Temple of Hatshepsut

Deir el-Bahari Temple, or as it is called the Mortuary Temple or the Temple of Hatshepsut, as this temple is distinguished by its distinctive and special design compared to the rest of the Egyptian temples, due to its distinctive location in the lap of the mountain on the western bank of the Nile River in Luxor Governorate in southern Egypt. 

Origin of the temple

The temple was established more than 3,500 years ago by Queen Hatshepsut, one of the most famous kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty.  The name Deir el-Bahari is a modern Arabic name given to the temple by the Copts after they used it as their monastery. 

Description of the temple

The temple consists of three tiered layers in the heart of the valley, where the funerary rites of Queen Hatshepsut and her father, King Thutmose I, were  held and sacrifices were also offered . Queen Hatshepsut borrowed the idea and design of this temple from King Mentuhotep of the Middle Kingdom, who built a temple in a stepped form about 600 years before the construction of the Deir el-Bahari Temple.

Who is the architect of the Deir el-Bahari Temple? 

It was designed by the Egyptian engineer “Senmut” and dedicated by Queen Hatshepsut to the god “Amun”.

Deir el-Bahari Temple from the inside

Deir el-Bahari Temple is considered a bay of cliffs east of the Valley of the Kings. It consists of three temples for three different kings, the first for King Mentuhotep II, and the second for the Queen Hatshepsut, and the third to King Thutmose III.

Hatshepsut Temple

The temple was built more than 1,400 years before Christ, and it still maintains its splendor, condition, and the grandeur of its builders. The temple was built different and distinct from the rest of the other temples built of sandstone, except that the Temple of Hatshepsut was built of limestone. The temple also consists of three terraces and a shrine to the god. Amun, and places for the gods Anubis and Hathor.

The most famous archaeological monuments in Deir el-Bahari Temple

Inside it there are tombs in which kings and non-kings were buried, and one of the most important mummies found there belonged to Ramesses I and II.

Therefore, it is considered the temple of Deir el-Bahari (Hatshepsut) is a wonderful destination for lovers of antiquities tourism and the history of ancient Egypt, where the visitor gets to know one of the most famous Egyptian pharaohs and the first woman to sit on the throne of Egypt, as well as getting to know one of the most important and beautiful legacies.
Ancient Egyptian Pharaonic civilization .