Kalabsha

I went to Kalabsha, and I found it to be one of the most moving and wonderful islands I have ever visited, it was wonderful and I would recommend a trip here to anyone.

whilst On tour with caroline dekker and her group I created this movie of images and short video clippings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUC_Zs_hKgE

2012- Rediscover an Ancient Egyptian Prophecy

An Ancient Egyptian Prophecy, and the star alignment show the rebirth of Osiris in 2012 , Like many people I believe this period 2012 is the beginning and will offer us a new beginning of consious thought for us all.
I received a message from Susan Seymour Hedyke who wrote :I have done the chart for this time and date when a Yod aspect (finger of God) points at Jupiter in the constellation of the Bull, but Osiris is no human but a representation of the Yang energy which is a light energy, a rising energy, that is born out of the womb of Earth. For this reason Osiris could live on Earth
to understand more about osiris:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ii9PnZ9qfA

The Tomb of Rekhmire - Tombs of the Nobles

Rekhmire held the highest position of Vizier during the reigns of Tuthmosis 111 and his son Amenophis 11. His tomb can be found in the tombs of the Nobles.

A judge is a straight thinking direct man, and Rekhmire’s Tomb symbolizes this with its sombre reversed T shaped design. The walls detail Rekhmire’s position and responsibilities as a judge, on entering the 66ft long and narrow vestibule I turned to the left to see a court in process with prisoners being brought before the court by the police.

Rekhmire offers advice on the walls of his tomb on the qualities necessary to hold the position of a Judge: ‘know how to inspire fear and make yourself respected. He who is held in awe is a good judge, but the true function of a judge is to practice justice, if you fear him too much then there must be something wrong with him’ On the installation of a judge he advises; ‘see to those things that can be justly accomplished, do justice to everyman, a judge has a visible face, the water and the wind bear witness to his deeds which none can be aware of’.

On the wall opposite the court scene are five rows of interesting paintings of the conquered nations bringing their tributes to Egypt that Rekhmire must record and report to the king, At the top from the lands of punt their people bring incense trees and baboons, the living animal representing the god of magical words Thoth, beneath them follow the Mediterranean peoples wearing kilts and carrying decorative vases and pots in the shape of animal heads, they bring silver and lapis lazuli, a little monkey is shown cheekily climbing up the neck of a giraffe as the Kushittes of Africa escort cattle and leopards they carry the large eggs of the Ostrich and the feathers used for the royal fans Tusks of Ivory are balanced over their shoulders and in their hands they bring precious stones and gold, The Syrians with their neat pointed black beards all dressed in long white gowns bring a young elephant and brown bear, carts weapons and magnificent striding white horses.
Finally slaves from all nations Following these scenes across the wall I enter through the doorway directly facing the door I find myself in a very long and narrow chapel like a hallway or corridor, the right hand side represents the funeral aspect and events, with beautiful musicians playing their instruments at the funeral feast, while the opposite wall details the depth of his power and position and the work he was responsible for as he supervised all the work in the Temple of Amun and its workshops, the craftsmen are busy making bricks, blowing glass, making gold, and under Rekhmire’s Instructions making a sphinx and cutting a seated colossal statue of Tuthmosis. As I progress down the narrow chapel the gradient of the ceiling rises to a great height giving the impression of mountain, Rekhmire had reached the top of the mountain when he became Vizier, he virtually controlled the land when Tuthmosis 111 was on Campaigns, which was for most of his reign as he was a Pharaoh determined to bring other nations under the submission of Egypt with his military force once again. At the end of the chamber looking up to the top of the wall a hole is cut that probably held the statue of Rekhmire where he would sit on his own throne looking down on his achievements in life.

Dendera Temple, Cleopatra & the Goddess Hathor

At Dendera I would experience a new chapter within Egyptian civilization, and walk through a temple that had been re-created in the era of the Greek Ptolemy’s and finally the Romans, I would walk in the same temple that probably the most famous of all queens, Cleopatra herself had walked in and made offerings to the Goddess Hathor the beautiful one, goddess of love, motherhood and female sexuality, the goddess of the cycles of life and fertility, a goddess whose priestesses were trained in the sacred tantric arts of adornment and lovemaking, one of the keys I think that would unlock Cleopatra’s mystical influence and charm.This was probably the temple that Cleopatra came to to give birth to her son Cesearian.

Through the centuries of time some people are just born to live a simple life, while others are born to be great, the great don’t just live inside the pages of history, they make it happen, and like a human cyclone or turbulent whirl wind they enflame their surroundings and light a burning torch of life becoming a light in the darkness and centuries of history. Even when their whirlwind dies, it doesn’t really matter because they truly lived life to the full for that one moment in time, and the cyclone they created is acknowledged for all time. Cleopatra V1 was one of these people, she came to the throne at the age of seventeen with her younger brother Ptolemy X11 and like Hatshepsut centuries before her she wanted to rule alone. Although of Greek origin Cleopatra learnt the Egyptian language and like a lioness she took Egypt as the cub to her breast and fearlessly protected her heritage. Cleopatra like Hatshepsut was a very determined woman, at 22 she was delivered at the feet of Julius Caesar wrapped in an oriental rug, she desperately needed his help to end the struggle for power between herself and her younger brother Ptolemy X11, with the arrival of Roman re-enforcements her brothers army was crushed in a sea battle at Alexandria and the young king was drowned. Cleopatra and Julius Caesar became lovers and she bore him a son Caesarion, she now had ultimate power of Egypt, and with the protection of Julius Caesar, who was Rome in the eyes of Cleopatra, sadly her misconception of Roman culture, and their dislike of her usurping Caesar’s roman wife would eventually lead to her downfall.
Of all the temples in Egypt Dendera Temple would have been the most important temple for Cleopatra, as a mother she would have come to Dendera to ask the Goddess Hathor for her love help and protection, during the pregnancy and birth of her son Caesarion. In all of Egypt this is the only temple that shows a relief of Cleopatra with her son Caesarion, and they are shown in union with the goddess Hathor and her son Ihy.

As the lotus boat continued downstream towards Dendera, relaxing on the sun lounger my thoughts became distracted, a group of teenage boys dived into the river and swam towards the boat, whilst along the embankment a happy bunch of younger children ran and jumped chasing the boat they all waved and shouted hello to us, the enthusiasm of the Egyptian people to greet travelling strangers seems boundless, I have never experienced this enthusiasm in other countries and I have therefore found myself a willing captive of their affection.

Eventually the Lotus Boat arrived at the landing dock where an elegant papyrus columned veranda stretched across the waters edge, leaving the boat we joined our waiting coaches for a short escorted journey to arrive at the temple of Dendera, the earthly home of Het Heru, Hathor the Goddess of love healing and joy, Who had been adored by Egyptians and then embraced by the Greeks and Romans who completely rebuilt her temple over the original remains leaving us with the Greco-Roman temple we see today. Sadly the later roman era also saw the beginnings of the early Christians and Coptic faith who then destroyed the faces of Hathor trying to eradicate her magic and power, and many centuries later, a small Arab community built mud hut houses on the temple roof and made homes within her divine chambers bringing there donkeys chickens and cooking fires within.
Walking beneath the main doorway of the temple, I enter what feels like a wide pathway that runs like a river surrounded by trees(the columns)the path/river flows directly to the main entrance of the temple. The first impression of Dendera temple is quite solemn, what we can see of the temple today was created during the Greek era and added to during the Roman rule of Egypt. Although the famous Egyptian pharaoh Khufu the great pyramid builder himself had originally built on this site. The temple dominates the area whilst the mud brick walls surrounding the temple are all in disarray and broken. To the left of the temple are the remains of a Coptic church and Mammsi houses, some broken and some still in good order and a small sacred lake that now reminds me more of a drinking well for camels in an oasis at the desert. The temple is why I am here, and it is not disappointing, although not what I expected, The front of the temple is divided by half panels, these are supported by six sturdy columns each bearing the serenely beautiful head of Hathor with her unusual cow ears, a nurturing mother goddess, above her head rests a Naos box with tiny representations, looking up at the two columns each side of the entrance within the Naos box there was a very small image of the Goddess Hathor who stands at the side of the door to her temple welcoming us into her earthly home, it was a nice feeling to be welcomed by Hathor herself and so I entered through the doorway into the great court of Heaven, where 18 hypostyle columns stretched across each side of the room leaving a wide path that flowed through the centre of the temple towards the inner halls and sanctuary and a primeval mound of creation. From the top of each column inside the gloomy hypostyle hall the face of a rather sad and compassionate Goddess Hathor gazed down on us mere mortals, probably influencing my Initial feelings, as I felt a wave of sadness wash over me, subdued, I tried to find a face on the top of the columns that had not been damaged, the walls and ceiling of this Hall were black with the damage from the fires as they no longer understood or respected the ancient Egyptian gods and a temple seemed as good a place to them to convert into a home. The gloom added to the sombreness of my mood, but I wandered through the columns staring up at the ceiling, and eventually to my joyous relief I noticed a few small pieces of the original sacred colours of turquoise and gold that had defiantly fought their way through the blackened mists of the smoke damage. If only these walls could be somehow cleaned and there original glory refurbished I’m sure this wave of sadness would pass and joy would erupt again from the soul of Hathor. Walking towards the corner of the room I recognized the outstretched arms of Nut the goddess of the sky, her name is pronounced Noot and means night, her elegant arms and legs were the pillars to the earth, her face was so beautiful and serene as she swallows the evening sun. Her slim elongated body snugly wraps itself around the corner of the room and her long back extends across this length of ceiling creating her nightly shroud of Heaven, I followed her around as her elegant legs curved around the next corner of the hall as she gave birth to the sun in the morning, and each new day the first rays of light shine down onto the face of 'The Golden One’ the Goddess Hathor that had been deeply cut into the ceiling. I think the face of Hathor must be carved in gold because it still shines today. During the daylight Nut and her husband Geb are separated but once the light of the day diminishes she gradually draws down to lie on the body of her husband Geb and the earth succumbs to darkness. Nut was the barrier that separated the forces of chaos from the ordered cosmos of the ancient world. Gazing up at the ceiling, a row of Heavenly barque sailed across the night sky beneath the starlit, body of Nut. On a tiny barque directly beneath the sun and the first ray of light a barque carries an open lotus flower that appears to have a snake rising from it; this is a representation of Ihy, the son of Hathor and Horus, as he appears for the first time out of the primordial sea. He was the beautiful child of brilliant light, the offspring who lights humanity with the rays of the sun and floods the land with gold. On a slightly larger barque in front of Ihy sit his mother Hathor and the goddess Isis, the procession of barque carry all the gods of the sky, surrounding them and above their heads are golden stars which represent the homes of departed souls.

`I am a soul, I am a star of gold, Here I am, O Ra, I am your son, I am a soul, a star of Gold.’ *

One of my earliest childhood memories that often haunt me was the death of my great grandfather; I distinctly remember the pain of searching for him even though I was such a small child. I looked everywhere for him, eventually my search always ended under the kitchen table and I would silently sit on the cross bars beneath a deep brown velvet curtain that trailed from above the dining room table with its huge bulbous carved corner legs where I would silently brood. Eventually my grandmothers told me that my grandfather had gone to heaven, and if I looked up at the sky at night I would see him because he was a star now and he would shine down on me and guide me through my life. Many Years later I stood in the hypostyle hall at Dendera beneath the heavens, and I smiled and felt good, and remembered my great grandfather again and the love that he had endowed upon me. Isn’t it strange how small pieces of ancient history from the far corners of the earth filter down through the centuries of time and little sayings that we hear today can still relate to the beliefs of ancient civilizations?

Arriving at the Inner door the gradient of the floor subtly increases and I passed through into another small hypostyle hall that was even gloomier and contained six columns and had three chambers on each side. The temple was getting gloomier the deeper I went inside and the floor continued to gradually rise and led me through another door into a small hallway, in the corner of this hallway I was drawn towards a shaft of light that detailed a staircase on my right, I walked up the steps that were no longer level, over the centuries so many feet had climbed these stairs that the centre surface sunk and seemed to sway to the sides, creating before me a stone vision of individual waves rolling on the crest of the sea, so I walked up the staircase carefully and once I arrived at the top a sudden turn was made, I proceeded to follow this new flight of giddy steps, and in the gloomy light I had a strange feeling that I wasn’t alone , a square shaft of light enhanced the wall and I then saw at the side of me on each step continuing up the stairs in raised relief was a priest, so I stopped in wonder for a few minutes to look at the procession of priests as they continued up the stairs, the lighting was so subdued I could not safely continue to walk up the steps and look at the same time, gently I touched the relief as would a blind man to hold a vision in my mind, the higher I climbed the more I experienced feelings of elation, the relief’s portrayed the New Year celebration and some of the priests wore strange masks and carried offerings and the shrine of Hathor up the staircase towards the roof to await a very special dawn, as the procession walked up this staircase the priests would have chanted prayers for Hathor. Coming out into the brightness of the daylight I adjusted my eyes and then I walked over to the small chapel in the corner, this was where the priests placed the shrine of Hathor in the final hours before the dawn to wait for the star Sothis that would rise once a year with the dawn, on one of the most important days of the Ancient Egyptian Calendar. For seventy days Sirius, one of the brightest stars would not have been seen, it was the symbol of the goddess Isis in the heavens, on the first dawn after the seventieth day she rises again with the sun and remains visible for just a few moments, this special moment marks the beginning of the Ancient Egyptian New year, and it also marked the beginning of the annual flood of the River Nile. At the end of this day the goddess Hathor like the setting sun was then taken across the roof to the opposite staircase and delivered safely back to her sanctuary within the temple. Walking across the roof diagonally to the opposite corner I entered into the small chapel dedicated to the god Osiris, within the middle room the famous circular zodiac ceiling is portrayed, the Romans had incorporated their own beliefs with the Egyptians to create this amazing ceiling, which is one of the earliest representations of the zodiac ever to be found, the original is no longer at Dendera it was blasted off the ceiling after Napoleons expedition had brought it to the attention of the world, In 1821 an antiquities collector employed a French engineer who came to remove and collect the zodiac ceiling, it arrived in Paris in 1822 and was put on show until King Louis XV111 bought it for 150.000 francs, a plaster cast impression of the original is all that is now left at Dendera, the original is now on show in the Louvre Museum. There is a circle of the heavens that is supported by four feminine figures standing erect at the four corners of the cardinal points of the earth, within the heavens we can see the zodiac representations that almost appear to swirl around as the earth revolves.
Leaving the roof I walked towards the western staircase and as a shaft of light captured the relief’s of the priests I joined them on their journey back down the steps leading down into the Inner sanctuary of the Temple again to return the goddess Hathor who was now bursting with new life and health having spent New Years Day on the roof soaking up the rays of the Sun to rejuvenate her Ka, and the vibrations of the Nile would evoke the inundation of Egypt. The temple was filled with music from the sistra rattle whose bells on each of the four bars of the sistrum were tuned to the specific vibration of one of the four elements of nature, playing the sistrum the beautiful priestesses symbolized Hathor’s generative powers and her ability to keep the world in harmony and balance and ward off all evil influences.

Arriving downstairs I wandered through the small sanctuaries, some of which have crypts, and I was encouraged to go into one, but I am afraid my fear of going down the steps to be swallowed into the gloomy confines of a small dark crypt was scarily overwhelming, so cowardly I decided to avoid them, several crypts are known to be hidden beneath the floors and within the side walls of the temple, sadly I cannot overcome my fear of entering them, so I wandered thought the sanctuaries where I found a room that represents the Seven Hathor’s, three tambourines and four carry sistra, it was said that when a child was born the seven Hathor’s arrived at the birth and proclaimed the fate of the child.

I decided to look around the exterior of the temple and as I emerged into the light I shaded my eyes from a dazzling sun and a turquoise sky, walking around the outside of the temple I was disappointed to find many of the relief’s have been vandalized, where faces and bodies have been hacked and chipped away on the relief’s of the lower sections, occasionally a lions head leaps out from the edge of the roof which somehow seems odd on an Egyptian temple, but then I reminded myself that this temple has the Greek and then Roman influence. Turning the corner of the back wall I had arrived at the only relief of the most famous Queen of all, Cleopatra, I looked up to see her with her son Caesarion, I had created such a vivid impression in my mind of a beautiful woman, an untouchable warrior almost, and to be honest I was disappointed when I saw her relief, compared to many of the stunning relief’s in the temples of both the East and West bank of Luxor it did not befit the image I had created in my mind or recreate an inspiring relief of one of the most famous women in the world, Disappointed I followed the wall along to the far corner where The Goddess Hathor with her son Ihy faced Cleopatra, going around the corner I followed the side wall where my enthusiasm increased as the relief’s were untouched, beautiful and unspoilt once more, and they portrayed the harvest festival, where the beautiful goddess Sekhet, the goddess of the fields brings the produce of the land to the temple, she walked through the fields of wheat Papyrus and lotus, small geese fly from the ground whilst she follows a calf, her breath has the scent of flowers and she is adorned with Lotus blossoms, and in her arms she carries Lotus geese fruits and wine. All temples survived on the produce of the land, and the produce of the harvest Festival at Dendera proceeded the most spectacular festival that was known as the Festival of The Beautiful embrace where once a year after the harvest, the Goddess Hathor’s barque was loaded with the produce of the fields in preparation for the visit she made to see her Husband the God Horus at his earthly home the Temple Of Edfu. In splendid celebration Hathor was carried from her sanctuary within Dendera and greeted by all important dignitaries and priests, the locals were allowed to join this celebration, then gently her splendid barque that was known as ‘Great of Love’ carried her upstream where she was joined by a flotilla of barques until she arrived at Karnack Temple, where she would stay for a few days to visit the Goddess Mut, the wife of Amun Ra, more barques joined her flotilla as she left Karnack to continue her journey, Her Husband Horus would leave his temple and head downstream to greet her and in glorious celebration he would escort his wife to his home of Edfu Temple to begin fourteen days of joyous celebration where their sacred marriage was enacted once more and their son Ihy was conceived. Each day throughout the waxing moon the same set of ceremonies were carefully performed. It was felt that on the evening of the fourth day Ihy, the son of Horus and Hathor, was conceived. Then on the day of the full moon Hathor bid Horus farewell and began her return journey to her own temple once more.

Wonderful Chapels in the Open Air Museum at Karack Temple

The pylons of Karnack Temple hold many secrets, but I believe the gods wanted to share with us the secret of the beautiful workmanship that had been created for them when in 1924 the third pylon was damaged by an earthquake. To repair the damage it was necessary to dismantle the pylon, during the works, blocks were discovered that have since been meticulously pieced together and gradually over the and years beautiful shrines and chapels have risen again that had been buried within the third pylon during the reign of Amenophis 111, they have been carefully reconstructed in the grounds of The Open Air Museum in the precincts of Karnack Temple, and they are amazing.

In the heat of an afternoon I stood in the first courtyard of Karnack temple underneath the imposing statue of Ramses the Great with his daughter wife Bintanath at his feet, after her mother Nefertari died, Bintanath became the kings consort for ceremonial events.

I took the path down the side of the colossi and walked towards a row of criosphinx that sat on the edge of the courtyard, passing between a row of columns I then entered through the gateway in the side wall of the courtyard, and it was as if I had walked through a portal of time and warped into another dimension, I walked completely alone up a winding path and reflected that in the courtyard behind me hundreds of people were oblivious to this quiet secret garden of delight that I alone had discovered and entered into. As I walked up the path rows of blocks were all laid out, they were jigsaw pieces of stone with their messages from the past patiently waiting to be pieced together again. As I walked around the bend my eyes were drawn to the pale cream elegant chapel in the shade of the trees that dark green leaves overhung in this quiet corner of Karnack. To my delight I had found the exquisite White Chapel originally created during the Middle Kingdom for Sensuret1 of the 12th Dynasty to celebrate his Sed- festival. This elegant little chapel in Tura limestone is thought to be one of the earliest structures created in Karnack and we are so blessed that our eyes can admire it once again. It was re- constructed by Henri Chevrier.
Two ramps lead up into a small rectangular chapel from its base facing each other. Twelve external square pillars and four internal pillars support the ceiling; these have the finest cut delicate inscriptions and show Sensuret embracing the gods Amen Ptah Atum and Horus each god is placed at one of the four cardinal points of the earth. The beams of sunlight flood through the square pillars and highlight the intricate relief’s they touch
An inscription on the North corner pillar of the chapel reads:
‘Come in peace, O Sensuret, that thou may see thy father Amun Ra who loves thee, that he may give thee kingship of the two lands’
Sensuret came to the throne as co-regent with his father Amenemhet 1 during the 20th year of his fathers reign. During these early years Sensuret went on many campaigns to Syria and Nubia, unfortunately whilst he was on campaign in Libya he received news that his father had been assassinated. Sensuret then became the sole king of Egypt. He ruled for 34 years, and three years before he died he elevated his own son Amenemhet 11 as his co-regent, and finally he was buried in the pyramid he had built a mile from his fathers at El Lisht.

At the side of Sensuret’s chapel stand two small simple alabaster barque shrines, one for Tuthmosis 1V and the further one was built for Amenophis 1 whose beautiful Throne name was Holy is the Soul of Re. These two rectangular barque shrines are simple in design when you compare them to the feeling of majesty as you look back at the chapel of Sensuret, but as no-one was in the grounds I decided to lay on the floor within the shrine of Amenophis and admire the beauty of the ceiling and walls that are made entirely of alabaster with the grain and colours swirled around me, the large carving on the wall glowed as the sunlight touched the face of Amenophis, I stood up wanting to touch the weave of his hair, but I resisted the temptation.
Eventually I left the alabaster shrine that in its own simple elegance had given me a sense of calm and showed me the beauty of alabaster. I then followed the path towards the exciting Red Chapel of Hatshepsut and my expectations increased because here was a queen who was obviously determined to out due the works of all previous kings and create the most beautiful and unusual gifts for Amun. I was not disappointed as I arrived at Hatshepsut’s creation walking around the base there is a grey diorite frieze that is divided into squares each one representing a Nome of ancient Egypt
The nomes were divided into capital towns, cultivated lands, marshes and canals, the frieze shows male and female engravings bringing gifts of all things pure for Amon, the male is the god Hapi with his flabby tummy, some of the engravings still show signs of gold paint in their hollows. I take the steps and enter through the open doorway that is also framed with grey diorite; I was now stood in the vestibule of the Set-ib-Imen (place of the heart of Amon). Hatshepsut began the creation of the Red Chapel during the later years of her reign to replace the alabaster chapel of Amenophis 1 and as original as ever she chose to make it from Red Quartzite blocks
Which was an unusual choice of material to use as it has a deep red ochre colour; the rectangular shape has three doorways, two rooms, and an open roof. The first room is a small vestibule and the larger second room was the sanctuary to shelter the boat of Amon on a small altar of rest. The floor is paved and has a gully that the waters of purification would flow through during the ritual ceremonies. Inside the sanctuary there is a frieze crossing the wall with the Djed pillar (stability) Was-sceptre (strength) and the Ankh (life). The vestibule has a frieze of the Rekhyt bird which refers to the adoration of all the people The blocks that were retrieved from inside the third pylon and have been incorporated into the walls of the shrine refer to the major events of that took place during Hatshepsut’s reign, her enthronement, the annual Feast of Opet, during which a grand procession left Karnack temple to arrive at Luxor Temple, this took place in the second month of the flood season and was held to celebrate the renewal of kingship and the Divine marriage of Amon to Mut. The blocks also show The Beautiful Feast of the Valley this was held during the harvest period between March and June when the sacred barques of Amun Mut and Khonsu were taken across the River Nile to the West Bank to visit the mortuary temples of the pharaohs to offer floral tributes.
Walking away from the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut I reflected on the beauty of all the individual barque chapels, the elegance of the White Chapel the cool calm of the alabaster chapels and the larger imposing chapel of Hatshepsut with its burning warm red bricks and then it occurred to me the symbolism of why Hatshepsut had possibly deviated from traditional materials and chosen instead to use this unusual red quartzite, it was simple, a heart of a man is deep warm red it pumps the warm blood through the body and sustains the life, and this chapel was ‘The Heart of Amun.’

follow this link to see wonderful photos of the white chapel:
flickr.com/photos/82575904@N00/470399322

Experience Akhenatens life in the Tomb of Ramose his Vizier

Akhenaten his work and memory was almost destroyed after his death, but in the tomb of Rekhmire, we can see his early years as pharoah, his progression to the worship of the atten, and his disappearance in the topmb of His Vizier Ramose. This tomb captures one of the most breath takingly beutiful pieces of armarna art with Ramose and his family at the funeral banquet.

I arrived at the top of two wide staircases separated by a central ramp that descends gently into a square rock cut open courtyard capturing the saturating warmth and light of the sun. I walk towards an oblong of beckoning shade that emits from within the tall central door of the tomb leading into the tomb of Ramose who was a Vizier under Amenophis 111 and then later his son Amenhotep 1V who became the pharaoh Akhenaten.

I was totally unprepared for the light and spaciousness of this tomb having just left the dark and sombre tomb of Rekhmire. This tomb was so large and bright with a forest of low solid hypostyle columns representing bound bundles of papyrus, they expanded across the room from floor to ceiling, some of the columns were damaged and looked like large semi-carved boulders scattered across the floor. My eyes jumped between the columns as I eagerly sought out the reliefs on the surrounding walls; slowly I turned around, finally facing the door again. I was breath taken and stunned with admiration at what I saw. The whole exterior wall had the most beautiful carvings of Ramose and his family that I have ever seen in any tomb. I sat down to hold the vision of this excellent Armana art, and a sense of total calm washed over me as shafts of daylight streamed through windows cut into the ceiling along this exterior wall, bringing the awesome simplicity of the polished limestone to life.
Ramose was stood at the side of the door, and I gazed at his eternally youthful yet handsome face, with his neat little goatee beard he wore an intricately plaited wig, his body radiating the power and position of a Vizier. The gold collar of a nobleman surrounded his neck with a small beaded necklace, over these strung a heavily beaded heart necklace. On his upper arms and wrists he wore gold bracelets, to signify his office he wore a loose fitting cloak, and in one hand he carried a staff and in the other a large key.
Priests made offerings to him, whilst the waters of purification flowed over his head like a sculptured rainbow. On the higher register Ramose is seated while three beautiful musicians shake their sistra to welcome him into the underworld, his wife Ptahmeryt stands behind him affectionately embracing her lord.
On the opposite side of the door Ramose is shown enjoying his funeral banquet with his father and mother, brothers and their wives. This is the most exquisite carving of a group of people I have ever seen within a tomb, the relief’s are life sized which subtly brings the image of this banquet of beautiful people to life, some areas of the wall have been damaged but others as flawless as the day the artist originally created this masterpiece. The smooth polish on the pale limestone carving highlights their cheeks; the only colour used is black within the orbs of their eyes and fine lines that accentuate the kholine around their eyes. The highly detailed and intricate work on the individual wigs is as believable as if a hairdresser had sat there for days meticulously weaving and binding. The gowns worn by the ladies seated behind their husbands subtly express the sheerest folds of fine linen. I was disappointed as I turned to the side wall and observed the difference of the small painted registers showing the traditional funeral procession that had obviously been started on whilst Ramose had been the vizier under the rule of Amenophis 111, imagine how wonderful it would have been to see this whole tomb created in the distinctive classical Armarna style.
On the painted fresco porters along with larger objects, including an elegant bed, and four wooden chests, carry the personal belongings of Ramose into the tomb. Facing this row a group of women mourners raise their arms wailing with grief as tears stream from their eyes. Finally the funeral procession arrives the tomb where the opening of the mouth ceremony is given outside the entrance to the tomb, underneath this scene I almost fell down a set of steps that lead to a gloomy entrance, I was told that this travels underneath the inner chamber and leads to the burial chamber that is not open for viewing. Avoiding this gaping shaft, I moved safely across to look at the back internal wall where the walls are carved once again, but without the same classical finesse of the banquet scene, and Ramose is shown standing before the newly installed pharaoh Amenhotep 1V, who sits under a royal beldachin with the goddess Maat behind him. Moving across this wall a doorway that leads into a very dark inner chamber that was unfinished and no access is allowed. Passing this the final scenes are carved and pencilled in and here the new style of art is portrayed, Amenophis 1V has rejected the god of Amun and converted to his new religion worshiping one god, and he is now shown as Akhenaten with his wife Nefertiti standing behind him on the balcony of the palace beneath the rays of the Aten, small hands on some of the rays hold the key of life, the enemies of this heretic king have mutilated and gouged the images of Akhenaten and Nefertiti symbolically destroying the possibility of their next life. So much beauty and passion on the edge of turbulence are expressed on the walls of this tomb. Ramose stands beneath the gouged bodies of Akhenaten and Nefertiti and he receives a gold collar for his services as vizier yet his image has endured the attack of religious fervour

I looked at the final scenes portrayed, Ramose is receiving a group of foreign delegations, the craftsmen had sketched these on the wall ready for the carvers to follow after them, the carvers never came, the tomb was abandoned the work left unfinished, Akhenaten had decided to move his court to Armarna and Ramose would have followed as his vizier. The exterior wall of this tomb is a breathtaking masterpiece of art, but like Akhenaten what had started in glory ended like the final wall within this tomb, totally devoid of expression, blank, a wall expressing the wilderness of a revolution that had run out of time before its completion like the work portrayed on its walls.

The tomb of Sennefer - Feel the love Vibrancy and Joy

The Tombs of the Nobles

‘All ye excellent Nobles, And Ye Gods of the Mistress of Life,Hear ye how praises are rendered to this priest and excellent Nobles lordly soul,Now that he is a god living forever magnified in the West,So they become a remembrance in after days, And for everyone who comes to this tomb’


The many tombs of the Nobles that are to be found burrowed into the hillside of the Sheik Abd Quarna Hill looking down over the Rammessium Mortuary temple and are all varied in their individual styles, colours design and details, each portrays the different personality and position of a nobleman and the work of his artistisans.

When I visit sacred places I do prefer to be alone, and if I can find a place of peace and seclusion I can almost feel the ancients with their messages and magical words seeking the goodwill and assistance of the gods to help them attain their passage to cross the river and reach the western shore overcoming all the trials before them in their quest for eternity. Unfortunately trying to reach this state of seclusion is rare, as the hills are alive with many Egyptians who have no concept of the words ‘I want to be alone’, no matter what language you express yourself in. They will insist on guiding you, helping you, or selling you something, and so regrettably annoyance and frustration are the emotions usually pounding through my veins by the time I am only halfway up the hillside in my

determination to reach one of the highest tombs on the hillside, which is the tomb of Sennefer. Droplets of sweat gather on my forehead as I climb the dusty incline, passing the brightly coloured coffee shop of Sennefer that stands halfway up. Eventually I reached the tomb rather fraught with the hassle and heat of the day and thankfully

I collapsed onto a stone in the shade of the wall leading towards the tomb. I hadn’t realized how unfit I was until I had climbed that hill, as I sat and rested in the shade, my eyes surveyed the steep ridges of the mountain side and my thoughts travelled back to the artisans and tomb builders who had lived in the hidden village of Dier El

Medina across the mountain ridge, they were cut off from civilization to protect the secrets of the tombs, the dusty paths these skilled artisans had walked over the pink mountainside rising over the hillside above the Nobles tombs then dipping deep into Dier El Bahari to the temple of Hatshepsut, then rising again and disappearing over the ridge for the steep descent into the Valley of the Kings. I reflected that it must have been a life of indescribable hardship to walk for miles over the steep mountainside, and then descend into the bowels of the earth, with no ventilation to work long hours in a dusty environment with dim lighting and sweat pouring down their faces blurring

and straining their eyesight, to recreate with colourful imagination the vibrancy and exclusive domain of Osiris in the claustrophobic air of the tombs. With these thoughts in my mind I walked to the doorway of the Tomb of Sennefer who had held the position of Mayor of the Southern City under the reign of Amenophis 11 during the 18th Dynasty. Sennefer held many titles, he was not only the Mayor of the city and controller of Administration and taxes, but he also held the title of Overseer of the Granaries of Amun, Superintendent of the gardens of Amun and High Priest of Amun, he was loyal to the king and efficient in his duties.

Deep cut steps lead me into the door well of the tomb of Sennefer, and as I entered within an arched tunnel enfolds me, the walls are roughly cut, whilst shadows and the warm glow of lights guide me down 44 steep winding cavernous steps, at the bottom the tunnel bends sharply to the right, where I was completely unprepared for the total contrast

and brightness of a small vestibule that I arrived in, it had a low undulating ceiling that seemed to hang low with the weight of the plump succulent grapes all waiting to be plucked painted on its surface. The artist has used the undulation of the ceiling to create this glorious vineyard in a 3 dimensional effect; The Overseer of the Gardens of Amun was fortunate to have such a thriving succulent purple vineyard. The walls are bright white and bursting with beautiful small coloured images of Sennefer receiving offerings from the priests and his daughter. Sennefer is also shown witnessing his funeral procession and the presentation of the funerary equipment to be placed inside his

tomb. Bending my body almost double to pass beneath a deep square entrance that leads into a larger square burial chamber, I was amazed by the vibrancy of bright yellow that bounces off the ceiling in geometric designs and tapers off into more grapevines. This tomb is alive and blazing with colour that lifts your heart with gladness.

Supporting the ceiling are four solid square cut pillars, I felt that these pillars are an expression of love between Sennefer and his wife Meryt The Lady of The House and Chantress of Amun, who is shown on each face of the pillars making offerings to Sennefer, she knees beside him and stands along side him offering him gifts of Myrrh

linen wine linen necklaces and a scarab to protect his heart in the Hall of Judgement. I feel that the pillars are a true expression of their commitment and love, showing Meryt in early stages of pregnancy on one pillar, in the very subtle way that the ancient Egyptians portrayed a woman’s ever-increasing waistline.

The scenes on the walls detail the funeral procession, with Sennefer before Osiris and Hathor, again Meryt is present to support her husband whilst he worships Osiris and they are purified together by a priest in leopard skin, as a chantress of Amun Meryt plays her sistrum for her husband and carries a Menat necklace.In a corner of the chamber painted in small detail Sennefer and Meryt sit beneath a belachin on board a small boat that is painted green, the colour is symbolic and like the papyrus it represents regeneration, their small boat is towed by a larger white one showing the captain, helmsman and rowers. The journey was to take Sennefer and Meryt on a pilgrimage to the Holy city of Abydos, where the tomb of Osiris is said to be located. His wicked brother Seth, who then scattered the pieces of his body all over Egypt, had killed Osiris. Isis the wife of Osiris loved her husband so much that she desperately searched the land of Egypt until she found all the scattered parts, and then with her magical powers she joined his body together again and resurrected him back to life, he was then made the Judge of the dead and Lord of the underworld by Amun. Many Egyptians made this pilgrimage to Abydos because at sunset they believed it looked like a golden staircase leading to the afterlife

I feel that the tomb of Sennefer is a celebration in the most vibrant colours of a mortal life and the journey to the underworld embracing eternity of a successful nobleman who was supported by the deep love of his wife. As I climbed back up the staircase the vibrancy of this tomb had lifted my spirits more than the emergence through the door into the light of the day.