Egypt, Luxor: A Trip to Ancient Temples and Tombs

Our journey starts very early in the morning, we take the convoy bus from Hurghada to the Nile Valley. On the west bank of the Nile we first visit the Valley of the Kings. Significant Egyptian site of tombs of Pharaohs and powerful nobles. It served its purpose from the 16th to the 11th century BC A small train brings us to the tombs and we can see the most famous tombs of Pharaohs - Thutmose III, Amenhotep II, Tutankhamen, Haremheb, Ramesses I, Sethi, Merenptah, Ramesses III, Ramesses VI or Ramesses IX.

Uvnitř je možné spatřit překrásné malby, jinak jsou hrobky prázdné. Po cestě z údolí vidíme i dům, ve kterém kdysi pobýval slavný archeolog Howard Carter. Odsud se přesouváme k impozantnímu zádušnímu chrámu královny Hatšepsut, která byla ve své době velkou stavitelkou. Monumentální stavba je velmi dobře zachovalá, na její dnešní podobě má ovšem velký vliv práce restaurátorů. Kromě vlivu času se na chrámu podepsaly různé přírodní katastrofy a činnost Hatšepsutina nástupce Thutmose III., ten ničil odkazy, které po sobě královna zanechala.

We continue on to the Memnon Colossians. Their name speaks for itself, the height of these statues is an incredible 19 meters and depicts Pharaoh Amenhotep III, who ruled the ancient Egyptian 18th Dynasty.

After lunch there is a transfer to Karnak. It is the largest temple complex in all of Egypt. Most important Egyptian rulers participated in its construction. Karnak differs significantly from other temple complexes of Egypt in terms of its size and, above all, its length of construction. The main temple in Karnak was dedicated to Amon, who became the most important Egyptian god during the 18th Dynasty. His cult merged with the cult of the solar god Re and was worshiped as Amon-Re. In the first courtyard, you should not miss the great statue of Pharaoh Ramesses II. From other sculptures his is different that he is pictured with his wife Nefertiti. Otherwise, the queens were not sculpted. The main Karnak temple is interesting mainly by the large columned hall - Hypostyl Hall. The hall has an area of almost 5000 m2, decorated with 134 massive columns in sixteen rows.

If you go to Egypt, visit the unique monuments of one of the oldest ancient civilizations. This unforgettable experience, however, I recommend to go out of season, because in summer the air temperature in Egypt is around 40 ° C.

GPS: Valley of the Kings 25°44'26.7"N 32°36'05.5"E

Text and photos: Veronika Kocmanová