Tomb of Queen Nefertari in Luxor, Egypt
First: Who does not know who Queen Nefertari is?
Nefertari is one of the most famous Egyptian queens throughout history, such as Queen Hatshepsut and Queen Nefertiti, as she was one of the most important and famous wives of King “Ramses II”, the greatest king of the nineteenth Pharaonic dynasty (13th century BC and Nefertari occupied the preferred position among the king’s wives Ramses II, she was the highest rank and highest position.
Nefertari means the beautiful companion, and her name has different meanings, including (“the unparalleled beloved”, “the most beautiful of the beautiful women of the world”, and also “the sweetest of them” and the pronoun here refers to all women.
Nefertari was not the first to bear this name. She was preceded by Queen Ahmose Nefertari, the dean of the Eighteenth Dynasty, who the ancient Egyptians deified after her death. Most likely, Nefertari was named after her (just a point of view).
Queen Nefertari was called by several titles, including (The Hereditary Princess, the Great Royal Wife, Lady of the Two Lands, and Goddess of Upper and Lower Egypt. She also held the “God’s Wife” position, and Queen Nefertari also obtained the Queen’s favourite status among King Ramses II’s wives.
In her youth, Queen Nefertari married Prince Ramses II when he was 14 years old, and archaeologists believe that Nefertari married Ramses II a year before he acceded to the throne. between his wives
Nefertari was certainly a sober lady who could distance herself and her position from the huge rivalry between the harem of Pharaoh Ramses II and his secondary wives.
Nefertari participated with King Ramses II in official rituals and ceremonies, something that no queen had known before, except for Queen Nefertiti and King Akhenaten (the Eighteenth Dynasty). The second edifice of the Ramesseum temple.
It did not happen that an Egyptian Pharaonic king built a temple for his wife other than Ramses II; Where the Temple of Nefertari, adjacent to the temple of her husband in Abu Simbel, is considered one of the miracles of architecture in ancient Egypt. It was completely carved into the rock of Mount Abu Simbel and was represented a lot by its statues in Luxor, the Temple and Abu Simbel, and he also carved two large statues for her among his statues.
The title of Queen Nefertari as the “hereditary princess” confirms her great position in Thebes (the capital of ancient Egypt, and it was a blessed land according to their beliefs, and it is currently Luxor). It is believed that the marriage of Ramses II to Nefertari was to strengthen his position in the south of the valley, and in Thebes in particular, where The origin of this king is due to the eastern delta.
But despite the broad titles that Queen Nefertari obtained, and her royal tomb, which is unparalleled in any other civilization, what we know about the origin of the queen does not promise much, and opinions fluctuate between Nefertari being the daughter of the pharaoh, “i.e.”, who ruled after the death of the golden pharaoh “Tutankhamun”; The only evidence for this is the finding of the name “i” in the tomb of the queen, as other evidence indicates that she was the daughter of Pharaoh Seti I, in addition to our knowledge of her participation in her husband, Pharaoh “Ramses II” in the first era of his extended reign; Whether in official occasions, or attending interviews with senior officials and statesmen, or honouring them.
Second: The tomb of Queen Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens in Luxor, Egypt:
The tomb of Nefertari was discovered in 1904 AD, by the Italian mission headed by “Sicaparelli”, where the tomb is located to the right of the entrance to the Valley of the Queens on the western bank of Luxor, and Queen “Sat Ra”, the wife of King Ramses I, was the mother of King “Seti I”, the first queen of the nineteenth dynasty, which is buried in this place, followed by Queen “Tui”, mother of King Ramses II and wife of King Seti I, who is located directly next to the tomb of Queen Nefertari.
The tomb of Queen Nefertari has not been opened to the public since its discovery in 1904 AD, only in the early nineties of the last century, due to some damage to the inscriptions and decorations due to the deposition of salts.
The tomb of Queen Nefertari is one of the most luxurious, greatest and most beautiful tombs in the Valley of the Queens. It is the tomb numbered (QV66) in the Valley of the Queens on the western bank of Luxor.
The Valley of the Queens is the most beautiful tomb to be discovered for an ancient Egyptian queen throughout history.
The tomb of Queen Nefertari was distinguished by the beauty of the inscriptions, their accuracy, the skill of photography, their very creative drawings, the use of bright colours, and the beauty of the paper and elegance of Queen Nefertari in her pictures in the tomb. Perhaps this wonderful design is one of Nefertari’s secrets, which made fashion designers from all over the world come to her cemetery to be inspired by these designs, the latest international fashion lines.
This is not all; the accuracy with which Queen Nefertari’s collections of jewellery and bracelets appeared also made the designers of accessories take inspiration from the latest trends in the world of jewellery. From earrings, bracelets and necklaces, she puts cosmetics on her face.
The opening leading to the inside of the tomb faces east, the ceiling of the tomb expresses the sky at night, dark black, studded with golden stars, the colour is dark black tinged with bluish, reflecting the colour of the god Anubis, the frank black,
The tomb is replete with lively carvings and frescos, and there is a wall painting depicting the queen playing a game similar to chess.