After a brief early morning flight to Luxor, we arrived at our hostel and planned out the first full day of immersion into the ancient city. Described as the "world's greatest open-air museum," Luxor is the prime location for mummies and mystery.
With wide eyes and a smirky grin, Nana (our fast talking, not-going-to-wait-in-line-for-anyone-else Egyptian tour guide) retold the dramatic incestral history of one of the greatest female leaders in the world—Queen Hatshepsut. Daughter of Tuthmose I (father) and Aahmes (mother), Hatshepsut was the favorite of three children. After the convenient death of Hatshepsut's two brothers, she was in position to later gain the throne. However, her father's mistress also had a son, Tuthmose II whom Hatshepsut married thus making them half-siblings and spouses. When Hatshepsut's father died, Tuthmose II ascended the throne for three to four years before dying of a skin disease. Although Tuthmose II and Hatshepsut never had children together, they each had a child with other lovers—Tuthmose II had a son named Thuthmose III while Hatshepsut gave birth to a daughter, Nofrure. Because Tuthmose III was too young to reign, Hatshepsut replaced her step-brother/husband and ascended the throne.
Borrowed from www.bediz.com.
Top row: Hatshepsut's grandparents
Second row: Hatshepsut's parents and her father's mistress, Moutnofrit
Upper Third row: Hatshepsut's brothers
Lower Third row: Hatshepsut and her husband/step-brother, Tuthmose II, along with their respective "other lovers"
Fourth row: The offspring produced by each lover
As her nephew's (Tuthmose III) resentment over the throne grew, so did Hatshepsut's popularity. To cement her position on the throne, Hatshepsut changed her image and reputation. Statues and paintings of the queen adopted a male appearance with the ubiquitous false Egyptian beard and facial features while real life imitated art as she began wearing traditional male garb. Hatshepsut's eventual appointment of Pharaoh meant she was thereafter regarded as a king rather than a queen.
Throughout her peaceful ruling she restored many of Egypt's resources and created an unprecedented amount of architecture and artwork. After her death, an attempt was made to wipe out her legacy. Most believe her nephew Tuthmose III, the son of her step-brother/husband and mistress, was responsible for the demolition of hundreds of Hatshepsut sculptures and monuments. Likewise, her name and body were often chiseled directly off the hieroglyph-painted walls, leaving a large Hatshepsut-shaped hole in their place. Adding to the work of Egyptologists, the erasures, however, did little to stain the image Hatshepsut worked so diligently to create. Today, she is still regarded as one of Egypt's most successful pharaohs and the longest reigning woman in indigenous Egyptian history.
Hatshepsut's Mortuary Temple near the Valley of the Kings.
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