Gebel Silsila
Edition - November, 2013
Egyptologically Speaking: Dr Maria Nilsson on Gebel el Silsila
In the beginning: I discovered Gebel el Silsila by accident one could say. Back in 2007, when still a doctoral student, I visited Egypt to study relief scenes depicting Queen Arsinoë II. At the time the convoy system was still in use for those who wished to travel by car. Visitors were permitted just an hour in each temple before being rushed off to the next. So John (Dr. John Ward) and I travelled from Aswan to Edfu in a felucca instead, which allowed us the time we required in each temple. As we sailed up the Nile our captain informed us that a Pharaonic site was coming up and asked us if we wished to stop there to have a look. My first thought was that stopping there would mean a delay in an already tight schedule. But then again who was I to say “no” to a site embedded in the most gorgeous setting with cenotaphs and stelae casting their reflections on the Nile? Of course we agreed to go ashore! [more…]