The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut
A popular visitor attraction for the many tourists that choose to holiday cruising
the Nile, or taking a hotel break in the nearby city of Luxor, is Deirel-Bahri, also
sometimes referred to as Deir el-Bahari, it lies between the Valley of the Queens
and the Valley of the Kings on the west bank of the Nile opposite the city of Luxor
which stands on the Eastern bank. This is the site of the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut,
daughter of Tuthmose I and Aahmes. Hatshepsut married her half brother who later
became Tuthmose II, but in 1479 B.C.Tuthmose II died. At this point his son from
one of his concubines named Moutnofrit, was declared heir to the throne as Tuthmose
III. Until he became old enough to take on the responsibility, Hatshepsut took on
the role of Regent. This went on until 1473 B.C. when Tuthmose was old enough to
take over the throne for himself, but instead Hatshepsut declared herself Pharaoh,
and became the fifth ruler of the 18th dynasty, this lasted until her disappearance
and assumed death in 1458 B.C. Often pictured in Pharonic dress and wearing a false
beard, Hatshepsut is now regarded as one of the most successful pharaohs of ancient
Egypt where she resided over a time when trade flourished, temples were restored
and many more built. She was also the only female Pharaoh, a mysterious break in
Egyptian tradition, but one that seems to have been accepted purely based on her
ability to do the job so successfully.
Hatshepsuts Architect and builder was a man named Senmut, he started out as a tutor
for the family but soon grew to position of great power during Hatshepsuts rule.
The name Deir el-Bahri came from a Coptic monastery of the 7th century. The ancient
Egyptians name for the temple was "Djeser Djeseru" translated as "Splendour of Splendours".
The temple, built, into the Theban hills, has a design akin to much more modern temples.
The temple has columned halls on top of each other with two wide ramps leading up
to the first and second floors. The whole temple is dwarfed by the hills behind,
on the other side of which lies the Valley of the Kings. There once was a processional
way lined with sphinxes leading from the banks of the Nile all the way to the lower
ramp. A number of these sphinxes can now be seen in the Metropolitan Museum, New
York, USA.
Three of the restored statues on the uppermost level, depicting Hatshepsut wearing
a false beard and the twin crown of upper and lower Egypt. It is believed that the
statues were damaged after her death under the orders of Tuthmose III as an act of
revenge for depriving him from what he considered as his rightful status as the true
Pharaoh.
Dispite Hatshepsuts undoubted ability and political astuteness, her reign came to
an end after an uprising was put down by Tuthmose III and he took the throne for
himself. After her death Tuthmose III attempted to remove any evidence of her rule,
this is the reason why the site at Deit el-Bahri suffered such extensive damage and
why so much restoration work has had to be carried out and still continues to this
day.
These are some of the images from the walls within the temple. They are not as bright
and vivid as some of the examples that can be found within the tombs of the neighbouring
valleys of the Kings and Queens, but considering that these are painted on walls
that are to all extents external, we must consider ourselves lucky that there is
anything left to see at all.
