Medinet Habu, sky view
It was not just a mortuary temple as it incorporated Ramses’ palace where he lodged on his visits to Thebes, his pleasure rooms where he entertained his harem, his government offices, a sacred lake and a Nilometer which measured the rise and fall of the river. The outer walls of the temple are also finely decorated and a mud-brick wall surrounds the whole complex.
Temple of Ramses III at Medinet Habu:
Ramses III reigned Egypt for 31 years (1184 –1153 BC) and like many pharaohs before him was a prodigious builder. As well as greatly enlarging the Medinet Habu (Habu’s City) to become his mortuary palace, he built the wonderful Osiris courtyard in Karnak temple.
Temple of Ramses III at Medinet Habu
Before entering the mortuary temple visitors pass under the windowed gateway where Ramses had his pleasure rooms and enter an open space which was once a magnificent garden.
Facing, is the deeply carved first pylon, which shows Ramses fighting imaginary battles against the enemies of Egypt but on the inner walls are scenes of battles that he really did fight and win. To the right of the gateway is the temple that Hatshepsut built and on the left is the temple of the Divine Adoratrix, which was added at a later date.
From the temple of Ramses III
The temple has a chequered history. Apart from being plastered over with mud and turned into a Coptic monastery, when the Egyptian economy began to crumble it was the scene of a labour demonstration.
Workers from Deir el Medina gathered there when they went on strike over their lack of pay and poor conditions of employment. Was this the first organised labour dispute? When social order broke down even further, gangs of Libyan bandits roamed the area and when they were attacked, the entire population of Deir el Medina abandoned their town and took refuge within the temple walls.
Recommended References about Medinet Habu:
Medinet Habu Graffiti Facsimiles
The Excavation of Medinet Habu
