SOUVENIR STALLS AT EXIT OF VOK
We are routed through the souvenir stalls at all attractions as everywhere else in the world...prices are not marked in these stalls, I was a litle wary of aggressive vendors, so reluctantly I did not stop to even look, let alone buy.
LUNCH PACKET FOUND OPEN
We had left our lunch sandwiches in the car. We went back after our Valley of Kings visit and picked up that bag. Our driver Hamdi asked, 'How much did you pay for tomatoes and cucumber?
I was surprised how he knew about my purchase the previous day, but I answered ... 10egp for a kg of tomatoes, we had got a good deal and paid local prices at the local veg/fruit shop near our apartment in west bank village
Hamdi suggested we should visit Temple of Seti nearby. It's not on the list of most tourists, so we knew we can find a quiet spot to sit down and have our sandwiches. We agreed. We went in, it was totally deserted; we sat at a spot and opened our bag, we found the food packet open and fillings spilled. Hamdi had opened and inspected the sandwiches. I was pretty miffed. We had not taken the bag into Valley of Kings fearing the stray dogs.
Also for our day trip to Saqqara, we had kept the bag in the boot of the car telling the driver... it had turned out to be a sane decision because there were a dozen stray dogs there. Needless to say, that driver Mohamed had not bothered touching our bag. Anyway, no point crying over spilt milk, or in this case tampered sandwiches! we had the food and decided to see the temple.
Mortuary Temple of Seti I
This is the memorial temple (or mortuary temple) of the New Kingdom Pharaoh Seti I, son of 19th dynasty founder Rameses I . Seti 1's son was the great Rameses II WHO MAY HAVE COMPLETED THIS TEMPLE
next stop was Khokha tombs
The necropolis of El-Khokha (Arabic: الخوخه)
we visited a couple of very well preserved tombs, the guardians were preparing to close down.
TT296, the Tomb of Nefersekheru
During the reign of Seti1 and Raneses II, Nefersekheru occupied four functions, which were probably closely interconnected.
"Deputy administrator of the treasury" mainly with the addition of "of the Lord of the Two Lands" and frequently limited to Thebes; showing that there was again a royal treasury in Thebes in Ramesside times.
"Scribe" and/or "royal scribe of the treasury of the Lord of the Two Lands".
"Scribe of the divine offering of all the gods",
"Director of slaves", which occurs only twice in the tomb and probably refers to his command over slaves of the royal treasury or the Amun temple.
Only the entrance and first chamber is decorated, but, with the exception of the north wall of the entrance passageway (on which not all of the paint was applied), they were completed.
The decoration has been applied over a coating of white plaster, care being taken with the junction between the header frieze (at the top of the east and west walls) and the coloured bands surrounding the ceiling design, as this is applied over a curved moulding.
In this tomb, only the east and west walls have picture registers depicting funerary and banquet scenes, etc. Although most surfaces of these two walls contain two picture registers, they occupy only about 50% of the wall height on the east walls and about 60% on the west walls.
The ceiling surfaces in the tomb, those of the entrance passageway, the first chamber and the statue niche of the north wall, have all been elaborately decorated. Each area has one or more central motifs (mainly geometric in style) providing five different designs, three of which can be found in the main chamber. The design areas are edged with coloured borders, and in the case of the main chamber, subdivided by text bands
The north wall has a niche for the statues of Nefersekheru with the two wives, Nefertiri and Nedjmaat-Mut. The glare was too much, so could not take decent pics/videos.
here's a pic from the net: https://www.osirisnet.net/tombes/nobles/nefersekherou/e_nfrskhru_04.htm
This site has detailed explanation of many tombs
TT178, the Tomb of Neferrenpet
The tomb dates back to the XIXth Dynasty, the second part of the reign of Ramesses II (~ 1279 - 1213 BC). The owner, Neferrenpet or Kenro, was a high official he bears the main title of "Chief scribe of the Treasury of the estate of Amun-Re". He was responsible for secretarial and clerical work as well as ensuring the efficient operation of an administrative unit. He had to organize the supply of provisions for the religious services and for the officiating priesthood in the sanctuary."Nefer-renpet" means literally "Good year".
STATUE NICHE
Taking up most of the south wall of 2nd room, the niche holds four near life sized, rock-hewn statues.
These have been carefully remodelled in stucco and painted. The rear wall is set back approximately 0.7m, the inset floor on which the feet of the statues are rested is approx. 0.5m above the floor of room .The statues are seated closely together on a bench, so close that their shoulders overlap. Neferrenpet is seated furthest forward, so that both of his shoulders are fully visible. From right to left, they are : Mutemwia (his wife) and Neferrenpet, then Piay (his father) and Wiay (his mother) .
All wear large wigs with perfume cones and ornate necklaces. The ladies wear long ankle-length white dresses, with heavily pleated upper portion but a plain skirt. Neferrenpet wears a thin shirt with pleated sleeves, through which his skin can be seen, but from the waist down, nothing much has survived except the bottom corner of the skirt, which shows that it was pleated (this missing portion of his body has been restored, blank, with mortar). Piay wears nothing on his upper torso, but wears a pleated ankle-length skirt. All originally had a text band down the front of the legs, which included their title and name, Neferrenpet's is obviously now missing.
The bench on which they all sit is undecorated, but the lower side walls and back wall all have been coloured yellow. The upper portion of the side wall is decorated, starting at the top, with a checkerboard pattern, followed by a garland then a pattern including lotus blossoms.
The rear wall has, between the heads and at the ends, a single papyrus, those at the two ends and the one between Neferrenpet and his wife have vine foliage entwinded round them.
The Theban Tomb 295 of Djehutymes
representation of "Osiris, the chief of Westerners, ruler of eternity" occupies the left part of the wall. The God is seated in a golden yellow chapel surmounted by a cavetto cornice and a frieze of protective uraei. The roof is supported by palmiform and papyriform columns. Seated on a classic archaic seat, wearing his Atef crown, he holds in his hands the insignias of his regal power: the Heqa sceptre and the Nekhakha flail. In front of him, a tall composite floral bouquet made of lotus flowers and papyri bends itself toward his face.
Standing in front of him, the deceased is in worship while presenting to him offerings represented on a well garnished table: plants, breads, cuts of meat. He is clothed in a white tunic and wears around his neck a great wsr-necklace and bracelets on his wrists and arms
Colossal Statues of Amenhotep III, 1350 BC
The Colossi are two massive stone statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III, which stand at the front of the ruined Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III, the largest temple in the Theban Necropolis. 12.92metre (43-foot) statues depicting him walking.
These are up to now the highest standing effigies of an Egyptian king in striding attitude. Consisting of 89 large pieces and numerous small fragments and reassembled , the monolith weighs 110 tonnes.
It had lain broken in pieces after the earthquake in 1200 BC
It was a little past 3, we entered the Valley of Queens and saw the special ticketed tomb of Rameses II's fav Queen Nefertari
VALLEY OF QUEENS
QV 66, NEFERTARI 19th Dynasty (1295-1255 B.C)
When discovered, Nefertari's tomb was found to have been badly damaged, plundered and left open to the elements of nature and mankind.
The remains of the pink granite lid was found . when the tomb of queen Tuya, the mother of Ramesses II was searched, there were fragments of a pink granite sarcophagus with the name of… Nefertari !
these fragments may have come from the main body of the queen's sarcophagus, which had been dragged outside of her tomb, then smashed. These pieces were then reused by the new occupants of the tomb of Tuya for internal functions.
Regarding the mummy, only part of the two knees was found in the funeral chamber, among shreds of material coming from the mummification.
A sad end for "the most beautiful of all".
The tomb and its decoration are of an exceptionally high quality, with almost every surface being decorated in vibrant colors. It would been produced by workmen responsible for the Valley of the Kings, from the village of Deir el-Medina.
Although Nefertari died sometime during the 25th regnal year of the reign of Ramesses, all the evidence shows that her tomb was finished in time for her burial.
The work of producing the tomb would have involved several different types of craftsmen, each specialised in his own task. The work would have been progressive, each skill following the one before; none waiting for the whole tomb to be completed before starting. The stone masons (the excavators) would have still been working progressively in the many chambers as their work was continued by the plasterers laying at least two layers, to render the poor quality limestone fit for decoration. The final layer being one containing a mixture of vegetable gums to make the colors adhere better. Next, the designs would be produced in outline and other craftsmen would then carve the sketch in relief. Finally, the actual painters would use a rich palette of colors to finally bring the walls to life.
her full name was Nefertari Merytmut, meaning "Beautiful Companion, Beloved of Mut".
She was the beloved Great Royal Wife (GRW) of Ramesses II, one of the best known of the Egyptian queens, next to Cleopatra, Nefertiti and Hatshepsut. Her tomb, QV66, is the largest, most lavishly decorated and spectacular in the Valley of the Queens.
Ramesses II also constructed for her a temple at Abu Simbel, next to his own colossal monument. He even made the size of her statues, on its facade, to the same scale as his own. "For whom the sun shines" is a unique inscription from the façade of her Temple at Abu Simbel.
She married Ramesses at age of thirteen, who was himself only fifteen, before he became pharaoh. She was the most important of his eight wives for at least the following twenty years. She died sometime during the 25th regnal rear of the reign of Ramesses and the reason for her death remains uncertain.
Although she had at least four sons and two daughters, none of these succeeded to the throne. The heir to the throne of Ramesses II was Prince Merneptah, his 13th son by another wife, Isetnofret.
Queen Nefertari, as attested by reliefs, attended the opening ceremony of the temples of Abu Simbel in the year 24 of Ramses II's reign. After that event, she disappeared, aged 40 to 50 years - as reconstructed from historical records.
the queen is always represented in an identical way. She wears of a long tight-fitting semi-transparent white dress, over which hangs a wider pleated version. Around her waist is tied a long red sash, the ends of which hang down the front. Over her tripartite wig she wears a regal gold headdress called the Nekhbet (named after the vulture goddess). This is comprised of a tight fitting golden skull-cap in the shape of a vulture with outstretched wings and holding a golden shen-ring in its claws, on top of this is a red mortar . The Nekhbet headdress is often considered as the crown of the "great royal wife".
The queen wears rich jewelry: a broad necklace, bracelets, and throughout the tomb, a variety of earrings: a cobra, a fan, or a simple stud (although perhaps nothing). The most common is the silver (perhaps electrum) fan . It is only in the first two images of Nefertari that she wears sandals, elsewhere she is bare footed.
It is built on two levels: three chambers are located at the upper level and the main burial chamber and its three annexes reached via the secondary stairway. The burial chamber is divided into three across its width, with the central section being 0.6m lower than the front and rear levels. This chamber also has four pillars.
THE ANTECHAMBER
The chamber, which is almost square (5.2m north-south by 5.0m east-west and 3.2m in height), is approximately 3.0m below the ground level of the entrance. The fact that is excavated into the limestone hillside, means the roof of the chamber is well below the actual surface of the hill.
The area is divided into two registers, a picture register at the top and a totally text register below.
All of the small scenes of the upper register relate to Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead
The Queen playing senet
In her right hand she holds a sekhem-sceptre. She is engaged in playing a game of senet, considered as a forerunner of the modern game of checkers. The game frees her spirit in the form of the human-headed ba-bird, to travel outside the tomb during the day. The text inside the canopy identifies her as: "The Osiris, the king's great wife, mistress of the two lands, Nefertari beloved of Mut, justified with Osiris the great god"
Nefertari worshipping Atum
in the pic below the queen is kneeling and worshipping a representation of the god Atum (at the left end of the west wall), shown as the sign of the akhet-horizon supported by two lions.
This time she is identified the same as before, but at the end Osiris is additionally named as: "Lord of the West".
Next is an image of the benu-bird, representing the soul of Ra.
Then there is Nefertari's mummified body flanked by the goddesses Nephthys and lsis; here they appear as kites protecting the queen. The figure of the genie of the Nile kneels in front of an oval containing a symbolic udjat-eye, the eye of Horus.
Then the much destroyed figure of "the great green" stands in front of a flat topped shrine. On the other side of the shrine is a seated falcon god, again much destroyed. The scenes finish, at the northern end of the west wall, with a large udjat-eye, a powerful amulet providing protection.
Lower register
Below the scenes, above the bench, the area is filled with vertical columns of text, written in retrograde hieroglyphs; that is, that although they look from the actual glyphs as though they should be read from right to left, they are in fact to be read from left to right. This is Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead. It start, like the scenes, at the west side of the entry. The first nine columns amply cover the intent of the text: "Beginning of the praises and recitations to come forth and go down into the Necropolis, to be transfigured in the Beautiful West, the coming forth by day in order to assume any form he [!] wishes, playing senet and sitting its the booth, coming forth, as a living ba by the Osiris, the king's great wife, mistress of the two lands, Nefertari, beloved of Mut, justified after he [!] died. It is effective to do this on earth, so that it happens entirely according to the instructions.". The text contains an error when referring to Nefertari, by using the masculine pronoun; obviously a oversight
First eastern annexe: west wall, north
On this north side of the west wall (seen by having turned left on entering), Nefertari is shown making an offering of linen to Ptah. He was the creator god of weaving and crafts.
Nefertari is dressed as on the previous occasions: white transparent dress, tied with a long red sash, and wearing the feather-topped Nekhbet headdress. The linen which she offers is in the shape of the hieroglyph for clothing, "Menkhet" more of them stand on a table in front of her. The text above the table states: "Giving cloth to the Lord of Truth (= Ptah) on the sacred land"
Below Nefertari stands in the middle of the north wall, in front of the seated god Thoth, with the head of an ibis. This is the god of writing, the scribe who records the results of the judgement scene, the "weighing of the heart" (not shown in this tomb). He is dressed in the same fashion as the other male gods and seated on a an identical chair. However, he additionally wears a white sash across his chest, typical of scribes. Nefertari is dressed as elsewhere.
in 2 pics Below, on the left Nefertari is shown making an offering of linen to Ptah. He was the creator god of weaving and crafts. The linen which she offers is in the shape of the hieroglyph for clothing, "Menkhet" more of them stand on a table in front of her. The text above the table states: "Giving cloth to the Lord of Truth (= Ptah) on the sacred land".
Between Nefertari and Thoth is a tall stand, in the top of which is a vessel which contains the writing palette of the scribe and a magical object in the form of a frog. The text behind Nefertari is Chapter 94 of the Book of the Dead.
The east wall of side room is filled with two scenes, Between Nefertari and the god is a large and bountiful pile of offerings
South wall
this is the best known, is a representation of Chapter 148 of the Book of the Dead. None of the actual text from the chapter is shown here, just names of the participants. The scene actually extends onto the adjoining first section of the west wall, where Nefertari stands in adoration.
In the top two registers of the south wall there are seven cows and a bull (bottom left), each standing behind a small offering table, not intended for the animals but for the nourishment of Nefertari.
in the bottom register are the steering oars which help Nefertari manoeuvre among the stars. With Ra serving as the helmsman and the oars propelling her pilgrimage, none of Nefertari's enemies will know her or even recognise her, (or so the full text promises). Each oar is linked with a cardinal compass point.
in the nearby wall in the corner Nefertari is requesting that the cows provide her sustenance: "I have come before you, my Lord Ra. I will cause the seven cows and their bull to flourish. May you grant bread and beer, offerings and provisions for my spirit, and grant that my soul may be with you".
Ram headed Ra stands in the middle, On either side of the deity, and attending to his needs, are Nephthys (on the left) and Isis (on the right)vulture goddess Nekhbet,in the lintel
The ceilings throughout are painted deep blue and decorated with yellow stars. The exception being the soffit (ceiling) of the entrance doorway to the first chamber, at the bottom of the entry stairs.
The walls contain no images taken from her daily life, but consist of a journey through the underworld, to be united eternally with Osiris. The journey then continues outwards, to the doorway at the foot of the stairs leading to the upper world. Here the queen emerges from the eastern horizon reborn in the likeness of a solar disc , to immortalise forever her victory over the world of darkness.
Because Nefertari wasn't a pharaoh and because there were no scenes of daily life, the choice of texts used on the walls was somewhat restricted. The ones finally chosen, either by the architects, the priests or perhaps Ramesses himself, were taken from the "Book of the Dead".
https://www.osirisnet.net/tombes/pharaons/nefertari/e_nefertari_02.htm has detailed explanation, some of it copied in this post
SECOND STAIRWAY
the second stairway descends from the antechamber to the burial chamber, almost 3.0m below. The stairway of eighteen steps is 7.5m in length., with a slipway down the middle for the sarcophagus.
At the southern end of both lower areas are twenty-nine columns (of ever increasing length) of hieroglyphic texts belonging to the figures of Anubis and the goddesses
The area is subdivided by another line, the upper part belonging to Anubis, and below to Isis. The left-hands sides of both of these two levels is filled with columns of hieroglyphic texts belonging to the respective images. Sample 'I have given you a place in the necropolis so that you may appear gloriously in heaven like your father Re. The realm of the dead is illumined by your radiance. May your heart be forever joyous' ".
The lintel contains a kneeling image of Ma'at, facing left with her arms outstretched supporting beautifully produced wings, reaching completely across the width between the two outer walls
The entry passage shows a rampant serpent facing the cartouche of Nefertari. The serpent, which is identified as Wadjet, wears the red crown of Lower Egypt. On the almost identical left outer thickness, the name is omitted. It can be assumed that this is Nekhebet, because this one wears the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.
In both cases the serpent and cartouche rest on a wicker basket, which in turn stands on top of two djed pillars. Also, both cartouches are crowned with the double plume and solar disk headdress and stand on the hieroglyphic symbol for gold.
Both inner thicknesses have the same two serpents with their backs to the queen's cartouche, protecting it. Also, in both images, the serpents rest on a woven basket, but these baskets rest on different constructs on the two sides. On the right is a tub of papyrus, the heraldic plant of Lower Egypt, on the left is a tub of lilies, the heraldic plant of Upper Egypt
At the far end, we can see on the south wall images of two goddesses, one on either side. They are Neith (left when facing her) and Selkis (right), already encountered at the entrance to the vestibule, and again easily identified by their unique symbols on top of their head. The texts are the usual greetings accompanied by the column of protective symbols.
The two goddesses face the entry, offering the deceased their protection. Neith and Selkis, together with Isis and Nephthys, watched over the sarcophagus of Osiris.
on the upper triangular section of the west wall, Nefertari holds out two round nemset jars[ritual vessel] above an alter piled high with fruit, vegetables, cuts of meat, and loaves of bread; resting on top are two smoking braziers.
The texts which surround her yet again provide her identity and end with the usual symbols of "protection, life, stability, dominion, all health, all joy, all protection like Ra".
Facing Nefertari, ready to receive her offerings, are three goddesses: Isis; her sister, Nephthys on the left side [on right side it's Selket with scorpion on her head instead of Nepthys]; and Ma'at. The first two are seated on the now common chairs, whilst Ma'at kneels with outstretched wings, extended to shield the queen's cartouche, attached to which is a shen-sign.
All three goddesses have their distinctive emblems on their head, and the seated ones each hold a was-sceptre and ankh-sign.
Their usual style dresses alternate in colour, red, green and red, giving variety to the scene.
Hathor and Selket on the right with Maat
Four square section pillars support the large ceiling, two each in the higher end sections, leaving the central area clear. Those on the east are separated from those on the west by two small flights of steps, leading into and out of the lower middle area.
BURIAL CHAMBER
The chamber is 10.4m south-north and 8.2m east-west. The ceiling height at the two ends is approx. 3.0m. Nefertari's red granite sarcophagus originally stood in the lower centre section, however, only a part of the lid was found at the time of the discovery of the tomb.
Priest in leopard skin on the pillar
Osiris, God of the Underworld
Nefertari's passage through the gates of Chapter 144 of the Book of the Dead begins immediately on turning left when entering the burial chamber. It continues along the left side of the chamber until reaching the entry of annexe in the middle of the rear wall, her ritual western horizon, the place of Osiris.
Although always called "gates", in Nefertari's tomb they are shown in all cases as a red rectangle surrounded by an ochre framing, by their color convention they in fact represent a door (red representing wood) with a stone (ochre) framing; so "gate" is really perhaps "gateway" or "entry gate".
Starting on the south wall, Nefertari stands in regal splendour with her hands raised in adoration before the first gate and its three attendants. Separating her from the stairway entry is a single column of protective symbols. The two columns of text (one being very short) in front of her, give her name and titles in reduced form.
Preceding each gate, the words spoken by Nefertari are given in several columns written in retrograde hieroglyphs. That is, that although they look from the actual glyphs as though they should be read from right to left, they are in fact to be read from left to right.
The gate is immediately followed by the three named attendants, identified as male or female by the colour of the skin; the male is always red-brown and the female is a pale skin-tone.. Each group consists of, firstly, two animal-headed (the first is always ram-headed) then a human-headed attendants. They are: the doorkeeper, who holds a leafy branch in the right hand and a knife in the other; the guardian, who holds a knife in each hand; and the herald or announcer, who holds an ankh in each hand. Nefertari must speak the name of each gate and the name of each attendant, in order to be able to pass through
eg, "The first gate. The name of the doorkeeper is 'Downward of face, numerous of forms'; the name of the guardian is 'Eavesdropper' (literally: 'the burning of the ear') ; the name of the herald is 'Loud of voice'.
Wound up for the day
We started off toward our apartment. Driver Hamdi wanted a pic of us with his car for some advertising , he said.
We obliged, He took a selfie with us too. I took one of him with son.
Car turned into the narrow streets of the village our Farida apartment was.. Houses have nice murals on the walls
Stepped into the balcony and enjoyed the view and sunset. As darkness descended, several stars pierced through the velvety sky and twinkled merrily. Village life is so idyllic!
And we were home.
Had some ice cream with guava and banana slices doused in mango juice.
Yummmm!!
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