The funerary temple of Hatshepsut, on the opposite bank of the Nile from Luxor which is the modern replacement of the ancient city of Thebes, was the site of a horrible massacre of tourists by Islamic militants just a few months after I had been there. It made me reflect on the religions that had been born in the middle east for thousands of years.

It is actually inaccurate to describe her as a queen. She was regent for her infant pharoah son and when he died she took power herself. Depictions of her include the ornamental beard which was one of the symbols of the office of pharoah. After her death, her male successors tried to erase her name from history. Presumably because they did not like a woman having been pharoah.