Hatshepsut’s Temple: Star Features:
Once you arrive at the temple’s breathtaking location, a tree-lined avenue of Sphinxes leads you up to the temple; a majestic entrance preparing you to enjoy ancient brilliance and matchless exquisiteness.

Queen Hatshepsut’s Birth Colonnade (Middle Court):On the lowest terrace of the temple lies Hatshepsut’s magnificent Birth Colonnade. Scenes along the colonnade portray Hatshepsut’s divine birth; with a depiction of her lying in the arms of the goddess Neith; the protective goddess. The colonnade was mainly designed as a tactical move to legitimize the Queen’s claim to the throne. Visitors are encouraged to view the matchless details of how the Queen was born, her amidst midwives to enjoy the detailed depiction of the situation, as if they are watching an ancient moving story board.

Reliefs of Punt Expedition (Middle Court):On the South side of the middle terrace, stunning reliefs reflect one of the most important trade journeys in recorded ancient history; Hatshepsut’s Expedition to the Land of Punt dubbed as the land of Incense; Somalia nowadays. Ancient Egyptians are depicted in two boats, benefiting from Punt’s wealth, as they returned with precious goods, most importantly exotic incense. Historians say that such reliefs reflect how advanced Ancient Egyptians were in maritime technology, enabling them to sail such a long distance across the Red Sea. Reliefs depict the King of Punt with his wife Ati, putting emphasis on her obesity, in addition to Punt’s villages and people.

Anubis Chapel (Middle Court):Sadly, there are no murals of Hatshepsut remaining in the Anubis chapel; however, it contains brightly colored murals including that of Tuthmosis III making offerings to the sun God “RA”. The chapel also has figures of many gods - Anubis, Nekheb, Uaset, Amen-Ra

Hathor Chapel (Middle Court):The chapel is noted for its Hathor-headed columns (Hatshepsut’s mother) with walls retaining much original coloring. Reliefs of the ankh and djed pillar can be seen, which are ancient symbols of life and stability. Make sure to see Hatshepsut depicted sitting happily between her father Amon Ra and her mother Hathor.

Hatshepsut’s Statues: The upper terrace is decorated by a line of Osiride statues of Queen Hatshepsut gently smiling to visitors. Later Pharaohs have destroyed many of the statues, but some have been recently reconstructed from their fragments. The Queen is depicted as a male king with a beard, as Hatshepsut has taken many male attributes to gain the acceptance of both the priests and people for being the first female Pharaoh of Egypt.

Temple of Montuhotep II:Ruins of Montuhotep II temple are worth visiting, as it is the first temple to be built at Deir al-Bahari, inspiring Senenmut to establish Hatshepsut’s temple, as a bigger, more sophisticated reflection of Montuhotep II temple.

Continue Reading about Queen Hatshepsut’s temple at Deir al-Bahari  <<previous (1 - 2)  next >>