OI Splendors of the Nile

Tell Edfu

2010-01-12T11:33:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, November 25: On this day, we were the beneficiaries of a very special visit to Tell Edfu. Dr. Nadine Moeller, our scholarly escort and director of the Tell Edfu project, gave us a spectacularly unique tour of the site, including climbing up the settlement layers to the current excavation area and a visit to the roof of the temple proper. The site of Edfu contains a remarkable accumulation of settlement debris going back to the Old Kingdom. To the west of the temple, the ancient settlement can be scene in the area where Dr. Moeller is conducting excavations. However, further ancient settlement, and perhaps temple structures, extends far out under the modern town. Well preserved Ptolemaic Period houses can be seen on top of the settlement mound on the west side. These houses were contemporary to the Ptolemaic Temple of Horus, whose foundation must have required the excavation of settlement debris in antiquity. Construction on the naos ("sanctuary) of the temple began under Ptolemy III Euergetes, as we know from the famous building inscription which runs around the enclosure wall. The bark shrine houses a reused naos of Nectanebo II. Decoration on the inner section of the temple had been completed under Ptolemy IV Philopator. The temple was not fully dedicated until the reign of Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II and Cleopatra II. However, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II expanded the temple by adding a pronaos, and enclosure wall and a mammisi dedicated to Horus, Hathor and Harsomtus. Much of the decoration of these elements took place under Ptolemy IX Soter II. The construction of the court and pylon were completed and decorated by Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos. In the court in front of the pronaos and behind the pylon blocks from the New Kingdom Sed-festival gate, dating to Taharqa and reused by Psametichus II, were excavated.

Pylon Decoration

Group Portrait in front of Pylon

The Purification-Sanctuary (Wabet)

Inner Sanctuary

Mammisi

Myth of Horus from inside the western enclosure wall

Imhotep Inscription on inside of north east corner of the enclosure wall

Group Portrait before the Falcon Statue in front of the Pronaos

Settlement Area from Temple Roof

On the Archaeological Site

Bibliography:

Le temple d'Edfou. 1-15. Cairo: IFAO, 1897-1985

Barbara Watterson. The House of Horus at Edfu: Ritual in an Ancient Egyptian Temple (Gloucestershire: Tempus, 1998)

Dieter Kurth. The Temple of Edfu A Guide by an Ancient Egyptian Priest. Translated by Anthony Alcock (Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2004)

Dieter Kurth. Edfou VIII. Die Inschriften des Tempels von Edfu, Abteilung I: Übersetzungen, Band 1. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 1998

Katelijn Vandorpe and Willy Clarysse (eds.). Edfu, An Egyptian Provincial Capital in the Ptolemaic Period. Brussels, 3 September 2001 (Brussel: Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van Belgue voor Wettenshappen en Kunsten, 2003)

H. W. Fairman. “The Myth of Horus at Edfu – 1.” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 21 (1935), 26-36

A. M. Blackman and H. W. Fairman. "The Myth of Horus at Edfu: II. C. The Triumph of Horus over His Enemies: A Sacred Drama." Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 28 (1942), 32-38

A. M. Blackman and H. W. Fairman. "The Myth of Horus at Edfu: II. C. The Triumph of Horus over His Enemies a Sacred Drama (Continued)." Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 29 (1943), 2-36

A. M. Blackman and H. W. Fairman. "The Myth of Horus at Edfu: II. C. The Triumph of Horus over His Enemies a Sacred Drama (Concluded)." Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 30 (1944), 5-22

Esna

2009-12-22T08:42:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, November 24: After all the activity at El Kab, you might think that our group would be exhausted, but everyone was still ready to go on yet another non-itinerary addition to the trip - the temple of Esna. A few of us even walked into town from the boat the night before to get a view of the temple at night. While visitors can see only a small portion of this temple, it is not one to be missed. Only the pronaos remains intact, but additional remains may lie under the ancient and modern town debris, which rises as high as the roof the temple. The modern street is on the same level as the roof of the temple and one has to descend to visit the temple itself - a great visual to understand how archaeological layers build up over time. The temple of Esna was dedicated to the god Khnum, often depicted anthropomorphically with a ram-head. We have scene his creative powers before, as he was depicted in Luxor temple fashioning the body and ka of king Amenhotep III on his potter's wheel. Most of the decoration on the temple of Esna was complete by Roman emperors, but the interior of the rear wall was decorated by Ptolemy VI, Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra II.

Temple of Esna

Temple of Esna (compare level of modern town)

Temple of Esna at Night (compare level of modern town)

Esna 67: The so-called "Baptism of Pharaoh" Scene (Claudius 41-54 AD)

Location Esna Inscription 67

Esna 70: Claudius with Nekhbet and Wadyt, tutelary deities of Upper and Lower Egypt(Claudius 41-54 AD)

Location of Esna Inscription 70

Esna 206: The Theology of Neith of Sais

This column contains a very important text concerning the creation of the world. In this text, the main creative deity is Neith, local deity from the city of Sais in the Nile Delta. The text begins: "Ritual performed in this temple of Neith, great one, mother of the god, lady of Upper and Lower Egypt, (and) performed in the temple of Neith, great one, mother of the god, lady of Esna, on Epiphi 13. Father of fathers, mother of mothers, the goddess who came into being at the beginning when she was in the midst of Nun, having come forth from her limbs while the land was still in darkness, the day having united with the night. Land had not come forth. No plants existed ..." One important section of this text describes the creation of Apophis from the umbilical of the sun god: "Now, she disposed of the umbilical cord of her son, whom she made, in the midst of Nun. It turned into a snake of 120 cubits who is called Apophis. His heart created the rebellion against Re with his conferderates who came forth from his eye."

Esna Temple Ceiling

Esna Temple Columns

Esna 95: Hymn

Esna 95: Copy

Esna 95: Transcription

Esna 103: Cryptographic Ram Text - a hymn written mainly with variations of the ram hieroglyph

Esna 126: Cryptographic Crocodile Text - a hymn written mostly with variants of the crocodile hieroglyph

Pharaoh doing what Pharaoh does - smiting enemies!

Mosque in the town of Esna

Bibliography:
Leitz, Christian. "Die beiden kryptographischen Inschriften aus Esna mit den Widdern und Krokodilen." Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 29 (2001), 251-276
Quack, Joachim Friedrich. "Apopis, Nabelschnur des Re." Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 34 (2006), 377-379
Sauneron, Serge. Esna II: Le Temple d'Esna. Cairo: IFAO, 1963

Tombs of El Kab

2009-12-22T07:51:00.001-08:00

Tuesday, November 24: After visiting the ancient city of El Kab, we crossed over into the desert to see tombs of the nobles of the late Second Intermediate Period and Early New Kingdom (as well as others). The most famous of these tombs is that of Ahmose, son of Ibana, whose biographical text details his role in the battles with the Hyksos under Ahmose as well as his career under Amenhotep I and Tuthmosis I. A nice website about several of these tombs can be found here.

Tomb 3: Paheri

Paheri is shown standing before scenes of agricultural work. The text before him states: "Watching the river in harvest season (and) the river in growing season, all the preparations made in the field by the governor ..."

Tomb 7: Renni

The tomb of Renni contains a series of very important scenes concerning the mummification of the body and the accompanying funerary rituals. Here we see the final preparation of the mummy on the lion-headed funeral bed. Above, the text reads "Making the purification of the scribe Renni, justified." To the left, we see the opening of the mouth ritual, identified by the text between the figures: "Opening of the mouth."

Tomb 5: Ahmose, son of Ibana

Here we see Ahmose standing before his biographical text. The hieroglyphs face towards the right, but you read the text beginning with the column on the left. The text starts: "As for the overseer of the boat crew, Ahmose, son of Ibana, justified, he says: 'Let me speak to you, everyone! Let me inform you about the favors which came to me ..."

El Kab

2009-12-14T13:18:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, November 24: In the morning, we made our way from our boat towards El Kab, a site on the east bank of the Nile between Luxor and Aswan. A special surprise had been arranged for us by Dr. Moeller, who knew the Belgian archaeologists working at the site. They graciously agreed to give us a tour of their latest excavations as well as the remains inside the great enclosure wall. It is safe to say that our group really enjoyed the unique and off the beaten track experience!

Evidence for human habitation at the site extends far into the past. A well evidenced lithic industry, known as the Elkabian, has been dated to the 7th millennium. Early Dynastic remains (dynasties 1-2) are represented by a cemetery as well as a unique mastaba tomb constructed on the top of the cliffs towards the east. However, most of the standing architecture inside the city dates to much later periods. Remains of the Late Period temple of Nekhbet and the temple of Sobek and Thoth are poorly preserved, with mostly just the foundations remaining, but there are still fragments of inscriptions to be found, including the cartouche of Darius. There are remains of a sacred lake and what was probably a mammisi ("birth house"). A partially exposed settlement from the Ptolemaic Period in the south east area of the enclosure wall. Stay tuned for the next post about our visit to the tombs of the Second Intermediate Period/New Kingdom in the desert cliffs outside of the city of El Kab!

El Kab greeter

Dr. Moeller atop the massive, mud-brick enclosure wall

Straddling the enclosure wall (Photo by Judy)

Inside enclosure wall where Early Dynastic tombs were discovered (Photo by Judy)

Stefano tries to get an artistic photo across the sand! (Photo by Judy)

Temple Foundations

Cartouche of Darius (Photo by Judy)

Nadine with the magnetometrist (Photo by Jeff)

Our group leaving El Kab

El Kab Landscape

View towards the east

Tod

2009-12-09T09:11:00.000-08:00

Monday, November 23: After Mo'alla, we were treated to a surprise visit to Tod thanks to the quick thinking and planning of Dr. Moeller. At Tod, there are still some remains of the settlement as well as the temple dedicated to the god Montu. The oldest artifact attested at the site is a pillar with the cartouche of the 5th Dynasty king Userkaf. There are blocks from a Middle Kingdom temple and it was in the foundation of this temple that the "Treasure of Tod" was discovered in 1936. Inside four bronze chests were found a hoard of silver vessels from the time of Amenemhat II showing influence from across the Mediterranean (including the Aegean and Mesopotamia). A barque station inscribed by 18th and 19th Dynasty pharaohs such as Tuthmosis III and Ramses III lies just outside of the main temple, the standing remains of which date mostly to the Ptolemaic Period (with a few sections of decoration extending into the reign of Antonius Pius). The temple has been the subject of several publications documenting the archaeological excavations, texts and scenes:

F. Bisson de la Roque. Tôd (1934 à 1936). FIFAO 17. Cairo: IFAO, 1937.

Jean-Claude Grenier. Tôd: Les inscriptions du temple ptolémaïque et romain. I. La salle hypostyle, textes Nos 1-172. Copiées par É. Drioton, G. Posener, et J. Vandier. FIFAO 18:1. Cairo: IFAO, 1980.

Christophe Thiers. Tôd: Les inscriptions du temple ptolémaïque et romain. II. Textes et scènes nos. 173-329. FIFAO 18:2. Cairo: IFAO, 2003.

Christophe Thiers. Tôd: Les inscriptions du temple ptolémaïque et romain. III. Relevé photographique (J.-Fr. Gout). FIFAO 18:3. Cairo: IFAO, 2003.

Further bibliography on individual scenes and texts from Tod and other Ptolemaic/Roman temples can be found in the following volume:

Christian Leitz (ed.). Kurzbibliographie zu den Ubersetzten Tempeltexten des griechisch-romischen Zeit. Contributions by D. Budde, P. Dils, Chr. Leitz, D. Mendel, D.von Recklinghausen, unter mitarbeit von Lothar Goldbrunner und Bettina Ventker. BdE 136. Cairo: IFAO, 2002. Download online here.

Entrance

Approaching the Temple of Montu (Photo by Judy)

Processional Way and Temple

Userkaf Pillar

The King offers fields to the sacred bull of Montu

Relief from the lower west wall of the Hall of the Goddesses, showing Meskhenet-Weret and Meskhenet-Menkhet with an amulet symbolizing protection (Photo by Judy)

The text before Meskhenet-Weret states (on the left side of the picture): "Preserving this place at night"

Steve and Judy Slideshow: Ptolemaic Temple at Deir el Medineh

2009-12-08T13:22:00.001-08:00

Mo'alla

2009-12-08T12:24:00.000-08:00

Monday, November 23: In the morning, we visited Mo'alla before gearing up to board our ship the Amarante Isis. In the hills of Mo'alla, one finds the tomb of Ankhtifi, a local governor during the First Intermediate Period. The tomb is a wonderful representation of provincial art and architecture as local styles were more apt to surface during periods of political instability. Entering the tomb, we found a rock cut hall containing a series of irregular stone columns, imitating octagonal columns. Images of Ankhtifi involved in various activities, including fishing with a reel, decorated the walls and columns. Inscriptions on the columns contain the "biography" of Ankhtifi, one of the most important texts for First Intermediate history in Upper Egypt. In the text, Ankhtifi mentions his selection by Horus (typically interpreted as the god himself), his own generosity to his citizens, and a terrible famine in which "every man ate his children." Since it was obligatory in biographical texts to claim that "I have given bread to the hungry and clothing to the naked," as Ankhtifi himself proclaim, it is difficult to determine whether this famine was real or just embellishment.

Egyptology at Dendera

2009-12-04T06:49:00.000-08:00

As we mentioned when visiting Dendera, Sylvie Cauville has been working extensively on the temples at Dendera on behalf of the French Institute (IFAO: Institute français d'archéologie orientale). In many publications, she has focused on the texts decorating the temples, recently documenting the Osirian Chapels on the roof of the temple. Rather than detailed epigraphic drawings, like the Oriental Institute's Epigraphic Survey, Cauville documents these scenes using black and white photographs, outline drawings of the scenes, transcriptions of the hieroglyphic texts, and translations. To give you an example of how Egyptologists might work with these texts, here is an example from the doorway of the first Osirian chapel on the east side of the roof:

Dendera: Osirian Chapels on the Roof of the Hathor Temple

Plan of East Osirian Chapels

Doorway of East Chapel 1: Photo Taken on Our Tour

Photo from Publication

Drawing of Scene

Transcription of Hieroglyphic Texts

Transliteration of Hieroglyphs, a scholarly tool used to indicate the consonantal value of the hieroglyphic signs as well as word division and some grammatical elements

Cauville's French Translation

The Osirian chapels were published in the following volumes:

Cauville, Sylvie. Le temple de Dendara: Les chapelles osiriennes. Dendara 10:1-2. Cairo: Institut français d'archéologie orientale, 1997.

Cauville, Sylvie. Le Temple de Dendara: Les chapelles osiriennes. Transcriptions et traductions. Bibliotheque d'étude 117. Cairo: Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, 1997.

Cauville, Sylvie. Le Temple de Dendara: Les chapelles osiriennes. Commentaire. Bibliotheque d'étude 118. Cairo: Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, 1997.

While we were at Dendera, we also talked about the role of the Wabet "Purification (Room)" of the temples of the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods. For further information, there is the recent publication of Filip Coppens (in English!):

Coppens, Filip. The Wabet: Tradition and Innovation in Temples of the Ptolemaic and Roman Period. Prague: Czech Institute of Egyptology, 2007.

Dendera

2009-12-02T18:07:00.000-08:00

Sunday, November 22: After our amazing balloon ride over the monuments of the west bank, we drove north to Dendera. Dendera was a very important site throughout Egyptian history, but the majority of what still stands at Dendera dates to the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods. The temple complex is surrounded by a large enclosure wall inside of which is a series of buildings: 2 birth houses (mammisi), temple of Isis, sacred lake, and the remains of a Coptic church. Particularly special is the survival of the roof of the temple, supported by Hathor-headed columns in the outer hypostyle hall. The famous "zodiac" ceiling from one of the Osiris chapels now resides in the Louvre, but a copy rests in its place. At the back of the temple, a large relief shows an offering scene of Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XV Caesarean. In addition, the face of Hathor which once decorated the rear of her sanctuary has been carved away by pilgrims who collected the sacred stone dust.

Roman Mammisi

Ihy, the sistrum player

Isis Temple

Isis Temple, Ceiling

Rear of the Temple Sanctuary

Face of Hathor on the Rear of the Sanctuary

Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XV Caesarean

Amarante Isis: Jamie Portrait

2009-12-02T06:42:00.001-08:00

West Bank Balloon Ride Slide Show

2009-12-02T05:23:00.001-08:00

Deir el Bahari

Sunrise

Medinet Habu

Ramesseum

Deir el Medina

Valley of the Queens

Deir el Medina and the cliffs toward the north

Ramesseum

2009-12-02T04:34:00.000-08:00

We were lucky enough to squeeze in a visit to the Ramesseum, the mortuary temple of Ramses II, whose colossal statue inspired the famous poem "Ozymandias" by Shelly. Only fragments of the site remain, but there is good preservation of the large storage areas in the back of the temple in which early excavators actually lived during excavation (read it on page 1 of the report here). It was in the fourth compartment in the northwest corner of the temple that the so-called "magician's tomb" was found, in which a very important collection of papyri now known as the Ramesseum Papyri were discovered. Nadine took time to relate the battle of Qadesh while pointing out interesting features in the scenes depicted by Ramses.

Ramesseum with Colossal Staute

Nadine explains the battle of Qadesh

Colossal Statue of Ramses II

Osiride Statues

Storage Compartments (Photo by Larry L.)

Deir el Medina

2009-11-30T13:41:00.000-08:00

Saturday, November 21: In the evening, we visited Deir el Medina, the village of the artisans who were employed constructing and decorating the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. In addition to the town, we visited several tombs (sorry, no pictures allowed inside!) and the nearby Ptolemaic temple. Here's a slide show of our visit:

Deir el Medina, towards the east

The tombs of the artisans and their pyramidal superstructures

Four Headed Ram in the Sanctuary of Amun-Sokar-Osiris within the Ptolemaic Temple

Barque of Sokar in the Ptolemaic Temple

Medinet Habu

2009-11-30T13:28:00.000-08:00

Saturday, November 21: In the morning, we met Ray Johnson, the tireless director of Chicago House, for a fascinating tour of Medinet Habu, the mortuary temple of Ramses III. Ray pointed out all the interesting work going on around the temple, including the block yard where conservators are preserving blocks and trying to make joins between now separated pieces. The main temple was built by Ramses III, but we also toured the 18th Dynasty small temple and passed briefly over the tombs of the God's Wives of Amun. Houses from later settlement can still be seen following the remains of the enclosure wall. You can download the Oriental Institute Epigraphic Survey publications concerning Medinet Habu for FREE online. See the links listed here. It was a great way to start a morning!

Pylon

Court with Osiride Statues

Ray Johnson explaining ongoing work at Medinet Habu

Joan at Medinet Habu

Colossi of Memnon

2009-11-30T13:04:00.000-08:00

The Colossi of Memnon sit before what had been the enormous mortuary temple of Amenhotep III. Most of the mortuary temple has been destroyed by later pharaohs who re-used the stone in their own monuments. A portion of it still lies under the modern road which passes by the complex. The name derives from Greek travelers who visited the massive statues and reported to hear one of them "sing," associating the sound with the Trojan hero Memnon. We stopped briefly for photos during a very busy day on the west bank.

Colossi of Memnon

Nile Boat Ride Slide Show

2009-11-27T12:22:00.000-08:00

Deir el Bahari

2009-11-27T11:53:00.000-08:00

Friday, November 20: A visit to the Valley of the Kings started our day, but unfortunately pictures are not allowed inside the tombs. However, a virtual tour can be taken from home by visiting the Theban Mapping Project website. For the very interesting compositions inside these tombs, known to Egyptologists as the "Underworld Books," you can consult the very useful volume by Erik Hornung, The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1999). Very interesting visits to the tombs of Ramses V/VI and Tutankhamun highlighted our brief tour through the valley. After a beautiful rooftop lunch at the Amenophis Hotel, we continued with the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el Bahari ("the Northern Monastery"). The sun setting behind the Theban mountain was a perfect backdrop to a beautiful temple in the cliffs of western Thebes - nestled in the cliffs along with the mortuary temples of Montuhotep II and Thutmosis III.

Deir el Bahari: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

Deir el Bahari: Expedition Detail

Deir el Bahari: Inscription Detail

Deir el Bahari: Portrait

Amarante Isis

2009-11-25T05:34:00.000-08:00

Loyal blog readers take note: we are currently on the Amarante Isis cruise ship and having a blast. Unfortunately the internet connection will not allow for photo uploads and blogging, but stay tuned - updates await when we return!

Karnak and Luxor: Epigraphic Survey Volumes

2009-11-22T12:40:00.000-08:00

For those of you who want to review the architecture, reliefs, and inscriptions from Karnak and Luxor temples, you can download the volumes of the Oriental Institute's Epigraphic Survey from the OI website:

Karnak
OIP 106. The Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak, Volume 1, Part 1: The Wall Reliefs. By Harold Hayden Nelson. Edited by William J. Murnane. Originally published in 1981.

OIP 107. Reliefs and Inscriptions at Karnak, Volume IV: The Battle Reliefs of King Sety I. The Epigraphic Survey. Originally published in 1986.

OIP 74. Reliefs and Inscriptions at Karnak, Volume III. The Bubastite Portal. By the Epigraphic Survey. Originally published in 1954.

OIP 35. Reliefs and Inscriptions at Karnak, Volume II. Ramses III's Temple within the Great Inclosure of Amon, Part II; and Ramses III's Temple in the Precinct of Mut. By The Epigraphic Survey. Originally published in 1936.

OIP 25. Reliefs and Inscriptions at Karnak, Volume I. Ramses III's Temple with the Great Inclosure of Amon, Part I. The Epigraphic Survey. Originally published in 1936.

OIP 123. Temple of Khonsu, Volume 3. The Graffiti on the Khonsu Temple Roof at Karnak: A Manifestation of Personal Piety. Helen Jacquet-Gordon. 2003.

Luxor
OIP 116. Reliefs and Inscriptions at Luxor Temple, Volume 2: The Facade, Portals, Upper Register Scenes, Columns, Marginalia, and Statuary in the Colonnade Hall. The Epigraphic Survey. 1998.

OIP 112. Reliefs and Inscriptions at Luxor Temple, Volume 1: The Festival Procession of Opet in the Colonnade Hall. The Epigraphic Survey. 1994.

Deir el Bahari Portrait

2009-11-22T12:32:00.000-08:00

Luxor

2009-11-22T12:00:00.000-08:00

November 19, Thursday: In the afternoon, we went over to Luxor temple - a perfect compliment to seeing Karnak temple earlier in the day. A sphinx alleyway, now under renovation, once linked the two sites. We were lucky enough to have our tour of Luxor provided by none other than Ray Johnson, director of the Oriental Institute Epigraphic Survey, whose headquarters in Luxor, known as Chicago House, received us for a warm reception in the evening. At Luxor temple, focus was on the battle scenes of Ramses II, the divine birth of Amenhotep III, and the recently conserved Roman paintings which show that the apse in the back of the temple once functioned in the divine cult of the emperors under the tetrarchy, rather than as a church as previously thought. We would like to thank Ray for taking time out of his busy schedule to give us an amazingly insightful tour of the temple loaded with all kinds of insider information!

First Pylon of Luxor Temple: Sun forming the Akhet hieroglyph with the pylon

First Pylon as depicted in the first court

Divine Birth of Amenhotep III: Khnum creates the body and ka of the king on the potters wheel

Ray Johnson at Luxor Temple

Roman Paintings in Luxor Temple

Slide Show of Jeff and Jamie

2009-11-20T11:52:00.000-08:00

Karnak

2009-11-20T07:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we spent the morning visiting the Temple of Amun at Karnak, one of the largest temple complexes in the world. Needless to say, it is an amazing and overwhelming site to visit. We concentrated on the New Kingdom remains such as the obelisk of Hatshepsut ("Foremost of the Noble Women"), the Akh-Menu ("Effective of Monuments") of Tuthmosis III, battle scenes of Sety I on the northern enclosure wall, and the statues of Ramses III. However, a brief trip through the open-air museum allowed us time to view the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut/Tuthmosis III and the White Chapel of Senwosret I (Senwosret = "Man of the powerful (goddess)"). As a way to review the complex, visit the Digital Karnak website and explore the temples from home!

First Pylon at Karnak

Sphinx-Lined Alleyway

Great Hypostyle Hall of Karnak

Detail from the Akh-Menu of Tuthmosis III

White Chapel of Senwosret I

Jamie at Karnak

2009-11-19T16:00:00.000-08:00

Jamie with Osiride Statue of Ramses III at Karnak

Giza

2009-11-19T15:24:00.001-08:00

On Wednesday, the group was able to visit the Giza Plateau, home of the great pyramid! Everyone had the chance to enter the Great Pyramid and climb the long, sloping gallery to the burial chamber. Some of us have been waiting our whole lives for the experience! In addition, we toured the area, seeing the solar boat museum, the Sphinx, and the valley temple of Khafre. See for yourself!

Great Pyramid

Giza Plateau

Solar Boat

Julie at Giza

Saqqara and Dashur

2009-11-17T07:32:00.000-08:00

What a first official day! We had a wonderful visit to Saqqara where we toured the tomb of Mereruka (see OI publications here and here), a 6th Dynasty official of King Teti. Unfortunately, you cannot take photographs inside this tomb, but luckily it was published by the Oriental Institute!

We then moved on to the Step Pyramid of King Djoser, dating to the 3rd Dynasty, which was designed and supervised by the king's famous vizier Imhotep who would be deified and worshiped in later periods.

Step Pyramid

On Site Learning in Saqqara

Architectural Elements in the Djoser Complex

We had just enough time to walk down the causeway of the pyramid of Unas, last king of the 5th Dynasty.

Unas Pyramid and Causeway

After lunch, we had a brief visit to the Imhotep Museum at Saqqara and then off to Dashur to see the pyramids of Snefru - the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid.

Red Pyramid of Snefru

Bent Pyramid

Mena House Hotel

2009-11-16T13:01:00.000-08:00

Everyone has arrived safe and sound! In fact, a few of us have already been on an optional trip to Alexandria. We are off to a fast and furious start. Our accommodations at the Mena House Hotel in Giza are fabulous with pyramid view rooms and balconies.

Here is our view:

Our Rooms

We are looking forward to a day at Saqqara and Dashur tomorrow!

WELCOME ABOARD

2009-10-28T15:55:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the OI Splendors of the Nile blog. Here you will find a photographic and textual chronicle of the Oriental Institute's Splendors of the Nile program, a tour of Egypt escorted by Dr. Nadine Moeller, Assistant Professor of Egyptian Archaeology at the Oriental Institute and director of excavations at Tell Edfu.

Follow along with our tour group as we visit Egypt's most famous sites, including the pyramids of Giza, the temples at Karnak and Luxor, the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, Tell Edfu, Abu Simbel, and many others. We will cruise the Nile on a dahabya, or sailing river yacht, docking for excursions to sites which played important roles throughout the history of Egypt. For the Nile travelers, this is your chance to share photos and memories of your trip with family, friends, and other Oriental Institute Members. For armchair travelers, this is your chance to share our experience by seeing what we see and reading about our visit to the spellbinding country that is Egypt.

On this blog you will find photographs and descriptions submitted by Oriental Institute staff and participating travelers who are actually on this tour. This is where we will chronicle our journey. OI Splendors of the Nile will provide our traveling companions with an opportunity to expand and enhance this once-in-a-lifetime experience. After we return, this blog will remain as a testament to the fun and memories we shared in Egypt!

Check back regularly for updates or you can subscribe to this travel blog via the options on the right. You can use your favorite RSS feed or receive updates through your email.

OI Splendors of the Nile

Tell Edfu

Esna

Tombs of El Kab

El Kab

More Balloon Ride Slide Show

Tod

Steve and Judy Slideshow: Ptolemaic Temple at Deir el Medineh

Mo'alla

Egyptology at Dendera

Dendera

Amarante Isis: Jamie Portrait

West Bank Balloon Ride Slide Show

Ramesseum

Deir el Medina

Medinet Habu

Colossi of Memnon

Nile Boat Ride Slide Show

Deir el Bahari

Amarante Isis

Karnak and Luxor: Epigraphic Survey Volumes

Deir el Bahari Portrait

Luxor

Slide Show of Jeff and Jamie

Karnak

Jamie at Karnak

Giza

Saqqara and Dashur

Mena House Hotel

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