Egypt
Greece
Etruscan
Rome

Upper Egypt

Like Memphis in the North, Thebes was the most sacred site in the South. Thebai is the Greek word for the area; the ancient Egyptians called it Waset. It was an important town early in ancient Egyptian history. Theban kings expanded Egypt into Nubian territory in the dynasties of the First Intermediate Period. Thebes gained in important and really became the capital of all Egypt in the 11th and 12th Dynasties. In the 12th dynasty the capital moved to Itjtawy. It remained as the administrative center of all of Southern Egypt. In the New Kingdom it again became the capital of the whole country and its temples were the richest and most important in the country. Its necropolis on the west bank across the river became the cemetery of the New Kingdom nobles, and it contained the most luxurious tombs ever built. This is where Howard Carter found the relatively untouched tomb of Tutankhamun, a minor 18th Dynasty king.

Two extensive temple remains are at Thebes. The temple of Luxor and the temple complex of Karnak. Across the river on the west bank is a series of mortuary temple remains of the New Kingdom pharaohs, in the hills behind them is the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, and the amazing Temple of Hatshepsut.

Luxor

Two great obelisks mark the font of the Luxor temple. They record the success of Ramesses II at the battle of Kadesh (in Syria in 1285 BC). This was a stand-off as far as the battle was concerned, but it stopped Hittite expansion into Palestine then under Egyptian control. Only one obelisk remains in Egypt, the French removed the other to Paris in 1836, where it now stands at the center of Place de la Concorde.

Ramesses II, Dynasty 19, was arguably the most important pharaoh in Egyptian history. One can't go anywhere in Egypt without seeing gigantic statues of him or temples to him. He erected them all. He loved to build. He also restored old temples up and down the Nile from Nubia to the sea. He lived long, and he was king for over 70 years; so he had a lot of time to build. Probably his most famous temples were dedicated to himself and his first wife; They are far up the Nile in Nubia at Abu Simbel, which is where this tour of Egypt ends.

 

 

Karnak

 

A big map of Karnak and its Temples is available. It does give a good idea of the size and complexity of the Karnak temple complex. Be careful where you put your cursor, some of the gods are still around. Don't make them angry!

 

Osbourne:
View of Karnak

 

Photos of Karnak and the Karnak Hypostyle Hall

Go back down river to the middle-Nile monuments.

Go across the Nile to the necropolis on the west bank.

Egypt
Greece
Etruscan
Rome

2003-02-26