Medinet Habu Temple - Luxor
History
Medinet Habu Temple is situated on the western bank of the Nile in Luxor, it is also called the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III. This Temple of Ramses III (1186-1155 BC) who is buried in KV11 in the Valley of the Kings, modeled his great mortuary temple on the Ramesseum of his ancestor Ramses II.
First Pylon
The First Pylon of Medinet Habu is nearly same size as the one in the Luxor Temple on the eastern banks of the Nile. The temple has lots of well preserved reliefs from the Egypt’s ancient past. This reliefs depicts prisoners being held by their hair while being smited with a club. On the front of the great pylon, king is depicted slaughtering the groups of enemies before his god. On the inner wall of the First Pylon shows Ramesses III scatters the Libyans with his chariot.
A statue of Sekhmet goddess sits close to the entrance. She was originally the warrior goddess as well as goddess of healing for Upper Egypt. Often she was depicted as lioness who would assist the ancient Egyptians during the wars.
First and Second Courts of Medinet Habu Temple
The First Court of Medinet Habu Temple has tall columns and statues in it and reliefs show great details of Egyptian wars and other historical events. A beautifully decorated door leads to the Second Court. Nekhbet is depicted on the ceiling of the door between the first and the Second Court. She was a goddess patron of the city of Nekheb.
Second Court of the Medinet Habu has colourful depiction of it’s past and a great effort was put in, in order to create reliefs and frescoes in this temple. In the past, this court was also used as a Christian Church in the past. When the church was active here, the walls of the temple were covered with the mud.
The text to the right shows the details of an attack on the Egyptian frontiers by the invaders from the north during the reign of Ramesses III.
Crumbling ruins beside the north wall are making their last stand, the material used here seems to be darker in colour as compared to the other site. This temple is less visited by the tourists as compared to the other sites in the area and hence it has less graffiti but not entirely without it.
