Egypt: Luxor – Queen Hatshepshut Temple

Temple of Queen Hatshepshut is located at the base of high cliffs on the west side of Nile – an incredibly scenic location, basking in the sun from early morning till afternoon. Three layers of terraces with double rows of columns take you higher and higher into the temple. Every wall, every column, every ceiling are decorated with scenes and writing, many in excellent condition and preserving color. The scenes mostly describe the story of the divine birth of the female Pharaoh Hatshepshut and her reign – in fact she is considered to be the first woman to rule a country in history of mankind, ascending to the thrown as a regent of her son who she put into a separate palace-like prison and then ruled alone (the son later became the pharaoh himself and erased her face from every statue and relief in Egypt in revenge). She is credited with massive construction projects as well as establishing the trade route to the Punt (nowadays Puntland in Somalia).