West Banks of the Nile
On the way to our next site in Luxor, we stopped along the road to admire the impressive Colossi of Memnon.
These two faceless colossi (statues) are the first thing visitors see when they reach the west bank of the Nile opposite Luxor. This isn’t surprising when you hear their dimensions: they tower 60 feet (18 m) above the plains and are estimated to weigh an enormous 720 tons each. Carved from sandstone from the quarries near Cairo, Egyptologists believe these must have then been transported the 420 miles (675 km) south to Thebes, or modern-day Luxor, over land, as they would have been too heavy to be carried on the Nile. The statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, showing him seated, were built to guard his funerary temple. The complex, the largest on the west bank, is still being excavated by archaeologists.
https://www.introducingegypt.com/colossi-of-memnon
After our brief stop, we continued on to explore the Temple of Hatshepsut, a mortuary temple built during the reign of Pharaoh Hatshepsut of the 18th century dynasty of Egypt. It is considered to be a masterpiece of ancient architecture with its three massive terraces that rise above the desert floor and into the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari. This temple enlarges the pharaoh and includes sanctuaries to honor the gods relevant to her afterlife. One of the main highlights of the temple are the wall carvings and descriptions that detail and document the important events of Hatshepsut and her relation to the god Amun.
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Our roots will forever be from here, America, born and raised. Yet, life requires us to move more frequently than we care to count. Whether living stateside or abroad, you can always find us traveling somewhere. We scout out places that you only think you can dream of one day seeing and we seek out those that aren’t found in guidebooks. We then bring them to life here in our travel memos, so hopefully, one day you too can visit them or at least be able to live vicariously through us. This blog isn’t just about crossing off places from a bucket list. It’s about absorbing and learning how other cultures grow and fit into the same world that we do. Life is short and the world is big. Enjoy and get out there!
American Roots. Traveling Boots. 