Monuments to visit Egypt

At the top of this hill of granite blocks where hieroglyphics and pharaonic drawings can still be seen very clearly, a stele tells of a particularly difficult episode in the reign of Djeser (3rd dynasty) in the year 19. On this rock, recognizable by the fault that crosses it in the middle from left to right, about 40 lines of hieroglyphs evoke the terrible drought that had been raging for seven years to the despair of the king and the population. Here is an excerpt: "I was in sorrow on my throne.... My heart was in such great sorrow because the Nile had not come in time for seven years. The grain was scarce, the seeds were dried up, all we had to eat was in meager quantity. "The priests believe that the angry god Khnum, who is holding back the waters of the Nile, is responsible. To appease him, Djeser is seen making offerings to the god. The scriptures detail the dream of the most important priest of the kingdom in which the deity appears and promises the return of the water. The next day, the king passes a decree to renovate the temple of Khnum on Elephantine Island and to furnish it more regularly with offerings.

Panorama of the old dam. Climbing on this rocky hill (forget the flip-flops, by the way) also gives a better understanding of what the Nile and Nubia looked like before the Aswan dam wanted by Nasser. The first flat island just in front of it was then under water.

Halfway between Cairo and Luxor, Asyut was the starting point for the caravans that went to the oases. Formerly called Lycopolis, the Greeks commemorated the cult of Oupouaout, who was seen as the protector of the city. This deity is represented in the form of a canid. The burial caves, which can be seen on the site, are dug into the mountain walls and are thought to contain the tombs of the pharaohs of Dynasties IX, X and XII, such as Chety I and II. The tomb of Meir contains the tomb of the Princes of Qusseia.

Built between 1964 and 1970, this impressive dam has pharaonic dimensions: 3,600 m long, 111 m high, 980 m wide at the base, reduced to 40 m at the top. It was President Nasser's project, carried out with the help of Soviet Russia. Today, it produces between 5 and 7% of the country's energy with 12 generators. It was built to manage the Nile's high water levels, prevent flooding and create a water reserve. It has been blamed for reducing the Nile's silt content. Its construction caused major displacement of the population and archaeological sites.

Early in the morning, the square turns into a gigantic cattle fair where, in a feverish atmosphere, the merchants count their tickets and engage in a noisy bidding war. A sale of leather whips, skillfully woven, is organized. The camel market itself is held twice a week, on Saturdays and Sundays, and the rest of the week the place is transformed into a market of cows, sheep, goats... Introduced by the Greeks, camels are not among the animals originally used by the Egyptians.

To the west of the enclosure, some three hundred meters north of that of his father Seti ^I, Ramses II had a small temple built, comprising a courtyard, 2 hypostyle halls and side chapels. On the pylon, the king had his victory at the Battle of Qadesh depicted. Despite the loss of the upper parts of the walls, the lower parts show remarkable decoration. Its architecture is classical and its layout follows that of Theban funerary temples. In 2023, 2,000 mummified rams' heads from the Ptolemaic era were discovered.

The Osirion Cenotaph is a curious edifice, built in line with the central chapel of Amun Ra in the temple of Sety ^I, and buried underground. It was accessed via a hundred-meter-long corridor, opposite to the current view of the site. Today, the temple is reached via a long, gently sloping corridor, the walls of which are covered with texts from the "Book of Gates" and the "Book of Caverns". A cenotaph was not intended to contain a body, but a symbolic tomb for souls, so this was Osiris' spiritual tomb. It was conceived as an island, the plan of which is repeated in The Secret of the Great Pyramid when Blake and Mortimer reach the secret chamber.

The vestibule gave access to a water-filled moat, surrounded by 17 niches. On the symbolic island, covered by a ceiling supported by ten massive pillars, the architect excavated the fictitious location of Osiris' sarcophagus, as well as the fictitious location of the canopic vases containing the God's viscera. Crossing the water-filled moat again, we reach the cenotaph of Sety ^I. The themes depicted on the walls are a mark of respect for Horus, the reconstitution of the divine body, and the transmission of royal power from Osiris to Horus, and thus to Pharaoh. You can go down there if you wish, water levels permitting. The last room, known as the "sarcophagus", features an astronomical ceiling with a representation of the goddess Nut.

Ramses IV reigned for six years, during which time he built this beautiful tomb with its remarkable granite sarcophagus. Note the superb scenes painted with the goddess Nut on the astronomical ceiling, symbolizing rebirth with perfectly preserved colors. Nut swallows the solar disk and it emerges through her feet, symbolizing the daily renewal of sunrise and sunset. Coptic graffiti, created by monks at the very beginning of the Christian era when they were inventing monasticism, are also noteworthy.