Deir el-Bahari Hatshepsut - third terrace (solar complex) now open - 2

AE, Deir el Bahri

The upper terrace

A second ramp leads from the centre of the intermediate
portico to the upper terrace whose portico consists of columns originally decorated with Osirian statues of the Queen,
now mostly destroyed. Through a great doorway of pink granite, one enters a courtyard circled by columns. To the north
and south of the courtyard, there are two areas dedicated respectively to the cult of the sun and that of the royalty.
The northern part dedicated to the solar cult of Re-Harakhty includes a vestibule with columns leading into a courtyard
with a solar altar in the centre. In the northern part of the courtyard, there is another chapel dedicated to the cult
of Anubis (the upper chapel of Anubis). There is no clear idea as to why there are two chapels dedicated to this
divinity in the Temple, but numerous hypotheses have been advanced to explain this exceptional and unique fact; anyway,
it appears clear that great importance was attached to this god in Deir el Bahri, especially in comparison with other
funeral gods, such as Osiris and Sokar, who acquired greater importance later, but always appear in a secondary role
here. The southern part of the upper terrace dedicated to the royal cult consists of a vestibule from which one gains
admittance to two chapels dedicated to the cult of Hatshepsut and that of Tuthmosis I.