Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, a photo from Luxor, Inland

Photographer's Note

Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (1508-1458 BC), between the Valley of Kings and the Valley of Queens, in Luxor (Ancient Thebes), Egypt.

You can see here a larger,sharper and more detailed version of the photo.

Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

The Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, the Djeser-Djeseru ("Holy of Holies"), is located beneath the cliffs at Deir el Bahari on the west bank of the Nile near the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. The mortuary temple is dedicated to the sun god Amon-Ra and is located next to the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II, which served both as an inspiration, and later, a quarry. It is considered one of the "incomparable monuments of ancient Egypt." [1] The temple was the site of the massacre of 62 people, mostly tourists, by extremists that took place on 17 November 1997.

The Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw is responsible for the study and restoration of the three levels of the temple. As of early 1995, the first two levels were almost complete, and the top level was still under reconstruction.

Astronomical alignment

The main and axis of the temple is set to an azimuth of about 116ｽｰ and is aligned to the winter solstice sunrise,[4] which in our modern era occurs around the 21st or 22 December each year. The sunlight penetrates through to the rear wall of the chapel, before moving to the right to highlight one of the Osiris statutes that stand on either side of the doorway to the 2nd chamber. A further subtlety to this main alignment is created by a light-box, which shows a block of sunlight that slowly moves from the central axis of the temple to first illuminate the god Amen-Ra to then shining on the kneeling figure of Thutmose III before finally illuminating the Nile god Hapi.[4] Additionally, because of the heightened angle of the sun, around 41 days on either side of the solstice, sunlight is able to penetrate via a secondary light-box through to the innermost chamber.This inner-most chapel was renewed and expanded in the Ptolemaic era and has cult references to Imhotep the builder of Djoser's Step Pyramid and Amenhotep son of Hapu - the overseer of the works of Amenhotep III.

Copyright ｩ - This photograph is an intellectual property of its author,and is strictly forbidden, the reproduction,modification, or exploitation for any way,thus is protected by the Law. The use or reproduction by any way without previous written authorization of the photographer is strictly prohibited.For more please contact: [email protected]

pajaran, ikeharel, holmertz, Fis2, alvaraalto, pierrefonds, ourania, bukitgolfb301, papagolf21, jhm, cornejo, Royaldevon, adramad, PiotrF, ChrisJ, abmdsudi, PaulVDV, mcmtanyel, Graal, clic, shevchenko has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

pajaran (115805) 2016-02-25 10:43

Dobro vece.
Lep pogled i trenutak, dobar tekst o Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, sa istorijom i opisom ...
Dobar rad, lepo pokazano mesto i arhitektura, dobar kontrast i perspektiva, lepe boje.
Dobra kompozicija, lepo uhvacen trenutak sa posetiocima.
Lepa arhitektura.
Prijatno vece i sve najbolje.
Paja.

Good evening.
Beautiful view of the moment, a good article about the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, the history and description ...
Good work, nice place and the architecture shown, good contrast and perspective, beautiful color.
Good composition, nice moment caught with visitors.
Beautiful architecture.
Good evening and all the best.
Paja.

ikeharel (113273) 2016-02-25 10:59

Kalispera Danos,
The replica of the ancient and huge temple is well placed on picture space. The many tourists walking up and down from there added great vivid tones, motion and a sense of life in the desert.
a fine photo.
Ike

*** I added a link to your picture from the Stoa-of-Attelos to Burak's photo. He wish someone would give a word to specify the place he did not recollect from his Athena visit. hope you do not mind.

holmertz (102636) 2016-02-25 12:10

Hello Danos,
This temple is perfectly placed in a very dramatic scenery. It is still shocking to remember that some years ago terrorists killed several tourists right here. You took this photo on a calm and quiet day from a perfect angle where the many visitors provided life and colours. I am thinking of posting a photo from here soon, but from a very different angle. Because I never travel in a group I was able to arrive here from a different direction.
Kind regards.
Gert

Fis2 (170669) 2016-02-25 12:19

Witaj Danos!
A very interesting place, the view is impressive.
People reflect the size of the building.
Good framing, colors and light.
Well done.
Nice evening.
Krzysztof

mesutilgim (0) 2016-02-25 13:04

Hello dear Danos
This almost 10 years old capture from Egytp is also very nice.
The crowd of visitors adds life to your compo.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

alvaraalto (42804) 2016-02-25 13:21

Hello Danos,
I like this combination of an interesting picture of Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the large stream of tourist coming and going to this historical important place.
Excellent choice of the POV
Groet Rob

pierrefonds (114371) 2016-02-25 13:35

Hi Danos,

The presence of the crowd has an effect of scale. The point of view is showing the details of Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. The goos luminosity is bringing out the colors. Have a nice day.

ourania (51103) 2016-02-25 13:37

Καλησπέρα Δάνο,
πολύ σημαντική η συμβολή των επισκεπτών στη σύνθεσή σου, χάρη σ' αυτούς αποκτούμε αίσθηση προοπτικής, βάθους και κίνησης. Επίσης βοηθούν να αντιληφθούμε τις διαστάσεις και τη διάταξη του εντυπωσιακού μνημείου. Μου αρέσουν τα σαφή και φυσικά χρώματα καθώς και η αίσθηση ότι πολλοί από τους περιπατητές κοιτούν προς τον φακό σου. Συγχαρητήρια και ευχαριστώ!
Να είσαι καλά, καλή σου νύχτα,
Ουρανία

bukitgolfb301 (54014) 2016-02-25 20:50

Hi dear Danos

Ya so popular and common tourist place, but I have not yet visited. Very tatsy and natural focusing.
Nice framework and composition as usual.

All the best and have a good day! Takero

shreya2000 (2815) 2016-02-25 21:53

Hi Danos,

What a lovely image shared by you. The tourists are throng to the architecture and the hill is having engraved something or how it is made above the architecture. Looks to be a watchable place.

Regards,
joginder

papagolf21 (152607) 2016-02-25 23:25

Bonjour, cher ami Danos,
Je me souviens bien de ces lieux visit駸 en 1996. Un site grandiose � tous les niveaux.
Un grand merci pour ces informations et cette pr駸entation.
Amiti駸.
Philippe

emka (158058) 2016-02-26 0:18

Hi Danos, Not long ago we could see similar picture by Mariusz. Amazing temple, so different than other. Wuite a lot of people visiting. Excellent presentation.

WArm regrad s MAlgo

jhm (211736) 2016-02-26 3:26

Hello Danos,

We get a lovely panorama view with the people in foreground
You create depth and perspective with a nice building in background.
Composition and presentation are very well.
Excellent done, TFS.

Kind regards,
John

jmdias (115072) 2016-02-26 5:59

danos

marvelous view of the temple here. it is a pity this country is facing hard moments and it isn't so easy to visit like in the past. nbcie perspective.

hugs

jorge

Royaldevon (85862) 2016-02-26 6:11

Hello Danos,

I very recently critiqued a photograph by Mariusz (mkamionka) from a very similar viewpoint, though his location didn't mention Luxor. The main difference between the two is that your photograph shows the people returning from the tomb, whilst his shows the people approaching the tomb.
The access road makes a great lead line and you have used a good dof.

It's an amazing place and must fill all the visitors with awe.
It is so sad that tourists are being advised not to visit Egypt at the moment, for it is a place full of ancient wonders.
When will people learn not to fight!!

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

Sergiom (117241) 2016-02-26 6:51

Bonjour Danos,

Quel bel endroit. u n'騁ais certainement pas seul � en profiter par cette journ馥 de grande affluence. L'homme � fait de bien belles choses.

Amicalement

Serge

Silvio1953 (221493) 2016-02-26 7:01

Ciao Danos, great view of fantastic temple, lovely composition with a lot of people, splendid light, fine details, excellent clarity and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

mkamionka (74329) 2016-02-26 7:32

Hi Danos,
You have already seen my photo of the same temple HERE.
What is interesting when one compares our two photos is that yours was taken from much further distance and so three layers are visible here while mine was taken already standing on the first floor hence only two levels are visible in mine. Here it appears as if the all floors were equally far but after analysis of both pictures the scale becomes even more impressive.
Great work,
M

rychem (72187) 2016-02-26 8:14

This is a fantastic place and we can see how many tourists visit this temple, imposing temple, very wll captured
regards Ryszard

adramad (72940) 2016-02-26 13:11

Hi Danos.
Sensational image of this temple, which has a unique architecture amazes me a little number of people visiting it at once, when I was many years ago, not so many tourists.
A fantastic photo with beautiful natural colors, very good lighting and excellent sharpness.
Well done. I love.
You enjoy the weekend.
Best wishes.
Luis.

PiotrF (54572) 2016-02-26 15:56

Hello Danos,
Interesting picture from Valley of Queen with wondeerful temple.The composition is very nice, great colors and details.
Good composition and quality, fine presentation.
Good work.
Regards
Piotr

ChrisJ (171818) 2016-02-26 16:38

Kalispera Danos,

Absolutely breathtaking and definitely on my to do list! Good sharpness and the tourist crowds add scale and animate the scene. The path adds strong linear perspective. Tfs!

abmdsudi (95869) 2016-02-26 22:01

Hi Danos
An inspiring general view and depth of the complex and its surrounding where I am more attracted to the astonishing treasury hewn out of the sandstone rock face in the backdrop. Human presence add the scale of vastness offsetting the earthy tones and boosting the colour contrast. A wonderful opportunity so well taken. Great shot, Congrats.
Best regards

resat1972 (7586) 2016-02-27 6:26

hi Danos,

interesting share from Egypt

succesfull photo

Reşat

eldancer1 (36343) 2016-02-27 13:43

Looks like they are having a tourist convention but I can't blame them this is a world famous attraction. Nicely captured with details. Well done, tfs.

Tue (92312) 2016-02-28 2:50

Hello Danos,
A beautiful view of the famous temple built against the impressive rocks. You placed it in a nice composition. The many tourists are absolutely unavoidable of course, but they add a very nice and colourful pattern here.
Lars

PaulVDV (62846) 2016-02-28 3:45

Hello Danos,
I have a lot of admiration for the ancient Egyptian temples and culture but each time that I see a picture of this temple I'm overwhelmed by that giant rock wall behind it.
There were surely a lot of visitors at the time that you visited this temple. I can spot numerous people on each level of this temple.
Best regards, Paul

mcmtanyel (68421) 2016-02-28 19:08

Hello Danos,
What a grand structure! People in the photo provide a nice sense of scale and their multi-colored costumes spruce up the photo.
Regards,
MT

Graal (103040) 2016-03-01 9:22

Hello Danos,
attractive place here's for touristes. It is as the pilgrimage. Good informations and photo-work. I like it.
Have a nice evening.
Aleksander

clic (76) 2016-03-03 8:24

Geia sou Danos
Sorry for being so late to answer to your kind words.
Given the long and colorful foreground, I see a clear and telling mental image of a mass resurrection that happened inside the temple; the rejuvenated bodies walking out towards their second lives!
Your facing shot reminds me of those ancient fascinating cave dwellings!
Se xereto.
Robert

claudeD (47754) 2016-03-08 11:03

Hello Danos,

very impressive view from the valley of queens showing this wonderful old architecture. Excellent composition, fine sharpness and light management. I like the view very much.TFS.

With regards from Luxembourg

JC

berek (50518) 2016-03-11 22:48

Dear Danos,
What a nice place. was certainly not the only one to benefit from this day of great affluence. The man did some wonderful things.
Have a nice weekend.
Burak Erekk

cristina1 (1165) 2016-04-07 1:19

Hello,
I remember very well when I visited this temple in 1998.
A place of history and obviously of people.
Wel done
Cristina

shevchenko (20560) 2016-05-30 22:41

Hi Danos,

Lively shot to show visitors to the tourism location, clear to see the magnificient architecture and also the geographic feature of the cliff with erosion too, interesting composition, distinct photo, good shoot.

Ally