The Valley Temple, Valley Temple Of Khafre

The Khafre Valley Temple in Giza was used as a mortuary temple for King Khafre and his family. Nowadays the valley temple of Khafre represents a very important part of the pyramid complex of Giza. 

The temple forms a very popular destination for tourists visiting Egypt as it is a great sign of ancient Egyptian civilization and a living proof of how important the Fourth Dynasty was in the history of Egypt and the civilization itself.

 

Where is the valley temple of Khafre Giza located?

It is located east of the Chephren pyramid in the Giza Pyramid complex, where there are the three most famous pyramids in the world: Cheops, Chephren and Menkaure , closer to the Nile and the famous great temple of the great Sphinx.

The Valley Temple of Khafre in Giza is part of a legendary land where the greatest kings and pharaohs of Egypt chose to build their mortuary temples.

 

Who built the Chephren Valley Temple?

The temple is attributed to King Khafre, one of the kings of the 4th dynasty.

 

Who was King Khafre?

Pharaoh Khafre, also known in Greek as King Chephren, was a very prominent king of the 4th dynasty during the Old Kingdom in Egypt. He was the successor of King Djedefre and the son of King Khufu.

During the reign of Khafre, the second largest pyramid was built in the Giza pyramid complex, the Pyramid of Khafre , becoming the second largest pyramid after the Pyramid of Cheops , which its height originally exceeded 145 meters in height but today reduced to 138 due to the removal of external architectural elements.

 

What was inside the temple?

The Valley Temple of the Pyramid of King Khafre, a temple built next to the pyramid, where a bridge extends between it and the pyramid of Khafre.

Inside are several statues of King Chephren and the god Horus also known as (the falcon god); As it takes the form of a falcon, noting that these statues are built with diorite stones that they brought from the Nubian desert. Next to the temple is the Sphinx statue, which many believe has the characteristics of King Khafre himself in its appearance.

 

How was the Khafre Valley Temple built?

Considered the best-preserved valley temple in all of Egypt, the valley temple was built with local granite and limestone stones; it was partly covered by very fine Tura limestone and partly by pink granite ashlars.

The Valley Temple of Khafre at Giza was built of limestone blocks in a square plan, measuring 482 feet on each side. This temple was buried under the desert sand till 19 th century for this it is considered as one of the hierarchical temples full of immortality.

 

Why was the Khafre Valley Temple built?

This temple was built to serve two functions. Firstly, it was used for the purification of the mummy of the king before his burial. Secondly, it was used to carry out the mummification process of the king.

The Valley Temple was first mentioned during the reign of Pharaoh Sneferu and its construction continued until the end of the Twelfth Dynasty. It was built when the desert meets the green land and water channels were sometimes built for it.

The valley temple was built on a platform on the bank of the Nile or on the bank of the artificial canal. The port and marine facilities belong to it. These structures were used to load boats and large ships. The temple had niches in which statues of the deceased were placed. The temple also had ladders to climb over and complete some religious rituals.

During the reign of Sneferu, the construction of a whole structure around the pyramid began, and at this time the ancient Egyptian priests transferred the performance of religious rituals and the movement of the dead to meet the deities from the pyramid area to the temple of the Valley.

The Cheops Valley Temple at Giza was the main gateway to the pyramid complex from the east, as well as entrances to the burial groups, and had a mooring on a small lake, or perhaps there was like a pool from the Nile flood that was there and received ritual boats.

The temple has two entrances on the east side, one on the right (north) and the other on the left (south), and this obviously explains that when the king was buried, all the rituals were held for him twice, once as king of the north and the other as king of the south.

 

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