Egypt, day 3: Medinet Habu

Our last leg of the tour was the Temple of Medinet Habu, built by Ramesses III. It was much less crowded than the other sites we hit and so we were able to see it in relative peace, which of course made it that much more enjoyable. Although technically not the best preserved temple (that honor is awarded to the Temple of Horus), its carvings are extremely well preserved. I think it is one of my favorite sites that we visited.

On-going excavations


Like the Temple of Karnak, this one is also a pylon, or gated temple








The carved hieroglyphs here are extremely deep


So much so that small birds were happy to make their homes within some of the carvings


Our guide. She was very friendly but pretty useless.


Inside one of the priest's sanctuaries


We had to pay a little backsheesh (a bribe) to see it


Notice how deep the carving is in places? Incredible!




Here is our little group. Besides the 5 of us there was a young Irish couple and our guide.


Ramesses smiting an enemy


Ramesses on his chariot


Huge hieroglyphs


Every surface was decorated


And so much of the original pigment survives






Thoth, the ibis-headed ancient god of astronomy (among other things). With Isis, he is one of the figures (depicted in human form) painted on the ceiling in the Sala Bologna.




My favorite donkey of the trip


So cute! :)