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Luxor
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
6 people want to read
About the author
Giovanna Magi Bonechi
111 booksTravel guide writer Giovanna Magi Bonechi (25 June 1948 -) is the founder of the publishing house Casa Editrice Bonechi.
She is the daughter of Italian journalist Piero Magi (1922-2003) and the mother of writer Monica Bonechi.
She is the daughter of Italian journalist Piero Magi (1922-2003) and the mother of writer Monica Bonechi.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 2, 2025
This book replaces the usual swag of postcards that one might buy when visiting a famous tourist spot like Luxor. But they have also managed to include quite a bit of additional information.........mostly about the historical context of the various temples and tombs. Because the book covers the Valley of the kings and the Valley of the queens, a considerable portion of the book is devoted to the tombs of long departed Pharaohs and their consorts. I must confess that the lack of a decent location map made it difficult for me to figure out the location of the Valley of the kings in relation to Luxor. (It's quite close but on the Western Bank of the Nile and outside of the irrigated "green" area.
This particular book covers mainly the area around Luxor but include: The colossi of Memnon, The Ramesseum (which was really the huge funerary temple that Ramses II had built on the Western Bank. And, as previously mentioned, it includes the Valley of the kings and that of the Queens, and a Valley for the Nobles and another for the Artisans. It kind of intrigued me that the poor artisans were putting so much work into the tombs of the Pharaohs and I wondered what happed to the artisans in the after life without the ships and slaves and gold to help them on their way. But apparently, even the artisans seemed to get a reasonably decent "send-off"....according to their means. But they were certainly not anything like the lavish arrangements for the wealthy and powerful.
Lots of good pictures taken of the exteriors and interiors of the various tombs....... some of them still showing the delicate colouring from 3,300 years ago. (Which I find astonishing but I guess the dry desert air helps ...and, in many cases they were actually buried in the dry sand. Probably not really enough information here to satisfy an archeologist of historian but enough to satisfy me. Though I would have liked a few maps that showed the relationships to the rest of Egypt. Four stars from me.
This particular book covers mainly the area around Luxor but include: The colossi of Memnon, The Ramesseum (which was really the huge funerary temple that Ramses II had built on the Western Bank. And, as previously mentioned, it includes the Valley of the kings and that of the Queens, and a Valley for the Nobles and another for the Artisans. It kind of intrigued me that the poor artisans were putting so much work into the tombs of the Pharaohs and I wondered what happed to the artisans in the after life without the ships and slaves and gold to help them on their way. But apparently, even the artisans seemed to get a reasonably decent "send-off"....according to their means. But they were certainly not anything like the lavish arrangements for the wealthy and powerful.
Lots of good pictures taken of the exteriors and interiors of the various tombs....... some of them still showing the delicate colouring from 3,300 years ago. (Which I find astonishing but I guess the dry desert air helps ...and, in many cases they were actually buried in the dry sand. Probably not really enough information here to satisfy an archeologist of historian but enough to satisfy me. Though I would have liked a few maps that showed the relationships to the rest of Egypt. Four stars from me.
Displaying 1 of 1 review