Immerse yourself in the magic of Egypt from July 5th to 12th. A great adventure awaits.
Unique Club and Love Connection D´Ibiza team up to offer a unique experience where history, ancient culture, music, and art intertwine in a fascinating journey.
The adventure begins on July 5th in Madrid, from where we will depart for Egypt.
Aswan, also often spelled "Aswan," is often called "the Gateway to Africa" and that gives us clues about its location and character. It is the southernmost city in all of Egypt, at the height of the first cataract of the Nile, which is actually a stretch of river that makes navigation impossible due to its shallow depth and the abundance of boulders and rocks that protrude from the surface.
For this reason, Aswan has always been something of a "border" between Egypt and Nubia, also formerly known as the Kingdom of Kush. It is, therefore, the last stop in Upper Egypt, located about 250 km from Luxor, the main city of this historical region. As a border town, Aswan's history has often been a struggle for control between Pharaonic Egypt to the north and the Nubian Kingdom of Kush to the south. The former were the most dominant, although there were also periods of weakness that the Cushites took advantage of to extend their rule here and to other more northern points of the Nile Valley. Of particular note is the 25th Dynasty (747-664 BC), originating in Kush, which imposed its power on Aswan and virtually all of Egypt.
Aswan: It grew prosperous as a strategic trading point, serving as a necessary stopover for elephant caravans bringing perfumes, gold, ostrich feathers, slaves, and many other goods from the south. Initially, it served as a supply for the pharaohs and their administration, but later also served as a source for the sultans' courts and their bureaucratic apparatus. In fact, Aswan's current name derives from the name given by the Copts: Souan, which could be translated as "trade."
In addition, Aswan's economy had another great pillar, perhaps more accurately described: its quarries, from which came the most prized stone blocks in all of Egypt, especially the red, black, and gray granites that were also part of the burial chambers of the Great Pyramids of Giza.
LUXURY NILE RIVER CRUISE
The high-end luxury services offered by a Nile cruise give you the opportunity to explore the ancient mysteries of the pharaohs of Luxor and Aswan.
Tranquil waters offer all the luxurious amenities you need to enjoy a unique journey.
The Nile River flows through ten countries: Egypt, Burundi, Sudan, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan, before flowing into the Mediterranean Sea.
For centuries, it has been considered a symbol of the development of civilization. The Egyptian people, who concentrated their cities along the Nile River Valley and its delta, north of Aswan, began their history there and made their region the most fertile.
Thanks to the Nile, Ancient Egypt flourished, developing populations and a centralized agricultural economy. Its watershed covers approximately 10% of Africa's surface.
Floods in ancient times were received as a blessing as it was the main source of water for the territory. Hence the birth of some legends, such as that of the god Khnum.
Legend has it that, after a severe drought in the Egyptian Empire, Pharaoh Dyoser went to the god Khnum, who guarded the caves that led to the source of the Nile River on Elephantine Island. The god Khnum appeared during the Pharaoh's sleep, and when he pointed out the severe drought his people were suffering, the god reproached him for not having built and repaired the temples, despite the materials and gifts he had given him. Thus, the Pharaoh promised to build him a temple on the island in exchange for opening the water gates to the river. When the Pharaoh awoke, the river's flow had risen significantly, and at his feet lay a tablet with a prayer to the god Khnum.
We will visit the Temple of Philae, where a gala dinner will be held with international artists, enjoying a unique setting under the stars.
PHILAE TEMPLE
The Temple of Philae is located next to the island of the same name, about 8 km south of the city. Despite its relatively recent construction (Greco-Roman period), it is recognized by all experts as one of the most beautiful and probably the last great architectural work of Ancient Egypt.
In addition to its undeniable beauty and its fascinating dialogue with the surrounding nature, it has suffered less from the ravages of time. And all tourists who visit the Temple of Philae benefit from this.
The oldest structure of all is the kiosk from the time of Nectanebo I (4th century BC, 30th Dynasty). The bulk of the complex dates from the Ptolemaic period, with Ptolemy III (3rd century BC) and Ptolemy XII (1st century BC) being some of its main architects, although the Romans also left their mark, as demonstrated by Trajan's Kiosk (2nd century AD).
Christians, for their part, also left their mark beginning in the 6th century, although not for the better: iconoclastic rage led to the erasure or defacement of images of some goddesses beginning in the 8th century. Spaces within the temple complex were also built or adapted to become churches, which have not been preserved and lost their relevance by the 12th century.
In any case, the Temple of Philae survived as such longer and in better condition than other sacred sites. This was largely due to the devotion aroused among its people by the gods venerated in these sacred sites. Primarily Isis, the mother goddess in Egyptian religion, whose cult remained in force until the 6th century, during the time of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I.
But also Mandulis, a Nubian deity deeply rooted in the area, and the goddess Hathor, another female deity closely associated with royalty because she was considered the symbolic mother of pharaohs.
In addition to the cult of Isis and other local deities, the Temple of Philae is associated with another cultural survival of Ancient Egypt: hieroglyphic writing. The last documented inscription in this type of script is found here, around 394 AD, when Demotic writing was already in use. It is located on Hadrian's Gate and is an invocation of the god Mandulis.
Its magnificent location plays a fundamental role in the attraction of the Temple of Philae. Located on an island, Agilkia, about 10 km south of Aswan, with nothing else to distract the eye, it is easy to feel the evocation of Ancient Egypt. Although not all the structures are in the same state of preservation, the purity of their forms, in harmony with the waters of the river and the vegetation on the banks, create a very special landscape, which takes on its full beauty when admired while sailing along the Nile.
To get here, there's no other option: it can only be done on small boats that depart from a small port in the village of Shellal, located several kilometers south of Aswan.
We'll visit the Temple of Luxor, where we'll have another gala dinner where Egyptian cuisine blends with the magic of the surroundings. Each bite will be a celebration of flavors accompanied by performances by international artists, making us feel like true pharaohs.
LUXOR, Ancient Thebes
LUXOR TEMPLE
It is considered the largest temple in Ancient Egypt.
The first and greatest architect of the Luxor Temple was Amenophis III (or Amenhotep III) of the 18th Dynasty, around the 14th century BC. He promoted it at the height of the Theban city's prosperity, the then capital of Ancient Egypt.
However, it has undergone changes, with additions and losses. His monumental project, incidentally, included another funerary temple on the West Bank, of which only the Colossi of Memnon remain.
You'll reach the interior of Luxor Temple via the spectacular Avenue of the Sphinxes, a paved road that once connected this building with the temples of Karnak, located about 3 km to the north. It once had around 700 sphinxes! This spectacular tour took place during the Opet Festival, which served as a celebration of the annual flooding of the Nile and a reaffirmation of the pharaoh's power.
During this celebration, sacred images of the local triad: Amun-Ra, Mut, and Khonsu were transported on portable boats. A festival that is now reenacted with hundreds of participants in traditional costumes, making it an interesting spectacle to see in Luxor if your trip coincides with it.
Flanked by the remaining sphinxes, you'll reach the first pylon of the Luxor Temple, erected somewhat later during the reign of Ramses II, on whose walls he ordered the Battle of Kadesh against the Hittite Empire (1274 BC) to be inscribed. He was very proud of it, as Abu Simbel also demonstrates... although the battle actually ended in a draw. Not content with that, he also ordered the erection of six colossal statues of himself and two obelisks. What now remains are essentially two seated ones on either side of the entrance, as well as an obelisk (the other, incidentally, is the one that stands in the Place de la Concorde in Paris).
The next space in the Luxor Temple was also ordered to be built by this pharaoh: the Great Courtyard of Ramses II, with rows of columns with papyrus-shaped capitals. There is also a space dedicated to the Shrine of the Boat. And it is here that the Abou Al Hagag Mosque is located.
Given the local people's devotion to this sacred figure, it was decided to maintain it in its current location after archaeological work. And, in doing so, it made it possible for this temple to maintain a religious cult for over 3,000 years without interruption. Quite a record!
After this great courtyard, the Luxor Temple "returns" to its origins, with spaces conceived primarily during the reign of Amenophis III: the spectacular processional colonnade leaves visitors speechless due to the size of its columns, over 20 meters high, which probably served as inspiration for the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak. The Courtyard of the Sun, with rows of columns on three sides,
In addition to chambers and sanctuaries, such as the one in the Barca, the "holy of holies" remains, a space accessible only to the pharaoh and the priest, where the image of Amun-Ra was kept, which is no longer preserved. However, you can also see marks left by the Roman camp that once set up here.
KARNAK TEMPLE
The most significant of the Karnak temples were built during the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1069 BC). However, there are also later contributions, including those by the Ptolemaic dynasty and Roman rule, encompassing nearly 1,500 years of continuous construction, with numerous additions and modifications.
The Karnak temples were, in fact, much more than a sacred space: they were also an administrative center, the residence of the pharaohs, and, during their construction periods, a space where thousands of workers worked.
Furthermore, they were the seat of the clergy of Amun, whose priests were so influential that some of them even adopted the title of pharaoh during the Third Intermediate Period (1069–747 BC).
As you may have noticed, we refer to the temples of Karnak in the plural, as it is actually a complex of three enclosures: the Temple of Amun, the Temple of Montu, and the Temple of Mut. However, the largest, most famous, and most spectacular is the Temple of Amun, which serves as the central enclosure connecting the other two, smaller and in a less well-preserved state, although they are also worth a visit.
The total surface area of the site is around 30 hectares, which reflects its vast size.
Therefore, as with the rest of the great monuments to see in Luxor, you'll need to be patient if you want to fully explore it.
The entrance and visitor reception center of the Karnak temples is located along the Nile.
Upon entering, you will immediately encounter a short Avenue of Ram-headed Sphinxes.
This avenue was once reached by a channel diverted from the river, along which sacred boats sailed.
Here stands the first pylon, which once greeted visitors with imposing flags, although it is actually unfinished, as suggested by the uneven height of its walls.
The next space is the Great Courtyard, which houses the small temple of Seti II, with chapels for the boats of the Theban triad (Amun, Mut, and Khonsu), as well as the temple of Ramses III.
Here, too, it is easy to see and recognize another colossal statue of Ramses II, one of the great architects of the Karnak temples: it predates him but has been retouched to reflect his features.
After that, a second pylon, and then it's time for the most emblematic, most photographed, and, at one time, most painted space: the Great Hypostyle Hall.
It is often described as a 'forest of columns,' but it would be more appropriate to speak of a 'sea of columns,' as it probably evokes the primordial ocean of Egyptian religion in which papyrus plants grew, as the capitals, which take that shape, suggest. Their numbers speak volumes: 134 columns, between 15 and 21 meters high, and about 10 meters in circumference. Carved and, at one time, polychrome, these columns make the visitor feel small.
After this Great Hypostyle Hall, you cross a third pylon from the time of Amenophis III and reach a courtyard, before reaching the oldest part of the enclosure, dating back to the time of Thutmose I (15th century BC). Beyond the fourth pylon, the obelisk of Hatshepsut, the tallest in Egypt at about 30 meters, attracts attention, although there were actually others higher here.
From this point on, everything has deteriorated, and it is difficult to imagine the function of each space, although you can recognize a cubic construction that served as a sanctuary for the Sacred Boat. It is also easy to distinguish the sacred lake, which once provided water to the Karnak temple complex.
Everything described follows a west-east axis, but there is a north-south axis that connects the other two temples at Karnak: Mut and Montu, outside the Enclosure of Amun, which also have several pylons. That of Mut, wife of Amun, is the most deteriorated. At the opposite extreme is that of Montu, god of war, which is not always accessible.
Another of Karnak's temples is the Temple of Khonsu, which reached the Avenue of the Sphinxes that ran from the Temple of Luxor. Also small is the Temple of Ptah, an addition from the time of Thutmose III, thus introducing devotion to this creator god whose center of worship was Memphis.
Furthermore, in the northern area of the Amun precinct there is an open-air museum where you can see, among other things, the White Chapel from the time of Senusret I (12th Dynasty, Middle Kingdom, 20th century BC), rebuilt with many of its original stone blocks, later distributed throughout the precinct.
VALLEY OF THE KINGS
The Valley of the Kings, along with the Temple of Luxor and the temples of Karnak, was one of the factors that consolidated ancient Thebes as the great city of its time. It was the necropolis of the pharaohs from the 18th Dynasty onward, who found here a protected and theoretically secure space for their final resting place, the construction of which they could supervise from the capital.
We say "theoretically" because, despite its remote and inaccessible location, many tombs were discovered by looters and thieves, who desecrated them and emptied them of valuables. This caused a great loss of heritage for the city, although fortunately there are still many artifacts to see in Luxor and its museums dedicated to these tombs, as well as in Cairo and other cities, even abroad.
The Valley of the Kings, like the rest of the necropolises in the area and others in Ancient Egypt, is located on the west bank of the Nile, the sunset bank, since Egyptian religion believed that this was where the Duat was located: a celestial underworld, from where Ra traveled with his boat towards the sunrise, thus making an underground journey from west to east and then making the opposite journey across the sky.
For all these reasons, the vast majority of New Kingdom pharaohs considered the Valley of the Kings the ideal resting place, excavating highly complex and richly decorative hypogea in the rock, with floor-to-ceiling carvings and paintings, and containing a funerary trousseau deservedly called a "treasury."
They dedicated many years of their reign to its construction, employing enormous financial and human resources.
Egypt's Valley of the Kings was built and expanded over approximately five centuries, from the 16th to the 11th century BC. More than 60 tombs are known, with widely varying sizes: from simple pits to enormous hypogea with more than 100 chambers inside.
However, there are still several important undiscovered pharaohs' tombs, which continues to motivate researchers in their search. To correctly identify all of them, the following numbering is used:
KV + a number: stands for Kings Valley and the tomb number, given in the order of discovery. In this sense, KV1 belongs to Ramses VII, pharaoh of the 20th Dynasty. And KV62 is probably the most famous: that of Tutankhamun, discovered in 1922.
WV + a number: stands for West Valley and a tomb number, referring to those found in the so-called Valley of the Monkeys, a western branch of the Valley of the Kings but part of the same royal necropolis.
No two tombs are alike in the Valley of the Kings, but we can point out some characteristics common to many of them:
From the entrance, a large gallery leads to an antechamber and the burial chamber. It could have served as a distribution axis to other secondary chambers.
All kinds of jewelry and objects were deposited there, with the intention of being useful to the deceased in the afterlife. This mission was also fulfilled by the ushbetis, miniature figures resembling servants.
The decoration served as a guide to what would happen after death, often with the pharaoh interacting with different gods.
The first pharaohs only decorated the burial chamber, but from the 19th Dynasty onwards, the entire complex was decorated.
Luckily for today's tourists, many of the tombs are open to visitors, so here are some that, due to their beauty or importance, you can add to your list of places to see in Luxor.
Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62): This is the most famous, although, in truth, it is not the most spectacular in the Valley of the Kings today. It is small, and all its treasures were moved to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, now in the Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza. Its granite sarcophagus and wall decoration remain.
Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV34): He was one of the first pharaohs to be buried in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. It is difficult to access. His burial chamber is striking for its oval floor plan and the wall decoration, featuring more schematic figures.
Tomb of Amenophis II (KV35): Its decoration and format are very similar to that of Tutankhamun III, as he was his successor. In an adjoining chamber, the mummies of nine other members of the royal family were hidden, protecting them from tomb raiders (Thutmose IV, Amenophis III, and Seti II, among others).
Tomb of Horemheb (KV57): the last pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty, it reveals a change in style and typology, as it is a straight gallery with figures carved into the walls, before being polychromed.
Tomb of Seti I (KV17): the largest and deepest in the Valley of the Kings, penetrating some 120 meters into the rock. It is also one of the most richly decorated, with numerous scenes in which the pharaoh interacts with the gods.
Tomb of Merneptah (KV8): One of Ramses II's many sons, it features a decoration similar to that of Seti I, with common mythological scenes. His granite sarcophagus is preserved, with the lid depicting the pharaoh in an Osiris pose.
Tomb of Ramses III (KV11): One of the last great pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. It is striking for the unusual scenes depicted on the walls, such as harpists or human races known at that time (12th century BC).
Tomb of Ramses VI (KV9): Small and shallow, it is best known for the scene on the vault, in which the goddess Nut stretches and arches to shelter hundreds of figures beneath her.
It also housed the tomb of his brother and predecessor, Ramses V. The country's bankruptcy could explain this fact.
Tomb of Ramses IX (KV6): This is the last to be excavated in the Valley of the Kings and, therefore, the closest to the entrance. It retains a decoration similar to that of Ramses VI, with a typology typical of the Ramesside period.
COLOSSI OF MEMNON
For example, to Amenophis III (Amenhotep III). It was this monarch of the 18th Dynasty who commissioned the construction of a huge temple on the western bank of the Nile, one of the largest of its time, with two gigantic sculptures of himself at the entrance, along with his wife and mother, smaller in size: Tiyi and Mutemuia.
Today, these sculptures are all that remain of the temple and are known as the Colossi of Memnon, so named because the Greeks, some time later, believed they were representations of King Memnon greeting his mother, the goddess of dawn Eos, each morning.
TEMPLE OF HATSHEPSUT
Although its state of preservation is not exactly enviable, the blame lay not on looters or natural disasters, but on her son, the aforementioned Thutmose III. Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I and married her half-brother Thutmose II, with whom she had the future Thutmose III.
Upon the premature death of Thutmose II, Hatshepsut assumed power as regent and, with the support of the clergy of Amun, later established herself as queen-pharaoh. She assumed the masculine attributes of the office and had this great temple built, to which she gave complete solemnity, as its original name indicates: Djser-Djeseru (Holy of the Holy).
Her son, Thutmose III, disputed the throne and assumed it upon Hatshepsut's death, raising suspicions that she had something to do with it.
PYRAMIDS OF GIZA
Pyramid of Cheops (or Khufu )
This was the first of the three pyramids at Giza and the one that led to this plateau becoming the necropolis we know today. It is not known for certain why Cheops (pharaoh from approximately 2589 to 2566 BC) rejected Dashur as his burial site, as had his predecessor and father Senefru, who had the Red Pyramid built for him.
Among these reasons may be the natural elevation of this plateau, which gives it a great prominence from the Nile valley, or the better technical conditions for construction, for example for the supply of limestone from Tura, or the greater firmness of the ground.
Its figures speak for themselves. It currently stands at about 138 meters tall, although at one time it was over 146 meters tall, thanks to its limestone cladding. Its square base measures about 230 meters on each side, making it the largest and tallest of all the Egyptian pyramids up to that date.
And probably no other pyramid surpassed it, although there is debate as to whether the pyramid at Djedefra, now in ruins at Abu Roash, did.
An estimated 2.3 million stone blocks were used, with approximately 27,000 ashlars for the external cladding. The architect responsible for this pyramid is believed to have been Hemiunu, who was also chaty (vizier) to Pharaoh Khufu.
These are the main elements of the project, within the pyramid itself or in its immediate surroundings:
The pharaoh's main burial chamber: Located near the exact center of the pyramid, both in plan and height. It houses a pink granite sarcophagus, but his mummy was never found. Considering the weight and dimensions of the sarcophagus, doors, and galleries, it is believed that the pyramid itself was built around the sarcophagus.
The solar boat pits: Located on the exterior. Huge dismantled funerary boats were buried in these pits, likely intended to accompany the god Ra on his boat: a perpetual journey from dawn to dusk that symbolizes eternity.
One of those found, measuring 43.4 meters in length, is on display in a small museum built specifically for it at the foot of the Great Pyramid. It was hypothesized that it could have been used in the funeral procession to transport the pharaoh from Memphis to Giza, across the Nile.
Pyramid of Khafre (or Khafre) and the Great Sphinx of Giza
Khafre was one of Khufu's many sons and, like his father, he built his own funerary complex in Giza, with a pyramid as its centerpiece. For reasons unknown, he decided not to surpass his father's pyramid in height and dimensions: it currently stands about 136 meters, although it was originally about 143 meters, while its sides are about 213 meters long. This makes its angle of inclination greater, although almost imperceptible.
However, due to the optical effect and its location on slightly higher ground, this appears to be the tallest of the three pyramids at Giza. It is the one in the center and you will also recognize it because it retains a small layer of coating at the top.
Pyramid of Menkaure (or Menkaure)
It was built by Menkaure (pharaoh between 2514 and 2486 BC), son of Khafre and, therefore, grandson of Khufu. It is the smallest of the three pyramids at Giza, and many Egyptologists consider it a sign of the pharaoh's waning power, now with less capacity to mobilize economic and human resources for its construction. Despite being the smallest, its dimensions are not insignificant compared to many Egyptian pyramids: the sides of the base are 102 and 104 meters, with an original height of 65 meters. Currently, the top is about 61 meters high, due to the loss of its casing.
This casing was made with courses of two types of stone: pink granite from Aswan and white limestone from Tura. Some ashlars of the latter remain at the base. A large gash can also be seen on the north face, inflicted in the 12th century by Saladin's son, Othman ibn Yousef, in an attempt to dismantle it, although he did not succeed.
Other Constructions and Pyramids at Giza
In addition to all the elements detailed above, there are other pyramids at Giza that are related to each of the three funerary complexes. They are smaller, but serve the same function. They are as follows:
Pyramids of the Queens of Khufu: He is believed to have built a pyramid for each of his wives. Their size is approximately one-fifth that of the Pyramid of Khufu. They have been given the names Pyramid GIa, Pyramid GIb, and Pyramid GIc, and all are of the "classical" type.
Pyramids of the Queens of Menkaure: This pharaoh also dedicated three pyramids at Giza to each of his wives, but two of them are unfinished and are stepped, as was common during the time of the previous dynasty.
Pyramid of Khentkaus: It is linked to the funerary complex of Mycerinus, but is often considered the "fourth" of the Giza pyramids, as it was in fact designed as a funerary complex in its own right. In this sense, it has a small processional causeway that branches off from the Valley Temple of Mycerinus. This importance within the Giza necropolis is no coincidence, since Khentkaus was a daughter of Mycerinus who played a key role at the time: she married Userkaf, legitimizing him to initiate the Fifth Dynasty. Her funerary cult was very prevalent in Ancient Egypt, which has led to suspicions that she may have played the role of queen-pharaoh.
In addition, there are several cemeteries scattered throughout the Giza necropolis, composed of different mastabas or tombs. Noteworthy:
Tomb of Hetepheres I: This is an excavated chamber that is part of the funerary complex of Khufu, as she was his mother. When it was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century, little could be salvaged from her tomb, as it had been looted. Her alabaster sarcophagus was present, but not her mummy. However, remains of decoration are preserved.
Western Cemetery: This is the largest cemetery in the entire necropolis and is located at the foot of the largest of the pyramids at Giza, that of Khufu, on its western side. It is composed of mastabas dating from the 4th and 6th Dynasties, most notably that of the chaty and architect Hemiunu, architect of the aforementioned pyramid.
Southern Cemetery : This is an alignment of mastabas dedicated to courtiers of the 4th Dynasty, probably from the time of Khafre or Menkaure, although others also date back to the 5th and 6th Dynasties. They are located south of the Pyramid of Khufu and next to the Solar Boat Museum.
Eastern Cemetery : Located between the Pyramid of the Queens of Khufu and the processional causeway. Children of Khufu and other important figures of this period, such as Anjaf, the chaty of Khufu, were buried here. An important bust of this figure was discovered, now in Boston.
Other burial sites : In addition to these three main cemeteries, located around the pyramid of Cheops, there are other groups of mastabas and hypogea excavated underground, between the other two pyramids at Giza (that of Chephren and that of Menkaure).
In addition to all these funerary structures, there are remains of other spaces related to the project, such as workers' warehouses and quarries.
Grand Egyptian Museum
Special mention should be made of the Grand Egyptian Museum. Although it is not located exactly in the necropolis, but about 2 km from the Giza pyramids, it is a new museum closely linked to it. It is a huge, modern structure, covering an area of about 50 hectares, 40 meters high, and 800 meters long, which aims to more appropriately display many of the treasures found in the Egyptian pyramids or at sites in other cities.
It is, without a doubt, the Egyptian government's greatest initiative to promote quality cultural tourism in the country, aware that the Egyptian Museum in Cairo had long since become too small. Therefore, some pieces in the Grand Egyptian Museum's collection come from there. However, the bulk of the collection is drawn from warehouses and museums in other cities in the country, such as Alexandria, Luxor, Assiut, Sohag, Beni Suef, and El Fayum.
Construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) at Giza began in 2008, and its international magnitude was immediately apparent: more than 1,500 projects from over 80 countries were submitted to the competition! The Irish studio Heneghan Peng won, developing a spectacular project composed of:
Conservation Center: This was the first part of the Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza to open and operate, and it aspires to become the leading reference for Middle Eastern archaeology.
The collection consists of between 50,000 and 100,000 pieces, according to various estimates. The most important gems that no visitor should miss when visiting the Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza are:
The Statue of Ramses II: Originally located in the Temple of Ptah at Memphis, it remained there for over a century due to the difficulty of transporting it. In 1954, President Gamal Abdel Nasser decided to move it to Ramses Square in downtown Cairo, in an act full of symbolism. It was later brought to its current location, the building's entrance, in 2018. Measuring 9 meters high and weighing about 83 tons, it is one of the best examples of the colossal style that characterized the reign of this pharaoh, also known as Ramses the Great, who left other comparable pieces in Abu Simbel or the Ramesseum, for example.
Other colossal statues: the vast, open space of the vestibule accommodates other colossal statues, both seated and of similar proportions.
Tomb of Tutankhamun: until now displayed (not optimally) in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, it has been given a prominent place here for a much broader and more contextualized contemplation. This New Kingdom pharaoh, who died very young and reigned for barely a decade, had little time to enter history for his achievements. But in 1922, the highly publicized discovery of his intact tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Thebes made him a celebrity.
It contained several thousand objects that took four years to classify! Crowns, thrones, swords, funerary masks, and countless other pieces that have survived in perfect condition.
Royal statues: the one of Thutmose III in a proffering attitude stands out.
COLOSSI OF MEMNON
For example, to Amenophis III (Amenhotep III). It was this monarch of the 18th Dynasty who commissioned the construction of a huge temple on the western bank of the Nile, one of the largest of its time, with two gigantic sculptures of himself at the entrance, along with his wife and mother, smaller in size: Tiyi and Mutemuia.
Today, these sculptures are all that remain of the temple and are known as the Colossi of Memnon, so named because the Greeks, some time later, believed they were representations of King Memnon greeting his mother, the goddess of dawn Eos, each morning.
TEMPLE OF HATSHEPSUT
Although its state of preservation is not exactly enviable, the blame lay not on looters or natural disasters, but on her son, the aforementioned Thutmose III. Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I and married her half-brother Thutmose II, with whom she had the future Thutmose III.
Upon the premature death of Thutmose II, Hatshepsut assumed power as regent and, with the support of the clergy of Amun, later established herself as queen-pharaoh. She assumed the masculine attributes of the office and had this great temple built, to which she gave complete solemnity, as its original name indicates: Djser-Djeseru (Holy of the Holy). Her son, Thutmose III, disputed the throne and assumed it upon Hatshepsut's death, raising suspicions that she had something to do with it.
VISIT EL KHALILI BAZAAR
Khan El Khalili, is the most famous market in Egypt and the entire Middle East. Its origins date back to 1382, when the Mamluk Sultan Djaharks el-Khalili decided to build a resting place for merchants. The chosen location was the ruins of an ancient Fatimid cemetery.
There you can walk through its narrow streets lined with craft shops, cafes, jewelry stores, restaurants, and more.
The market is located in the heart of Islamic Cairo, in a walled area with a medieval feel that exudes the magnificence of Mamluk architecture.
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