Deir
el-Bahri (Arabic dayr al-bari, literally
meaning, “The Northern Monastery”)
is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs
located on the west bank of the Nile,
opposite the city of Luxor, Egypt. The
first monument built at the site was the
mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II of the
Eleventh dynasty. During the Eighteenth
dynasty, Amenhotep I and Hatshepsut also
built extensively at the site. The first
king of the Middle Kingdom, Mentuhotep
II built a combined mortuary temple and
tomb in the cliffs at Deir el-Bahri. It
consists of a ramp up to a flattened terrace,
which had a 'structure' on it (this may
have been a pyramid or a simple mound).
This structure was surrounded been a pillared
hall (see image). Behind this structure
was an open court, then a hypostyle hall,
and then the sanctuary and tomb of the
king himself.
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