colossi of memnon

19th Century Travel in Egypt: the Journey of Gustave Flaubert and Maxime Du Camp

Submitted by Ann on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 20:16

Dendera Temple 1850 by Maxime Du Camp Gustave Flaubert - the author of 'Madame Bovary' - travelled through Egypt from October 1849 to July 1850. Together with his friend and photographer Maxime Du Camp he journeyed from Alexandria in the North to Sudan in the South and back. This journey is the focus of the exhibition 'Het Egypte van Gustave Flaubert' (Gustave Flaubert's Egypt), which runs at the RMO in Holland until April 4th 2010. The expo follows the famous French writer on his journey through Egypt and takes its visitors from the amazing pyramids at Giza and the sanctuaries at Luxor to the gigantic pharaonic statues at Abu Simbel in the deep south.

Vintage Video - The Giza Pyramids, Sphinx and the Valley of the Kings in the 1920s

Submitted by Ann on Wed, 11/18/2009 - 20:48

Travelling through Egypt is still today an experience you are bound to remember; wide deserts, gigantic monuments and a whole different culture. But imagine how it must have been for those 19th and early 20th Century explorers? Surely it must have been a once in a lifetime experience, which we now - thanks to this footage from the Travel Film Archive and the Human Studies Film Archives - can relive, be it in black and white and without sound. Enjoy this footage from the era when Carter and Lord Carnarvon discovered King Tut's tomb:

The Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III (Featuring Dr. Hourig Sourouzian)

Submitted by Prad on Tue, 10/27/2009 - 10:33

Dr Hourig Sourouzian explains the excavations and work being carried out at the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III, a mortuary monument ten times bigger than any other in Egypt. However, the temple's close proximity to the River Nile left it exposed to flooding, and the temple collapsed within 200 years of being constructed. Dr Sourouzian explains her goal is to restore every object found at the temple to its original position, and create detailed maps and models of how the building might once have looked.

Video details

Credits:

Dr. Hourig Sourouzian

Sandro Vannini

Nico Piazza

YouTube embed code:

Image banners and thumbnails

Video Thumbnail:

Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III

Attribution:

Masterplaan

Key Dates

The temple was built in the reign of Amenhotep III, which lasted from around 1391 to 1353 BC. Since 1998, it has been on the World Monument Fund’s list of the planet’s 100 most endangered monuments. Excavation at the site began in 2004, and is expected to be ongoing until around 2027.

Key People

The temple was built as a funerary monument for Amenhotep III, the most powerful, rich and influential pharaoh in Egyptian history. Research at the site is being headed by German-Armenian Egyptologist Dr Hourig Sourouzian.

Dr Hourig Sourouzian

Amenhotep III

The Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III was once the largest and most spectacular monument at Thebes, and in all of Egypt. Amenhotep was ancient Egypt's most wealthy and powerful ruler, and Egypt during his reign was at its cultural and artistic apex; his funerary temple reflected this.

It measured 700 metres by 500 metres, covering a floor space of 350,000 square metres, which meant it dwarved even Karnak at the time. It was constructed from rare and precious stones, and filled with beautiful statues of gods and godesses, as well as papyrus columns and huge stela proclaiming the king's riches and achievements. Unfortuantely, the temple was built in a terrible spot, too close to the edge of the Nile floodplain, and it collapsed into the desert after less than 200 years.

Related Structures

Colossi of Memnon.

Images

Put your Flickr photos of this object into the Heritage Key group, and tag them with heritagesite-6179, to see them here!

Heritage Key Goes to Luxor

Submitted by Sean Williams on Tue, 09/29/2009 - 16:21

I've been writing for Heritage Key for some time now, and while I've always been fascinated by the sights, epic history and exciting new developments at Luxor, I'd always thought of it as a world away; something to save up for at a later date while making good with short trips to the usual European city stops. Yet a quick glance online told me that, with a little frugality, I could make Luxor my summer holiday for relatively little expense and ever smaller hassle. So, spurred on by a glut of package destination sites and my love of the ancient world, I announced my intentions to a slightly bewildered yet enthusiastic girlfriend.

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