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8-day
tour of the Greater Luxor area: from Palladium
of Thebes to the goldmines of the Wadi-Hammamât
From 08 to 15 December
2007
Cultural voyage organized by Luc Watrin, Egyptologist,
researcher associated with the CNRS (UMR 7041),
president of the GREPAL (Groupe de Recherche
European Pour L’Archéologie au Levant).
Day 1:
Departure from Paris for Luxor. Arrival at
Luxor and transfer to a 4 or 5 star hotel.
Day 2:
Morning: Right bank of the Nile.
Visit to the great temples of Karnak dedicated
to Amon. Complete visit to the monuments dating
essentially to the New Kingdom. Visit to the
open-air Museum of Karnak which conserves
various monuments from the Karnak region,
including a monumental door in fine limestone
originating at the Sesostris III temple at
Medamoud. This museum also features several
chapels of limestone with boat stands (white
chapel of Sesostris I), of alabaster, and
of red quartzite (Anénophis I and Hatchepsout
chapels). These stands for the boats of Amon
have been reconstructed in the northeast corner
of the Amon wall by various French missions.
Extension to Karnak-North (if accessible),
first sanctuary of Montou including the Thebes
palladium.
Meal at Luxor.
Afternoon: Left bank of the Nile:
Discovery of the graves of Cheikh Abd el
Gourna, known as the “Valley of the Nobles”.
We will discover the last homes of court dignitaries:
vizirs, royal scribes, mayors of Thebes… Depending
on their operating hours and dates: Sennefer,
Rekhmirê, Khaemhat, Ouserhat, Ramose,
Nakht... (6 graves) the walls of these hypogees
are decorated with many scenes from daily
life: harvests, musicians, dancers, agricultural
work, metallurgical activities, hunting, waiting
at the barber shop, etc. We will then continue
to the cemetery of Assassif which features
graves belonging to the high dignitaries of
the XVIIIth and XXVIth dynasities (2 graves).
Scenes of exotic danses illustrate the grave
of Kherouef, servant of the Queen Tiyi, and
finely executed scenes of apiculture are represented
in the grave of the high priest Pabasa.
Visit to the Temple of Sethi I at Gourna,
newly restored by the German Archaeological
Institute of Cairo (DAI).
In the evening: conference on Egyptian chronology.
Day 3:
Left bank of the Nile: cemeteries and royal
funerary temples.
First visit to the Valley of the Kings: discovery
of the royal graves of the New Empire. We
will discover the first royal hypogees built
during the XVIIIth dynasty (3 graves). Possible
visit to the grave of Tutankhamon (optional).
Walking visit of the Thebian valley and visit
to a lost royal cemetery, that of the Valley
of Monkeys which features the graves of Amenophis
III and that of Aî, successor of Tutankhamon
(1 grave).
Meal on the left bank (Maratonga restaurant
or equivalent).
Visit to the terraced funerary temple of
Queen Hatchespsout at Deir el Bahari then
the great funerary temple of Ramses II, the
Ramesseum.
In the evening: conference on the origins
of Karnak.
Day 4:
Left bank.
Early to rise. Departure to the Valley of
the Queens. Visit to several graves of princes
and queens (3 graves).
Excursion into the Thebian mountains: discovery
of the oratory of Ptah-Meresger, a sanctuary
located at mid-way between the Valley of the
Queens and the valley of Deir el-Medineh.
Visit to the ancient village of Deir el-Medineh,
where rest the artists of the royal graves,
its cemetery (3 graves), and the temple of
Hathor-Ma’at.
We will follow on with a second visit to
the Valley of the Kings (3 graves from the
XIXth and XXth dynasties). We will see that
these graves are designed very differently
from those of the XVIIIth dynasty and that
the decoration of the walls illustrates much
more complex cosmogonies.
Meal on the right bank of the Nile at Luxor.
Excursion to the temple of Montou at Tôd
located at 20 km south of Luxor (if given
SCA authorization). This temple, built during
the Middle Kingdom and enlarged during the
Ptolemaic period, has been restored by the
archaeological mission of the Louvre Museum.
The temple of Tod and the Temples of Ermant,
Medamoud and Karnak form the “Palladium of
Thebes”, meaning a group of four sanctuaries
dedicated to the war god Montou, protecting
the access to the Thebes territory (Waset).
In the evening, visit to the Luxor museum.
Entirely remodeled, the museum presents not
only its own objects but also those from a
Luxor cache discovered in 1989, as well as
museums from the reserves of the Karnak museum
including a splendid colossus of Sethi I in
alabaster.
Day 5:
Left bank.
For early risers, it is possible to organize
an excursion in a hot-air balloon (optional)
above the Thebian valley. Discovery of an
extraordinary panarama dominating the temples
and necropolis of the Gourna region.
Excursion to the Memnon Collossus, the last
remains of the largest funerary temple ever
built on the western bank of the Nile, that
of Amenophis III.
We will continue to Medinet Habou, a fortified
temple built by Ramses III, the last great
ruler of the XXth dynasty, who fought eastern
invaders known as the “sea people”. Visit
to the great temple, to the chapels of the
Devine Adorers of Amon, of the small Ptolemaic
temple of Kasr el Agouz.
Meal on the left bank (restaurant located
across from the Medinet Habou temple).
Afternoon: Expedition to the south of the
Thebian valley.
Discovery of the remains of the palace of
Amenophis III and his administration at Malqatta
then Birket Habou, the great manmade port
and recreational lake connected to the Nile,
built by Amenophis III for Queen Tiyi, certainly
one of the greatest human exploits ever.
Visit to Ermant and its temple dedicated
to the war god Montou. Built starting in the
Middle Kingdom (around 2000 B.C.) the Ermant
temple was overhauled by the rulers of the
New Kingdom, as can be seen in the reworked
masonry. It is on this site that Cleopatra
built a Mamisi, consecrating the birth of
the son of Cesar and Cleopatra: Cesarion.
In the late afternoon: visit to the Luxor
temple built by Amenophis III then expanded
under Ramses II.
Day 6:
Visit to monuments located north of Luxor
(road of the Red Sea). (special escort present).
Visit to the temple of Montou at Medamoud,
eight kilometers north of Luxor. Romantic
atmosphere of a monument in ruins from the
Ptolemaic period, covered by luxurious vegetation,
on the bank of an ancient canal and a processional
road that led to Karnak…highlighting a mudbrick
temple built by Sesostris III, the greatest
ruler of the Middle-Empire, excavated by a
French mission that discovered several statues
of this ruler as well as statues of Montou,
the most beautiful of which are now in the
Louvre museum.
Continuation to the eastern desert and the
Wadi Hammamat known in Egyptian texts as “Bekhen
stone mountain”. It is in this place, halfway
between the Nile Valley and the Red Sea, that
the Egyptians from the predynastic era came
to find gold, cornelian, and raw materials
for making their makeup palettes (grauwacke,
the Bekhen stone of the Egyptian texts). Starting
in the Middle Kingdom, expeditions are led
in this desert region, as attested by an inscription
dating from the rein of Sesostris I, indicating
a column of several thousand men in this region
to respond to a royal order for 60 sphinx
and 150 “Bekhenou” stone statues.
Meal (picnic) in the heart of Wadi-Hammamât.
Discovery of pharaonic rock graffiti (prayers
at Min, stories of mining expeditions) and
quarries of Wadi Hammamat.
Return to Luxor in the evening.
Day 7:
Visit to the monuments to the south of Luxor.
Stop at Esnah. Visit to the remains of a
Ptolemaic temple dedicated to the gods Khnoum
and Neith.
Continuation to Elkab. This major site for
Egyptian prehistory has been excavated by
a Belgian mission for 40 years. Visit to the
remains of the city and its monumental mudbrick
wall raised by Nectanebo, the Nekhbet temple
raised by Thutmosis III and the famous graves
of the officers of Ahmosis, founder of the
New Kingdom, who led hard combat against the
Hyksos in the Delta (Avaris) (2 graves).
Picnic at the temple of Edfou.
Discovery of the great Ptolemaic temple of
Edfou, one of the greatest of Egypt, dedicated
to the Horus the warrior. It is an ideal temple
because its architecture is entirely preserved.
Evoking of the early period of Edfou, and
its high dignitaries of the Middle Kingdom,
buried near the temple. We will also address
the quarry of the Nebit police commissioner
whose statue is conserved in the Louvre museum.
In the evening, possibility to see the sound
and light show at Karnak (option).
Day 8:
Transfer to the Luxor airport and return
flight to Paris.
This tour includes:
- An round-trip flight Paris-Luxor-Paris.
- The airport/hotel/airport transfers in
a private bus.
- Repatriation insurance and assistance for
the group and the guide.
- A 4/5-star hotel at Luxor in half-board
for 5 nights (Hilton, Mercure, Sonesta, or
equivalent). Double occupancy room, extra
for a single room.
- Restaurants of Luxor or Gourna for lunches
(a different one each time).
- Transport by luxury bus with air conditioning
during the entire tour.
- Military escorts where necessary.
- Accompaniment by Luc Watrin, specialist
to the destination.
- The admissions to the sites of the program,
including the Karnak museum (open-air museum)
and Luxor museum.
- Two conferences organized in the evening
at the hotel and on the sites by M. Luc Watrin.
- An Egyptian guide of higher-education.
- Maps, cultural information on the main
sites visited.
- Administrative authorizations for several
sites: the palladium of Thebes (Karnak-north,
Tod, Medamoud, Ermant), Valley of the Monkeys,
the site of El-Kab and permission for an excursion
for sites located south of Thebes on the left
bank of the Nile (Kasr el-Agouz, Malqatta,
Birket-Habou) as well as access to Wadi-Hammamât.
- Visa fees.
The cost of the trip does not include:
- Drinks.
- The excursion in hot-air balloon (100 euros).
- Sound and light show at Karnak.
- Visit to the grave of Tutankhamon.
- Personal expenses.
- Baggage and cancellation insurance.
- Tips to the local guides and to the driver.
- The usual tips in Egypt on the sites and
in restaurants (expect 25 euros per person
to give to your guide on the first day).
Travel organizer: Local providers.
Travel base: 10 to 20 persons (maximum).
Dates: From 08 to 15 December 2007
Prix : Nous
Contacter
Sponsorship: GREPAL
Technical and cultural design of the trip:
Mr Luc Watrin (Egyptologist/Researcher associated
with the CNRS – UMR 7041, Director of the
GREPAL). Tel. 01 47 50 46 88.
10 rue de la Côte d’Argent 92410 Ville
d’Avray.
Email :
lucwatrin@grepal.org
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