We crossed the Nile in a local boat and immediately after disembarking, our eyes met one of the most beautiful sceneries of Egypt.  Passing through green fields, desert mountains dotted with colorful houses are seen, we came to Gurna village.  It has existed for more than a hundred years and the residents claim to be the protector of the tombs are suspected to actually be expert tomb robbers! This was an exciting discovery for us.

我们在当地乘船渡过尼罗河，刚上得岸来，就看见了埃及最美丽的一个景致。穿过绿色的田野，就见到了点缀着各色房屋的沙山，然后我们来到戈纳村。这个村子据说已有100多年的历史，村民们声称自己是墓地的保护者，但人们怀疑他们其实是些专业的盗墓者！这个发现使我们感到很兴奋。

Driving past this spot, we arrived at the temple.  The rugged and barren rocky desert terrain suddenly sprang back to life with this grand piece of architecture, almost merging itself with the surrounding limestone cliffs to give a natural feel.

驾车经过这个地区，我们来到了神庙。这时崎岖不平的岩石荒漠地带突然消失了，眼前出现一座雄伟的建筑，几乎与周围的石灰岩山崖浑然一体，给人一种相当自然的感觉。

Partly cut out of rock, the temple has a wide causeway leading to two huge levels of grand terraced courts.  The Ground level, of course, is accessible from the courtyard itself.  We walked on the ground level terrace punctuated regularly with huge columns.  The walls were full of beautiful paintings depicting the lives of the royals of that age, though paintings of the queen were mostly erased off and that part of the wall remained blank.

这座庙宇有一部分是从岩石凿出的，它有一条很宽的通道引向两层大型的露台。 第一层露台当然可以从院子走过去。我们走上第一层，它是由许多巨型圆柱规律性地支撑着的。墙上画满美丽的壁画，描绘了那个时代宫廷生活的情况，不过有关女王的部分大多被擦除了，只留下了空白的墙壁。

Queen Hatshepsut was the daughter of pharaoh Tuthmosis I and claimed the throne after her father’s death, defying her nephew Tuthmosis III.  Naturally, there were a lot of controversies surrounding this but finally Hatshepsut became the queen.  Even if she is the third queen to rule Egypt, she declared herself a ‘pharaoh’ and even wore the traditional Pharaonic beard (a fake one, mind)

海西珀休特女王是法老图特摩斯一世的女儿，其父死后她自己称帝，无视其侄子图特摩斯三世的存在。这当然引起了轩然大波，但最后海西珀休特还是做成了女王。尽管她是埃及第三位女皇，但她声称自己是“法老”， 甚至还带上传统的法老胡须。（注：假胡须）

Her reign lasted for more than 20 years and Egypt saw lot of development during this period.  The cause of her death is not known, but when Tuthmosis III finally got to the throne, he demolished almost everything that had traces of her, especially drawings and statues.  As our guide narrated the story it seemed we had reached that era and all of the women visitors, including our guide, became incensed with the attitude of Tuthmosis III.  

她的统治持续了20多年，在此期间埃及有了长足的发展。她死因不明，但是当图特摩斯三世最终即位以后，就销毁了几乎所有与她有关的东西，特别是图画和雕像。当导游给我们叙述这个故事的时候，大家仿佛都回到了那个时代，游客中所有的女士，包括导游本人在内，都对图特摩斯三世的恶劣行径深表愤怒。

The central court of the temple is very well preserved and it was here that the divine birth of the queen was recorded.  There are two chapels at either end of the court, with lovely images of gods and goddesses, but the one of the queen has been heavily disfigured. The entire second level is adorned by life size statues of the queen, even though only three to four remain intact.

神庙的中庭保存完好，正是在这里记录了女皇的降临人世。在庭院两侧各有一个祈祷殿，里面有些可爱的男女神像，可是代表女王的那座被严重毁坏了。在整个第二层全都供奉着如真人大小的女王塑像，尽管只有三、四座是未被破坏的。（待续）

             ——英文资料摘录自《Shanghai Star》 March 15-21, 2007

                                1993 年，卡纳克神庙

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