The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

The first post I uploaded to Instagram this year was a photo of The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut.   I uploaded the photos above with the caption, “No reflective posts on the last decade here, just want to share a bit about Queen Hatshepsut, the first Egyptian Pharaoh who ruled more than 3,500 years ago. She had a 22-year peaceful reign where she launched a building program and created trade partnerships. Oh, and she built this complex on the west bank of the Nile next to the Valley of the Kings, and NOT the Valley of the Queens, complete with more than ten larger than life-sized statues of herself shown as a male king wearing a kilt, a false beard, and the crown of Egypt. 👏🏻👑 THIS is the kind of energy I want to bring in to 2020!”

While this caption pretty much says it all I want to share more about the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut and the incredible woman who built this structure starting in 1479 B.C. S.   She was the daughter of a very powerful ruler, Thutmosis I, and a powerful ruler in her own right.  She designed this structure, which took almost two decades to build, to tell the story of her life.   

One correct to my original Instagram post, this temple and tomb is so old it was actually built before the Valley of the Kings and when a polish team found this temple they also found the ruins that dated back another 550 years – more than four millennium ago –  and found that this location has always been considered sacred for its connection to the funerary goddess Hathor.  When you approach the temple you can take a train to the entrance or stroll to the front as the three layers get closer and closer.  My favourite part was the places where you can see the original colors that date back more than 3,400 years with statues and alters devoted to different gods, so including Hathor and Ibis, the god of afterlife.

Would you visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut?