The Temple of Hatshepsut

The Mortuary Temple Of Hatshepsut arose as a necropolis, consecrated to the goddess Hathor in the eleventh dynasty (2120 - 1991 B.C.). It was then abandoned, until queen Hatshepsut took it over some five hundred years later. This became the period of its highest importance. After being abandoned again, it was turned into a monastery. The monastery, "Northern Monastery", whose presence at the temple is the reason for its being so well preserved today, has given the temple its present Arabic name, Deir el-Bahri.

The Hatshepsut Temple is built into the rock, and consists of three terraces. The temple itself is located on the top terrace. It was created by the famous architect Senmut. Queen Hatshepsut is best known as the only woman who actually reigned as a pharaoh - probably to her son Thutmosis III's great annoyance. Hatshepsut took over the rule of Egypt in 1473 B.C. after her husband, Thutmosis II, died. Thutmosis II was incidentally both her husband and her half-brother.

When her son Thutmosis III came of age, she was so unhappy about having to hand over the power to him that she, together with the priests, figured out a way to avoid it. The solution included wearing male clothes, as well as the false beard made of wood and leather worn by all pharaohs. When her son finally did come to power, he seemed to find it necessary to demonstrate to the World that he could rule much better than his mother through great conquests of neighbouring countries that he later become known as "the Napoleon of Egypt".

His many conquests were made as far away as North Syria, Babylon, Crete, Cyprus and the Cyclades (the "Islands of the Great Circle") and across the Euphrates. He also tried to hide his mother's marks at eg. the Temple of Karnak.

The temple is undergoing a thorough reconstruction, and is considered one of the greatest temples of Egypt open to the public today.

The South side of the temple was a necropolis dedicated to Montuhotep I. It is not nearly as well preserved as the Temple of Hatshepsut.

The bus parking, next to the "market", located between the parking lot and the temple, has the infamous reputation of being one of the two sites in Egypt (the other one is the bus parking lot of the Museum of Cairo) where tourists have been ambushed and killed by terrorists. Today the "Tourist and Antiquities Police", in its white uniforms, is very much present at all tourist sites, and does a lot to ensure the safety of the tourists. Their other job - to make sure nobody remove pieces of the sites - is also important.