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5th day end (West
bank)
- Valley
of the Kings, continue
¤ Ramesses
III's tomb, KV 11*** (~1151
BC), one of the longest in the valley, presents
several particularities: a corridor that turns
perpendicular to continue in a parallel corridor
(workmen came across Amenemesses' tomb and had to adjust
to avoid it); unique secular scenes, one of the most
well known showing blind harpists, the reason why
Belzoni named it the "Tomb of the Harpists"; an unusual
number (10) of annexes to the entrance corridor, all of
them nicely decorated, and whose intended use is still
unclear. Do not miss, in the second corridor, to the
left, the entire description of the King's sarcophagus
placement into the grave, going down successive inclined
planes. Opposite, Re's barque follows a similar route
suggesting parallel destiny for the King and the sun who
both disappear in the underworld to come out regenerated
in the morning.
¤ Ramesses
VI's tomb, KV 9*** (~1133
BC) is one of the most interesting due to the ceiling of
the burial chamber decorated with an astronomical sky
showing a double image of Goddess Nut,
the sky Goddess, swallowing the sun each night and
giving birth to it again each morning after its travel
inside her body. The sky Goddess is supported by Shu,
the God of air.
¤ Ramesses
IX's tomb, KV 6*** (~
1108 BC) also has an astronomical ceiling with a
double representation of Goddess Nut whose face is here
particularly graceful. On the walls, esoteric texts and
scenes such as the royal mummy bent against a mountain
or figures with head downwards or bent backwards in
acrobatic positions.
- The
memorial
temple of female Pharaoh Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri is
unique in Egyptian architecture with its three
successive terraces overshadowed by a steep cliff ; its
lines echo and underline those of the rocks above and
the view, upon arriving on the car park, is really most
impressive: imagine what it was at the time when it was
painted and approached from the river by a Sphinx lined
causeway and surrounded by gardens! However, in our
view, the visit is rather disappointing for several
reasons: the reliefs are damaged, painting has gone and
the barriers set up at two or three metres from the
walls do not help: the scenes telling the famous mission
to Punt or Hatshepsut's divine conception as daughter of
Amun himself can hardly be seen; and the restoration
recently performed by a Polish team is questionable.
Anyway, go there at the end of the afternoon when the
sun gives golden colours to the stones of the temple and
to the Theban
Mountain.
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