The Osirieon

Through the rear door of the temple is the Osirieon, the only visible tomb at this site, which was built before the main temple. Much of the damage to the Osirieon has been from flooding, as it was built at water level, yet it is not much diminished. Red Aswan granite pillars, each weighing about a hundred tons apiece, support equally massive archways. This temple was built as a symbol of Seti's closeness to Osiris and contains a sarcophagus, though Seti was not buried here. Seti's actual tomb is in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. This was a fairly common practice among many of the pharaohs, having "public" tombs in one location, but actually being buried in another. The Osirieon is currently inaccessible because of the rising sand and the flooding that has occurred. Excavation has been done on the south side passage, which revealed texts from The Book of the Gates and The Book of What is in the Duat. This section was begun by Seti and finished by his grandson, Merneptah. It is a complete tomb structure, all ready to receive the mummy of a king, yet it does not appear ever to have been used so.
Abydos does have a reputation for these "false tombs" or cenotaphs. Some theorists state that Abydos does not even have a single actual tomb in it, but that all the dead who have tombs at Abydos are actually buried elsewhere. The cemeteries of northern Saqqara certainly have a great number of royal mastabas, of which many have been linked to the Archaic rulers. It is very possible that actual burials of kings and high-ranking officials were carried out at Saqqara, which is near Memphis, the new court city. Thus the monuments at Abydos are precisely that : monuments. It is fairly simple to see why this might be so. The rulers would no doubt have a desire to be buried near the place they ruled, but Abydos was also a powerful site because of its religious ties, as well as being deep in the ancient homelands. Thus, the rulers arranged to have themselves "buried" in both places. The body at Saqqara or another site, and a cenotaph built at Abydos. Of course, the reverse could be true, with Abydos as the true burial site and all the tombs at Saqqara are cenotaphs. Or perhaps the explanation involves a little bit of both, with some rulers desiring to be buried near Memphis, and others at Abydos, but each ruler building two tombs, one in each location.
It would be rather unusual for the rulers to remain as visible as possible in their new capital during life, and then at death, simply passing from view. Thus much of the current consensus is that Saqqara is the actual burial site and that Abydos is the site of the royal monuments. The tombs at Saqqara as a whole are larger and more luxurious than those at Abydos (with the exception of the valley "temples" of Abydos which are immense and have no known Saqqaran counterparts), suggesting that Saqqara is the true burial site.

The Temple of Osiris

The original Temple of Osiris was built by Seti I, who came to power 29 years after the collapse of the regime of Akhenaten. Seti wished to restore the beliefs in the traditional gods and so built this temple to show his devotion. The way leading into the temple had two courts and a pylon, which were built by Ramesses II. The way these courts and pylon were positioned gave the entrance the illusion of sloping upwards. Sadly, this entrance has been mostly destroyed. The front of the temple is now 12 rectangular pillars, covered with sacred images welcoming Osiris, Isis, and Horus. The first (outer) hypostyle hall was built by Ramesses, but the quality of the decorations on the columns are not as impressive as those found in the second (inner) hall, which Seti built. It is widely thought that Ramesses used the best craftsmen in building his own temple, but used lower quality workers on this temple after the death of Seti. Just beyond the second hall are the seven separate sanctuaries dedicated to Seti I, Osiris, Isis, Horus, Amen, Mut, and Khensu. Originally, seven doors led to the sanctuaries, but Ramesses, for reasons still unknown, had all but one covered over. When the temple was in use, each of the sanctuaries would have contained the god's barque (sacred boat), and would have had a stele placed in front of a false door. The sanctuaries were locked and only the high priests of each god could enter, as the Egyptians believed that the gods actually lived inside their sanctuaries. The sanctuaries are highly decorated with bas-relief paintings dedicated to the several gods of the temple. Many of the bas-reliefs in the sanctuaries still have their coloring, but the best decorations are the masterful unpainted moldings. One scene in Seti's sanctuary shows him being crowned by the goddess of Upper and Lower Egypt, but by far the most incredible paintings are the ones found in Osiris' sanctuary. The temple also possesses a King's Gallery, a room that lists all over its walls the names of the gods along with over 70 of Seti's predecessors (minus some omitted for political reasons such as Akhenaten and Hatsheosut), making it an invaluable resource for historians.

Abydos (Abtu)

Location :
Suhag, EgyptSituated on the West Bank of the Nile, 12 km south-east of Al-Ballyana, it was the chief center for worshipping the god Osiris.
How to get there : By daily air conditioned trains, scheduled at regular hours. By private vehicles, taxis and tourist buses. For information and reservation contact the Upper Egypt Bus Company which organizes excursions to Al-Minya. Tel : +20-2-2609304/9297/8.
Description
On the west bank of the Nile, 90 miles (145 km) north of Luxor, lies the Temple of Abydos. Abydos is linked to the earliest dynasties recorded, and in 1993, the earliest known tomb was found here, along with some of the oldest hieroglyphics ever discovered. The Temple dates to around 3150 BC, and the records have provided scholars with much of what is known about the earliest periods of recorded history. This area, sacred to Osiris, was a very powerful location to those who believed in the next world. The ancient Egyptians said that at sunset, the area looked like a golden staircase leading to the afterlife, and thus many people wished to be buried here. It was here, too, that Osiris, after being killed by his brother Seth, returned to power. Seth had killed Osiris and scattered the pieces of his body all over Egypt. Osiris' wife and sister, Isis, gathered the pieces one by one, put them back together, and restored life to her husband. It was said that Abydos was where the final piece, his head, was buried, and so it was here that Osiris was brought back to life to become the judge of the dead and lord of the netherworld.

Abu Simbel

Not only are the two temples at Abu Simbel among the most magnificent monuments in the world but their removal and reconstruction was an historic event in itself. When the temples (280 km from Aswan) were threatened by submersion in Lake Nasser, due to the construction of the High Dam, the Egyptian Government secured the support of UNESCO and launched a world wide appeal. During the salvage operation which began in 1964 and continued until 1968, the two temples were dismantled and raised over 60 meters up the sandstone cliff where they had been built more than 3,000 years before. Here they were reassembled, in the exact same relationship to each other and the sun, and covered with an artificial mountain. Most of the joins in the stone have now been filled by antiquity experts, but inside the temples it is still possible to see where the blocks were cut. You can also go inside the man made dome and see an exhibition of photographs showing the different stages of the massive removal project.
Abu Simbel was first reported by J. L. Burckhardt in 1813, when he came over the mountain and only saw the facade of the great temple as he was preparing to leave that area via the Nile. The two temples, that of Ramesses II primarily dedicated to Re-Harakhte, and that of his wife, Nefertari dedicated to Hathor, became a must see for Victorians visiting Egypt, even though it required a trip up the Nile, and often they were covered deeply in sand, as they were when Burckhardt found them.

Moen-Jo-Daro Sindh Pakistan:The City Of Deads

We had a memorable trip to Moen-jo-Daro.Moen-jo Daro means the city of Dead. It is located in the District of Larkana,Sindh.The city depicts a picture of ruins however the remnants of the city verifies that once it was a remarkable city with outstanding planning and infra-structure. These historical remnants are about 4000 years old. The inhabitants were very intelligent planners. A time period of approximately 4000 years ago when the technological development was zero they managed to sort out a well planned city.
Each house was made of large baked bricks and had a bathroom and servant quarter too. Covered drain ran beside the streets. Even these were built of baked bricks. This showed how well organized those people were in those times. Carts and other forms of transport could come right to the centre of the town.
If you have an opportunity to visit this place you can still see the great hall where the grains were stored. There is a wide road in the middle of which was the shopping centre with shops on both sides. The city of Moen-Jo-Daro was found when a team of excavators under the leadership of Sir Mortimer Wheeler reached to the place.
During the excavation process, some objects were found that provided guidance about the city. These interesting historical objects are placed in Museum. These include seals of various animals, terra cota figurines,designed ornaments, toys and painted pottery. A metal statue of a dancing girl has also been discovered. It is because of these metal objects the probable age of these historical ruins have been estimated. There is no proof of how the city got destroyed however some objects indicate them to met their destiny by the attack of Aryans, who plundered their for food and shelter.

Historic Places -- China - Photos

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Three Gorges Dam

The Three Gorges region in China has long been famous for its scenery – towering green cliffs and the shimmering Yangtze River surround the area, swallowing the afternoon sky. But the controversial addition of the 3 Gorges Dam in China has made the area an even greater tourist attraction. Just 25 miles upstream from the city of Yichang in central China, the Three Gorges Dam China is one of the top spots to visit in the often overlooked Hubei province. The controversy is over the dam's affect on the neighboring environment. It's not just one of the biggest dams in China , it's the largest hydroelectric dam in the entire world – and its construction has displaced thousands and thousands of humans and animals, unbalancing a delicate ecosystem that has been in place for decades. As wide as the Golden Gate Bridge, and almost twice as tall, the Three Gorges Dam China is a monumental structure, overpowering everything around it. Spillways and powerhouses choke the river where the endangered dolphins used to play. Archaeologists have complained that millions of artifacts were submerged to create just another of the many dams in China. Despite some public outcry, however, the dam provides a number of positive effects on the country as a whole. The 3 Gorges Dam in China will severely cut down on pollution throughout the country. Ability to control the waterline will also prevent uncontrolled flooding, thereby lessening the effects of erosion on the nearby ecosystem. As tourism grows in China, so does the popularity of the 3 Gorges Dam in China. The views are unchanged, even if the cliffs look smaller, jutting a little less magnificently above the new waterline. The observation tower on the dam allows tourists one of the very best views in all of China, looking out into the lush hills that surround the peaceful area. Watching ships pass through the intricately laid out locks is another highlight of a trip this China dam. But you don't have to stick around the whole time - it takes over three hours to pass through. The Three Gorges Dam China has also increased riverboat traffic, allowing more and more visitors to traverse serene stretches of the Yangtze River, as long as you are looking upstream from the most overwhelming of the dams in China.