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Today we visit the magnificent Temple of Deir el Bahri. Nestled in the hills, at the top of the valley is the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, first female pharaoh of Egypt. In the shadow of the Peak of Thebes, "The Lover of Silence," the temple is said to be watched over by the Goddess of the Necropolis. This modern looking building was designed by the Queen's architect and purported lover, Senemut, and is quite spectacular.
In the centre are two ramps, which lead to the three widely spaced terraces. Each terrace is lined with a row of columns that mirror the up and down patterns of the surrounding hills.
The temple is now fronted by barren desert. I try to imagine how it looked when it was built. I see the Incense trees from Punt that once bordered the Avenue of the Sphinxes leading to the temple and filling the terraces with their fragrance. The sphinxes' heads represented Hatshpsut. On either side of the lower ramp were t-shaped papyrus pools. These gardens were dedicated to the God Amun, the temple to Amun and Hathor, Hatsheput's divine parents. The divine conception was documented on the Temple walls. There are also chapels dedicated to Anubis* and Hathor*.
In this worldly realm, Hatshepsut was born to Thutmose I and Queen Amhose. She married her half-brother, Thutmose II, who became Pharaoh on the death of their father. He had a son, Thutmose III, by a minor wife. Hatshepsut had a daughter, believed to be by Senemut, her lover. Thutmose died after only a few years as Pharaoh. Thutmose III was named his successor, but due to his young age, Hatshetsup became regent and they ruled together untill 1473 B.C. Then this powerful, charismatic woman declared herself Pharaoh, with the full support of the high priest of Amon and other officials.
Hatshepsut often dressed in men's clothes and wore a false beard as she administered affairs of the nation. She ruled wisely for almost 20 years. She is known for the number and quality of the works of art and monuments she left behind, more than any other Egyptian queen.
Hatshetsup died of undisclosed, but suspicious, circumstances. Although Senemut had planned to be buried in the temple with her, like her father and many other pharaohs before her, Hatshepsut had a tomb built in a secret location.
After Hatshepsut's death, Thutmose III destroyed her temples, shrines and statues and desecrated her reliefs. There are some that theorize that it was not his intention to do this, but that he was pressured by dissidents in the court. The rationale for this theory is that firstly, he left the pieces of damaged statuary and the rubble from the destroyed monuments on site, so they could be reassembled.
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