Videos: Pyramids and Temples in Egypt
The ceiling and the top of columns in the temple of Dendera, in Egypt. April 18, 2023.
Call me slow on the uptake, but I’ve now realized that some of the sights I’ve seen on my travels—not just the moments between people, which are one thing, but the actual art or architecture of historical sites—need capture in video for better representation of the experience and the place.
I learned this on my travel in Rome, where the ancient Roman mosaics in the spaces and museums wowed me, and I had the same realization at the temples and pyramids in Egypt.
My video skills haven’t hit particularly high quality, but I’ll keep working at it. Also, as I’ve only just begun to realize the importance of video in capturing certain sights, I haven’t yet made taking video a habit. I default to photos—when I even remember to take photos! Later, in reviewing what I’ve captured as mementos, I recognize how lacking they are when it comes to many of the places and things I’ve seen.
For these videos of ancient Egyptian pyramids and temples, I didn’t add any background audio or even do much by way of editing (just a little trimming of their length when the beginnings and endings didn’t add much). I felt that the original track’s sounds of tourists murmuring and the guides lecturing and the people calling to each other—the ambient noise of the space—adds ambiance. Go figure.
Side note: If you have a trip to Egypt in the planning, consider reading my article about how to have a better travel experience in Egypt.
Sakkara Step Pyramids
We went into one of the step pyramids in Sakkara to see a burial chamber, but the crowds in the tiny space made photos and videos impossible.
This exterior video of the area gives almost a better feel for the look and atmosphere of this site, which historians believe could feature the most ancient pyramids in Egypt—ones built before even the more internationally famous pyramids at Giza.
Luxor Temple
The temple in Luxor at night—and any time of day, really—will stun you with magnitude and magnificence. They’ve done a beautiful job with the lighting.
A lengthy processional of sphynxes links this temple entrance to Karnak temple, which stands so far behind me in this video that you couldn’t see it even if I had turned around while filming.
Dendera Temple
The ancient Egyptians built the temple in Dendera to honor the goddess Hathor.
The engravings on its ceiling—astronomical in nature—are one of its most astonishing elements. I wish I’d better captured them here (though I might have gotten a serious neck cramp—the height of these spaces is astonishing, as you can see).
Tombs in the Valley of the Kings
Ancient Egyptians lived their “first lives” on the east side of the Nile; their bodies moved to the west side after they died, where ancient Egypt had its groupings of pyramidal tombs.
In the valley of the queens, you find tombs for queens—and vice versa for the valley of the kings. (Surprise!)
I took this video, with the sarcophagus in front of me in the center of the room, at the base of the long corridor leading down from the entrance to one of the tombs:
Each pyramid had several rooms, all highly decorated and once filled with supplies for the dead person in the afterlife, offerings, some of the belongings of the person who died, and often even animals and people beloved by the dead person.
I took the below video in one of the interior rooms of the same pyramid I’d just entered in the video above.
You’ll Find More Egyptian Temples and Pyramids!
Don’t worry: During my visits to Egypt, I saw more pyramids and temples than just these!
I visited the pyramids at Giza, the temple at Karnak, the Esna temple, the temples of Philae, Kom Ombo temple, and the Edfu temple as well.
Alas, I only took video of these four. The photos I took of the rest don’t do them justice. Further, you can find better photos of those places on-line than the ones I took. (From actual professionals, don’tcha know.)
I’ll do a better job with my video capture in the future—both in taking them and in the quality of the results!