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By Susan Cottman
From March 11-27, 2000, members of the Ancient Egypt Studies Association -- a nonprofit in Washington and Oregon devoted to the study of ancient Egypt -- took an intense tour of Egypt. The itinerary included one of the most beautiful sites in the world — the tomb of Nefertari.
It was already hot when we ventured into the Valley of the Queens. This was our first stop of the morning and a glorious way to begin the day.
Visitors are allowed 10 minutes inside to protect the fragile paintings, which the Getty Conservation Institute spent millions to painstakingly clean and repair.
Nefertari's house of eternity is the most beautiful tomb in Egypt. As you descend the stairs, you are gently and completely drawn into another world, into an ancient and sacred perspective. The walls fairly glow with yellow, red, black, green, blue, and white. An indigo ocean of stars spread out above you. Time stops here. (Photo: view of the Valley of Queens from the tomb of Nefertari.)
Bejeweled goddesses in skin-tight gowns lead Nefertari on the path to eternity. Ramses II's favorite wife, accorded unparalleled honors in this life and the next, glows in her fine white linen dress and golden vulture crown with twin plumes.
The artists created portraits of Nefertari to which no photo can do justice. In these stunning paintings, they gave her profile a delicate blush, heretofore unknown in Egyptian art. One can only wonder if the Great Royal Wife herself visited the tomb and the artists drew inspiration from seeing her.
The paint appears so fresh, the colors so vibrant, the relief carving so fine, the gods and Nefertari might step off the walls and greet you at any moment.
Even each hieroglyph is a masterpiece, a world of its own with a colorful story to tell. There are no curses here. Just texts that lead Nefertari to her rebirth.
The tomb design is modelled in some respects after Ramses', although it lacks the long entrance corridor and axis. The side chambers are not accessible, but there is plenty to see.
This is a place of peace, of deities smiling their cryptic Egyptian smiles, taking Nefertari by the hand as she makes the most important journey of all.
The chambers are filled with a lingering tranquility, borne out of the ancients' belief that eternity could be theirs.
This writer could have spent hours surrounded by these hypnotic scenes and spells that fuel Nefertari Meryt-n-Mut's resurrection machine. But suddenly the ten minutes were up, and the attendant came to shoo us out.
Further reading: Ramses the Great Who Was Nefertari? (coming May 2002)
Copyright © 2001 by Susan Cottman.
