EGYPTIAN MONUMENTS

By-Mahika Shenoy6B

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My dad – Support & cheers My mom – Judge my project My sister – Creativity

CONTENT

Temple of Hatshepsut . Bent pyramid Step Pyramid of Djoser Luxor Temple Great Sphinx Karnak

TEMPLE OF HATSHEPUT The mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut of Dynasty XVIII was built just north of the Middle Kingdom temple of Mentuhotep Nebhepetre in the bay of cliffs known as Deir el-Bahri. In ancient times the temple was called Djeser-djeseru, meaning the ‘sacred of sacreds’. It was undoubtedly influenced by the style of the earlier temple at Deir el-Bahri, but Hatshepsut’s construction surpassed anything which had been built before both in its architecture and its beautiful carved reliefs. The female pharaoh chose to site her temple in a valley sacred to the Theban Goddess of the West, but more importantly it was on a direct axis with Karnak Temple of Amun on the east bank. Also, only a short distance on the other side of the mountain behind the temple, was the tomb which Hatshepsut had constructed for herself in the Valley of the Kings (KV20).The Temple of Hatshepsut was built on three terraced levels, with a causeway leading down to her Valley Temple (now lost) which would have been connected to the River Nile by a canal. Gardens with trees were planted in front of the lower courtyard.

BENT PYRAMID

The Beny Pyramid located at Dahshur was the second pyramid built by pharaoh Sneferu. Mysteriously, the pyramid rises from the desert at an angle of 55 degrees and then suddenly changes to a more gradual angle of 43 degrees. One theory holds that due to the steepness of the original angle the weight to be added above the inner chambers and passageways became to large, forcing the builders to adopt a shallower angle. It is the only pyramid in Egypt of which the outer casing of polished limestone is still largely intact

STEP PYRAMID OF DJOSER

The Step Pyramid of Djoser at the Saqqara necropolis was the very first pyramid built by the ancient Egyptians. It was constructed during the 27th century BC for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser by his Vizier Imhotep. The ancient monument began as a traditional, flat-roofed mastaba but by the end of Djoser’s reign it had risen to a six stepped layer Pyramid and stood 204 feet (62 meters) high. As in earlier mastaba tombs, the burial chambers of the Step Pyramid are underground, hidden in a maze of tunnels.

LUXOR TEMPLE

The Luxor Temple is located on the east bank of the

River Nile in the ancient city of Thebes and was founded in 1400 BC during the New Kingdom. The temple was dedicated to the three Egyptian gods Amun, Mut, and Chons. The ancient temple was the center of the festival of Opet, Thebes’ most important festival. During the annual festival the statues of the three Gods were escorted to the temple of Luxor along the avenue of sphinxes that connect the 2 temples.

GREAT SPHINX

Located at the Giza Plateau, The Great Sphinx is one of the largest and oldest monuments in the world, but basic facts about it, such as who was the model for the face, when it was built, and by whom, are still debated. It is the largest monolith statue in the world although it is considerably smaller than the Pyramids around it. Despite conflicting evidence and viewpoints over the years, the traditional view held by modern Egyptologists at large remains that the Great Sphinx was built in approximately 2500 BC by the pharaoh Khafre, the supposed builder of the second pyramid at Giza.

KARNAK

Although badly ruined, few sites in Egypt are more impressive than Karnak. It is the largest ancient religious site in the world, and represents the combined achievement of many generations of Egyptian builders. Most of the work on Karnak was done by the pharaohs of the New Kingdom (1570-1100 BC). The Temple of Karnak actually consists of three main temples, smaller enclosed temples, and several outer temples located about 2.5 kilometers north of Luxor. One of most famous structures of Karnak is the Hypostyle Hall, a hall area of 5,000 m2 (50,000 sq ft) with 134 massive columns arranged in 16 rows.

Shukran