The last day of west bank sites sees us head north to the seldom visited temple of Seti I. Located near the village of New Qurna, this temple is worth a visit. Built by Seti I to honour his father, Rameses I, and finished by his son, Rameses the Great. It is always nice to have a temple entirely to oneself with just the hot air balloons occasionally breaking the quiet. You can get up on top of the mud brick enclosure wall at the rear of the temple for a good view across the temple.
Next stop was Dra Abu el-Naga, just a short drive away. 5 tombs to do here. We began with the Ramesside tomb of Shuroy, Brazier Carrier of Amun, which title caused a degree of confusion among some of us. I’ll leave it to you to work it out. The tomb of Roy may be small, but it is beautifully decorated and that was our next stop. Much bigger is TT148, the tomb of Amenempet. The tomb begins with a courtyard, followed by a transverse section with statue groups at either end. The long hall is partially blocked by the granite sarcophagus of the tomb owner which was left where it stands in 1817, after having been removed from the burial chamber. Further down the hall are openings to the burial chambers.
There were two extra tombs now open since I was last here. That of Djehuty and of Hery. Djehuty was Overseer of Treasury and of Works, and Overseer of the Cattle of Amun, during the reign of Hatshepsut. A T-shaped tomb with a large courtyard, it is quite striking once you go inside. The resting place of Hery is from the very beginning of the 18th Dynasty, Hery was Overseer of the Granaries of the King’s Mother and Royal Wife Ahotep.
One more tomb before a trip to the shops and lunch. Again, I won’t bore you with my opinion of 18th Dynasty inscriptions compared to the 19th, but if you want exquisite, then Kheruef is where to go. We drove onto the site where the project manager of the Spanish Mission’s Vizier Amen-Hotep Huy Project very kindly found the guardian for us, Mil gracias!
The tomb of Kheruef, like TT55, is of interest as it spans the change from Amenhotep III to his son and, of course, raises more questions than answers about that murky period in Ancient Egyptian history. I love this tomb, from the fascinating Amenhotep IV entrance to the beautiful inscriptions that highlight the second heb sed of Amenhotep III. I could spend hours here, but it was time to visit the shops of two good friends, luckily just across the road and next door to each other, and then lunch.
After lunch it was back in the minibus where we made our way back to Deir el-Bahari and the magnificent Hatshepsut Temple. There were plenty of tourists which made our run through the gauntlet of shops somewhat easier. The temple building is always impressive, whether it is your first time or your 100th. We started at the Hathor Chapel, followed by the Punt Expedition, although the time of day made it quite difficult to see what was what. After the Anubis Chapel, up the ramp to the upper level, which was more crowded. I am sorry to say that some of the guardians were offering entrance to roped-off areas and then getting unpleasant if one refused.
Our day wasn’t done yet as we had an appointment with our river taxi captain. Our hotel had made us a big koshari meal to take on the boat. We headed upstream as the sun began to sink. Pulled into the bank in the gathering gloom and enjoyed a fabulous meal of this famous Egyptian street food. A fabulous way to end our west bank adventures. Tomorrow, the Most Select of Places, the Throne of the Two Lands.