Luxor-Templo de Hatshepsut

Luxor...Day 2

Coming from the Valley of the Kings and before entering the venue,

Visit to the Valley of the Kings

we stop in front of the Colossi of Memnon, king of Ethiopia, photos that I have included in the route in the Bar section, replacing some bland photographs of refrigerators, chairs and tables, with those of these imposing statues. Located next to the Temple of Amenophis III, a curious legend says that they sang, whistled or cried at dawn, as a lament for the death of this hero, at the hands of Achilles, in the Trojan War. Thus reflecting the pain of his mother for the loss of such a dear son. Although stubborn reality tells us that an earthquake damaged the statues, and that the wind whistling through the cracks caused the phenomenon. Although its repair in the third century AD ended the intriguing tune, the legend lived on for a long time. Arriving at the temple, we carried out the maneuver with the most successful golf carts, thanks to training in the Valley of the Kings, dodging moving carts and assault groups with good style, to occupy the first positions. The Temple is dedicated to the already named Amon-Ra, although it has a room to honor Hathor, goddess of love, celebration and dance, in the purest style of the Mediterranean character, and represented as a woman crowned with horns of cow, which seems to hold a solar disc between its antlers. It also honors Anubis, Inpu, god of the underworld, represented as a man with the head of a jackal and dark black, to symbolize that he protects graves and cemeteries, and communicates with the dead in the realm of the afterlife. Self-proclaimed daughter of Amon-Ra, conceived after a secret visit to her mother, Hatshepsut managed to be named queen on the death of her husband Thutmosis II. She was the first female pharaoh, a role until then reserved for men, since although it was not prohibited, it was not customary by tradition, and for this reason she was ordered to be represented with a beard and a masculine appearance. To reaffirm her legitimacy, she married her nephew Thutmosis III, while still a child, who could not really reign until her death twenty years later. Of strong character, conducive to commercial expeditions with great success, to compensate for the fact that he did not participate in war campaigns. After queuing, squeezing and shoving, we return to the minibus, some, defeated by the heat, without the strength to fight for a place of honor in the carts, on foot, and a select few, presiding over the first free cart that appeared on the scene. A second stop takes us to a craft workshop, where after a learned representation showing how they work with alabaster, they encourage us to buy their figurines, which, although much more expensive, they defend are of better quality than the "Made in China" ones they sell. on the streets. After achieving the great feat of visiting four temples in one morning, at an effective average of one hour per temple, we rested just before arriving at the cruise ship for lunch.

Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan

Resuming navigation in the afternoon towards Edfu, to visit the Temple of Horus there.

Visit to the Temple of Edfu