Λούξορ: Εκατό Πύλες για τις Θήβες της Αιγύπτου, του καθ. Μουχάμαντ Σαμσαντίν Μεγαλομμάτη

Luqsor: One Hundred Gates to Thebes
By Prof. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis

Indisputably the world's largest archeological area, Thebes of Egypt, modern Luxor. lit. the city of the Camps, gives you the impression that you have reached destination.

By Prof. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis

Waset was for the ancient Egyptians of the 2nd and the 1st millennia "the city" par excellence, Niout. For the humble visitors, Niout was almost the center of the then world. The palatial district, Deba, altered by the Greek visitors into Thebai, won an unprecedented high place of luxury, imperial authority, knowledge and wisdom, religious and political supremacy, artistic work and grandiose plans. Several of them never came to be true, like the golden obelisk of Hatshepsut, but who says that the Mankind ceased to dream?

Risen to political power only at the middle of the second pre-Christian millennium, Thebes became the synonym of extravagant wealth, probably collected by the Pharaohs of the New Empire in their expeditions in the South, in the vast land of Kush, in the area of today's northern Sudan, and in the North, in Palestine, Phoenicia and Syria. Tuthmosis III was the first Pharaoh to reach the then faraway Euphrates in Mesopotamia! At those days, no other city in the world could match Waset in military power or beauty. We did not excavate much of the palatial or residential areas of the City, but we have every reason to believe that a sublime beauty was to be found there: ancient Egyptian pictures of houses, gardens, fields, palaces and feasts offer us a furtive glimpse of the paradise-on-the-Nile. There was love for the nature, piety and serene thought; everything took place under the auspices of the first Trinity in the World History: Amun, Mut and Montou, a holy family whose last and younger member was usually confused or identified with Khonsou, the Moon. Quite paradoxically, Amun was a political god and did not offer much for a debate in metaphysics. And yet, on the other side of the river, the supreme masters of Kemet, the "Black" as Egypt was then called, consecrated a large portion of their treasures for their expensive trips in the Hereafter.

These "trips" took a great part of wisdom to be carried out! Who has ever known the technicalities and the formalities of the embalming better than the Egyptian masters? Who developed theories about the Judgement of the Souls more sophisticated than those contained in the frequently quoted in the tombs Book of the Hours? And all these zoo- and anthropomorphic gods that scared so much the Greeks and the Romans were just animal gods or configurations of basically transcendental concepts and traits?

All came here; the Babylonians, the Mitanni, the Hittites of Anatolia, the area of today's Turkey, the Canaanites of Ugarit, the Phoenicians of Byblus and Tyre, the Minoans from the island of Crete, the Greeks of Mycenae. One Hittite prince came even to get married with the widow of Tutankhamun, the notorious Ankhesenamun, who wrote a letter to the Hittite king and urged him to send her someone, being not sure about the intentions of Ay, the high priest of Amun, since he intended to ascend to the throne of Thebes through such a marriage.

Then, after the victory of Ramses III over the Sea Peoples, a very slow decay characterized Thebes in times of division of Egypt; even then, despite its limited political power, Thebes had an edge over all the rest: an immense past and a legendary name of radiation that only Babylon could claim to match. Wenamun, the priest of Amun, moved from Thebes to Byblus, around 1075 BCE, and found strange that Tsekker Baal of Byblus did not comply with his request for valuable cedar wood, necessary for the construction of the holy boat of Amun, and did not fear, when hearing the name of the past glories. No rich tombs were to be hewn in the western mountains any more, but rather the whole city was to be considered as an entire mausoleum and therefore venerated as such.

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Η Άφθαστη, Διαχρονική Αίγλη των Θηβών της Αιγύπτου, όπως την περιέγραψε ο Έλληνας Αιγυπτιολόγος καθ. Μουχάμαντ Σαμσαντίν Μεγαλομμάτης

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Then came the invaders; Assurbanipal was the first and only to attack and destroy Thebes. Doing so, he acted friendly to Egypt, kicking out the Kushite Taharqa, who was put on the throne of Egypt by the priesthood of Thebes. The Assyrian emperor installed Psammetichus, the Libyan prince, who was his ally, at the throne of Egypt. Ruined, Thebes did not forfeit any part of its importance and was rather integrated in an entire commercial net of land, fluvial, desert and maritime routes that was established by the Persian conquerors, who wished to link the parts of their vast empire in a definite way.

Then, Thebes remained always the ultimate destination, although the intention was not political alliance but historical veneration, admiration and commemoration. Even in these times of decay, the Greek "reporter" Herodotus was able to speak of the One Hundred Gates of Thebes. Were they entrances to a vast palace or temple, doors of a fortress (that we know it never existed), or perhaps Schools of Initiation in the long date Mysteries of Kemet, of Egypt?

Alexander the Great came to venerate too and had an extension built at the famous temple of Amun, where the statue of the god was transferred from Karnak during the holy days of Opet, the great religious feast. Thebes in advanced decay never ceased to vibrate the aspirations of rebels against the Ptolemaic and the Roman rulers; and the rulers of Meroe in Sudan, who built so many pyramids at those days, supported these rebels in a reminiscence of the Taharqa days!

At the crepuscule of the Antiquity, the Roman Emperor Germanicus had an exclusive and extensive itinerary in the ruins of Thebes, where he was initiated in the great mysteries of the glorious past by one of the very few last priests, who were still versant in hieroglyphics. From that moment on, the grandeur of Thebes was to be intercepted spiritually rather than seen by just open eyes. The spirit of Thebes sent a convocation to Christain monks, who found it interesting to set their monasteries among several ancient monuments. That is why we now call the temple of Hatshepsout just "Deir al Bahari" (the northern monastery")! And the Eastern Roman armies that were stationed here had their barracks next to the temple of the Opet feast. When the first Arabs came, they called the area "the camps", Al Uqsur. This was the last contribution to the history of the area's names. It was meant to be left intact, until the magnetized Europeans came to rediscover the magnificence of the yet untold story of Waset.

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STREETWISE (and not only)
SPLENDID HOTEL
The Winter Palace is not just a hotel; it is rather the expression of the European colonialism at its best. Instead of being a combined and mixed style Moorish building, it consists in the quintessence of the British concept of interiors of the Victorian era. The famous "1886" Restaurant, the impressive Victorian Lounge and the unique Royal Bar are a must for anyone who wants to pretend that he visited Luqsor. Sitting in the veranda makes you feel the most recent colonialist in duty. (tel. 095 - 380422)

GREAT VIEWS
You certainly get a better view of the Theban monuments from the air. The famous company Hod Hod Sulayman will arrange for you the way to the sublime skies of Thebes: in a hot air balloon! You will wake up early, cross the Nile and take off at around 6:20 in the morning. First you will admire the temple of Hatshepsout, then all the rest in a trip that may last approximately one hour and is offered at an affordable price. (tel. 095 - 370116)

SPECTACULAR LEARNING
Perhaps the best way to get a strong impression about the history and the monuments of Luqsor is to attend the Sound & Light. It is rather a tour in several parts of the great temple of Amun at Karnak, the Great Colonnade included, before you seat next to the sacred lake of the temple to absorb an unprecedented dose of history and brilliant stars reflected in the water. As usually, offered in several languages, Arabic included. (tel. 02 - 3863469)

LOST TECHNIQUES
You will get a certain understanding of them thanks to a visit at the Mummification Museum near the Luqsor temple and the shore of the Nile. Embalming techniques were applied by ancient Egyptians to many species, not only the humans. Very interesting mommies of cats, fish and crocodiles are exposed in this unique museum, where one can also get an idea about the tools used in this regard.