The Bruner Family Egypt Extravaganza: Luxor

Mortuary temple at Medinet Habu

The site of the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum." The city was first inhabited starting around 3,200 BCE, and it served as the capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom, from the 16th to the 11th centuries BCE, Egypt's most prosperous and powerful period.

Following the analogy of the rising and setting sun, people in ancient Egypt generally lived on the East Bank of the Nile and were buried on the West Bank (hence the pyramids of Giza, Saqqara and Darshur are all located on the West Bank). As a result, the two sides of the Nile at Luxor offer distinct sights for today's visitor: The East Bank, home to the living city of Thebes, boasts two glorious temple complexes, Karnak and Luxor, where ancient Thebans worshiped their gods. On the other side of the Nile, the West Bank is one of the world's most impressive graveyards, filled with colorful underground tombs and marvelous above-ground mortuary temples for the deceased Pharaohs. On both sides of the Nile, one of the most interesting aspects of visiting the sights was interacting with friendly local tourists, especially large groups of school children, who were particularly fascinated with little Amanda hanging out in the Baby Bjorn. There's also some beautiful scenery, local color and plenty of shopping opportunities along the way.

Small village on the West Bank

View from our hotel on the East Bank

Locals enjoying some R&R on the West Bank

At a mosque on the West Bank

Alabaster factory on the West Bank

Salesman on the West Bank

Another local scene on the West Bank

A vast conglomeration of temples, Karnak was in its heyday the holiest place in Egypt and is today the largest ancient religious site in the world. The key difference between Karnak and most of the other temples in Egypt is the length of time over which it was developed and used. Construction on the site began as early as 2,000 BCE and continued until Greco-Roman times, as dozens of Pharaohs added their own touches - a new temple here, a new series of inscriptions there. A key part of the complex is devoted to Amun-Ra, a local Theban deity whose status rose to king of all the Egyptian gods - he was so powerful during the apex of his worship during the New Kingdom that some commentators (at least on the internet) have suggested that Egypt approached virtual monotheism despite the panoply of gods and goddesses. The architectural features found at Karnak are not necessarily unique among Egyptian temples, but the size, number and diversity of these features is astounding. Karnak eventually declined in importance and was mostly abandoned by the time Constantine the Great established Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th century CE. Today, it's one of Egypt's major tourist attractions, and was also the site in December 2010 of the first ever "Kids' Council" (at least in our family) - where Jeremy and Talia and their cousins Hayley and Will gathered to hatch a secret plan to overthrow their parents and make such decrees as "We are now done seeing temples!", "It's time to go swimming at the hotel pool!" and "We want desert!"

"Get down from there!" (in Arabic)

The "Kids' Council"

Founded in the 15th century BCE, Luxor Temple was originally connected to Karnak by a three kilometer-long colonnade lined with hundreds of sphinxes. A large renovation project is currently underway to excavate the colonnade, move modern residences, roadways and structures out of the way, and restore the colonnade to its original condition. At the entrance to Luxor Temple, one of the two towering obelisks is missing - in 1829, Muhammad Ali Pasha, the ruler of Egypt, gave the obelisk as a gift to France, who put it in the center of the Place de la Concorde in Paris, where it still resides. (Apparently, Muhammad Ali offered the other obelisk to France as well, but thankfully the task of transporting it proved too challenging and it remains in its original home.) Luxor Temple was built in large part by two of the most celebrated Egyptian Pharaohs - Amenhotep III, a magnanimous patron of the arts whose near 40-year reign was one of the peaks of Egyptian power, and Ramesses II, who was famously portrayed by Yul Brynner in Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 epic film, The Ten Commandments (which I've seen about 10 times). Some of the most interesting features of the temple, however, are of a more recent vintage. It was used as a church during the Early Christian era and you can still see colorful paintings on the walls from this period. There's also an active mosque that was built on the temple's foundations about a 1,000 years ago, after the temple had been covered by centuries of shifting sands, which explains why today the original entrance to the mosque is well above ground level.  The resulting mix of architectural styles and historical references is a fascinating blend of the millenniums.

My brother Steven with baby Amanda

Gotta have the closeup shot!

Early Christian painting

The mosque at Luxor Temple

And the closeup shot

You'll have to go to Paris to see the other obelisk

Moving to the West Bank of the Nile, the Valley of the Kings contains 64 tombs and was the principal burial place of the major royal figures of the New Kingdom, along with a number of privileged nobles. The tombs were carved deep into the rock in an effort to protect the Pharaoh's belongings in the afterlife, but many of the tombs were discovered and looted long ago. Indeed, archeologists have discovered ancient graffiti in Greek, Latin, Phoenician, Cypriot, Lycian, and Coptic (among other languages), and in 1799 Napoleon's expedition drew maps and plans of the known tombs. But the tombs are still decorated with colorful scenes from Egyptian mythology and give important clues of the beliefs and funerary rituals of the period. The most famous tomb is obviously that of Tutankhamun.  Although he died young and ruled for only about a decade, the discovery of his tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter received worldwide press coverage and sparked a renewed public interest in ancient Egypt. The artifacts from this single tomb fill many of the exhibit rooms in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The nearby Valley of the Queens contains tombs of the kings' wives and offspring, with brightly colored interior decorations that are as striking as those in the Valley of the Kings. Photography is no longer allowed inside the tombs, but here are some images I pulled off the internet (including two from a really cool website called the "Theban Mapping Project") to give you an idea of the types of decorations that the ancient Egyptians used.

In addition to the royal tombs, the West Bank boasts a number of extremely impressive mortuary temples dedicated to important Pharaohs of the New Kingdom. The most imposing of these is undoubtedly the Temple of Hatshepsut, a terraced, colonnaded temple carved dramatically into the steep hillside with some amazingly colorful artwork. Hatshepsut, who ruled in the 15th century BCE, is generally regarded as one of the most successful Pharaohs, as she ushered in a long period of peace and prosperity, establishing trading relations that brought great wealth to Egypt. She used this wealth for a myriad of grand building projects and achieved an unprecedented level of artistic and architectural achievement. I've read that so much statuary was created during her reign that almost every major museum in the world has a statute of Hatshepsut or two among their collections - indeed, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has an entire room dedicated to her.

Jeremy and baby Amanda make new friends

Everyone loves baby Amanda!

I like the suit and wool hat (and it's 80 degrees!)

In Luxor, with Manhattan style!

Say cheese! (in Arabic)

We also visited the Ramasseum, the mortuary temple of Ramesses II, who ruled several hundred years after Hatshepsut, during the 13th century BCE. Ramasses ruled Egypt for 66 years and is regarded by many as the country's most celebrated and powerful Pharaoh (although Moses apparently got the better of him). Ramesses was a prolific builder, and he built on an epic scale. Early in his reign, Ramesses directed a very ambitious building project that transformed the ancient temples of Thebes so that each one eternalized him in stone. To do this, he changed the way that temple walls were inscribed, moving away from the elegant but shallow reliefs used by previous Pharaohs, which could be easily scratched out by their successors.  Instead, he insisted on deeper engravings in stone, which were less susceptible to alteration. In a similar vein, he also built more colossal statues of himself than any other Pharaoh. Following the tradition of his predecessors, the art that covered the walls of his building projects served as propaganda to laud and embellish his military campaigns and political achievements. The Ramasseum was apparently just the beginning of his obsession with monumental construction (and with himself!) - just wait for Abu Simbel, which will be covered in our next post. The Ramasseum isn't as well preserved as some of the other ancient Egyptian temples, but the ruins at the site - surrounded by impressive mountain scenery on one side and lush farmland on the other, and teeming with locals doing excavation and restoration work (or just hanging out) - were very evocative.

Medinet Habu is another magnificent mortuary temple on the West Bank of Luxor. It is devoted to Ramesses III, who ruled in the 12 century BCE and is considered to be the last great ruler of the New Kingdom to wield any substantial authority over Egypt. The reliefs at Medinat Habu are outstanding, although the royal propaganda is particularly graphic, especially the disturbing images of the severed penises of Egypt's vanquished enemies. The site also includes ruins of a royal palace, with one of the oldest toilets I've ever seen. Needless to say, this place was a favorite for the kids, who joked incessantly about the "pile of penises" and the "royal potty."  A fleet of hot air balloons in the clear morning sky added to the visual impact of the temple and its surroundings.  

Hayley enjoying the royal palace

Talia and Will enjoying the royal potty

Remember Lorena Bobbit?

See the hot air balloons in the background?

The final sight that we visited in Luxor, before heading off on a cruise down the Nile, was the Colossi of Memnon, two gigantic statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III - all that remains of his mortuary temple. Built in the 14th century BCE, it was in its heyday the largest and most opulent temple complex in Egypt, bigger even than Karnak.  I've come across several theories concerning the temple's destruction, involving earthquakes, floods, and deliberate dismantling by Amenhotep's successors. 

The statues are named after Memnon, a hero of the Trojan War known as the "Ruler of the Dawn," because apparently a crack caused by an earthquake in 27 BCE caused one of the statues to make a singing sound at dawn. The base of this statue contains various inscriptions from ancient tourists testifying whether they heard the sound or not. The legend of the singing statue and the luck that hearing it was reputed to bring - combined with the belief in the statue's oracular powers - attracted a steady stream of visitors (including several Roman Emperors) until about 200 CE, when the Romans filled in the crack and the music stopped.

Once a magnificent temple, now farm fields

Apart from their awe-inspiring scale and grandeur, what is most striking about the tombs and temples of Luxor is the level of artistry that the ancient Egyptians achieved during the New Kingdom. Intricate inscriptions, delicately colored reliefs and painted images, highly refined architectural designs, graceful statuary - it's not just monumental; it's creative, sophisticated and incredibly well executed. And it's more than 3,000 years old, remnants of what is perhaps the earliest artistic Golden Age in human history.

The Bruner Family Egypt Extravaganza: The Pyramids

That's all nine of us!

What would a family extravaganza in Egypt be without a kitchy camel ride at the Pyramids at Giza? But first a history lesson, courtesy of our excellent guide Nader, our good friends at Wikipedia, a variety of Egyptian tourism websites, assorted articles found on the internet, and our trusty Lonely Planet guidebook. According to the New York Times, 138 pyramids had been discovered in Egypt as of November 2008. They were built as tombs for the Pharaohs and their consorts during the Old Kingdom (27th to 22nd centuries BCE) and the Middle Kingdom (21st to 17th centuries BCE). The most durable and famous pyramids are from the 27th and 26th centuries BCE in the Old Kingdom, when the Pharaohs centralized their absolutist power over Egypt. The Pharaohs built pyramids later in the Old Kingdom and in the Middle Kingdom, but they were largely made of mud-brick and have not survived very well.  By the time of the New Kingdom (16th to 11th centuries BCE), the construction of large pyramids was a thing of the past, although some small pyramids were used in private burials as funerary chapels. The Great Pyramid at Giza is the largest and most famous Egyptian pyramid, but there are several others near Cairo that are well worth visiting.

Located about 30 kilometers south of modern-day Cairo, Saqqara is a vast royal burial ground, which served as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis. The most famous pyramid at Saqqara is the Step Pyramid, which houses the tomb of Zoser, a powerful Pharaoh who ruled during the 27th century BCE.  At the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, we tracked down the limestone statue of Zoser, which is the oldest life-size Egyptian statue in existence. Before the Step Pyramid was built for King Zoser, mastabas (flat-roofed rectangular bench-like structures built mostly out of mud and brick) were the standard type of tomb for both the Pharaoh and the social elite. Consisting of six large mastabas - one on top of the other, each one smaller than the one below it - the Step Pyramid is the first Egyptian pyramid and is considered to be the earliest example in the world of a large-scale cut stone monument.  It was designed to serve as a gigantic stairway by which the soul of the deceased Pharaoh could ascend to the heavens.

My sister-in-law Eden with baby Amanda in the baby bjorn

The Step Pyramid was a radical departure from previous monuments in terms of the amount of material and labor needed for its construction, suggesting that the royal government had a newfound control over human and material resources. The Step Pyramid was also an unprecedented architectural achievement. Imhotep, who designed it, is the first master architect we know by name. He also was revered as an engineer, physician, sage, poet and philosopher. Some 2,000 years after his death, he was deified as an Egyptian god of medicine and healing. He was even worshiped by the Greeks, who associated him with their god of medicine, Asclepius. Sir William Osler, a founding professor at Johns Hopkins, called Imhotep the Father of Medicine, "the first figure of a physician to stand out clearly from the mists of antiquity." Over the centuries, Imhotep's fame has outshone that of Zoser, the king he served and for whom he built the Step Pyramid.

Numerous other Egyptian kings subsequently built tombs at Saqqara, but most of these are no longer even standing and none of them even comes close to matching Imhotep's grand achievement. The Pyramid of Unas is nevertheless worth a visit - although its exterior is nothing more than a pile of rubble - to walk though the extremely well preserved interior causeway where the walls are lined with some of the oldest religious texts known to humankind. Photographs are not allowed inside, but I've posted below a couple of pictures that I found on the internet.

Other pyramids at Saqqara were not as well built, and are not nearly as impressive, as the Step Pyramid

Part of the funerary complex for King Zoser

Funerary complex for King Zoser with Step Pyramid in the background

Ancient statuary with Step Pyramid in the background

Interior of Pyramid of Unas (taken from the internet)

Interior of Pyramid of Unas (taken from the internet)

View from the road in Darshur

In nearby Darshur, a rural farming community where the lush banks of the Nile fade into the desert, we saw two more pyramids that mark the evolution of this distinctly Egyptian architectural style. First is the "Bent Pyramid," built under the reign of the Pharaoh Sneferu (2612–2589 BCE). It's called the Bent Pyramid because it looks bent. The bottom of the Pyramid slopes upward from the ground at a 55 degree angle, but the top part of the Pyramid changes to a more gradual slope, to a 43 degree angle. There are several theories as to why it was built this way. Some believe the Bent Pyramid represents a conscious transition from a step-like pyramid to a classic smooth pyramid. Others believe the architect intended to construct a smooth, straight-lined pyramid, but the structure showed signs of instability during construction, forcing the builders to change course in midstream and use a shallower angle to avoid a collapse.  Another theory is that as Sneferu's death was nearing during construction, the builders realized that a gentler slope was needed to make sure the pyramid was completed on time. Whatever the reason for its unique shape, the changing angles make for a dramatic silhouette against the flat desert landscape.  Eden profoundly commented that it looked like a gigantic chocolate chip. 

The second pyramid that we saw in Darshur is the Red Pyramid, which is the earliest classic (i.e., straight-lined) Egyptian pyramid. Also built under the reign of Sneferu, the Red Pyramid was at the time of its completion the tallest human-made building in the world. It is built at a uniform 43-degree angle and has a noticeably squat appearance when compared with the Pyramids at Giza, which are built at a steeper angle. Some believe that the Red Pyramid is an outcome of engineering crises that befell Sneferu's two earlier pyramids, the Bent Pyramid and the Pyramid at Meidum, which ultimately collapsed under its own weight. The Red Pyramid - which gets its name from the pinkish hue of its stones - is an elegant and beautiful monument, with only a fraction of the tourists that its more famous younger cousins at Giza attract.  You can also climb inside the Red Pyramid - it's very interesting to see the interior construction, but it's pretty cramped and dank in there. 

 

But there's a reason why its younger cousins are so famous. The Pyramids at Giza are one of the world's truly majestic sites and it's amazing to think that they were built in the 26th century BCE - more than 4,500 years ago. They were a popular tourist attraction more than 2,000 years ago during Hellenistic times, when the Greek poet Antipater of Sidon listed the Great Pyramid (the largest and oldest of the Pyramids at Giza) as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The Great Pyramid - built as a tomb for the Pharaoh Khufu, who was known as Cheops to the Greeks - is the only one of these ancient wonders to remain intact. At about 480 feet tall, the Great Pyramid was the world's tallest building for over 3,800 years, until the spire of the Lincoln Cathedral was completed in England in the early 14th century. According to one website, the surface area covered by the Great Pyramid (13 acres) is large enough to include the European cathedrals of Florence, Milan, St. Peter's, Westminster Abbey, and St. Paul's. According to another website, the Great Pyramid is built from about 2.3 million limestone blocks weighing on average 2.6 tons each - with a total mass of about 6 million tons. The Great Pyramid was originally encased in highly polished, smooth white limestone, but over the centuries the casing has worn off and was taken to build Cairo's mosques and monuments. The Great Pyramid's smaller and slightly younger neighbors include the Pyramid of Khafre (which has retained the original limestone casing on its tip) and the Pyramid of Menkaura (which is the smallest of the three).

The Great Pyramid

The Great Pyramid looks smaller than the Khafre Pyramid from this viewpoint, but actually it's bigger

Jeremy and his cousin Hayley share a camel

Jeremy and his cousin Will playing at the Pyramids

It's the NYC Bruners at the Pyramids!

View from the hotel pool in Giza (Le Meridien)

Wikipedia gets the credit for this photo

And, of course, who can forget the Sphinx? It is the oldest known monumental sculpture and the largest monolith statue in the world, at over 240 feet long (he has very long feet), 65 feet high, and 20 feet wide. Archeologists believe it was built during the reign of Khafre in the 26th century BCE. To this day, a debate rages on about how the Sphinx lost his nose. Many historians believe it was destroyed in the 14th century by an iconoclastic Muslim leader who was outraged that locals were making offerings to the Sphinx in the hopes of increasing their harvests. But according to common legend, Napoleon's soldiers broke it off with a cannonball - although I've read that sketches of the Sphinx published several decades before Napoleon's arrival in Egypt show him already without a nose.

It's a pretty simple idea: Let's build a large three-dimensional triangle. But even upon a second viewing (Eden and I were here in 1999), the scale and grandeur of the pyramids are mind-blowing. And seeing it all through the kids' eyes, for the first time, was an awesome experience. When I asked Jeremy what his favorite part of Egypt was, he responded without any hesitation: "The Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx." Talia added: "When can we go back to the Pyramids? I want to see them again." The Pharaohs sure knew how to impress people of all ages...