Nefertari , whose name means the most beautiful of them all , was not an ordinary queen. She was the beloved wife of the great pharaoh, Ramesses II who wore the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt for 67 years, probably starting in 1279 B.C. He was a king of both war and peace, and signed the world's first peace treaty. His popular title, Ramesses the great, derived from his being a great builder who constructed many temples, statues and obelisks, leaving his stamp on monuments throughout Egypt.
Although Ramesses had several wives, Nefertari was his favorite and chief queen until her death around 1255 B.C. They were married around 1279 B.C. and there is a shrine to Ramesses II at ”Gebel- El Silsileh" with a stela from the first year of his reign and showing Ramesses and Nefertari Performing religious rites before deities.
Nefertari gave Ramesses II his first son, the crown prince Amenhirkhopshef and at least three other sons and two daughters; in all Ramses II had 92 sons and 106 daughters by his many wives. Nefertari had several titles such as (hmt-nsw-wrt) which means "great royal wife", (nbt-t3-w-nbw) mistress of all lands, beautiful of face (nfrt-hr) and ''sweet of love" (bnrt- mrwt).
Nefertari participated in both political life and affairs of state and appeared beside her husband in festival ceremonies. Ramesses was eager to show her accompanying him. Because of her beauty and his love for her, he dedicated the small temple of Abu-Simbel to her (jointly with the goddess of love and joy, hathor) , an honor never granted to any other queen. There are six statues on the temple façade, two portraying Nefertari in the same size as the king b(33 feet high) .
Ramesses II ordered that a beautiful tomb be built for his beloved wife in the valley of the queens which the ancient Egyptians called st-nfrw, "meaning place of beauty". Today it is known as Biban - El Harim. It is located on the southwestern side of Theban Necropolis.
The tomb of Nefertari is the most beautiful in the entire valley of the queens. It is an elegant structure with unusual decorative motifs and vividly colored scenes portraying Nefertari wearing long, transparent white garments and lavish jewels. She must have been a charming woman. She is shown with a beautiful face, slim- waisted body, delicate hand gesture and majestic posture which also reflect the skill of the artist. The ceiling of the tomb is decorated with yellow stars on the blue background, representing the heavens.
The tomb was discovered by the Italian archeologist "Schiaparelli" in 1904. It consists of an entrance with a staircase leading down to a hall measuring 17 feet by 17.5 feet, where there is a rock – cut bench with niches and a cavetto cornice to hold funerary items. There is a side – chamber to the right and a corridor with steps leading down to the burial chamber which has four pillars and three small side chambers. The site of the sarcophagus is sunken slightly below the ground.
Unfortunately, the tomb was carved from poor quality limestone so that rainwater seeped through cracks and joints for several thousand years. Salts grew and crystallized behind the plaster layer with the paintings, pushing them outward and causing them to fall off.
The decorations on this tomb are religious – funerary and distinguished by fine detail and balanced composition, however, according to the opinions of some experts they are coldly academic. Visitors in general, on the other hand, are fascinated by the pictures
Schiaparelli had written that " the size of the figures , the variety of colors , the magnificence and firmness of style make this tomb one of the most important monuments in Theban necropolis.
It is important to highlight the profound symbolic meaning of the paintings on Nefertari tomb which illustrate some chapters of a ritual the Egyptians called " formulas for coming out into the day" the title" book of the dead" was attributed to it relatively recently in 1842, by scholar R. Lepsiius. These paintings portray the queens long journey in the after world .
