Dust on My Feet: Overland to London

Sphixes at the entrance to Karnak Temple, Luxor

Day 40 Fri 4 July LUXOR

All being well, we should arrive at Luxor around 6am and will first transfer to the Hatshepsut Hotel where, after breakfast, Mohammed, our guide, will take us on a tour of Karnak and Luxor Temples. At Karnak is the Great Temple of Amun-Re, the sun-god of Thebes, as the area was once known.

The Sanctuary of Amun-Re, Luxor Temple

The honeybee hieroglyph on a columns in Karnak Temple

Columns of the Hypostyle Hall, Karnak Temple

The main body of the Temple was built by the Pharaohs of the XII Dynasty (1800 BC) and successive dynasties up to Ptolemaic times (after 330 BC) added to, or modified the temple buildings. The most famous feature of the temple is the Great Hypostyle Hall with its 13 sandstone columns covered in hieroglyphics. A prominent motif on these columns is the honey bee. From as early as 3500 BC, the bee was the symbol of the King of Lower Egypt and there are references in ancient Egyptian mythology that tears of the sun-god Ra fell to earth and were transformed into honey bees.

Luxor Temple is somewhat smaller, but is also dedicated to Amun-Re and his consort Mut, goddess of motherhood. It was built by Amenophis III, but it was Tutankhamen who saw that the great pillared hall was completed.

Statues of Ramses II in Karnak Temple

Tutankhamun in Luxor Temple

These two temples are in a remarkable state of preservation. Having withstood the ravages of time, Nile floods and invaders in relatively good condition, and they are now one of the most famous tourist attractions in Egypt. Thebes (present day Luxor) on the East bank of the Nile was the City of the Living or the sunrise in ancient times, whereas the desert plateau on the West bank of the Nile was the Necropolis, the land of the dead and of the sunset where is found the Valley of the Kings which we visit early tomorrow morning .

Rest of today will be free to spend by the hotel pool, or explore the modern town of Luxor.

COMMENTS: SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Long John of Adelaide holds the Record for consuming the greatest Amount of hard jelly in Luxor – and only 2 pieces of pineapple!

Feluccas on the Nile at sunset, Luxor

Day 41 Sat 5 July LUXOR – o/n train to CAIRO

Very early start this morning to beat the intense heat of the Valley of the Kings. We cross the Nile in a ferry, somewhat reminiscent of the African Queen, and will be taken by bus to the Valley of the Kings.

Tomb of Tutankhamun, Valley of the Kings

Here are found some 64 tombs of the Pharaohs of the 18^th, 19^th and 20^th Dynasties of the New Kingdom (1555-1090 BC). These ancient Pharaohs of Thebes had been entombed with incredible riches, as became evident when the smallest tomb, that of Tutankhamun, was uncovered in 1922. All other tombs had been looted by ancient grave-robbers. In the Valley we will visit three tombs – that of the 18^th dynasty Pharaoh Amenophis II, that of Ramses VI of the 20^th dynasty, and the smallest, but most famous, that of Tutankhamun of the 18^th dynasty. The tomb of Tutankhamun still contains his mummy in one of the gold coffins. It is the only mummy still in the Valley (1980).

In all these tombs the wall paintings, reliefs and hieroglyphics, depicting scenes from the life of the pharaohs are remarkably preserved. In particular, the tomb chamber of Ramses VI is dominated by representations of the sky-goddess Nut, stretching across the lands of Egypt – by day the sun travels through her, by night the stars. “… the Egyptians appear to have believed that the sun, having dispensed its heat during the day, had to recuperate its thermic power during the night, through the bodies of the gods who lived in the chthonian regions. Emulating the sun, the king was to draw from the world of the dead renewed strength for his morning rebirth. He is shown as a mummy and described as “he who hides the hours”.” (Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt – Tutankhamen).

Hieroglyphics in the Tomb of Ramses VI, Valley of the Kings

Pharaohs with the crowns of Upper & Lower Egypt, Tomb of Ramses VI

From the Valley of the Kings, we go to the Mortuary Temple of ‘Queen’ Hatshepsut at present being restored by Polish and Egyptian archaeologists. Hatshepsut was the first female Pharaoh to rule Egypt and after her death her stepson, Thotmoses III did all he could to erase her images from her temples and all monuments. The mortuary temple was built to receive the pharaoh-queen’s body at death and to prepare the body for embalming and burial.

The Mortuary Temple of 'Queen' Hatshepsout

Preparation of a Mummy

After death the body was brought, with due ceremony, to the Mortuary Temple.

Anubis, god of embalming

The body would be freshly bathed and laid out on a long narrow table, high enough so the embalmers need not bend over. Beneath the table were four stone Canopic jars, about a foot high, which would hold the embalmed larger organs of the body, i.e. the intestines, liver, stomach and lungs. The priest in charge of the embalming represented the jackal-god Anubis, god of embalming, and usually wore a jackal-mask.

First step was the removal of the brain with a slender hook-like instrument which was pushed up one nostril and worked in a circular movement until the ethmoid bone was broken. Then a narrow spirally twisted rod with a small spoonlike tip was pushed into the cranial cavity and bit by bit the brain was drawn out through the nose. Then the mouth was cleansed and pieces of linen soaked in sweet oils placed within and the nostrils were cleansed and plugged with wax, the face coated with a resinous paste and a small piece of linen placed over each eye and the eyelids drawn over them.

Next operation was to remove the viscera from the body cavity. The jackal-headed priest would mark the area to be cut on the body with a small rush pen and a specialist was called in who, using a razor-sharp Ethiopian stone (a large flat black stone), cut along the lines marked by the priest, then severed and removed each organ with the exception of the heart.

Anubis embalming the body, Alexandria

As the heart was thought to be the seat of intelligence and feeling, it must remain forever with the body. Each organ was wrapped in a resin-soaked cloth and placed in the appropriate Canopic jar, each guarded by a minor god: human-headed Mesta was the guardian of the liver; ape-headed Hapy was the guardian of the lungs; jackal-headed Tuamutef was the guardian of the stomach; and falcon-headed Qebehsenuf was the guardian of the intestines. This job was considered unclean, and this man was held in abhorrence by the priests.

The Eye of Horus

The body cavity was then cleansed with palm wine, the incision pulled together and a wax plate bearing the all-powerful symbol of the eye of Horus was placed on it. Then wires of gold were fastened around each finger and toenail to keep them in place and the corpse was again bathed. Next came the drying-out process.

Thoth, god of wisdom,
learning, writing &
judge of the dead

A powder called natron from the Libyan Desert was used. Natron was a great drying agent and had cleansing and purification powers as well. The body was covered with natron and left to dry in the hot, dry atmosphere. When the body was completely dry, it was bathed once more and rubbed with sweet-smelling spices and herbs then, after the priests poured libations – liquid that symbolically restored moisture to the body – and burned incense – to restore the body’s warmth and odour – the body was ready to be wrapped.

Some 150 yards of linen cloth would be used, torn into strips of varying width. On some the person’s name was written. The wrapping, with its religious significance, took some time. On completion the mummy set out on its final journey accompanied by two women impersonating the goddesses Isis and Nephthys, guardians of the dead. Once in its final resting place in the tomb, the final ceremony known as the ‘Opening of the Mouth’ was performed. A priest holding a miniature adze with mystical powers, touched the eyes, ears and mouth to open them so the mummy could see, hear, eat and talk in the afterlife.

Interesting books on the preparation of the Egyptian Mummy

Incidentally the word ‘mummy’ comes from the Persian word ‘mummia’ meaning bitumen. For 400 years, from the 13^th century, mummies were ‘chopped up’ and used as medicine – a cure-all for many diseases.

Hathor capital at the Mortuary
Temple of Hatshepsout

It was thought that bitumen was used in the wrappings to preserve the bodies, but what was seen in the wrappings was not bitumen but resins that had turned black and glass-like over time, resembling the mineral. As the Persians called the substance ‘mummia’, the Arabs began calling the bandaged body a mummy.

Thus is the importance of the Mortuary temples built by all the pharaohs to prepare them for the afterlife.

From the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut we will visit the Valley of the Queens where consorts and juvenile princes were entombed. Here we visit the tomb of Amunherkhepeshef, son of Rameses III who is shown, in some remarkable tomb paintings, introducing his sons to the gods of the Egyptian pantheon, and that of Queen Tiye, a secondary wife of Ramses III. We will pass by the Colossi of Memnon, two massive seated statues of Amenhotep III. The Romans named them after Memnon, an Ethiopian king and hero of the Trojan War who was slain by Achilles. He was said to be the son of Eos, goddess of the dawn, and one of the Colossi was said to ‘sing’ at dawn.

Amunherkhepeshaf, son of Ramses III meets a goddess after death, Valley of the Queens

The Colossi of Memnon, seated statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III

We will be back in Luxor around 10.30 and the rest of the day will be free until we leave at 9pm for Luxor station and the overnight journey back to Cairo.

COMMENTS: Have you noticed Long John, the jelly-eating king, and his new gelatine-reinforced toenails!