-Hatshepsut Temple :
Hatshepsut (c.1473–1458 BC), the queen who became pharaoh, built a magnificent temple
at Deir al-Bahari, on the west back of Luxor. It lies directly across the Nile from Karnak
Temple, the main sanctuary of the god Amun. Hatshepsut’s temple, Djeser-djeseru “the Holy
of Holies” was designed by the chief steward of Amun, Senenmut.
The temple consists of three levels each of which has a colonnade at its far end. On the
uppermost level, an open courtyard lies just beyond the portico. Mummiform statues of
Hatshepsut as Osiris, the god of the dead, lean against its pillars.
This is because Djeser-djeseru is Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple, where her cult was
practiced after her death, when she attained the blessed state of Osiris. Far from being
devoted solely to her, the temple also includes sections for the cults of her revered father
Thutmose I, the goddess Hathor, and the funerary god Anubis. An altar, open to the sky and
the sun, was dedicated to the cult of the solar Ra-Horakhty. Pride of place was given to
Amun. At the far end of the upper courtyard, on the temple’s central axis, a passage cut
directly into the living rock culminates in his sanctuary.
The temple’s walls are covered with beautiful painted reliefs depicting temple rituals,
religious festivals, and even the transportation of obelisks from the quarry to their
destination in Karnak Temple. Perhaps most interesting are the reliefs in the portico on the
so-called Middle Platform. The decorative programmer on the left side depicts Hatshepsut’s
expedition to Punt, believed to be located near modern Eritrea. The inhabitants of this land,
their dwellings, and surrounding environment are vividly recorded, as are the riches and
exotic animals that the Egyptians brought back with them. On the other side of the portico,
Hatshepsut relates how she is the rightful king of Egypt. She does this not only by claiming
that her father Thutmose I had designated her as his heir, but by stating that her true father
was none other than the god Amun himself.

-Valley of the Kings :
The rulers of the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt’s prosperous
New Kingdom (c.1550–1069 BC) were buried in a desolate dry river valley across the river
from the ancient city of Thebes (modern Luxor), hence its modern name of the Valley of the
Kings. This moniker is not entirely accurate, however, since some members of the royal
family aside from the king were buried here as well, as were a few non-royal, albeit very
high-ranking, individuals. The Valley of the Kings is divided into the East and West Valleys.
The eastern is by far the more iconic of the two, as the western valley contains only a
handful of tombs. In all, the Valley of the Kings includes over sixty tombs and an additional
twenty unfinished ones that are little more than pits.
The site for this royal burial ground was selected carefully. Its location on specifically the
west side of the Nile is significant as well. Because the sun god set (died) in the western
horizon in order to be reborn, rejuvenated, in the eastern horizon, the west thus came to
have funerary associations. Ancient Egyptian cemeteries were generally situated on the
west bank of the Nile for this reason.
The powerful kings of the New Kingdom were laid to rest under the shadow of a pyramid-
shaped peak rising out of the cliffs surrounding the valley. The selection of even the specific
valley in which the royal tombs were excavated was not left to chance. The pyramid was a
symbol of rebirth and thus eternal life, and the presence of a natural pyramid was seen as a
sign of the divine. This entire area, and the peak itself, was sacred to a funerary aspect of
the goddess Hathor: the “Mistress of the West”.
The isolated nature of this valley was yet another reason for its selection as the final resting
place of the pharaoh. Tomb robberies occurred even in ancient times. The Egyptians were
aware of this, having seen the a fate of the Old and Middle Kingdom pyramids, so they
opted for hidden, underground tombs in a secluded desert valley. The first New Kingdom
ruler that is confirmed to have been buried in the Valley of the Kings was Thutmose I
(c.1504–1492 BC), the third king of the Eighteenth Dynasty. According to Ineni, the high
official who was in charge of the digging of his tomb: “I oversaw the excavation of the cliff-
tomb of his Person [the king] in privacy; none seeing, none hearing.”

-Valley of the Queens:
The Valley of the Queens is a site in Egypt, where the wives of pharaohs were buried in ancient
mes. It was known then as Ta-Set-Neferu, meaning “the place of beauty”. It was most famous
for being the burial site of many wives of Pharaohs. Pharaohs themselves were buried in the
Valley of the Kings Using the limits described by Chrisan Leblanc, the Valley of the Queens
consists of the main wadi, which contains most of the tombs, along with the Valley of Prince
Ahmose, the Valley of the Rope, the Valley of the Three Pits, and the Valley of the Dolmen. The
main wadi contains 91 tombs and the subsidiary valleys add another 19 tombs. The burials in
the subsidiary valleys all date to the 18th Dynasty..The reason for choosing the Valley of the
Queens as a burial site is not known. The close proximity to the workers’ village of Deir el-
Medina and the Valley of the Kings may have been a factor. Another consideraon could have
been the existence of a sacred gro2o dedicated to Hathor at the entrance of the Valley. This
gro2o may have been associated with rejuvenaon of the dead.