While you can spend a lifetime or two exploring Luxor and the West Bank, the repeat visitor should not ignore smaller sites within an hour or two drive. To the South, for example, between Luxor and Esna, are Tod, Gebelein, Moalla, Esna, and el-Kab.
An ancient Egyptian would not have remembered a time when Nekheb, as el-Kab was originally named, was unoccupied or unimportant. Egyptologists have found traces of people living here at least as early as 6000 BCE.
El-Kab's eponymously named Vulture Rock is a reminder that the area was associated with the vulture goddess Nekhbet. Nekhbet was the main goddess of el-Kab and eventually became the goddess of Upper Egypt. She and Uatchet form the "Two Ladies" whose Nebyt name was one of the five principal names of Egyptian pharaohs.
In addition to Vulture Rock, a short list of accessible monuments to see at el-Kab will include the enclosure wall surroundinEL-KABg temple ruins, rock tombs of various officials from around the time of the New Kingdom, the Temple of Amenhotep III and Chapel of Thoth also from the New Kingdom, and a Rock Temple from the Ptolemaic era.
The first serious exploration of el-Kab was the 1799 Napoleonic Expedition. The Expedition's publications document several structures that have since been destroyed, most notably a temple of Thutmose III as well as ruins within the wall enclosure. impressive monuments are located inside the Great Wall of el-Kab. And, indeed, your anticipation rises on approach as the massive wall comes into view. Made of sun dried bricks, what you see today probably dates from the 30th Dynasty and measures 38 feet thick and almost as high in some places, covering an area of 590 by 625 yards. The wall survived because the ruins were covered by a tell formed out of millennia of accumulated debris. Even as late as 1870, all Amelia Edwards could see were "some remains of what looked like a long crude-brick wall running at right angles to the river."
Disembarking, we are struck by the silence of el-Kab contrasted with the constant honking horns of Luxor and importuning by souvenir hawkers. As an early 20th century writer put it: "...there are hours when the gay voices of Luxor fatigue the ears, when one desires a great calm."
The wall in front of us demands to be scaled but whether the authorities will allow it depends upon the usual inscrutable factors. Imshallah, our group is accorded the privilege, although we were not able to explore the enclosure proper. From the wall we can see the Nile but there is little evidence of the Temples of Nekhbet and Thoth, the sacred lake, and other monuments whose outlines are so enticingly depicted on plans of the area.
The remaining points of interest here are across the road. This is desert country; the only serious vegetation surrounds a small compound for the guides and guards.
But we haven't come to admire the local shrubbery. It is Vulture Rock--and another formation a short distance away--that takes us beyond what we have experienced elsewhere in Egypt. Here some 600 cartouches and inscriptions from Pharaonic times lie cheek and jowl with pre-Dynastic boats and animals. Some were carved by priests, others presumably put there by pilgrims over a period of thousands of years. We scramble up the rock, trying to find footholds and just the right camera angle to bring out the elusive inscriptions.
To the East of Vulture Rock in the area known as Wadi Hillal is the Temple of Amenhotep III. All of the structures on this side of the road are small; this temple is only 50 feet long. It was dedicated to Hathor and Nekhbet and served as a resting place for Nekhbet's barque on the joyous occasions when the goddess visited El-Kab. Unexpectedly, there is a depiction of Khaemwese, one of Ramesses II's best known sons, on the right facade, honoring his visit to promote his father's fourth jubilee. On the inside is an equally unexpected hieratic graffiti related to Ramesses III.
We are amazed to find inscriptions similar to those on Vulture Rock carved on the outside walls of some of the structures. The puzzle is resolved when one of our party realizes that the ancients must have quarried stones already covered with these inscriptions for use in later Chapels and Temples. No desecration was surely intended; rather by using inscribed stones they were renewing the power of the original and assuring the potency of the new structure.
Heading back towards the Nile past Vulture Rock takes you to the Ptolemaic Rock Temple. The temple is dedicated to a goddess new to me, the lion goddess Chesemtet. Although partially built out of stone, the temple earns its moniker from being partially cut into the hillside, usurping a New Kingdom rock tomb. It is easily recognizable from a distance by the lengthy staircase outside the structure.
Nearby is the even smaller Temple of Thoth built by order of Ramesses II and known to modern Egyptians as El Hammam, "the bath." (You may have encountered this term before--hammams are Turkish bathhouses and have become something of a fad in trendy hotels.)
Still closer to the Nile are a number of rock cut tombs. Several of those commissioned by 17-20th Dynasty officials are open to the public. As you face the necropolis, the major tombs (from left to right) are Renni, Ahmose son of Ibana, Setau, Pahery, and Ahmose Pennehbet.
Perhaps the most famous tomb belongs to Ahmose, son of Ibana, whose walls boast of his role in the expulsion of the Hyksos. Because many of our party were learning to read hieroglyphics, this tomb was especially interesting for the non-funerary texts.
Ahmose's son was Pahery. The middle photo below shows the hieroglyphs that form his name. His tomb dates from the reign of Thutmose III. Passing through its wide entrance, we were rewarded with a fine display of surviving colors on the mainly agricultural scenes shown under the watchful eye of the tomb owner. The tomb also shows Pahery inspecting scenes shipments of gold, reminding us that el-Kab was on the route from the gold mines to the east back to the Nile.
Setau's career spanned the reigns of Ramesses III through IX. While the tomb of this First prophet of Nekhbet is damaged, one of the unusual features is a representation of the tomb artist, Meryre. I can't find my photograph of Meryre, but when you visit the tomb, look for the man with the palette.
Renni's tomb contains the usual New Kingdom agricultural and banquet scenes, but with one unusual additions: pigs. Pigs are rarely depicted in ancient Egypt although some sources suggest there may have been connection between pigs and the vulture goddess. Fortunately, not a strong connection, as otherwise instead of seeing a vulture head attached to a headdress there might be a snout (with an pomegranate in its mouth?). But I digress. At the rear of the tomb is a badly damaged statue of Renni flanked by jackals. When you visit, look at the ceiling and see if it reminds you of a cloth canopy.
Sites such as el-Kab usually offer a variety of diversions. Several of our group were especially interested in photographing graffiti left by early travelers. Among the many examples they found include Napoleon III (Temple of Amenhotep III).
A decade ago, Friends of Chicago House toured el-Kab and wrote evocatively about the experience: "It was not difficult to imagine the hum of activity there in pharaonic times, caravans with military escort coming from the gold mines, couriers running or galloping in from Thebes, military units gathering for a campaign against "Wretched Kush," traders and adventurers off to the Red Sea and the incense land of Punt, and happy revelers accompanying the invisible goddess as she returned from her stay at the far southeastern rim of the world."
Have you ever returned from a trip
with a photo that you can't identify?
Here is one of my mystery pics from el-Kab.
From the other images taken around this one,
I would guess it is from either the Ptolemaic
Rock Temple or the Chapel of Thoth.
An ancient Egyptian would not have remembered a time when Nekheb, as el-Kab was originally named, was unoccupied or unimportant. Egyptologists have found traces of people living here at least as early as 6000 BCE.
El-Kab's eponymously named Vulture Rock is a reminder that the area was associated with the vulture goddess Nekhbet. Nekhbet was the main goddess of el-Kab and eventually became the goddess of Upper Egypt. She and Uatchet form the "Two Ladies" whose Nebyt name was one of the five principal names of Egyptian pharaohs.
In addition to Vulture Rock, a short list of accessible monuments to see at el-Kab will include the enclosure wall surroundinEL-KABg temple ruins, rock tombs of various officials from around the time of the New Kingdom, the Temple of Amenhotep III and Chapel of Thoth also from the New Kingdom, and a Rock Temple from the Ptolemaic era.
Disembarking, we are struck by the silence of el-Kab contrasted with the constant honking horns of Luxor and importuning by souvenir hawkers. As an early 20th century writer put it: "...there are hours when the gay voices of Luxor fatigue the ears, when one desires a great calm."
The wall in front of us demands to be scaled but whether the authorities will allow it depends upon the usual inscrutable factors. Imshallah, our group is accorded the privilege, although we were not able to explore the enclosure proper. From the wall we can see the Nile but there is little evidence of the Temples of Nekhbet and Thoth, the sacred lake, and other monuments whose outlines are so enticingly depicted on plans of the area.
The remaining points of interest here are across the road. This is desert country; the only serious vegetation surrounds a small compound for the guides and guards.
But we haven't come to admire the local shrubbery. It is Vulture Rock--and another formation a short distance away--that takes us beyond what we have experienced elsewhere in Egypt. Here some 600 cartouches and inscriptions from Pharaonic times lie cheek and jowl with pre-Dynastic boats and animals. Some were carved by priests, others presumably put there by pilgrims over a period of thousands of years. We scramble up the rock, trying to find footholds and just the right camera angle to bring out the elusive inscriptions.
   |
To the East of Vulture Rock in the area known as Wadi Hillal is the Temple of Amenhotep III. All of the structures on this side of the road are small; this temple is only 50 feet long. It was dedicated to Hathor and Nekhbet and served as a resting place for Nekhbet's barque on the joyous occasions when the goddess visited El-Kab. Unexpectedly, there is a depiction of Khaemwese, one of Ramesses II's best known sons, on the right facade, honoring his visit to promote his father's fourth jubilee. On the inside is an equally unexpected hieratic graffiti related to Ramesses III.
Heading back towards the Nile past Vulture Rock takes you to the Ptolemaic Rock Temple. The temple is dedicated to a goddess new to me, the lion goddess Chesemtet. Although partially built out of stone, the temple earns its moniker from being partially cut into the hillside, usurping a New Kingdom rock tomb. It is easily recognizable from a distance by the lengthy staircase outside the structure.
Nearby is the even smaller Temple of Thoth built by order of Ramesses II and known to modern Egyptians as El Hammam, "the bath." (You may have encountered this term before--hammams are Turkish bathhouses and have become something of a fad in trendy hotels.)
Ahmose's son was Pahery. The middle photo below shows the hieroglyphs that form his name. His tomb dates from the reign of Thutmose III. Passing through its wide entrance, we were rewarded with a fine display of surviving colors on the mainly agricultural scenes shown under the watchful eye of the tomb owner. The tomb also shows Pahery inspecting scenes shipments of gold, reminding us that el-Kab was on the route from the gold mines to the east back to the Nile.
 |
Renni's tomb contains the usual New Kingdom agricultural and banquet scenes, but with one unusual additions: pigs. Pigs are rarely depicted in ancient Egypt although some sources suggest there may have been connection between pigs and the vulture goddess. Fortunately, not a strong connection, as otherwise instead of seeing a vulture head attached to a headdress there might be a snout (with an pomegranate in its mouth?). But I digress. At the rear of the tomb is a badly damaged statue of Renni flanked by jackals. When you visit, look at the ceiling and see if it reminds you of a cloth canopy.
Sites such as el-Kab usually offer a variety of diversions. Several of our group were especially interested in photographing graffiti left by early travelers. Among the many examples they found include Napoleon III (Temple of Amenhotep III).A decade ago, Friends of Chicago House toured el-Kab and wrote evocatively about the experience: "It was not difficult to imagine the hum of activity there in pharaonic times, caravans with military escort coming from the gold mines, couriers running or galloping in from Thebes, military units gathering for a campaign against "Wretched Kush," traders and adventurers off to the Red Sea and the incense land of Punt, and happy revelers accompanying the invisible goddess as she returned from her stay at the far southeastern rim of the world."
Have you ever returned from a trip with a photo that you can't identify?
Here is one of my mystery pics from el-Kab.
From the other images taken around this one,
I would guess it is from either the Ptolemaic
Rock Temple or the Chapel of Thoth.
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