Temples, Egypt
Ancient ruins can be found throughout Egypt, especially along the Nile. The following are important sites:
Abydos—At Abydos you'll see the ruins of an ancient cemetery and the Temple of Seti I, which is one of the most ancient and finely preserved in Egypt. Also visit the cenotaph to Osiris, commonly called the Osireion—its wells of water are believed to have curative powers, and visitors to the site are allowed to dip their feet into the water. Abydos is located 7 mi/11 km west of the Nile and 85 mi/140 km north of Luxor.
Beni Hasan—Reached by boat from Minya or Abu Qurqas, Beni Hasan is on the eastern bank of the Nile. It has tombs with interesting carvings depicting scenes of Egyptian domestic life in 1900 BC. Many visitors stay in Minya. Beni Hasan is located 15 mi/25 km south of Minya.
Dendera—Outside the town of Qena, Dendera has the large, wonderfully preserved Temple of Hathor, built during the first century BC. Dendera is located 285 mi/460 km southeast of Cairo.
Edfu (Idfu)—Edfu has a long, narrow 2,000-year-old temple to the god Horus that is in excellent condition. Because the temple is covered, much of the original color has been retained. About 12 mi/20 km north are the ruins of El-Kab. Edfu is located 360 mi/580 km south of Cairo.
Esna—Esna features a well-preserved temple to Khunum (a ram-headed god) built during Roman times. Esna is located 35 mi/55 km south of Luxor.
Hermopolis—This ancient city has two statues of baboons and a reconstructed granite-columned Greek agora. Hermopolis is located 30 mi/50 km south of Minya.
Kom Ombo—A well-preserved (250 BC) temple to the crocodile-headed god Sobek and the falcon-headed Horus. Part of the temple is used to house several crocodile mummies. These have been moved to a nearby museum. Kom Ombo is located 25 mi/40 km north of Aswan.
Tanis—This area has the most important ruins of the delta region, but they're difficult to get to (ask directions from the tourist board in Cairo or Alexandria). A partially excavated royal cemetery is the main attraction. Tanis is located 100 mi/165 km northeast of Cairo.
Tell el-Amarna—The city built by Akhnaten, the first pharaoh to advocate a monotheistic religion, has ruined temples, palaces and rock tombs from the 14th century BC. You can get there from Deir Mawas by local bus or taxi. You can also rent a donkey for transport. Tell el-Amarna is located 7 mi/11 km south of Mallawi.
Tuna el-Gebal—The ancient catacombs at Tuna el-Gebal once contained thousands of mummified baboons and ibises. Many of the animals have been removed, but some can still be seen in the tunnels. Tuna el-Gebal is located 35 mi/60 km southwest of Minya.
Kitchener's Island
Colossi of Memnon
Nile River Cruising
Esna (Isna)
Isna is located about 33 miles south of Luxor. The town's Greek name was Latopolis and here fish (lates) where thought to embody the goddess Neith, who was sacred to the area. Isna was increasingly important during the 18th dynasty due to Egypt's developing relationship with the Sudan. There was a route established between Isna and Derr. Later, the city slowly declined until it received renewed interest during the 26th Dynasty. Later, under the Greeks and Romans, it became the capital of the Third Nome of Upper Egypt.
Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings in Upper Egypt contains many of the tombs of pharaohs from the New Kingdom, including Tutankhamun and Ramesses the Great.
The Valley of the Kings actually has two components - the East Valley and the West Valley. It is the East Valley which most tourists visit and in which most of the tombs of the New Kingdom Pharaohs can be found. (The West Valley has only one remote tomb open to the public, that of Ay who was Tutankhamun's successor.)
Edfu
Edfu(Idfu) was the Greek city of Apollinopolis Magna located about 33 miles south of Isna and 65 miles north of Aswan. The city is a religious and commercial center that produces sugar and pottery. The Temple of Horus, a preserved cult temple, is located in Edfu.
Aswan
Aswan is Egypt's sunniest southern city and has a distinctively African atmosphere. The pace of life here in the most beautiful setting on the Nile is slow and relaxing. It is a favorite winter resort spot for Europeans, Middle Easterns and Africans alike - it's a perfect place to get away from it all. Strolling up and down the Corniche, one can watch sailboats glide by. Savor the flavor of locally caught fish while listening to Nubian music or wander in the bazaar and get lost in the sights and sounds of this mystical place. Visit the Aga Khan Mausoleum, the Monastery at Qubbat al-Hawa, the Unfinished Obelisk, The Tombs of the Nobles, Qubbat al-Hawa, the Monastery at Aswan , or the St. Simeon monastery (Anba Hatre), uninhabited and just outside of Aswan.
Luxor
Aside from visiting the pyramids near Cairo, Luxor and Al Karnak are places not to be missed when in search of ancient Egyptian monuments and artifacts. Luxor is on the southern part of ancient Thebes, Al Karnak on the north. Between the two, visitors can lose themselves for days in the hundreds of temples, chapels, tombs and gardens in the area. Too extensive to list all of them, a few of the tombs not to be missed are the tombs of Nefertari, Amenhotep II & III, several Ramesses and Tutankhamen.
Giza
Giza is located only a few kilometers south of Cairo, several hundred meters from the last houses in the southernmost part of the city proper, where a limestone cliff rises abruptly from the other side of a sandy desert plateau. The ancient Egyptians called this place imentet, "The West" or kher neter, "the necropolis".
Though the three Great Pyramids are the most famous and prominent monuments at Giza, the site has actually been a Necropolis almost since the beginning of Pharaonic Egypt.
Cairo
Cairo and the ancient monuments of the Egyptian empire have fascinated visitors throughout the centuries. The mystifying Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza, over four thousand years old, stand majestically on the outskirts of the city at the edge of the desert. Cairo's Museum of Antiquities holds one of the finest collections of artifacts in the world, including the astounding treasures of King Tutankhamen's tomb.
Ancient ruins can be found throughout Egypt, especially along the Nile. The following are important sites:
Abydos—At Abydos you'll see the ruins of an ancient cemetery and the Temple of Seti I, which is one of the most ancient and finely preserved in Egypt. Also visit the cenotaph to Osiris, commonly called the Osireion—its wells of water are believed to have curative powers, and visitors to the site are allowed to dip their feet into the water. Abydos is located 7 mi/11 km west of the Nile and 85 mi/140 km north of Luxor.
Beni Hasan—Reached by boat from Minya or Abu Qurqas, Beni Hasan is on the eastern bank of the Nile. It has tombs with interesting carvings depicting scenes of Egyptian domestic life in 1900 BC. Many visitors stay in Minya. Beni Hasan is located 15 mi/25 km south of Minya.
Dendera—Outside the town of Qena, Dendera has the large, wonderfully preserved Temple of Hathor, built during the first century BC. Dendera is located 285 mi/460 km southeast of Cairo.
Edfu (Idfu)—Edfu has a long, narrow 2,000-year-old temple to the god Horus that is in excellent condition. Because the temple is covered, much of the original color has been retained. About 12 mi/20 km north are the ruins of El-Kab. Edfu is located 360 mi/580 km south of Cairo.
Esna—Esna features a well-preserved temple to Khunum (a ram-headed god) built during Roman times. Esna is located 35 mi/55 km south of Luxor.
Hermopolis—This ancient city has two statues of baboons and a reconstructed granite-columned Greek agora. Hermopolis is located 30 mi/50 km south of Minya.
Kom Ombo—A well-preserved (250 BC) temple to the crocodile-headed god Sobek and the falcon-headed Horus. Part of the temple is used to house several crocodile mummies. These have been moved to a nearby museum. Kom Ombo is located 25 mi/40 km north of Aswan.
Tanis—This area has the most important ruins of the delta region, but they're difficult to get to (ask directions from the tourist board in Cairo or Alexandria). A partially excavated royal cemetery is the main attraction. Tanis is located 100 mi/165 km northeast of Cairo.
Tell el-Amarna—The city built by Akhnaten, the first pharaoh to advocate a monotheistic religion, has ruined temples, palaces and rock tombs from the 14th century BC. You can get there from Deir Mawas by local bus or taxi. You can also rent a donkey for transport. Tell el-Amarna is located 7 mi/11 km south of Mallawi.
Tuna el-Gebal—The ancient catacombs at Tuna el-Gebal once contained thousands of mummified baboons and ibises. Many of the animals have been removed, but some can still be seen in the tunnels. Tuna el-Gebal is located 35 mi/60 km southwest of Minya.
Isna is located about 33 miles south of Luxor. The town's Greek name was Latopolis and here fish (lates) where thought to embody the goddess Neith, who was sacred to the area. Isna was increasingly important during the 18th dynasty due to Egypt's developing relationship with the Sudan. There was a route established between Isna and Derr. Later, the city slowly declined until it received renewed interest during the 26th Dynasty. Later, under the Greeks and Romans, it became the capital of the Third Nome of Upper Egypt.
The Valley of the Kings in Upper Egypt contains many of the tombs of pharaohs from the New Kingdom, including Tutankhamun and Ramesses the Great.
The Valley of the Kings actually has two components - the East Valley and the West Valley. It is the East Valley which most tourists visit and in which most of the tombs of the New Kingdom Pharaohs can be found. (The West Valley has only one remote tomb open to the public, that of Ay who was Tutankhamun's successor.)
Edfu(Idfu) was the Greek city of Apollinopolis Magna located about 33 miles south of Isna and 65 miles north of Aswan. The city is a religious and commercial center that produces sugar and pottery. The Temple of Horus, a preserved cult temple, is located in Edfu.
Aswan is Egypt's sunniest southern city and has a distinctively African atmosphere. The pace of life here in the most beautiful setting on the Nile is slow and relaxing. It is a favorite winter resort spot for Europeans, Middle Easterns and Africans alike - it's a perfect place to get away from it all. Strolling up and down the Corniche, one can watch sailboats glide by. Savor the flavor of locally caught fish while listening to Nubian music or wander in the bazaar and get lost in the sights and sounds of this mystical place. Visit the Aga Khan Mausoleum, the Monastery at Qubbat al-Hawa, the Unfinished Obelisk, The Tombs of the Nobles, Qubbat al-Hawa, the Monastery at Aswan , or the St. Simeon monastery (Anba Hatre), uninhabited and just outside of Aswan.
Aside from visiting the pyramids near Cairo, Luxor and Al Karnak are places not to be missed when in search of ancient Egyptian monuments and artifacts. Luxor is on the southern part of ancient Thebes, Al Karnak on the north. Between the two, visitors can lose themselves for days in the hundreds of temples, chapels, tombs and gardens in the area. Too extensive to list all of them, a few of the tombs not to be missed are the tombs of Nefertari, Amenhotep II & III, several Ramesses and Tutankhamen.
Giza is located only a few kilometers south of Cairo, several hundred meters from the last houses in the southernmost part of the city proper, where a limestone cliff rises abruptly from the other side of a sandy desert plateau. The ancient Egyptians called this place imentet, "The West" or kher neter, "the necropolis".
Though the three Great Pyramids are the most famous and prominent monuments at Giza, the site has actually been a Necropolis almost since the beginning of Pharaonic Egypt.
Cairo and the ancient monuments of the Egyptian empire have fascinated visitors throughout the centuries. The mystifying Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza, over four thousand years old, stand majestically on the outskirts of the city at the edge of the desert. Cairo's Museum of Antiquities holds one of the finest collections of artifacts in the world, including the astounding treasures of King Tutankhamen's tomb.
