Hatshepsut's Temple

The approach to this temple (tour buses and parking lots notwithstanding) was impressive. Cameron and Noah thought it looked like a desert version of Helm's Deep from Lord of the Rings. Hatshepsut was married to her half-brother, whose son was to be his successor. Because he was so young, Hatshupset became regent when her husband died and later proclaimed herself pharoah. She ruled for 20 years. She is often portrayed as a male pharoah, with the false beard typical of her rank; at other times, she appears definitely female.

The temple has been quite vandalized and has deteriorated over the years. Still, it's an amazing site. Originally, the walls on either side of the main steps were completely carved. You can still see many of the remnants of the enormous serpent and other carvings. Many of the paintings have faded, but are still so interesting, while the repetition of statues of the pharoah never stopped catching our attention. Clearly, if one statue was good, 10 or so was a whole lot better.

The hieroglyphics surrounded by an oval circle are called a cartouche. It represents the name of an important person, in this case Hatshepsut. Most people have heard of the Rosetta Stone, the tablet discovered near Alexandria that contained a passage written in Greek, hieroglyphics,

and a local (demotic) language. When the Rosetta Stone was found, it was a cartouche that helped Jean-Francois Champollion crack the code and decipher the hieroglyphic writing. And, as long as I'm digressing a bit, you can read more about the Rosetta Stone's very interesting history and how the Egyptians feel about this particular artifact being owned by the British.

Hazy and hot and dusty, but a good illustration of my description of the land irrigated by the Nile and the dramatic line where the desert begins.

Day 5 and still going strong!