Vacation in Egypt: Luxor - the city of the living and the city of the dead. New burial plan

Luxor is one of the most visited cities in Egypt and the most spectacular. This is an open-air museum, since several historical monuments are located in one place at once. The city is conditionally divided into two parts: on the right bank of the Nile - the "city of the living", on the left - the "city of the dead". The left bank is distinguished by the fact that the Theban necropolis is located here, the funeral temples of the noble kings and queens of Egypt. It looks grandiose, leaving an unforgettable impression of the beautiful Luxor: temples in the rock, massive columns and long stairs. It's worth seeing once. And I could not leave my reviews and impressions.

karnak temple

Luxor is located 300 km south of Hurghada, which can be reached by bus in 4.5 hours. The name “Luxor” is a modified Arabic word “al-Kusur”, which means palaces. The modern city was built on the site of the former capital of Upper Egypt - Thebes. The ruins of Karnak and Luxor temples, interconnected by an avenue of sphinxes, remained the only confirmation of the former power of Thebes.

The right-bank Luxor, which appeared before our eyes, struck us with its colorfulness against the background of the monotonous landscape of the yellow desert. Located in the floodplain of the Nile River, the former capital is rich in farmland, near the water - life is in full swing. Every now and then you can meet wagons pulled by mules, peasants driving sheep or cows, trucks loaded with sugar cane. The richness of green plants is also pleasing to the eye, so unusual for these places, from dense thickets of grass along the coast and flowering trees to numerous palm trees, striking with a large length of plantings. Luxor is definitely more beautiful and exotic than Cairo.

Having imperceptibly approached the first parking lot of our excursion, we headed to a huge temple complex, which is the Karnak temple, dedicated to the god of the sun - Amon-ra. This is the largest temple complex, which began to be built in the XX century BC. e., its area is 30 hectares. It includes the temple of King Amun, the sanctuary of Montu, the god of war, and the goddess Mut, wife of Amun, as well as more than 25 small temples and obelisks. The excavations started only in XIX century, almost 1400 years this place was covered with sands. At the entrance to the temple, you can find a whole avenue of sphinxes with the heads of rams guarding it. The ram is one of the incarnations of the god Amon. Two rows of rams continue to the temple of Ramses III, whose statue adorns the entrance to the next temple. Drawings and remains of a bas-relief are visible on the walls. On the left side of the entrance is the chapel of Pharaoh Seti II. It has three entrances to three sanctuaries - to the gods Amun, his wife Mut and son Khonsu.

Almost in the very center of the Karnak temple is a huge statue of Ramses II, whose height reached 2.5 m, and below is a statue of his wife, the famous beauty Nefertari, her head barely reaches the pharaoh's knee. The statue is followed by a powerful columned hall, previously under the roof, but after the earthquake of 27 BC. e. the temple fell, the roof collapsed. Now columns 23 meters high support the vault of heaven. The central columns are covered with drawings depicting the life and deeds of the pharaohs. The temple consists of 10 pylons, along which are the statues of the pharaohs, and in the future, two obelisks are visible, which were installed by the female pharaoh Hatshepsut. One of the obelisks is in a horizontal position, next to it is a sculpture of a scarab beetle - a symbol of the rebirth of a new life. Our group, according to local tradition, even went around the beetle three times, loudly shouting out the words: good luck, health, wealth. In general, the Karnak temple resembles ruins. The absence of any composition also testifies to this, only numerous frescoes on stones remind of a once existing civilization.

It is always very hot in Luxor, even in the winter months the air temperature is about 30 degrees, and in summer it is all 50. The heat makes it very difficult to enjoy wonderful views, so when you are taken to the aroma oil factory, you should not refuse a cup of cold red tea, which lowers blood pressure , (hot red tea, on the contrary, increases). I also advise you to inhale a pair of sandalwood oil and even rub it on your temples and neck. Sandalwood relieves headaches, lowers blood pressure, relaxes and gives strength, which is very useful for traveling in the sands of the Valley of the Dead.

On the left bank of the Nile, there is a whole colony of the burial places of the pharaohs, their wives, children and priests, conventionally it is divided into the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. It will take two days to study the monuments of both valleys, so our short excursion explored antiquities only in the direction of the Valley of the Queens. The tombs of the Theban queens resemble a huge courtyard with several entrances to the tombs. One of the most important tombs is tomb No. 66, belonging to Queen Nefertari, the wife of Pharaoh Ramesses II. The staircase leading down opens the entrance to the hall, the walls of which are painted with drawings from the life of the gods. A narrow long corridor will lead to the burial chamber, which houses the restored crypt of the queen. Almost all the tombs are located in rock caves and are a grotto with a small entrance hall and several compartments on the sides, in which the mummified bodies of the nobility lie. The central passage in the grotto ends with the main chamber, where the mummy of the “owner” of this tomb lies under glass in special atmospheric conditions. The walls of all the crypts are decorated with frescoes with religious scenes. Some of the tombs were under restoration, so we only managed to go down to three: Nefertari, the tomb No. 55 of Queen Titi, and the tomb No. 44 of Prince Hamwest, son of Ramses II. The impression of the Valley of the Queens leaves a mysterious. It is here that the action captured in the film "The Mummy" takes place, therefore, probably, the sensation is unclear, mystical, only unbearable heat returns to reality.

Temple of Hatshepsut

The next point of our program was a visit to the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut, located here in the "City of the Dead". Hatshepsut was the only female pharaoh, later her image even transformed into a male, with a beard and in men's clothes. The queen's temple is a grandiose sight: a massive structure with high stairs, interrupted by three terraces, leads to a sanctuary carved into the rock. On the way every now and then there are sculptures of sphinxes with the head of a queen. The entrance is decorated with two huge statues of Hatshepsut-Osiris. Behind the entrance there are several rock halls and a temple of the god Amon-ra. On the right side of one of the terraces is the chapel of Anubis, where reliefs and colorful frescoes from the life of the Hatshepsut family are carved. On the left are colonnades with carved rock paintings depicting the journey of a female pharaoh to the country of Punt.

The general atmosphere in the Luxor Necropolis is neither touristy Hurghada nor the timeless atmosphere of the pyramids of Giza. Despite the fact that there are many tourists here, a feeling of peace and general silence is created, as if he had come to contemplate the silence. Life stopped not only in terms of sounds, but also visually. The static coloring and inactive contemplation are broken only by annoying souvenir sellers, who are trying to impose this or that thing on you by fraudulent means at the entrance.

Colossi of Memnon

On the way out of the "City of the Dead" we were awaited by another amazingly large surprise called the Colossi of Memnon. These are two massive stone images of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. For more than 3,000 years, these statues have stood in the same place, but it is noteworthy that during excavations, fragments from colossi are still found to this day.

The statues are named after the king of Ethiopia, Memnon, which has nothing to do with Egypt, but the Greeks called the Theban necropolis "Memnonium", hence the name of the architectural monument is preserved. The statues are made of quartzite sandstone, which was mined in Giza. After the earthquake in 27 BC. the northern colossus was destroyed, now every morning it emits a slight groan, which is most likely caused by the evaporation of dew inside the destroyed stone and an increase in temperature. But thanks to this wonderful property, the statue was called "singing." Both statues depict Amenhotep seated with his hands folded on his knees and his eyes turned to the east. The monumental statuary and gigantic size of the colossi give the impression of being in a fantasy world somewhere at the end of the world.

banana island

At the end of our educational and entertaining tour, we went along the already familiar and safe Nile River to a banana island. The views from the Nile in Luxor are much livelier and more exotic than in Cairo. On the banks of the river now and then there are thickets of sugar cane, palm trees and many other unknown plants. Walking along the Nile is refreshing after a long wandering in the sands and valleys of Luxor. The owner of the island is a wealthy man with four wives and more than a dozen children. The entrance to this private island is paid, but it is worth visiting it to watch with your own eyes how bananas, dates, oranges, lemons and figs grow on the trees. Bananas there are very small, green with spots, but are in great demand among the local population, because they are very sweet, tasty and not at all like the bananas that we take in the store. Ripe - once a month. This island resembles a jungle, and in fact, bananas grow here, which are not cultivated - wild. Tourists are allowed to pick the fruits of bananas and oranges. We also had a unique opportunity to watch crocodiles in the indoor pool. It turns out that they have very hard, tough skin, reminiscent of a tortoise shell and very aggressive behavior, they react evilly to every touch.

In parting, the hospitable hosts treated us to watermelons, bananas and yellow tea, which is considered very useful for strengthening general health and the genitourinary system in particular. Tea is grown here on the island. Having crossed the Nile and said goodbye to a cheerful, resourceful guide, we headed to the bus going to Hurghada. Still, Luxor leaves a powerful impression, which turned out to be even stronger than the impression of the pyramids. Inexplicably, the former Thebes conquer the heart and seem to complete some protracted process in the soul. Understanding the contrast between the city of the living and the city of the dead leads to an understanding of the infinity and versatility of life. You should definitely come here to feel this subtle connection, so characteristic of the culture of Egypt.

"City of dead and City of the Living, these two Luxor sights have become one tourist destination best seen on separate tours.
The City of the Living is the Luxor Temple and the Karnak Temple, which are located within the city limits of modern Luxor, you can learn about them in the article "Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple in Egypt".
And located nearby, on the opposite bank of the Nile River, here included the famous Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens and the temple of Queen Hatshepsut.

Valley of the Kings or Valley of the Pharaohs

Valley of the Kings, this is a necropolis carved into the rock, where all the pharaohs were buried for 500 years. About 40 tombs are located in the rocks, their long corridors, 200 meters long, abruptly break off going to a depth of 100 meters and end with three or four rooms, the walls of which are decorated with color drawings, with scenes from the life of the deceased. The pharaohs tried to protect the tombs from looting and looting, and therefore filled up the passages with large stones and walled them up. But these measures were not enough, all of them, except for one, were opened, and the treasures were looted or processed in order to replenish the treasury. But one single tomb - Tutankhamun's tomb, remained untouched, although it was opened. Now, everything that was found in the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 by two archaeologists from England is stored in the Cairo Museum. This is a pure gold sarcophagus weighing 110 kg, decorated with turquoise, numerous decorations and the mummified body of the pharaoh.
Now access to the tomb of Tutankhamen is closed, and tourists can be shown a copy of it.

Valley of the Queens

Valley of the Queens located next to the Valley of the Kings, it was intended for the burial of the children of the pharaohs, their wives, priests and nobles. About 70 rock-cut tombs were found in the valley, they were decorated differently from the tombs of the pharaohs, but they were constantly robbed. One of the most beautiful tombs is the tomb of Queen Nefertari, it, like the tomb of Tutankhamen, is closed to tourists.

The reign of Queen Hatshepsut was a time of unprecedented prosperity in Egypt, temples were built and monuments destroyed by the conquerors were restored.
Temple of Queen Hatshepsut built approximately from 1482 to 1473 BC, it is a completely new style in the construction of ancient Egypt, and its monumental appearance has been used by many architects in construction around the world.
The temple is located on three terraces, which are interconnected by ramps, and the sanctuary of the temple is cut into the thickness of the rock. The temple is decorated with statues of Queen Hatshepsut, columns crowned with the heads of the goddess Hathor and numerous murals dedicated to the events of the reign of Hatshepsut.

There is in the city of the dead,
this is one of the last temple complexes built during the prosperity of the pharaohs. The military merits of Ramses III and the rich tribute made it possible to begin the construction of temples and fortified palaces, and the temple of Medinet Abu is a confirmation of this.
Like all the temples of Egypt, it is decorated with drawings and bas-reliefs of great victories and achievements dedicated to Ramses III.
The whole complex, consisting of the main temple, the royal palace, buildings for priests and administrative buildings, is surrounded by a wall with towers.
The funeral temple of Ramses III became the second largest and most impressive, after the temple of Amon-Ra in Karnak.
Although the memorial temple of Medinet Abu is of interest to tourists, due to its inconvenient location, it is practically not visited.

If you are not yet familiar with the City of the Dead in Luxor, and do not know, then you should pay attention to the amazing country of Egypt and its amazing sights. The perfect combination of a beach holiday with tourist excursions will allow you to see the Egyptian pyramids, temples in Luxor and other sights of Egypt, which will leave many pleasant impressions.

VALLEY OF THE DEAD (Caucasian) - an anomalous zone that is notorious among the local population in the Caucasus. In the 16th century, there was a village here, completely extinct as a result of a terrible epidemic. Until now, the old ruins have not been inhabited, people are trying to bypass the abandoned gardens, in which, allegedly, strange visions have been observed more than once. In the 1980s, a photojournalist visited here and took several landscapes. Then, after arriving in Moscow, the photographer suddenly dies, the undeveloped film goes to Alexander Evgenievich LARIONOV, who, having printed photographs, was surprised to find on one of them a luminous ball against the background of trees, even later, upon closer inspection, a second ball was discovered under it, and between them a large slightly blurred multi-meter face of a mountain woman. The photo was handed over to the researcher Alexander Sergeyevich KUZOVKIN, who repeatedly showed it to everyone. This fact, like many others, has not received a materialistic explanation. (HF) -

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There are 65 tombs. The most famous and best preserved is the tomb of the young pharaoh Tutankhamun.

LAND OF ETERNAL REST

Like a Phoenix from the ashes, on the site of ancient Thebes, destroyed by the Assyrian king named Ashur-ban-apli (ruled c. 669-627 BC), arose Luxor. It is divided into two parts: the city of the living and the city of the dead.

More than 100 tombs have been found by archaeologists in the "city of the dead" in the Biban el-Muluk wadi ("Gate of the Kings" in Arabic) on the left bank Nile. The entrance here is possible only through a narrow rocky gorge. The necropolis (Dra-Abu-el-Negge), in turn, is divided into two main parts - the Valley of the Kings, where the pharaohs and the noble people closest to them were buried, and the Valley of the Queens, adjacent to the Valley of the Kings from the southwest, where, as is clear from names, buried the wives of the pharaohs and their children. (We will tell about the Valley of the Queens separately, in one of the next issues.) The bodies of some royal sons, if they died in adulthood, but still young, were placed in the tombs of their fathers. And one more division of the valley in two: into the Eastern and Western parts. Most of the royal tombs are in the Eastern part. To designate the tombs, the abbreviation KV (King's Valley - "Valley of the Kings") adopted by archaeologists is used with a serial number. The abbreviation WV (West Valley) was assigned to the tombs of the westernmost sections of the valley. The tombs were numbered according to the time they were discovered, from Ramses VII ( KV1) to (KV65), but, in general, this is not a very strict gradation: after all, some of the tombs were known long before the end of the 18th century, when large-scale archaeological excavations began in the valley, and the largest tomb KV5 was rediscovered in 1995 .: many more chambers and halls were found in it than previously thought.

■ Tomb of Seti I (KV17) Belzoni helped to open... rain. This fact is all the more surprising because the rain, the more intense, albeit short-lived, downpour, as in the very case in the desert, is a phenomenally rare phenomenon. The rain caused the earth to collapse, due to which the entrance to the tomb became visible. True, the alabaster sarcophagus was opened in it, there was no mummy. But it is well preserved in the remains of the original wooden sarcophagus in a cache in Deir el-Bahri, where it was discovered in 1881.

■ The entrances to the tombs of the Valley of the Kings were covered with a large layer of large stones mixed with rubble and earth, various kinds of traps were arranged in the galleries. Most of all, the robbers were frightened by doors that could sharply turn around their horizontal axis, revealing a steep, narrow and deep corridor underneath, where, having made one wrong step, one could easily break not only the legs and arms, but also the neck. But the tomb robbers somehow managed to bypass such ingenious traps, although not all of them, judging by the number of “random” skeletons found by archaeologists in incredibly twisted poses.

■ The last burial made in the Valley of the Kings dates back to approximately 1075 BC. e.

■ For a long time it remained a mystery where the great queen Khapshetsut (1490/1489-1468 BC, 1479-1458 BC or 1504-1482 BC) was buried, who, for all that she did, called in the masculine gender - pharaoh. According to information in some papyri - in the Valley of the Queens, but no mummy was found in any of the supposed tombs in this regard, and besides, already in our time (2007) with the help of complex genetic analyzes (the work was headed by Zavi Hawass) it was it is proved that Hapshetsut was buried in the Valley of the Kings, in a small tomb KV60.

ATTRACTIONS

■ The most significant tombs of the pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings:
KV1 - Ramses VII.
KV2 - Ramses IV.
KV6 - Ramses IX.
KV8 - Merenptah.
KV9 - Ramses V and VI.
KV11 - Ramses III,
KV14 - Tausert and Setnacht.
KW15 - Networks II.
KV16 - Ramses I.
KV17 - Nets!..

NUMBERS

Luxor Square: 416 km2.
Population of Luxor: 506 588 people (2012).
Number of tombs (KW and WW) - 65. KVB objects - KVT, not containing mummies; supposedly they could be both the foundations for the tombs and the warehouses of everything that is necessary for their construction.

Atlas. The whole world is in your hands №259

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