Fodor's Expert Review Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

Appearing like a modern mirage, the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut is a sublime piece of architecture, consisting of three colonnades rising on terraces that melt into the foot of soaring limestone cliffs.

Hatshepsut was the most important woman to rule Egypt as pharaoh (1479–1458 BC). Instead of waging war to expand Egyptian territory like her predecessors, she chose to consolidate the country, build monuments, and organize expeditions to the land of Punt—modern scholars still debate its actual location—to bring myrrh, incense, and offerings for the gods. Before acting as pharaoh, she served as regent for her (then young) successor, Thutmose III. As soon as Thutmose III came of age to rule over Egypt, he began a program of erasing her name and images from monuments across the country, but some of them were preserved, perhaps by priests or temple workers loyal to Hatshepsut.

The reliefs inside the First Colonnade are damaged, but they include a detailed scene of transporting the queen's granite obelisks on boats from Aswan to Karnak. Take the large ramp that leads to the second courtyard. The Hathor Chapel on the left is dedicated to the goddess of motherhood and love, whose head tops the columns. To the right of the chapel starts the Second Colonnade, which shows expeditions to Punt, and the variety of goods brought back from there. The colonnade to the right of the ramp is devoted to the divine birth of Hatshepsut, and Hatshepsut's mother is seated with the god Amun-Ra between the first and second columns. By showing that she was of divine origin, Hatshepsut validated her right to rule over Egypt as pharaoh. The Anubis Chapel at the end of the colonnade is better preserved and still has a good amount of colored paint. Wall scenes show offerings given to the god of mummification.

The ramp continues to the Upper Terrace, where a line of crossed-arm statues of Hatshepsut as Osiris, god of the afterlife, hold court. The carvings in this terrace's hypostyle hall depict celebrations and coronation rituals, including the Beautiful Festival of the Valley, when the sacred boat (barque) of the sun god Amun-Ra visited the tombs and temples of deceased pharaohs on the West Bank. Priests carry barques with statues of the gods and pharaohs followed by musicians and dancers. Cut into the rock at the back of the terrace is the Sanctuary of Amun, with a star-painted ceiling and offering scenes. 

A golf-cart-style tram can whisk you the quarter of a mile from the end of the tourist market to the start of the temple complex for LE5. The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut is a common stop on tours before or after visiting the Valley of the Kings. This whole area is called Deir el-Bahri (Monastery of the North), but the tombs and other mortuary temples are closed or not worth visiting because they are in ruins.