Temples

Each of the ancient sites we visited was unique, fascinating and interesting, but after two weeks they did begin to meld together in my brain. Egypt is so full of well preserved temples that it just boggles my brain. These ancient people were great builders and artists who left us such a treasure of beauty to ponder. I'll try to show you just a few of the many sites we saw.

One of the most fascinating places was the Valley of the Kings, the burial ground for many pharaohs. These tombs were hidden in the dry rock and sand of the desert for thousands of years. They were hidden because the ancients had discovered that great pyramids invited tomb robbers. These tombs were also discovered and robbed, but the carvings and paintings remain. The art work is stunning. It was here that the famous tomb of King Tut and all it's treasure was discovered. Alas, the Egyptian government forbids any cameras in the valley so I cannot show you it's beauty.

Luxor has two great temples. Karnac was amazing with it's hundreds of huge columns and obelisks. The man in the center of the picture is our guide, Hatem. He was a wonderful, knowledgeable Egyptologist who helped us understand what we were seeing.


The sacred lake of Karnac is here. This small body of water was thought to be the site of the beginning of all life, sort of like the Garden of Eden.


The great Karnac temple is connected to Luxor temple by a great causeway several miles long lined on both sides by sphinxes.


Luxor temple was also filled with beautiful columns and hieroglyphics. Ramses is present almost everywhere.


One of the more common pictures seen on temple walls was that of the god Set, the fertility god of ancient Egypt. The story goes that the ancient gods all went off to war and left Set behind to protect all the goddesses. When the gods returned from battle they found that all of the goddesses were pregnant. Set's great prowess was greatly honored. The black area on the wall is from the hands of women tourists who feel compelled to touch Set's greatness.


The temple at Dendera was new by ancient standards. It was built by the Greeks who ruled as the Ptolemies, the last pharaohs of ancient Egypt On one wall there is a carving of Cleopatra and her son by Julius Caesar, Caesarean.


Hatsheput was a female pharaoh. Her temple was built just outside the Valley of the Kings. From a distance it looked more like a modern office building than an ancient temple. There is still a lot of restoration that still needs to be done here. It was 105 degrees the day we toured here which made climbing all those steps very difficult.


A crocodile-headed god was worshiped a the temple of Kom Ombo. The walls here contained a hieroglyphic calender which depicted the three seasons of ancient Egypt, flood, planting and harvest.


The temple well at Kom Ombo was not an ordinary well. It was used as a nursery for baby crocodiles. When they were big enough they were used in temple worship. Mummified crocodiles were buried all through the temple.


The one temple that was like no other was Abu Simbel. This great temple honoring Ramses the Great was built in the far south of Egypt, at the Nubian border. It was built there as a reminder to the Nubians that they had been conquered by Ramses. This massive temple was carved out of a mountain, from one huge rock, so it could never be torn down. Amazing to think about it. The other amazing feat was that it was moved. The entire mountain that contained it was moved to protect it from rising water when the high dam was built at Aswan. It is a stunning sight.


There was so much more that we saw. We were overwhelmed by the wonder of it all.