Thebes-West - Theben-West

View of the village of Sheikh ʿAbd el-Qurna
Thebes West · ‏البر الغربي‎
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Thebes West

Thebes West (Arabic:البر الغربي‎, al-Barr al-Gharbī, „the west bank", English: West bank) denotes the area in which western bank of the Nile of Luxor. There are several settlements here, the most important of which are al-Qurna and Deir al-Medina. In ancient Egypt, the necropolis of Thebes was on this side, while on the eastern bank of the Nile of the associated settlement area. The mortuary temples, palace complexes and graves of ancient Egypt are part of Egypt Unesco world heritage sites.

background

There are numerous private graves between the present-day villages of Deir el-Madīna, el-Qurna and et-Tarif. The private graves date from all times of ancient Egypt, when most of them come from the New Kingdom and the 12th Dynasty. On the edge of the fruit land there are a number of mortuary temples (millions of years old) of the New Kingdom, which are part of the royal tombs in Königsgräbertal are. They are not independent temples of gods.

The private graves (graves of the noble, civil servants' graves) are numbered, the abbreviation TT in front of this number means "Theban Tombs" (Theban graves).

El-Qurna denotes the entire space between the Colossi of Memnon and eṭ-Ṭārif, divided according to the residence of different families (from south to north): Qurnat Muraʿī (Arabic:قرنة مَرعي), El-Ḥarūbāt (الحروبات), El-Ḥasāsnā (الحساسنا), Chocha (خوخة, No part of the village, only tombs), (Nagaʿ) el-Ghabāt (نجع الغبات) And Drāʿ Abū en-Nagā (ذراع ابو النجا). The following village eṭ-Ṭārif in the north is independent. At the end of 2006, the entire village of el-Qurna was relocated to the new tariff to protect the ancient sites and the residential buildings were demolished. With that, of course, the charm of the juxtaposition of the village and ancient graves was lost.

getting there

Site plan of Theben-West

Arrival to Luxor

The journey to Luxor is described in this article.

With the ferry

You can reach the west bank in Gazirat er-Ramla with a passenger ferry that operates 24 hours a day. It starts pretty much on that 1 Height of the entrance to the Luxor Temple and comes on the 2 West bank in the vicinity of the 3 Station for shared taxis at. The price for one trip is LE 5 (as of 11/2018).

In the street

About 7 kilometers south of downtown Luxor away you can see the Nile via a 4 bridge cross.

With service taxis and microbuses

In Gazirat el-Ba'irat and in Ṭōd el-Baʿīrāt, on the trunk road to Armant and Esna or after Naqada, there are stops for microbuses to various locations on the west bank of Theban.

Ticket booth

About 5 kilometers from the ferry dock, about 500 m west of the Colossi of Memnon, is there a 1 Ticket booth(25 ° 43 '22 "N.32 ° 36 '17 "E) Ticket booth. In the past all tickets were sold here. Nowadays only the tickets for the monuments on the edge of the fruit land: the mortuary temples and private graves of Qurna and Deir el-Madina.

In Deir al-Bahri, in the Königsgräbertal and in Valley of the Queens there are separate ticket booths.

The cards are dated and must be used on the same day!

mobility

Taxi and shared taxi

There are enough taxis and shared taxis for your transport. If you choose a shared taxi, state your destination as specifically as possible, as the village of Qurna covers a huge area (from Colossi of Memnon to the Carter House, from the Nile to the mountains) and the shared taxis drive different routes. The return journey is easier: it always goes back to the taxi station.

By bike, inline skates and on foot

You can also walk. Remember that the terrain is very spacious. Take enough, especially in summer beverages With!

Tourist Attractions

Villages on the west bank

  • 4 eṭ-Ṭārif and New Qurna (sometimes called New Ṭārif)

Royal tombs

Monastery of Taudros
Temple of Madinat Habu
View of the working-class town of Deir el-Madina

el-Malqaṭa (‏الملقطة) And surroundings

  • 3 Palace of Amenhotep III. (18th Dynasty). Remains of the adobe buildings east of the convent.
  • 4 St. Tawdrus el-Muharib women's monastery, Arabic:دير القديس تاوضروس المَشرِقي المحارِب‎, Dair al-qiddīs Tāuḍrūs al-mašriqī al-muḥārib. In the main church there are four altars for St. George, the Virgin Mary, Tawdros and the Archangel Michael side by side. St. Tawdros was born in Syria in 275 AD. His father was a minister and his mother a princess. Tawdros was a military leader and was executed in 306. His feast day is January 20th. Opposite the main church is the grave of the important Coptic Egyptologist Labīb Habaschi (Habachi).
  • South of the path to the temple of Madinat Habu is the small Ptolemaic temple of Thoth in 5 Qaṣr el-ʿAgūz, Arabic:قصر العجوز, Reached under Ptolemy VIII. Euergetes. The overseer can be asked to open the temple.

Mortuary temple on the edge of the fruit land

The five most important mortuary temples are accessible to travelers:

Deir el-Madina (‏دير المدينة‎)

The village of the workers at the royal cemeteries is west of Qurnat Muraʿī. The specialty of the site is that the residents' apartments and graves are in the immediate vicinity. Thematically, the graves differ from those of the high officials. The focus of the tomb design in Deir el-Madīna is the survival after death, so there are depictions of the burial and numerous borrowings from the Book of the Dead, while scenes from everyday life are almost missing. The following monuments are accessible:

  • The 11 Workers settlement. Admission price: LE 100, for foreign students LE 50, including the grave of Sennedjem and grave of Inherchau (as of 11/2019).
  • The cemetery of the workers' village.
    • 12 Sennedjem's tomb, Servant in Truth Square, 19th Dynasty, TT1.
    • Grave of Look inside (Onuris-Cha), foreman, "chief of the workers' group", 20th dynasty, time of Ramses ’III. to Ramses ’IV., TT 359;
    • Tomb of Paschedu, Servant at the Square of Truth, 20th Dynasty, TT 3rd Prize: LE 30, for foreign students LE 15 (as of 11/2019).
  • The 13 Ptolemaic temple.

Qurnat Muraʿī (‏قرنة مرعي‎)

  • In 15 Qurnat Murai is the grave of Amenhotep called Huy, viceroy of Kush, governor of the southerners under Amenhotep IV to Tutankhamun, TT 40. Nubian and Syrian embassies with their tributes are shown in the tomb. Graves of Ameneminet, Priest in the million year house of Amenophis ’III., End of the 19th / beginning of the 20th dynasty, TT 277, and des Amenemhab, Shepherd over the herds of Amun-Re, late 19th / early 20th dynasty, TT 278. Price: LE 40, for foreign students LE 20 (as of 11/2019).

esch-Sheikh ʿAbd el-Qurna (‏الشيخ عبد القرنة‎)

  • Top attraction16 Graves of Menna (Menena), scribe of the fields of the lord of both countries, 18th dynasty (Thutmose IV.), TT 69, and night, Scribe and astronomer of Amun, 18th Dynasty (Thutmose IV.), TT 52; Admission price LE 60, students LE 30 (as of 11/2019).
  • Top attraction17 Graves of Sennefer, Mayor of the Südstadt, 18th Dynasty (Amenophis II.), TT 96; Rechmire, Mayor and vizier, 18th dynasty (Thutmose III to Amenhotep II); Admission price LE 40, students LE 20 (as of 11/2019).
  • 18 Graves of Ramose, Mayor and vizier, 18th dynasty (Amenophis IV./Echnaton), TT 55, the latter grave with a mixture of representation styles from the Amarna period and classic Theban graves; Userhet, Royal scribe, 18th dynasty (Amenhotep II), TT 56; Chaemhet, Royal clerk and overseer of the granaries, 18th Dynasty (Amenhotep III), TT 57; Admission price LE 60, students LE 30 (as of 11/2019).
  • Graves of Chonsu, First Prophet Thutmose ’III., 19th Dynasty (Ramses II.), TT 31; Userhet, Royal scribe, 18th dynasty (Amenhotep II), TT 51; Benia, Treasury Work Overseer, early 18th Dynasty, TT 343; Admission price LE 40, students LE 20 (as of 11/2019).

Wadi Seʿanch-ka-Reʿ (Wadi Color)

  • Remnants of the Temple of Seʿanch-ka-Reʿ
  • 19 Tomb of Meketre, Chancellor, TT 280, today empty and undecorated, example of a grave from the beginning of the 12th dynasty with a large forecourt. Grave goods (wooden models) today in the Cairo Museum.

el-Chōcha: Official graves (الخوخة‎)

  • Graves of Djehutimes, Supreme of the secrets in the chest of Amun, sem-priest, embalmer, 18th dynasty (Thutmose IV. To Amenhotep III.), TT 295; Nefersecheru, Scribe of God's sacrifices, overseer of the treasure. Located in the Südstadt, 20th Dynasty, TT 296; Neferronpet, Treasury clerk, counter of the grain in the granary of God's sacrifices of Amun, 19th dynasty (Ramses II.), TT 178; Admission price LE 40, for foreign students LE 20 (as of 11/2019).

el-ʿAsāsīf: Official graves (العساسيف‎)

View of the tomb of Monthemhet, TT 34, in the Asasif

The Asasif (Arabic for underground tunnels) extends immediately to the east in front of the temples of Deir el-Bahari. It is a good idea to visit the temple of Hatshepsut together with the graves of officials. You can get the tickets at the ticket booth of the Temple of Hatshepsut.

The early graves, especially those on the northern mountain slope, date from the 12th dynasty (Mentuhotep II's time), few graves from the New Kingdom. The graves from the 25th and 26th dynasties (Ethiopian or String Age) are significantly more impressive: These are the largest burial tombs in Egypt, they mostly come from the upper domain administrators of the Theban wives of the String Age. All of these graves are sunk into the rocky ground, one of the most important parts, the atrium open to the top, can be viewed from the surface of the earth. The underground grave complex with vestibules, underground cult rooms and the burial complex takes up a much larger space. On the surface you can also see the huge entrance pylons, often also remnants of the surrounding walls made of mud bricks.

You can visit the following graves

  • 20 Tomb of Monthuemhat, Fourth prophet of Amun, time of Taharka (25th dynasty), TT 34. It is the largest grave. The grave itself cannot be visited, but a look into the huge atrium (20 m long, 12 m wide) is worthwhile.
  • Top attraction21 Tomb of Pabasa, Chief Domain Administrator of the Wife of God Nitokris, Period of Psametics I, 26th Dynasty, TT 279 (bee grave). A very attractive grave with numerous depictions from daily life and religious scenes, especially in the atrium. It was named the bee grave because of a beekeeping depiction in the atrium (there is probably only one such depiction in Thebes, in the grave of Anchhor, TT 414). Admission price LE 40, students LE 20 (as of 11/2019).
  • 22 Tomb of anchhor, Chief domain administrator of the wife of God Nitokris under Psametik II. And Apries (26th Dynasty), TT 414, and the 23 Cheruif tomb complex, Queen Tiyi's administrator, TT 192, New Kingdom. Admission price LE 60, students LE 30 (as of 11/2019).
  • Grave of Scheschonq, TT 27, at the eastern end of the Asasif. The grave itself cannot be visited, but it is worth taking a look at the huge surrounding walls.

ed-Deir el-Baḥrī (‏الدير البحري‎)

Temple of Hatshepsut
  • Top attraction24 Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, Admission price LE 140, students LE 70 (as of 11/2019).
  • 25 Mortuary temple Mentuhoteps II. The mortuary temple can be seen from the middle terrace of the temple of Hatshepsut. He cannot be visited directly.

Drāʿ Abū en-Nagā (‏ذراع أبو النجا‎)

  • Mortuary temple Seti ’I., Admission price LE 60, students LE 30 (as of 11/2019).
  • Official graves
    • 26 Graves of Roy, Royal Clerk, Haremhab Asset Manager, 18th Dynasty (Haremhab), TT 255, Shuroy, Chief of the pelvic bearers of Amun, 20th dynasty, TT 13, and Amenemopet, Third Prophet of Amun and High Priest of Courage, 20th Dynasty (Ramses III to Ramses V), TT 148; Admission price LE 40, students LE 20 (as of 11/2019).

Carter's house

The former is located at the fork in the road to the Valley of the Kings 27 Howard Carter's home and work housewho became world famous for the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. Admission, including the replica of Tutankhamun's tomb, costs LE 80, for foreign students LE 40 (as of 11/2019).

Replica of Tutankhamun's tomb

Near the Carter house on the way to the Valley of the Kings the replica of Tutankhamun's tomb has been open to the public since May 1st, 2014.

eṭ-Ṭārif (‏الطارف‎)

  • Saff tombs of the Antef kings (11th dynasty): 28 Ṣaff Dawaba by Antef I. At the end of a large courtyard is the rock tomb, at the front of which there is a row of pillars. The graves are in the middle of the village at-Tarif and difficult to find. The graves Ṣaff el-Qiṣāṣīya by Antef II. and Ṣaff al-Baqar by Antef III. are now used as a cellar by locals. Ask locals by giving the Arabic name.

Thoth mountain

  • On Mount Thoth, north of Dra 'Abu en-Naga and west of the Carter's house, is a 29 Adobe temple from the 11th dynasty, which was dedicated to the god Horus. Its stone predecessor dates back to before the 11th dynasty and would therefore be the oldest temple in Thebes. The approx. 5 km long ascent is difficult.

activities

Hot air balloon at takeoff
Quad in the desert

Top attraction There is the possibility of the Theban west bank by Hot air balloon to explore. The journey starts roughly in front of the Temple of Hatshepsut and takes about 45 minutes. The wind, which usually comes from the north, drives the balloon south: you pass Qurna, the Ramesseum, Medinet Habu and Malqata. The trip costs around 100 dollars per person, including hotel pick-up and crossing of the Nile. That's what in Luxor several different experienced providers.

In Madīnat Hābū there are companies that do trips with you Quads venture into the desert and through the fields. There are also two stud farms that use horses and camels for horse riding to offer.

Theben-West goes well with the bicycle explore, which you can borrow anywhere for from 10 LE per day.

Both of Luxor as well as from Gazīrat er-Ramla on the west bank Boat tours to do along the Nile. Both motor boats and feluccas are available for this. The costs are around LE 40 per hour. Tours that are organized from hotels are sometimes considerably more expensive. There are also day trips with motor boats to the Temple of Dendara offered.

shop

Souvenirs in all qualities and price ranges. There are several alabaster factories in the village of Qurna, where you can also watch the souvenirs being made. It is recommended that you take a look around several factories.

kitchen

There are restaurants mainly in Gazīrat el-Baʿīrāt and Gazīrat er-Ramla, more also in esch-Sheikh ʿAbd el-Qurna and in Madīnat Hābū.

accommodation

There is plenty of accommodation to suit all budgets. In addition to hotels for short-term stays, self-catering apartments can also be rented, which are available in all price categories.

Most of the hotels and apartments are located in Luxor (Nilostseite) and Gazīrat el-Baʿīrāt and Gazīrat er-Ramla (Nile west side). There are also a small number of hotels in the area of ​​the village esch-Sheikh ʿAbd el-Qurna and Ṭōd el-Baʿīrāt. The Al Moudira Hotel is located in the far south of the west bank Armant.

trips

literature

  • Hodel-Hoenes, Sigrid: Life and Death in Ancient Egypt: Theban Private Tombs of the New Kingdom. Darmstadt: Scientific book society, 1991, ISBN 978-3-534-11011-7 .
  • Hornung, Erik: Valley of the Kings: the resting places of the pharaohs. Zurich: Artemis & Winkler, 1999 (6th edition), ISBN 978-3-7608-0519-1 .

Web links

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