see the hotel for ages. Arriving at the wrought iron gates, we asked if we could have coffee and take a look around the gardens. We were first kindly shown a few of the 50 suites, all like something from the Arabian Nights, each uniquely decorated with hammam-style bathrooms. The ochre domes, patios ornate with arabesques, fabulous antique furniture and amazing attention to detail took my breath away. No words can describe the hotel accurately, you just have to see it. Afterwards we wandered around the beautiful eight hectare gardens, full of palm trees, vibrant bougainvillea and other exotic plants. We had a leisurely coffee on a shaded patio and I felt like I never wanted to leave. One day, if I can ever save enough money, I will be back to stay there.
Kingdom tombs at el-Moalla. I would have loved to stop and visit the tomb of Ankhtifi, but a quick glimpse of the hill as we sped past was all I got. After about an hour and a half we all stopped at ‘The Black Horse’, where the Luxor police change places with the Edfu police. I can never remember the proper name (Sharaola??) for this well-known checkpoint because I’ve always known it as the Black Horse but never knew why it was called that. The taxis and coaches disgorged their passengers who made as one for the coffee shop and toilets and both had very long queues within a couple of minutes. I got out to stretch my legs and took a few pictures of the surrounding fields of green crops and a bored-looking policeman in his concrete tower. A large poster of President Mubarak smiled down at us all from a hoarding.
We had all arranged to meet up at lunchtime in the cafeteria, so I went off to find my friends. The temple itself was quite busy by this time, but after an hour or so most of the other tourists had left and we had the temple almost to ourselves. I revisited each of the familiar chambers, all very similar to Dendera and tried to work out the names of each room from my copy of ‘Porter and Moss’. One thing here I love is the reproduction of the barque of Horus standing on a low pedestal in a chapel behind the sanctuary. This full-scale model was built for Arthur Weigall early in the 19th century, who used it in a re-enactment of a Horus Festival, and it is beautiful.
For the rest of the afternoon, I walked around the ambulatory corridor of the inner enclosure walls, where the whole myth of the battle of Horus and Seth is depicted in relief. The Edfu Drama, or the ‘Triumph of Horus’, tells the story of Horus’s mythological triumph over Seth which was celebrated each year as a mystery play. Another important ritual celebrated at Edfu and depicted on the ambulatory walls was known as the ‘Installation of the Sacred Falcon’ in which a live falcon representing both the god Horus and the king, was crowned.
The Temple of Rameses II, otherwise known as the Ramesseum, never seems to look any different, even though it has been undergoing work for decades. The colossal statues of Rameses still stand as sentinels on the remains of the second pylon and the huge fallen colossi still lies on the ground where it fell in antiquity. The giant feet of the statue always fascinate me – they are carved so perfectly. Here I met Taya, a guard I have known for many years and we chatted for a while.
While most of the monumental reliefs of Rameses are large and bold, they are much more subtle here, almost as delicate as his father’s beautiful reliefs in the rest of the temple. Whether this is as a result of Rameses’s youth at the time or simply the superb workmanship of the artists here, I don’t know. I worked my way through the seven shrines of Seti and into the rear of the temple, the Osiris Hall, where some of the finest carving can be found, depicting Seti offering to various deities. The colours are fabulous but the light is very low and without a tripod I wasn’t expecting great results.
Today’s excursions began at the open-air museum at Akhmim, on the east bank of the river at Sohag. Sam and I were here last year, but the others were delighted to get a chance to see the famous statue of Meritamun and others in the museum. In 1981 part of a temple with a monumental gate believed to date to the Graeco-Roman Period was unearthed during building works on the north-eastern edge of the town. Archaeologists found several statue fragments of Rameses II during excavations, as well as a beautiful colossal statue of the king’s daughter and consort, Meritamun, now re-erected in the centre of the area which has become the open-air museum, several metres below the modern ground level. When it was found, the statue of Meritamun was lying face-down and broken in the mud, but today, Meritamun, as always was so beautiful – probably my favourite standing statue in Egypt and she stood out stunningly in the clear early morning light against the deep blue background of sky. The museum also contains a beautiful Roman statue of Venus (Isis) as well as many stelae and architectural elements form the surrounding structures. There are also some large inscribed blocks from el-Amarna which were probably re-used in the later temple building.
There are many Old Kingdom tombs at el-Hammamiya. The only one of the Badari sites open to visitors, a new flight of stone steps lead up the slope to three decorated tombs belonging to the reign of Khufu, builder of the Great Pyramid.The now familiar sight of an old Islamic cemetery spreads out at the base of the gebel, as usual marking the site of more ancient tombs. The first of open tombs belongs to Kakhent and his wife Ify, who is named as a ‘King’s Daughter’. On the level above, the tomb we entered belongs to another Kakhent and his wife Khentkaus, ‘Prophetess of Hathor and Seth. Below the tomb of Kakhent and Ify there is another unfinished tomb belonging to Nemu, where in the entrance hall the deceased is seen as a priest wearing a leopard skin, a wig and holding a Sekhem sceptre, with his wife and three children. The decoration of the tombs is not well-preserved, but it is still possible to see some of the reliefs and colour in some places and they are very reminiscent of the Old Kingdom tombs at Giza.
We drove past Petrie’s evocative old dig-house on the way out into the desert. When he excavated here in the early 20th century, Shunet el-Zebib was the only large standing funerary enclosure – believed to be the oldest surviving brick building in the world. At that time Shunet was interpreted as a fort but it has since become clear that it the massive enclosure walls had a religious significance, a funerary complex built by King Khasekhemwy a generation before Djoser. It is now thought to be a ‘prototype’ for the first pyramid and has many similar elements such as massive niched enclosure walls, separate chapels and an inner pyramid-like mound.
Standing before the huge enclosure of Shunet el-Zebib and looking up at the 130m long, thick layers of sun-baked mud brick walls, I couldn’t help feeling a sense of awe at this ambitious construction which encloses an area of around one hectare. Inside, lying on the yellow sand there are still many potsherds from red clay vessels which contained the ibis burials from a later re-use of the monument. But the most exciting aspect of being here was to stand at the edge of the area where, since 1987, David O’Connor and the Abydos Expedition has unearthed a total of 14 brick-lined boat pits containing the remains of well-crafted and fully functioning wooden boats. Perhaps not as well-preserved as the famous solar boat at Giza, but certainly predating it, these proved to be the world’s oldest surviving boats built of planks, as opposed to those made of reeds or hollowed-out logs. Of course there was nothing to see except a slight depression in the sand because the boat-pits are once more covered up, but I have a good imagination.
After lunch I went for a walk with Malcolm and Fiona. There have been a lot of changes here in recent years and many parts of the town are being smartened up. I was glad to see that the old suq was still there, although the first part of it has a new cobbled pavement and many of the stalls have been painted or rebuilt. There is even a new grand arched entrance! This is the area that attracts tourists, though they don’t often venture very far up the long street. Further along the pavement disappears and the road once more becomes a rough dirt track, littered with dubious puddles and donkey droppings. This is where the locals shop. I love this part of the suq as there is so much to see. Stalls selling bright gaudy fabrics mingle with shops selling spices of every variety. Next there may be aluminium pots and pans for any occasion, or plastic laundry baskets hanging in rows from long nails. Vendors of Galabeyas, shoes, taped Egyptian music and coffee shops line up along the street and they are all busy with their daily trade.
