Egyptomania Begins in the 19th Century - Tourists flock to Egypt

Tourism to Egypt  began slowly after the 1830's after Napoleon Bonaparte's failed expedition to Egypt, It was the work of the Savants he brought with him that first brought Egypt to the attention of the World they created 'The Description de l'Égypte' which was a series of publications, detailing the history of Egypt both ancient and modern, the first volume appeared in 1809 and continued until the final volume appeared in 1829.

Whilst in Egypt Napoleon's soldiers found the Rosetta stone, and after many years of study,  Champollion deciphered the stone using a tracing that the French had made of the stone before they had released it to the British army.  Champollion deciphered the Rosetta stone in 1822, and brought the ancient Gods words to life again.

Giovanni Belzoni also helped to inspire people in Europe on his travels with his installation of the Tomb of Seti 1, that he had discovered in the Valley of the Kings, and the head of Ramses 11 that he had removed from the Ramessium in 1816.

Egyptomania had begun !

From the 1860's the early photographers  helped so much to encourage people to visit Egypt, their photos expressed the ordinary life of Egyptians, and the amazing history of it's antiquities, and the early tourists loved to buy these memories and postcards of Egypt. Here we can see early tourists at the side of the Sphinx and the great Pyramid of Khufu which is the largest pyramid built in Egypt. As you can see the paws of the sphinx are buried under the sand. These two icons, of Ancient Egypt have always featured in the Western imagination.

Tourists used to climb the pyramids in the 19th Century, if you decided to do it now you would be arrested.

Pyramid of Khufu and the Sphinx

One of the most famous American tourists to climb the Great pyramid of Khufu (also known as the pyramid of Cheops) was the author Mark Twain, who firstly described the Giza plateau :

At a distance of a few miles the pyramids rising above the palms, looked very clean-cut, very grand and imposing, and very soft an filmy, as well. They swarm in a rich haze that took from them all suggestions of unfeeling stone, and made them seem only the airy nothings of a dream - structures which might blossom into tiers of vague arches, or ornate colonnades, may be, and change and change again, into all graceful forms of architecture, while we looked, and then melt deliciously away and change again, into all graceful forms of architecture,'

Mark Twain admitted his failure to adequately describe the sheer massiveness of the Great Pyramid, but he went on to describe how he got to the top of it:

'we were besieged by a rabble of muscular Egyptians and Arabs who wanted the contract of dragging us to the top—all tourists are.'

'the Sheiks said they were the only responsible parties; that all contracts must be made with them, all moneys paid over to them, and none exacted from us by any but themselves alone. Of course they contracted that the varlets who dragged us up should not mention bucksheesh once.'
'we contracted with them (the shieks) paid them, were delivered into the hands of the draggers, dragged up the Pyramids, and harried and be-deviled for bucksheesh from the foundation clear to the summit.'

'Each step being full as high as a dinner-table; there being very, very many of the steps; an Arab having hold of each of our arms and springing upward from step to step and snatching us with them, forcing us to lift our feet as high as our breasts every time, and do it rapidly and keep it up till we were ready to faint, who shall say it is not lively, exhilarating, lacerating, muscle-straining, bone-wrenching and perfectly excruciating and exhausting pastime, climbing the Pyramids?'

'I could conjure up no comparison that would convey to my mind a satisfactory comprehension of the magnitude of a pile of monstrous stones that covered thirteen acres of ground and stretched upward four hundred and eighty tiresome feet, and so I gave it up and walked down to the Sphinx.'
When Mark Twain confronted the Sphinx he gave the following description of it's face:

'The great face was so sad, so earnest, so longing, so patient. There was a dignity not of earth in its mien, and in its countenance a benignity such as never anything human wore. It was stone, but it seemed sentient. If ever image of stone thought, it was thinking. It was looking toward the verge of the landscape, yet looking at nothing—nothing but distance and vacancy. It was looking over and beyond everything of the present, and far into the past…it was thinking of the wars of departed ages; of the empires it had seen created and destroyed; of the nations whose birth it had witnessed, whose progress it had watched, whose annihilation it had noted; of the joy and sorrow, the life and death, the grandeur and decay, of five thousand slow revolving years.'

After five months of travel in Europe and the Middle East, Mark Twain wrote a book describing all his Travels, it is titled 'Innocents Abroad' it was published in 1869


Karnack Temple - the earthly home of the God Amun

In 1862 Queen Victoria sent her 20 year old son, the Prince of Wales, Albert Edward (affectionately known as Bertie), on a four month tour of the Middle East. He is seen here with his entourage in the Hypostyle Hall of Amun Ra in Karnack Temple, the Gods earthly home.

The Hypostyle hall was considered as the mound of creation by the ancient Egyptians, and the awesome columns in this hall represent the plants that came into being on the mound of creation. Standing in this incredible hall you are overpowered by 134 of these gigantic columns, 122 are in the open papyrus bud style, and another 12 in the central isle are closed. The Hypostyle hall, is the reception area of the gods, its awesome lotus columns represent the plants that came into being on the mound of creation. The lotus columns are a symbolism of Horus who was born on the waters of creation, the lotus plant represents the first sunrise on the day of creation. Each evening the lotus submerges beneath the waters, and at dawn it rises symbolically to worship the sun again, it encompasses all the forces of nature and lives in all the four elements, its roots are bound to the earth and its stem rises through water, it flourishes in the air and blooms in the sunlight The Hypostyle Hall was originally created by Seti 1, and after his death, his son Ramses the Great completed the Hall.

Behind Prince Albert's group is the part of a fallen obelisk, which I assume it is one of the obelisks created by Hatshepsut, and can now be found near the Sacred Lake. Originally Hatshepsut created two Obelisks which would have stood together one each side of her Red Chapel that would have been intended as a barque shrine for the God Amun Ra. An obelisk was intended to create an energy field and power from the  Sun God Amun Ra to the temple, they originally had a covering at the top that was covered in electrum, which was a mix of gold and silver, and would capture the rays of the sun god Amun Ra bringing energy, protection and new life to the temple, so obelisks were originally created in pairs, Ramses 11 originally had an obelisk each side of the entrance into Luxor Temple, but one was dismantled and given to France in recognition of Champollion deciphering the Hieroglyphics. Once the suns rays hit the obelisk the pharaohs name would be invoked as the words would come to life.

The Obelisk of Hatshepsut that still stands in Karnack Temple expresses her devotion to the God Amun whose earthly home was Karnack Temple :

I have created this work with a heart full of love for Amon
Initiated into his secrets of origin
Instructed through his beneficial powers
I have not forgotten what he has ordained
My majesty recognizes his Divinity
I have acted on his orders
It is he who has guided me
I have never slept because I was pre-occupied with his temple
I have never turned away from what he has commanded
My heart moved intuitively with The Father
I have entered ultimately into the plans of his heart
I have never turned my back to the Master of Totality
But rather I have turned my face towards him


These tourists have got to be British !

They are all sat having lunch in the amazing Hypostyle  Hall in Karnack Temple.


Luxor Temple

Luxor Temple  is one of the most unique temples in Egypt, as it is not the earthly home of a god, nor is it a pharaohs mortuary temple. It was created to celebrate the 'Opet Festival' that was celebrated every year for 11 days just before the annual Nile flood, the celebrations were to give new life to Egypt and to renew the Kings vitality and power to rule.

In these celebrations, the king would leave the home of Amun Ra, at Karnack Temple and escort the  sacred barques of the God Amun, his wife Mut, and their son Khonsu to the celebrations held in Luxor Temple's inner sanctuaries and the Festival hall of Amenhotep 111. Luxor Temple as we see it today, was mainly built by two pharaohs, Ramses 11 'The Great' of the 19th Dynasty - the New Kingdom period, and Amenhotep 111 of the 18th dynasty who was also known as 'The Magnificent', who was also known as 'Amenotep the Magnificent', he was the son of Tuthmosis 111 'The Egyptian Napoleon' who brought wealth and prosperity to Egypt with all his victories.

Amenhotep 111 died in the 39th year of his reign, and his son Amenoteph 1V succeed to the throne, after five years of rule he changed his name to Akhenaten,  who believed in one god, the Aten, and turned his back on the many Gods of Ancient Egypt. His rule brought Egypt to the brink of disaster.

In ancient times Luxor temple was known as 'Ipet Resyt' which means 'the Southern Sanctuary', and the 'Sun court, or festival hall was where all the dancing, feasting, and celebrations took place. The court is very large and surrounded on three sides by beautiful papyrus bud and open lotus columns.

In the photograph we can see four  Victorian tourists sat on camels inside the Festival hall, as you will notice the floor level of sand has reached half way up the surrounding columns.

In 1883 Gaston Maspero was given permission to excavate the sand from inside the temple, and so they evicted all the Egyptians who had created their homes inside the temple. One such resident was Lady Duff Gordon, who had rejected her Victorian life in favor of a life with the Egyptians,  she made her home into a little hospital, so that the Egyptians could come to her for help. Mostly she just gave them a miracle cure of a cup of English tea !
Looking at the photograph you can see the minaret of the mosque of Abu Hagag in the background, the mosque was built about 800 years ago and had also been built inside the temple. Once the sand was dug away it left the doors to the mosque at ceiling height, so the Muslims had to create a new entrance at the back of the mosque.

Thomas Cook brings Victorian Travelers to Egypt

It was Thomas Cook who first brought British travelers to sail up the River Nile on an 'organized' tour to Egypt, it had been his dream to visit Egypt and the Holy Land so in 1869 he organized the first cruise up the River Nile. His luxury tour of the middle East lasted for three months and was obviously aimed at wealthy Victorian tourists, they made the journey up the Nile in two steamers that he had hired from the King of Egypt. The tour was successful, and within 10 years he had established a small fleet of Nile steamers which would transport the wealthy tourists up the Nile.

Ernest Wallis Budge was an English Egyptologist who worked for the British Museum  He made many trips to Egypt for the British Museum to buy antiquities, and he went on to publish many books on Egyptology and his Oriental studies.

In 1895 Thomas Cook provided the first holiday guide book that he gave to all his guests on his tours. The book was written by E.A.Wallis Budge and was titled 'Notes for Travelers in Egypt.' The book was written in simple terms, offering information about the Temples and Tombs they would see on their journey up the Nile.

Philae Island - The Earthly Home of the Goddess Isis

The island of Philae and the temple of the Goddess Isis drew many tourists to it's shores in the 19th century, the approach by water was beautiful  when seen from the level of a small boat, the island, with its palms, its colonnades, its pylons, and the kiosk seems to rise out of the water like a mirage. In the 19th century when early tourists visited the Island of Philae, it was originally located near the First Cataract of the Nile in Upper Egypt.

Once the first Aswan dam was built in 1902 Philae was drowned in water, half way up the temple pylons. In the 20th century 1970's the temple was dismantelled piece by piece and moved to a small island called Agiliki to protect it from the floods.

In ancient times both the Greeks and the Romans who had invaded Egypt had embraced the worship of the Goddess Isis, Pilgrims had come from far away to pay respects to the goddess Isis and her husband Osiris, who it is said was buried on a small island called Bigeah, near to Philae Island.

Osiris had been murdered by his jealous brother Set, who then carved up his body, and distributed the parts all over Egypt, thus denying him an eternal life. Isis searched for the parts of Osiris with the help of the God Thoth, for many years,  and eventually they had all the body parts. Isis then used her magic powers to bring Osiris back to life again, but when it was done the God Amun Ra said he was not allowed to walk the earth again, and so he made him the God of the underworld.

 With the Christian faith building up, the ancient Egyptian religion was banned. Philae temple has many Coptic crosses cut into it's walls and columns, as it was turned into a church for the worship of Christianity.

In this photograph you can see  Edwardian ladies from 1905 standing on the embankment looking towards the kiosk of Tragan, it is also known as 'The Pharaoh's Bed' it was built during the Roman era of Egypt. It is a beautiful structure of 14 massive columns with carved floral capitals, that sits on the side of the Island, in Ancient Egypt it was the embarkation area of boats coming to the Island of Philae. It simple in its design. Inside are reliefs showing Trajan as a pharaoh making offerings to Osiris, Isis and Horus.The King in ancient Egypt was the living representation of the God Horus.

Amelia Edwards was an English novelist, journalist, explorer, artist, and Egyptologist and during her journey up the Nile' she wrote many entries in her diaries, and they were published as 'A Thousand Miles up the Nile'. It was during her visit to Egypt in the winter of 1873 that she realized she would dedicate the rest of her life to protecting Egypt's ancient sites.

On leaving  the Island of Philae and the temple of Isis she wrote :
'Sailing gently southward – the river opening wide before us, Philae dwindling in the rear – we feel that we are now fairly over the border ; and that if Egypt was strange and far from home, Nubia is stranger and farther still. The Nile here flows deep and broad. The rocky heights that hem it in so close on either side are still black on the one hand, golden on the other.' 

Abu Simbel - The Temples of Ramses 11 - The southern most point of Ancient Egyptian Supremacy

There are two temples cut into the massive rock of the mountainside and are known as the temples of Abu Simbel. One to express Ramses 11 dominance over Nubia, and a smaller temple created for the love of his great wife Nefertari.

The temples were originally carved out of the mountainside during the New Kingdom the 19th dynasty of Ramses 11, and inside his temple it celebrates his  victories at the battle of Kaddesh. When Amelia visited Abu Simbel the colossi of Ramses were half covered in sand, and it was in it's original place, but when the Aswan Dam was built in the 1970's it would have been drowned in water, so they moved it from its original place, it is now on the western bank of Lake Nasser. Inside Ramses temple it celebrates his  victories at the battle of Kaddesh.

When Amelia visited Abu Simbel the colossi of Ramses were half covered in sand.

On Amelia Edwards arrival at the temples of Abu Simbel she wrote in her book :
'It was wonderful to wake every morning close under the steep bank, and without lifting one's head from the pillow, to see that row of giant faces so close to the sky.'

credits to www.wikipeadia.com and www.gutenberg.org - ebook for use of anyone anywhere at no cost

Luxor Temple

LUXOR TEMPLE

                                     

       'Make your offerings with what you find in your hands,
        If you have nothing; make your offerings with words'

I have walked through the grounds of Luxor temple during the freshness of a new day, the chaos and heat of midday, and the warmth of a starlit evening, when the temple and its colossal statues simply glow against the evening sky. It was during such an evening when I realized that I had left my dull English life behind me, and I had entered into the powerful world of ancient Egypt.

Walking towards the temple of Luxor, it is difficult to imagine its appearance since ancient times when the temple stood alone, unhindered by hotels and shops, the fertile river lapped its edges and allowed the Holy barque access to its embankment. Its Vibrant pylons  rose from the edges of a barren landscape in a triumphant blaze of symbolic art, a masterpiece  that inspired the weary traveler and lifted the heart with its festivals  with every piece  of wall radiating colour, its four sturdy flags proudly flying on their masts secured into the grooves of the front pylon. The artisans that brought the temple walls to life have been dead for thousands of years, and so today the walls have calmly settled into their old age, their colors having been subdued and erased by time and the heat of the sun. Only the faded relief’s and deeper cut sacred and magical words of the kings and gods remain to tell a story of the temples former glories.

I feel that Luxor temple is a unique temple as it is not the home of a god, nor is it a mortuary temple; this temple was created to celebrate Birth, and rejuvenation. Every year a wonderful celebration was held here known as the Opet Festival, when the king led the sacred barques of the God Amun his wife Mut and their son Khonsu, during the celebrations the king and Egypt was symbolically reborn every year, the king would disappear from the festival and re-emerge seven days later from the birth room, so when I think of Luxor temple I imagine it as a living womb, and when it was time for the birth the festival and ceremony of the birth was enacted.  Luxor temple was connected to Karnack temple by a long umbilical cord, or avenue  of sphinx, over the centuries the sphinx have been buried beneath the sand and the ties of energy between the two temples have been trampled on but these last few years the area around the temple has been cleared and more of the sphinx have been found and released from the sand, it is my hope that one day people will be able to walk the whole avenue once more following in the footsteps of the King and the priests from Karnack temple to Luxor

rejuvenating the link between these temples  and offering new life and energy to Egypt once more.

The main pylons of the temple celebrate Ramses the Great and his victory over the Hittites at the battle of Kaddesh which took place during the fifth year of the king’s reign. Ramses is shown in large relief whilst his enemies are represented in small scale to inspire his people of their Kings unquestionable supremacy and invincible strength against all the enemies of Egypt.  In faint relief on the right side of the pylon, is a depiction of the kings encampment before the battle is shown, his large tent stands in the center surrounded by the smaller tents of his troop, cavalry horses and chariots wait, whilst a lion trainer controls the beast that is anchored to a ring in the ground, a man is being beaten for information in the top corner of the encampment whilst soldiers continue with their normal chores and duties. On the highest level of the left pylon, Ramses charges fearlessly across the battleground, his bow is taught and the arrows ready to fly as his chariot recklessly hurtles in to the midst of his enemies, he is alone and completely surrounded cut off from his troops, he had compromised himself with his actions, and yet like the raging lion Sekhmet his strength is increased as he tears into the enemies scattering and maiming them beneath the wheels of his chariot.
Two colossal statues of Ramses 11 sit firmly on the throne of two lands framing the entrance into the temple, his head is erect and proud with eyes that hold a calm and steady gaze into the future, on each side of his leg his beloved chief wife Queen Nefertari is sensuous and elegant; she displays her divine and naked beauty wearing only a simple pair of shoes, whilst her left hand gently embraces his leg. Standing between his legs a small image of his eldest daughter Merit Amon is also portrayed, who also became his wife; the figures are badly damaged and barely recognizable. Like her mother she was greatly loved by Ramses and was known as ‘The one who fills the forecourt with the scent of her fragrance' and 'the beloved of the Lord of The Two Lands', On each side of this throne the god Hapi- Meht of Upper Egypt and his twin Hapi- Reset of Lower Egypt face each other, both of them hold the plant of their region, a lotus and papyrus that they pull tightly, creating a knot that symbolizes the union of upper and lower Egypt. The knot gathers around a windpipe and at their feet are the lungs of Egypt. At the base of the throne, a row of Nubian and Asian men taken in battle are portrayed with their arms tied behind their backs, their necks are bound leashing them together in slavery. 

 

A Single Obelisk stands beneath the pylon, in 1835 the Pasha of Egypt Mohammed Ali gave its twin obelisk to France in recognition of Champillion having deciphered the Rosetta stone, which allowed   the world to read and understand the words of the ancient Egyptians that had remained silent for thousands of years .The twin obelisk now stands in The Palace de la Concorde at Paris,  the spell of protection that the two combined Obelisks offered the perimeters of the temple have been severed. Standing beneath the remaining obelisk it’s perfect sharp edged sides reach for the sun, paying homage to the god Ra, whose rays flash down it to highlight   bold vertical lines of deep inscriptions that inspire the traveler to utter the names of Ramses making him immortal once  more,   his authority of the land is invoked and assured again, The Horus, Mighty Bull, Exalter of Thebes, Favorite of the Two Goddess, establishing monuments for his father Amun who placed him on the Throne, Golden Horus seeking excellent things for him who fashioned him King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Usamatre, Chosen of Re.

  

Once the call to prayer was over, I decided to look at the three barque chapels that are attached to the back of the front pylon of the temple and are dedicated to Amon, his wife Mut and their son Khonsu. These were originally created by Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis111 in the 18th dynasty but then renewed by Ramses11 during his reign

The first barque chapel is the Chapel of Khonsu, the son of Amun Ra and Mut. Looking at the walls you will see the barque of Khonsu with the head of Horus; there are offerings of food, chickens & bread. Khonsu was a Moon God and a God of War.  His name   means 'Wanderer' which probably refers to the passage of the moon across the sky. He was 'The Light of the Night’ and was   represented in several different ways,   sometimes he was a mummified child standing upright with one side lock of hair.   He was also portrayed as a youth with the head of a falcon, on top of which was a combination of a crescent and moon disc. Originally Khonsu was a violent god of war but he developed into a god of healing.
     
The middle barque chapel is dedicated to Amun Ra the God of the Sun, he wears a sun disc between his two feathered plumes He became the supreme God of the Egyptians, his name Amun means 'The Hidden One', he was thought of as the invisible force of the wind. Ra means Ray of Light because he illuminates everything that is in shadow He had the power of creation within him, whatever he named came into existence; he was the life power and source of the universe. At each side wall are priest holes which also enabled them to pull the boat inside the chapel, prayers and offerings would be given from within. Stand inside, close your eyes,  place your arms over your chest cross- wise in prayer,  have a few quiet moments, empty your mind of all thoughts and let your senses take you back in time.  No one is looking, let your mind be free, for a few moments let the door to your heart open and allow the spirits of Amun his priests and sages flow through to lift and enlighten you.
The third barque chapel is that of Mut, the wife of Amun Re, she was a mother goddess and a sky goddess. The role of Luxor temple was to celebrate the marriage of Amon to Mut each year at the Opet Festival. On the walls inside the chapel you can see the barque of Mut, The Goddess Mut was usually represented as a woman wearing a headdress in the shape of a vulture, on top of which was the double crown of Lower and Upper Egypt

      
 Leaving these chapels I walked down a few steps and passed the rows of columns and striding statues of Ramses to look at the relief’s engraved on the side wall.  Looking up into the corner of the  wall  there was  a large relief of Ramses  with Amun Re and Mut,  followed by  Ramses with the Fertility God Amun Min,  Min is portrayed as a man with an erect  penis,  he appears to have only one arm and one leg,  he was the God of sexual activity and fertility. He brought new life to the world and the pharaoh. Continuing along this wall I saw the priests driving the oxen to slaughter for the feast of the Opet.  As I followed this avenue of columns and statues I arrived at the corner facing wall where I saw a  row  of  17 sons of Ramses, they  are shown walking towards a small  and very delicately cut relief  that shows the front of the temple with   both its original obelisks .

                                                                                                                                                                        
Arriving beneath the two statues of Ramses sitting on his Throne of Two Lands, more slaves from Nubia and Asia are captured and leashed beneath his throne, Nefertari embraces his leg again, and the entrance between these seated statues leads to the Processional Colonnade of Tutenkhamun and Horemheb. On  the back of Rameses statue the Goddess Sheshat and her husband the God Thoth are engraved. Every Egyptian temple was created as an image of the cosmos and therefore to build a temple or   add a new section became an act of creation. The pharaoh would consult the goddess Sheshat who embodied the essence of cosmic intuition, She was the Mistress of Architects, and with the pharaoh she would hold a foundation ritual known as ‘The stretching of the cord’ to measure and lay plans for the temples axis by aid of the stars. Sheshat also kept important records of the   king’s life and recorded the time that had been allocated to him by the gods for his stay on earth. Her instructions came from the cosmos and Amon; she writes down the years Ramses will rule.

Leaving the courtyard of Ramses11, I walked between his two seated statues into the Processional Colonnade, a narrow hallway that no longer has a roof but is instead dominated by the remaining tall papyrus columns that were began during the reign of Tutankhamen at the end of the hallway a few steps lead up from this hallway into the vast Sun Court, and festival Hall of Amenhotep 111 that is surrounded by an army of 96 columns. In 1989 restoration work was begun in the court and a cache of 22 statues were found that had been buried by priests during the Roman invasion who had transformed the temple grounds into a legion camp.  The cache is now on show at Luxor   Museum

Towards the end of his own reign Amenhotep 111 took his son Amenhotep1V as co-regent, after the death of his father Amenhotep was then crowned King, and so began a tidal wave of changes for the priests and all the Temples of Amun, where beliefs that had prevailed for thousands of years would radically be swept aside within five years, because Amenhotep realized that he could not make changes to the existing order of Amun, he made vast heretic changes to the ancient religion of Egypt, Insisting that the only god that should be worshiped was the God of the Sun the Aten. Leaving Waset he moved his entire court   to a totally uninhabited strip of desert between Weset and the Delta that he named Akhetaten, ‘The Horizon of the Aten, now known as Armarna.  He then abolished the existing order of Amun, and changed his name to Akenaten:  ‘Beautiful-essence -of-the-sun-only-one -of-the-sun.'  He closed all the temples of Amun causing severe hardship for many people.  The god Amun and the powers of its priests were not restored in Weset until after Akenhatens death, when Smenkaare ruled for a year, but the history of this king is vague, he was then followed by Tutenkhaten who returned to Weset with his slightly older wife Ankhesenpaaten, the third daughter of Akhenaton. This young couple under the guidance of Aye began to restore order from the chaos that Akhenaten had created; they changed their names to Tutankhamun   and Ankhesenamun expressing their loyalty once more to the God Amun. As part of the renewal of the temple of Luxor after its neglect during the heretic reign of Akhenaton, Tutenkhamun began work on the Processional Colonnade that connects the courtyard of Ramses11 with the Hall of Festivals of Amenophis 111. Sitting on one side of the hallway you will have passed the enchanting statues of the young King Tutankhamun and his wife Anaksenamun; their faces are childlike and innocent, Tutankhamen also sits on the opposite side with Amun.

 Walking between the tall columns the inner walls show relief’s of the Opet festival that was held during the summer when the Nile floods, musicians playing their drums oboe and sistrum, dancers gyrate like acrobats to their music, oxen are slaughtered and sumptuous amounts of food are prepared for the feast.  the festival celebrations lasted for three weeks when sacred boats bearing the images of the Gods Amun, his wife Mut and their son Khonsu and representations of the king and his ka were carried by the priests down the Avenue of Sphinxes from Karnack temple on their arrival at Luxor temple they were greeted with elaborate reception ceremonies welcoming the God and his entourage.

Beyond the Festival hall you now arrive at the heart of the Temple which has smaller chambers, and contains The Sacred Barque shrine that originally had acacia wooden doors inlaid with gold. The scenes on its walls were plastered over during the rule of Alexander the Great, and show him dressed as a pharaoh, entering and receiving the two crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt and making offerings to the God Amun.   

I circled around the outside of the barque shrine  and  walked through a doorway that led into a suite of rooms that represent the bedroom of Amun where the festival rituals took place, and the pharaoh  retired to the Birth Room, from which he would later  emerge symbolically re-born and restored. The statues of the king’s ka were no longer on display because the ka was now believed to have taken residence in the pharaoh’s body.  Reliefs in the birth room represent Amon choosing the Queen Mutemweje to give birth to his son. He sent Thoth with the message to the queen and ordered Khnum to create an image of himself on his potter’s wheel. The boy child Amenophis was born into the world created by Amon and then crowned as the King. I realized the similarity of this sequence of events of this ancient Egyptian relief as it compares to our Christmas story of the angel coming to visit Mary to tell her that she will give birth to the son of God.    As the Royal scribe Ani said; ‘God reveals himself in millions of forms’

Having looked around the temple from an historical view, finally let’s walk through the Temple of Luxor with the magic of the night together. I found Luxor temple to be a very moving and spiritual place, the curator of the gift shop Hamade invited myself and my friend Vivienne to walk through the temple with him one evening and pray, he told us he had worked in the temple for seventeen years,    his whole life evolves around the temple, so we walked into the Chapels of Amun Mut and Khonsu and we all held hands under the stars and prayed to his humming sounds. It was a special evening for Vivienne and me that allowed us a glimpse of an ancient faith that combines a sense of mystery history calm and peace.

It was during my first visit to Luxor Temple that I had called into the shop and I met  Hamde  who enjoyed explaining the different sections of the temple to me, and as I left the shop he asked me if I prayed. I told him that I did so he asked me if I would like to call back and see him once I had looked around the Temple, he said that he would like to pray with me, so after my journey around the temple I returned to see him where he asked me to stand before a statue of Amun Mut and Khonsu. He told me to close my eyes and cross my arms over my chest which I did, gradually my body relaxed as I listened to his peaceful hum, and then I felt a breeze as his hands touched the aura around my body, occasionally he jiggled me, and finally he gently placed his hand on my forehead for a few minutes peace.  I felt totally calm and serene,  I wasn't sure how long the prayers lasted ,  only that I felt as if a part of me had somehow left  my body and then returned to it again,  and when  I opened my eyes  he smiled at me.  We shook hands wishing each other well and then I left the temple to make my way to the bazaar and lunch.   Walking normally through the Bazaar it was a while before my friend asked me if  I was still okay to walk,  I was amazed but confused as I was no longer in pain. I had been rather ill on several occasions where my spine had somehow twisted and left me bent in half and unable to walk at all, the pain had been excruciating, unfortunately I had suffered another bout before our holiday and had been to the osteopath who had repaired some of the damage but still left me in pain and walking with a limp. To my confusion and relief I had to admit that some thing unexplainable had happened to me  whilst I had prayed with Hamde  but much to my relief I was now pain free and able to  enjoy the remainder of my holiday free from pain and the embarrassing  limp that went with it.  

To conclude my experiences of Luxor Temple I would like to tell you of the most exciting letter that I have ever received from a friend.  Vivienne wrote to me last year and I will relate the letter to you:
  'My daughter Fran and her fiancé David decided that they would like to visit Egypt when I next went.  As David doesn’t like the heat too much, I suggested February. They said if it were possible they would like to get married there.  So--- I went out for a week last   month and I have arranged for them to be married on February 8th, at Luxor Temple!!   It will be in the evening when the temple is floodlit   and there will be an Egyptian style ceremony with contracts in both Arabic and English .I went to see a special lawyer, who asked a price of _____, but I haggled, and we agreed on ______.   I   considered   it was worth it because it is a once in a lifetime experience. We are having   flower decked caliches and a small reception at The Golden Palace Rooftop Garden complete with a belly dancer. They will of course have to be married again in England to meet English laws but the family will want to all be there anyway.'

The thought of such a romantic idea for a wedding  that was to be   held  in the  majestic setting of Luxor temple at night, filled my heart with joy, and thinking about things it seemed so appropriate to marry in the temple that had been created to celebrate the eternal marriage of Amun with his wife Mut.