Constellations of the night decorate the ceiling of the vaulted burial chamber of Seti I.
The west side of the Nile at Thebes – Waset to the Egyptians, like further upstream at Memphis, was reserved for the next life. At both sites, the bank of the setting sun became the home for the Afterlife. Cemeteries predominately lay on the west side of the river as Egyptians believed human life paralleled the path of the sun, rising in the east and setting in the west. In the land of the setting sun lie the underworld. Line up with the others to witness the Egyptian version of eternity.
The Solar Courtyard of Amenhotep III shines in the darkening dusk light.
Luxor Temple stands at the southern end of the Avenue of the Sphinxes in the center of the City of Luxor. Along with Karnak, Luxor Temple rates as one of the most popular visitor sites in Egypt. The temple (Ipet Resyt or Southern Opet to ancient Egyptians) became dedicated to Amememopet, “Amun in Opet”. This particular form of Amun-Ra was specific to this temple, especially tied in the idea of royal ka or the spirit of kingship entering into a king’s body at the time of his coronation. Evey year the Opet Festival took place in which the king visited the Luxor Temple in order for the royal ka to be ritually reborn, reconfirmed and re-energized.
Baboons hold court above the entrance facade at Abu Simbel.
Far to the south, not far from the border of Egypt and Sudan, lies one of the greatest monuments surviving from the New Kingdom and its most prominent pharaoh, Ramses II. The magnificent temple complex erected here at Abu Simbel demonstrated the power and supremacy of Egypt over Nubia lying to the south. This became the most extravagant of all of the many building projects the great Pharaoh commissioned over his long life.
The three great pyramids of Giza with towers of Giza and Cairo beyond.
It is amazing to hear how many people dream of seeing the pyramids. While they are worthy of a visit … a journey? After having spent a couple of weeks along the Nile, if not for a visit to the Grand Egyptian Museum – literally next door to the last remaining of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World – the wonders of further south near Luxor are where I would set my sights upon. But the pyramids are impressive – especially when you consider their age – and worth a visit if you are in Cairo. Coming to Egypt, I recommend you visit the Memphis necropolis at Saqqara and Dashur first, however, to give you a little sense of how the pyramids developed from much simpler burial tombs and where they went after the Great Pyramid era ended with the end of the Fourth Dynasty.
Scenes from the Fourth Hour of the Amduat show Ra’s progress through the Underworld.
There is no single source for the various myths, allusions, gods, goddesses and religious practices found in the almost four thousand years of ancient Egypt. The foundations of Egyptian belief are found on temple walls. A few papyri roll that survived the many centuries and within the thousands of funerary tombs of royals and those not-so-royal.
Rituals, processions and magic spells always played significant roles in the carrying out of the varied practices ruling the life – and afterlife – of the ancients. Similar to what one finds in medieval Christian churches, paintings helped to tell the stories to those illiterate, which numbered most people. But the stories, rituals and spells also lay inscribed on the walls of the tombs and temples. Here, we can gain a more complete idea of belief systems in place. One of the most important aspects of Egyptian religious practices centered around death and the belief in an afterlife.
