EGYPT ADVENTURES

CARTER HOUSE & ISIS TEMPLE

Back in 2012 during my stay in Luxor Mohamed took me to Carter’s house where he lived during his discovery of King Tut’s tomb.  At the time it was in the same state as when he left and was not open to the public. 

Carter House Today

It did, however, have a guard keeping watch.  A small amount of baksheesh (tip) and we were in!!!  No furniture, per se, was left and it was a dreary place at best.

Sandra informed me of an article she read stating that Carter House was now restored and open with a replica of King Tut’s tomb in the desert behind the house.  I put it on my list of “must do”.  Mohamed and I set out on morning to buy the ticket so I can visit the site.

The ticket booth guy says $5.00 please!  I said $5.00 American?, can’t I pay in LE?  No, you must pay in dollars.  Can you change a $100 bill?  Astonished look - no!  Mohamed got involved at this point, but ’twas to no avail.  We spent the next 15 minutes or so dashing around to various shops to buy the dollars needed for the ticket.  I paid 50LE for the USD needed.  The exchange rate is 7.60LE to the dollar which means I paid 8.00LE for my $5.  Was worth it.  Back at the ticket booth Mohamed asked why the ticket (the only attraction in USD, by the way) is in USD.  He was told an American company provides the tickets and the Egyptian government needs to pay for them in dollars.  True??? Who knows, sounds good, but this is Egypt!!!  :-)

The house is spectacularly restored.  Each room is furnished with authentic style of the time. 

Bedroom

Walls and floors are cleaned and restored - all in all a fabulous restoration job.  I imagine seeing it in its pre-restoration state made me appreciate the effort that much more.  I was particularly taken with the authentic correspondence and post cards under the glass on his desk.

Desk

The movie showing the discovery was well done.  Have read there used to be a hologram of Carter wandering around, but that did not happen while I was there.

For some reason I pictured the replica of the tomb as it was when Carter found it, but it is not.  It is a replica of the tomb as it looks in the Valley of the Kings today.  Again a wonderful job with clear explanations on the walls of what you are seeing and the history needed to understand the significance of this find.  This must be the first replica of the planned many to be built in order to preserve the originals from crumbling and eroding.  The humidity of the breaths of visitors as well as light, etc is causing the colors to fade, and the plaster to fall off the walls.  It was said that once the replica was done, the real tomb will be closed to visitors.

ISIS TEMPLE:

On another day we set out across the desert to visit another newly opened site: Deir el-Shelwit ancient Egyptian temple to Isis from the Greek-Roman period. It stands on the West Bank about 4 km south of Medinet Habu.

Note Red Arrow Pointing The Way

All along the way to guide us through the desert we come upon these rocks.

The importance of the Isis temple of Deir el-Shelwit is because Graeco-Roman era religious buildings are rare in this area, and this is the only one not associated with the Theban Triad but with Isis.  

According to inscriptions on the propylon, construction of the Isis temple started around the beginning of 1st century CE. No earlier building is known to have stood on this site. According to one theory the temple's construction started under the reign of Nectanebo II and reached its finished form during the Greek-Roman era. Or the Ptolemaic era as it is also known. 

On the walls of the temple and the pylon the cartouches of Hadrianus, Antoninus Pius, Galba, Otho, Vespasianus and Julius Caesar can be seen. 

This is an exquisite little temple with ornate and unusual carvings. 

Isis Leading Her Sister Nyphtus

Even though it is small, I spent quite  a bit of time studying the walls. One scene in particular captures me as I have not seen anything like it before and can not tell you what it means, but it is pictured below.  What captivated me is the little tiny head poking up out of what appears to be a dressed and ready to cook duck or goose.  The head has a blue crown and two long feathers.  This could be Amun Re, but why he is there popping out of a goose or duck body is a mystery to me.

Pile of Offerings Note Tiny Blue Head

As we leave the temple Mohamed gets very excited and wants me to get my phone out to take a picture.  It is a bird - too late he flies away, but wait he just went around to sit under the eve of the other side.  He is a tiny owl, probably a barn owl.  If you look carefully, you can see him.

Tiny Owl

Much Love To You All,

Mom/Grandma Syrup/Sara