THE WONDEROUS SITES OF ANCIENT EGYPT
Giza
The site of the Great Pyramid
 One of the Seven Wonders of the World
 The largest man-made stone structure in the world
 Built by King Khufu (Cheops) in 2650 BC
 Symbol of man’s quest for immortality
 There is a total of 9 pyramids on the site, 3 huge ones and 6 small ones
 There are the remains of hundreds of Mastabas on the site
 Some people say that the pyramids line up with the 3 stars on Orion’s belt and that the Sphinx represents the
Constellation Leo and the Nile River – the Milky Way
The Great Sphinx
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A sacred symbol of the union of the strongest physical creature (lion) and the highest intellectual power (man –
in this case the pharaoh) on earth
The largest monolith statue in the world
The oldest known monumental sculpture in the world
Built by King Khafre who built the second tallest pyramid which is the only one to still have the white outer
limestone (at the top)
Legend says that Napoleon’s army took pot shots at the nose with their cannons but evidence shows that it was
pried off with bars and chisels by some Muslims in the 14th century who were upset that the peasants were
worshipping the Sphinx instead of Allah
Some people say that the pyramids line up with the 3 stars on Orion’s belt and that the Sphinx represents the
Constellation Leo and the Nile River – the Milky Way
Saqqara
The Step Pyramid of Djoser
 The oldest known proper Egyptian Pyramid
 The oldest stone freestanding structure in the world
 Designed and built by the architect Imhotep who some people believe to be Joseph of the Bible
 Consists of 6 tiers on top of a Mastaba
Memphis
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Was the Capital city of Egypt after the 2 Kingdoms were united by King Menes
Remained the capital and the main city throughout the old Kingdom
Contains at least 2 of the many colossal statues made by Ramses II, the proudest of all the Pharaohs
Contains an 80 ton sphinx made of Alabaster and still in very good condition
City of the Dead
The Valley of the Kings
 Full of the tombs from the Pharaohs of the New Kingdom built at the foot of a large Pyramid shaped mountain
 Tombs were carved straight into the rock faces rather than built under pyramids or mastabas
 The tombs are magnificently decorated with images and hieroglyphics in classic Egyptian style
 Contains the most famous tomb of Pharaoh Tut Ankh Amun (King Tut) which was not discovered until 1922 by
Howard Carter.
Tomb of King Tut Ankh Amun
 King Tut’s tomb contained amazing treasures in excellent condition
 King Tut’s tomb contained a wooden throne covered in gold and precious stones, 4 massive wooden/gold boxlike shrines that fit inside each other, inside of which was a stone sarcophagus, inside of which were 2
wooden/gold coffins inside each other inside of which was a solid gold coffin containing the finely preserved
body of the boy wearing the famous solid gold death mask
Valley of the Queens
 An area north of the Valley of the Kings where the New Kingdom Pharaohs built tombs to bury their wives, the
queens of the New Kingdom Egypt.
 Contains the most famous tomb of Queen Nefertari. It is famous because of its beauty and the fact that the
paintings and inscriptions are so excellently preserved.
The tomb of Nefertari
 Contains the best preserved and most eloquent paintings of any Egyptian burial site
 The paintings on the tomb walls depict Nefertari's journey after death to the afterlife, guided by various
guardian-spirits and deities, including Isis, Hathor, and Osiris.
The temple of Hatshepsut
 Hatshepsut was the only woman to rule during the time of the true Pharaohs
 Temple composed of 3 stories built in front of huge cliffs
 Temple was dedicated to the god Amun-Ra
 Absolutely filled with hundreds of columns reflecting the style of Greek classical architecture
 Contains images showing her famous journey to the mysterious land of Punt which some people believe to be
the story of the Queen of Sheba visiting King Solomon
Thebes (Luxor)
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Thebes was the name of the prominent city in Upper Egypt but it is now called Luxor
Karnak Temple Complex
 Thebes the Karnak Temple complex that covers 250 acres filled with remains of massive temples from the New
Kingdom
 The two famous ones are the Temple of Amun and the Luxor Temple
 This temple complex was used for more than 1300 years
 It is said that when the soldiers of Napoleon first saw the temples, they were so taken by the sight that they
snapped to attention and presented arms without any order being given
Temple of Amun
 Was built by Ramses II
 The way leading up to it has the Avenue of the Rams. Each Ram has a small statue of Ramses II infront of it
 The Temple contains 134 columns making it the world’s largest columned structure
 Contains some of the many colossal statues of Ramses II with his “tiny” wife carved in front of him
Luxor Temple
 A huge temple in Luxor built by Amenhotep III and finished by Ramses II
 It was used for sacred festivals and rituals, the main one was the Festival of Opet which lasted 4 weeks long
 The royal family would have their grand entry from the Karnak Temple along the Avenue of the Sphinxes and
end at this temple
 The Pharoah would enter into the back of the temple where he became a god and then entered the courtyard to
the wild cheers of the people
 During the festival the people were allowed to ask favours of the many statues of the Pharaohs
Avenue of the Sphinxes
 A 3 kilometer long roadway that is lined on both sides by about 2000 sphinx statues
 Connected the Karnak Temple complex with the Luxor Temple
Abu Simbel
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There are 2 great temples here both built by Ramses II.
In the 1950’s it was decided to dam the Nile River, thus creating Lake Nasser. This meant the two temples would
be completely underwater so the 2 temples were moved in 1964 – 1968.
Both temples were cut up into large blocks (some as big as 30 tons), dismantled and each block was moved 65
meters higher and 200 meters back from the current site where they were reassembled against a man-made hill.
It cost over $40 million to move the temples
Temple of Ramses II
 Was carved directly into the mountain face on the western banks of the River Nile
 Took about 20 years to build
 Considered the most impressive of seven temples he had built
 The façade contains 4 massive statues of himself, each 65 feet tall and 8 smaller statues of his family members
 The inside was carved out of the mountain and twice a year on Feb 21 and Oct. 21, the sun shines 200 feet into
the temple and lights up 3 of the 4 statues of Egyptian gods, one of them being Ramses himself. These 2 dates
are the days of Ramses birth and coronation. The one statue that is never lit up by the sun is the statue of Ptah,
the god of darkness. Since the temple has been moved, the statues light up on the 22nd of the months instead of
the 21st.
Temple of Nefertari
 Nefertari was the beloved and favorite wife of Ramses II’s many wives.
 Built by her husband, Ramses II and dedicated to Hathor, the wife of the sun god showing that they believed
that they were the actual god and goddess
 Contains 6 massive statues, 2 of Nefertari with a Ramses statue on either side of her two statues
 The statues of Nefertari are the same size as the 4 of Ramses. This is very rare showing either he held her in
high regard or she wanted her statues big too and was very persuasive and got her own way.
 Inside is filled with images of Ramses and Nefertari hanging out with various Egyptian gods and goddesses.