Malqaṭa - Malqaṭa

El-Malqata (also el-Malkata, Arabic:الملقطة‎, al-Malqaṭa, „the location") Or more clearly Malqata el-Baʿirat (‏ملقطة البعيرات‎, Malqaṭa al-Baʿīrāt, „Malqaṭa from al-Baʿīrāt“) Is, as the name suggests, an archaeological site on the theban west bank South from Madīnat Hābū. To the west of this is also the Taudros el-Muharib nunnery (of St. Theodore the Warrior). While archaeologists are certainly mainly interested in the remains of a very rare royal palace, the monastery is of general interest.

getting there

Getting there is quite easy. From the ticket office in Sheikh ʿAbd el-Qurna drive or walk along the asphalt road south towards Madīnat Hābū. Follow the road a little further until it branches off to the west. The archaeological site and the monastery can be reached via a sandy slope.

The archaeological area south of Madīnat Hābū has been surrounded by a high wall since 2010. In the wall there is a passage to the monastery 25.71563932.593694Gate to the monastery of St. Taudros and the Palace of Malqata1 25 ° 42 '56 "N.32 ° 35 ′ 37 ″ E. In the area of ​​the slope to the monastery, to the south and south-east, are the remains of the palace of Amenhotep III.

background

Palace of Amenhotep III.

In contrast to temples and tombs, royal palaces were never built to last. Instead of stone, only air-dried bricks were used. So only the remains of a few palaces have survived, in addition to the local one and the one in Tell el-āAmārna by Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) and in Pi-ramesse at today's Qantīr of Ramses II.

Amenhotep III (Amenhotep III.) Began building his palace in the eighth year of his reign. It is not known why he chose a location on the west bank for his palace. The palaces of other kings were namely on the east bank. Initially, the palace was only used for religious festivities. From the third decade of Amenhotep III. construction activities increased, residential and administrative buildings were built. From now on he lived in this palace until his death in the 38th year of reign. His son Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) chose another place again, this time in Tell el-ʿAmārna.

But the complex wasn't just a palace. There were at least four palaces on the 30 hectare site, including for his wife Teje (so-called South Palace) and his eldest daughter Sat-Amun (so-called North Palace). In the northeast there was also a brick sanctuary for the god Amun. In addition to commercial buildings and apartments for the servants, the complex also had its own port, which is located on the site of today's Birkat Hābū (Arabic:بركة هابو‎, „Hābū lake“) Near the temple of Qaṣr el-ʿAgūz found.

As already mentioned, the palace complex was built from adobe bricks. The walls and the floor were plastered with stucco and then painted. A pond with fish and birds was used as a motif for the floor. The ceiling was made of wooden beams. In large halls, the ceiling rested on wooden pillars. The doors were decorated too. They were covered with faience tiles and gold rosettes.

The palace was built in 1888 by Georges Daressy (1864–1938) discovered.^[1] During his excavations he found pottery shards, pearls, fragments of faience and bricks that were named after Amenhotep III. carried. 1900 dug here Percy E. Newberry (1868–1949) commissioned by Robb de Peyster Tytus.^[2] More extensive, but not systematic, was made between 1910 and 1924 by Egyptologists of the new YorkerMetropolitan Museum of Art dug.^[3] Systematic excavations only took place in the second half of the 20th century. Barry Kemp and David O’Connor carried out research here between 1971 and 1977 for the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania. The main subject of their investigations was the port facility in Birkat Hābū.^[4] Since the beginning of the 1970s, scientists have also been digging here from the Tokioter Waseda University. Initially, the ceremonial kiosk in Kōm es-Samak ("the fish hill", also called Malqaṭa-South) was uncovered, which was on a platform to which a ramp and stairs led. This kiosk was used by Amenhotep III. to celebrate his throne jubilee (Hebsed-Firmly).^[5] From 1985 the Japanese scientists worked in the palace area.^[6]

Monastery of St. Theodore

The monastery is named after St. Theodore the Warrior (arab. Tāuḍrūs al-muḥārib, also Theodor Stratelates [the military leader]) named. St. Theodor belongs next to St. George one of the most important warrior saints. He is venerated in both the Orthodox Churches and the Catholic Church. However, his curriculum vitae is passed down differently, so that his curriculum vitae from the Coptic Synaxar (Martyrologium) should be used here.

According to the Coptic tradition, St. Taudros was born in 270 AD in Tiro, Syria. His father Sadrikhos (also Adrakos) was a minister and his mother a princess. At first he was a soldier, later a military leader in the Roman lord and fought with his army in Persia. In Persia he also met the Persian military leader Banikaros, whom he was also able to convert to Christianity. The Roman emperor summoned him and asked him to renounce Christianity. After Theodore refused, Diocletian had him arrested, nailed to a tree and tortured. In 306 he was executed for not falling away from the Christian faith.

There is also the legend that Theodore fought against a dragon, the "serpent of the garden of paradise", and killed him in the Persian Euchaïta.

The day of remembrance of the saint is the 12th tuba (January 20th) in the Coptic calendar.

Today's modern monastery buildings from the 19th century perhaps stand on the site of a monastery of the same name, which was known in the Middle Ages.^[7] Parts of the church in the area of Churus (Transverse hall in front of the altar rooms) come from earlier church buildings. Of Karl Richard Lepsius (1810-1884) was the first description.^[8] He reported that the little church of St. Donadeos and that the Theban Christians gather here every Sunday. Somers Clarke (1841–1926) gave a more extensive description at the beginning of the 20th century.

Tourist Attractions

Palace of Amenhotep III.

Immediately south of the path, still close to the fruiting land, is the 25.715056332.59173631 Main palace of Amenhotep III.(25 ° 42 '54 "N.32 ° 35 ′ 30 ″ E). It is about 135 meters long (east-west) and 57 meters wide. The entrance in the northeast led to a reception courtyard, followed in the west by a ballroom and private apartments. In the ballroom there were once 16 pairs of wooden pillars, at the end of which was the throne room. In the south of the palace there were once the kitchen, farm buildings and the palace of the Teje.

Another palace is located east of the palace, separated by a path.

Of course, you can only see the foundation walls on the ground floor. A hot air balloon offers a better view, as you can now see the floor plan much better. Remnants of frescoes are now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

From the harbor at Birkat Hābū, once about 2.2 × 0.9 kilometers in size, you can only see the heaped earth, and some houses are built over it. The T-shaped port was connected to the Nile by a canal.

Monastery of St. Theodore

The 25.716878432.5892582 Nunnery of St. Theodore the Warrior(25 ° 43 ′ 1 ″ N.32 ° 35 ′ 21 ″ E), Arabic:دير القديس تاوضروس المَشرِقي المحارِب‎, Dair al-qiddīs Tāuḍrūs al-mašriqī al-muḥārib, „Monastery of St. Theodore, who came from the east, the warrior", Also monastery of Prince Theodor (Arabic:دير الأمير تاوضروس‎, Dair al-Amīr Tāuḍrūs), is located about 500 meters southwest of the temple of Madīnat Hābū. It is surrounded by a high wall against which the church is leaning. On the sides of the courtyard are the nuns' living cells on the left, which also have a dome. There are four barracks on the right.

Today's church building, a so-called. Bteithauskirche, was only created in the 19th century. It was not until this time that churches emerged that were already planned as broad-house churches with several naves and heicals. However, this church is not a completely new building. The stone pillars in the area of ​​the Churus, that is the transverse hall in front of the sanctuary, and a semicircular apse comes from a previous building, which was perhaps built in the 13th or 14th century.^[9] The sandstone blocks, some of which are provided with hieroglyphs, may have come from the temple complex of Madīnat Hābū, where they were put together incoherently and provided with crosses and ornaments in some places. The remaining pillars were built from fired bricks up to the base of the arch. The top and domes are made of adobe bricks.

The four-aisled church has 17 domes, some of which are elliptical, which mostly rest on arches or 1.75 meter high pillars or columns. The little light reaches the church through the openings in the domes. The originally rectangular building was later extended to include a further transept in the west and a chapel with two rooms in the southeast.

The church has five holy places (Holy of Holies), the two outer ones have two doors, the middle one door. The altars are (from north to south) for St. George the Virgin Mary, St. Taudros (Theodor) - this is the main altar - St. Egladios (Arabic:إقلاديوس) And the Archangel Michael intended. The altar rooms are rectangular, wider than they are long, and only crowned with a semi-dome. The heat is shielded by a simple wall. Recently (around 2010) the Heikal des St. Taudros on a modern iconostasis depicting the twelve apostles and the Lord's Supper.

On the south wall there is an icon of the equestrian saint and a shrine for Mary. A shrine with the relics of St. Taudros was placed on the west wall.

The transept, which was added later, is probably intended for women. In the rear room of the chapel in the southeast, which can only be reached via the church, there is a roughly square baptismal font in the floor, which is filled with water from the outside. Another baptismal font is located in the northwest of the church.

Opposite the main church on the entrance wall is the grave of the important Coptic Egyptologist Labīb Habaschī (Habachi, 1906-1984). He was the leading Egyptian Egyptologist of his generation. In 1924 he first wanted to study mathematics, but decided to study Egyptology a year later. After graduating, he worked as an inspector in the Egyptian Antiquities Service in various locations. 1960 to 1963 he also worked as a consultant for the Nubia expedition of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. The Heqaib sanctuary on the island was one of his most important excavation sites Elephantine, Karnak, where he discovered the Kamose stele, Tell Basta at ez-Zaqāzīq and Qantīr.

Outside the monastery there are tombs on the left and a large garden on the right.

activities

Pilgrims flock to this monastery every year on the 12th Tuba (January 20th) and Abib 20th (July 27th).

kitchen

There is a small restaurant in the area of Sheikh ʿAbd el-Qurna, more in Gazīrat el-Baʿīrāt and Gazīrat er-Ramla as in Luxor.

accommodation

The closest hotels can be found in the area of Sheikh ʿAbd el-Qurna. There is also accommodation in Gazīrat el-Baʿīrāt and Gazīrat er-Ramla, Ṭōd el-Baʿīrāt, Luxor as Karnak.

trips

The visit to el-Malqaṭa can be combined with a visit to Madīnat Hābū, Deir el-Madina and / or the Valley of the Queens connect.

literature

• Bold, Thomas: Malqata - Royal Palace on the west bank of Thebes. In:Kemet, ISSN0943-5972, Vol.12,4 (2003), Pp. 26-29.
• Clarke, Somers: Christian antiquities in the Nile Valley: a contribution towards the study of the ancient churches. Oxford: Clarendon Pr., 1912, Pp. 116-118, panel XXXIV.
• Meinardus, Otto F. A.: Christian Egypt, ancient and modern. Cairo: American University at Cairo Press, 1977 (2nd edition), ISBN 978-977-201-496-5 , P. 433.

Web links

• Coptic Synaxar (Martyrology) for 12th tuba (Coptic Orthodox Church Network)

Individual evidence