Even though we moved to our dahabiya the day before in preparation for our Nile cruise, we had one more day to spend in the Luxor area before heading up the river. In truth, you could probably spend a week based in Luxor and have plenty to see.  I had worked with Hossam to extend our stay a few days to visit a few more places than the standard cruise tours encompass.  Today, with visits to Habu Temple, and  Deir-al-Medina (Valley of the Artisans) we will complete our exploration of Luxor and start our cruise south up the Nile.

Habu Temple is a large temple complex built by Ramses II to celebrate his defeat of the sea people.  The site is very large and has been used by multiple dynasties and Egyptian rulers, including the Greek, Roman and Christian communities, since its construction in the 1150BC timeframe.  The exterior walls of the main temple building tell the story of the battle with the sea people and their eventual defeat, glorifying Ramses’ victory.  One whole side lists the items of tribute extracted from the defeated people.  The scenes are large, both on the outside walls and in the inner courtyard but the pictures of the deities have been defaced, no doubt when Coptic Christians took refuge in the complex to avoid persecution from Rome (Coptic and Roman Christians differ in theology). The inner sanctuary contains numerous columns, some with very clear carvings (although, again, deities defaced) and some of the original colors still show through.  Rooms branched off in different directions making the whole structure a rabbit warren of passages that were fun to explore.  Hossam walked us through the important scenes describing what was being portrayed which really helped put into perspective the purpose of the temple and what daily life might have been like. Ramses had a palace adjacent to the temple, complete with his private entrance, so I suspect the complex was busy!

The pillars and walls of Habu temple were very well preserved.

A view looking up at the Habu Temple ceiling.

Wandering around on my own I examined the remains of mud huts where the Coptic community lived, including the remains of their church.  I also really enjoyed perusing the scenes on the columns, trying to sort out which god was which (which is not that easy and a knowledge of rudimentary hieroglyphics is helpful).  The University of Chicago has been working at the site for decades, documenting the scenes and the writing, an indication of just how large the temple is and how much information is available to study.

An example of some of the wonderful colorful scenes on the temple walls.

As a change of pace, we had a brief stop at a papyrus workshop before heading to the Valley of the Artisans.  At the workshop we had a demonstration of how papyrus was, and still is, made which turned out to be much simpler than I had thought—the starchy fibers pressed together after soaking in water for a week and a half.  The workshop had a gallery of paintings (all sorts) done on papyrus and we all found something we liked, to the delight of the workmen.

The remains of the artisan village in the Valley of the Artisans.

The Valley of the Artisans is adjacent to the Valley of the Nobles. Thus along the West Bank cliff face stand three different burial valleys – kings, nobles, and artisans- that stretch several kilometers.  The Valley of the Artisans was more than a burial valley however, also serving as a settlement where the artisans and craftsman who worked on the kings and nobles tombs lived.  Consequently, at Deir-al-Medina, besides the tombs uncovered, archeologists have unearthed the remains of a village, still defined by the mud-brick walls of the houses.  Not surprisingly, because the people were artisans, the tombs in their valley were very colorful and detailed.  Like the nobles’ tombs, the artisans’ tombs were relatively undisturbed and visiting them, the original color and patterns little disturbed, provided more insight into how the kings’ tombs might have looked before being ransacked and defaced.  One nice thing about visiting Deir-al-Madina was the lack of crowds; again those with short time stays in Luxor never make it to this site, providing us with lots of space and time to linger in the tombs and take in all of the art! Even after visiting many tombs, the vividness of the color and the elaborate decoration still surprised and impressed me.

An example of an artisan’s tomb.

Another example of an artisan’s tomb.

After a long day of wandering around the West Bank of Luxor, we returned to the dahabiya to start our journey up the Nile, south to Aswan.  From the stack of cruise ships along the banks of the Nile at Luxor, it looked like we were going to have plenty of company as we sailed!

Another example of an artisan’s tomb.