Saturday, December 08, 2012

The Metropolitan Museum — The Egyptian Galleries

I can't get enough of these galleries. There is just something so amazing about them. I guess it is because of the incredible things the Egyptians produced all those thousands upon thousands of years ago.

The temple of Dendur is only a little over 2,000 years old. Only. Here's a little about the temple:

The Temple of Dendur is an Egyptian temple which was transported in sections to the United States in 1965 as a gift from the government of Egypt to the United States. Today, the structure is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and visitors can explore both the inside and the outside of this temple, which is incredibly ornate, despite the fact that it is relatively small. This temple is believed to be the only extant Egyptian temple on display in the Western Hemisphere, making it a truly remarkable and priceless object.

Although the Temple of Dendur is generally described as “Egyptian,” it was actually built by the Romans, and it wasn't built in Egypt at all, but rather in Nubia, an area which is today located in Southern Egypt and Northern Sudan. The Temple of Dendur was constructed by the Emperor Augustine in around 15 BCE, and numerous carvings of Augustine can be found both inside and outside the temple, with the images depicting the Emperor in the act of making offerings.








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