2003 Keyholders in front of the Great Pyramid

 EGYPT PHOTO JOURNAL
"CELEBRATE LIFE" GROUP TOUR

Photos taken on our recent excursion Feb 24 - Mar 9, 2003.

Click on the thumbnail photo for additional photos related to the particular subject.

Colossus of Ramses II at Abu Simbel

 Abu Simbel: Threatened with water erosion and damage by the rising waters of Lake Nasser upon construction of the Aswan High Dam, the Egyptian government appealed for help and secured support from 50 nations through the UNESCO project.  Started in 1964 and completed four years later at a cost of 36 million dollars,  the majestic monuments were cut into blocks, dismantled, and reassembled 60 meters up on higher ground.

Seti I's Temple of Osiris at Abydos

 Abydos - One of the chief religious centers of ancient Egypt identified with Osiris, a pre-dynastic god-king slaughtered by his evil brother Set and resurrected to life through the love and magic of his wife-sister-queen Isis.  Thereafter, Osiris was associated with the principles of death, resurrection, and regeneration.  The complex of Abydos consists of numerous cemeteries as well as the temples of Osiris, Seti I and Ramses II, among others.  It was every Egyptian's goal at least once in a lifetime to make a holy pilgrimage to this important spiritual site where elaborate plays were staged enacting the themes of death, resurrection and renewal.

Inside Cairo Museum

 Cairo Museum - The original museum was built at Boulaq in 1858, its artifacts collected by the French archeologist August Mariette.  In 1880, the contents of the Boulaq museum were transferred to an annex of the Giza palace of Ismail Pasha, the ruler of Egypt. Construction of the present museum began in 1900 by the French architect Marcel Dourgnon and opened in 1902.   On the ground floor are huge monuments and statues; the upper floor houses small statues, jewelry, coins, papyrus, the Tutankhamon treasures, sarcophagi and mummies.  More than a million and half tourists visit the museum annually in addition to half a million Egyptians.
 


Bent Pyramid of Dashur

 Dashur - Formerly a restricted military zone and off-limits to the public, this site is now accessible to the general public although off the typical tour circuit. Of significance are two large pyramids known as the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid probably built by the 4th Dynasty pharaoh Sneferu, father of Khufu (the presumed builder of the Great Pyramid at Giza).  The oldest "true" pyramid in Egypt, the Red Pyramid gets its name from the reddish hue of the limestone produced by a heavy content of iron oxide. It was originally called "Shining Northern" by the ancient Egyptians.  The Bent Pyramid's name derives from the sharp change in angulation approximately halfway up the pyramid possibly due to structural faults perceived during its construction.  The change in angle may have been necessary in order to prevent the pyramid from collapsing like the unfortunate pyramid at Meidum, also attributed to Sneferu.  The Bent Pyramid was called "Shining Southern" by the ancient Egyptians.


Hatshepsut's Temple at Deir el Bahari

 Deir el Bahari - Many modern day architects and scholars consider Queen Hatshepsut's mortuary temple to be one of the finest in all of Egypt.  The ancient Egyptians called it "The Most Splendid of All" and, even by today's standards, it is contemporary and elegant.   Designed by her chief vizier Sennemut (rumored to be her lover) and incorporated into the natural cliff habitat, it's a must-see for those touring the West Bank.  A long causeway, originally lined with sphinxes, leads to the temple.  Reliefs on the southern wing of the first floor portray Hatshepsut's obelisks being transported to Karnak Temple.  A ramp flanked by double colonnades leads to the second floor.  A chapel dedicated to  Anubis is to the north and the Hathor Chapel to the south, with porticos depicting the divine birth of the Queen and the famous expedition to Punt.  A second ramp leads to the upper (third) floor and the Holy of Holies dedicated to Amun Ra.

 

Temple of Hathor at Dendera

 Dendera - Built upon a succession of older temples, the present temple dates to the Ptolemic era and was completed by Augustus (30 B.C. - 14 A.D.).  Dedicated to Hathor -- the goddess of love, joy, birth, healing, music and dance -- it architecturally is similar to the Temple of Horus (Hathor's husband) at Edfu.  Not surprisingly, Dendera faces north and Edfu faces south.  Dendera is rich with mystical symbolism too extensive and complex to convey even in simplest terms.  The temple has many cosmological, astronomical and astrological representations that define movements of the sun, moon and stars including a replica of the now famous ceiling Zodiac (the original is in the Louvre Museum in Paris).  At the Festival of the New Year, high priests ceremonially prepared the statue of the goddess and gently carried it from the subterranean crypts to the Hall of Appearances above.  Then, the procession, led by the pharaoh, proceeded up the spiral staircase to the kiosk above to receive the first rays of the sun at dawn.  Outside the temple, crowds gathered as the image of the goddess united with the sun disk, and the New Year was officially "born."   An ancient text defines the objective as being "that the goddess Hathor might be united with the beams of her father, Re."  The Travelers Key to Ancient Egypt, John Anthony West, pg. 402. 

 

Horus Statue at Temple of Edfu

 Edfu - One of the best preserved temples in all of Egypt dedicated to Horus, shown here in falcon form wearing the double crown of upper and lower Egypt.  A pair of these impressive statues originally flanked the entry into the temple; only one remains intact.  The temple faces south and is architecturally similar to  the temple of Dendera, dedicated to Hathor (Horus' wife) which, in turn, faces north.  The existing temple is primarily of Ptolemic origin although there is ample evidence that portions date back to the Old Kingdom or beyond.  Like Dendera, two successive antechambers lead to the Holy of Holies.  Inside is a model of the solar barge displayed on an altar and a polished granite shrine that probably contained a golden statue of Horus.  The sanctuary is encircled by a corridor and 10 chapels, whereas at Dendera, the sanctuary is encircled by a corridor and 11 chapels.  Staircases on the eastern and western sides of the temple lead to the roof.  Once a year on the occasion of  the "Feast of the Beautiful Meeting," Hathor traveled from Dendera to Edfu for a conjugal visit with her husband, Horus. Her arrival was scheduled for the afternoon of the new moon. Their statues remained in the mammisi, or birth house, until the full moon which marked the end of the festival.

Temple of Khumn at Esna

 Esna - Ptolemy VI restored this site in 150 A.D. that dates back to the 18th Dynasty.  A century later, the Roman emperor Cladius added the temple that presently stands dedicated to the ram-headed netjer Khumn.  Located close to the Nile River, silt from annual floods eventually covered the temple and it subsequently was built over.  In fact, much of the complex still remains underneath the modern day city of Esna.  In order to view the excavated hypostyle hall, you must walk down a long flight of steps into an enormous pit.  The most impressive aspects of this temple are the cosmological scenes on the ceiling and a few capitals that still retain vivid color.  The creator god, Khumn, to whom this temple is dedicated, was said to have fashioned all humans and animals out of clay using a potter's wheel and the mud of the Nile; thus many of these scenes reveal the mysteries of the origins of life itself.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
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