Muḩāfaz̧at al Uqşur

The Valley of the Kings (Arabic: وادي الملوك ; Late Coptic: ), also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings (Arabic: وادي أبواب الملوك ), is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, rock-cut tombs were excavated for the pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom (the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Dynasties of Ancient Egypt). The valley stands on the west bank of the Nile opposite Thebes (modern Luxor), within the heart of the Theban N…

Hatshepsut (English: /hætˈʃɛpsʊt/; also Hatchepsut; Egyptian: - "Foremost of Noble Ladies"; or archaically Hatasu c. 1507–1458 BC) was the fifth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, ruling from or 1479 BC until her death in 1458 BC. Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I and his principal wife Ahmose. Upon the death of her husband and half-brother Thutmose II, she ruled initially as regent to her stepson Thutmose III, who inherited the throne at the age of two. Several years into her…

The Colossi of Memnon (Arabic: el-Colossat or es-Salamat) are two massive stone statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III, which stand at the front of the ruined Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III, the largest temple in the Theban Necropolis. They have stood since 1350 BC, and were well known to ancient Greeks and Romans, as well as early modern travelers and Egyptologists. The statues contain 107 Roman-era inscriptions in Greek and Latin, dated to between AD 20 and 250; many of these inscriptions on t…

Deir el-Bahari or Dayr al-Bahri (Arabic: الدير البحري, , ) is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor, Egypt. This is a part of the Theban Necropolis. The first monument built at the site was the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II of the Eleventh Dynasty. It was constructed during the 21st century BC. During the Eighteenth Dynasty, Amenhotep I and Hatshepsut also built extensively at the site. Mortuary temple of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep…

Deir el-Medina (), or Dayr al-Madīnah, is an ancient Egyptian workmen's village which was home to the artisans who worked on the tombs in the Valley of the Kings during the 18th to 20th Dynasties of the New Kingdom of Egypt (ca. 1550–1080 BCE) The settlement's ancient name was ("Place of Truth"), and the workmen who lived there were called "Servants in the Place of Truth". During the Christian era, the temple of Hathor was converted into a Monastery of Saint Isidorus the Martyr () from which …

The Ramesseum is the memorial temple (or mortuary temple) of Pharaoh Ramesses II ("Ramesses the Great", also spelled "Ramses" and "Rameses"). It is located in the Theban Necropolis in Upper Egypt, on the west of the River Nile, across from the modern city of Luxor. The name – or at least its French form Rhamesséion – was coined by Jean-François Champollion, who visited the ruins of the site in 1829 and first identified the hieroglyphs making up Ramesses's names and titles on the walls. It was or…

Thebes (Arabic: طيبة, , Thēbai), known to the ancient Egyptians as Waset, was an ancient Egyptian city located along the Nile about south of the Mediterranean. Its ruins lie within the modern Egyptian city of Luxor. Thebes was the main city of the fourth Upper Egyptian nome (Sceptre nome) and was the capital of Egypt for long periods during the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom eras. It was close to Nubia and the Eastern Desert, with its valuable mineral resources and trade routes. It was a cult c…

Luxor International Airport is the main airport serving the city of Luxor, Egypt. It is located 6 km (4 miles) east of the city. Many charter airlines use the airport, as it is a popular tourist destination for those visiting the River Nile and the Valley of the Kings. Facilities In 2005, the airport was upgraded to accommodate up to 8 million passengers a year. Facilities for passengers include 48 check-in desks, 8 gates, 5 baggage claim belts, a post office, a bank, a Bureau de change, an aut…

El-Tod (Arabic: طود , from , , , ) was the site of an ancient Egyptian town and a temple to the Egyptian god Montu. It is located southwest of Luxor, Egypt, near the settlement of Hermonthis. A modern village now surrounds the site. History The history of the site can be traced to the Old Kingdom period of Egyptian history. A granite pillar of the Fifth dynasty pharaoh, Userkaf, is the oldest object found at El-Tod. It was this same pharaoh who ordered that the temple to Montu be enlarged. Evid…

Malkata (or Malqata; Arabic: الملقطة), is the site of an Ancient Egyptian palace complex built during the New Kingdom, by the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Amenhotep III. It is located on the West Bank of the Nile at Thebes, Upper Egypt, in the desert to the south of Medinet Habu. The site also included a temple dedicated to Amenhotep III's Great Royal Wife, Tiy, which honors Sobek, the crocodile deity. Palace of Amenhotep III There are various structures in the desert, consisting of several residential …

The tomb of Tutankhamun, also known by its tomb number, KV62, is the burial place of Tutankhamun (reigned c. 1334–1325 BC), a pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt, in the Valley of the Kings. The tomb consists of four chambers and an entrance staircase and corridor. It is smaller and less extensively decorated than other Egyptian royal tombs of its time, and it probably originated as a tomb for a non-royal individual that was adapted for Tutankhamun's use after his premature death.…

The Mosque of Abu Haggag (Arabic: مسجد أبو الحجاج بالأقصر) is a mosque in Luxor, Egypt. It is integrated into the structure of Luxor Temple, an Ancient Egyptian centre of worship, making it one of the oldest continuously used temples in the world, dating back to the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep III in the 14th century BC. Architecture The mosque stands on the ancient columns themselves. That part of the Luxor Temple was converted to a church by the Copts in 395 AD, and then to a mosque in 640. The…

The necropolis of Draʻ Abu el-Naga' (Arabic: دراع ابو النجا) is located on the West Bank of the Nile at Thebes, Egypt, just by the entrance of the dry bay that leads up to Deir el-Bahari and north of the necropolis of el-Assasif. The necropolis is located near the Valley of the Kings. History According to the German Institute of Archeology or DAI, "Dra' Abu el-Naga is one of the longest occupied necropolis of Ancient Egypt: it was used as a burial place almost continuously between the Middle Kin…

The Luxor massacre was a terrorist attack that occurred on 17 November 1997 in Egypt. It was perpetrated by al-Jamāʻah al-Islāmīyah and resulted in the deaths of 62 people, most of whom were tourists. It took place at Dayr al-Bahri, an archaeological site located across the Nile from the city of Luxor. Attack Deir el-Bahari is one of Egypt's top tourist attractions, notable for the spectacular Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, an 18th Dynasty pharaoh. The temple is also known as Djoser-Djeseru (Hol…

The Red Chapel of Hatshepsut or the Chapelle rouge was a religious shrine in Ancient Egypt. The chapel was originally constructed as a barque shrine during the reign of Hatshepsut. She was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty from approximately 1479 to 1458 BC. It was demolished in antiquity and its parts reused in other projects. However, following its rediscovery in modern time, the Chapel was reconstructed in 1997 using its original materials. The chapel's original location may have…

The Theban Tomb TT52 is located in Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, part of the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor. It is the burial place of Nakht, an ancient Egyptian official who held the position of a scribe and astronomer of Amun, probably during the reign of Thutmose IV (1401 BC – 1391 BC or 1397 BC – 1388 BC) during the Eighteenth Dynasty, the first dynasty of the New Kingdom. Architecture The tomb architecture and decoration conforms to the standard design of Theban t…

El-Tarif ( aṭ-Ṭārif) is a necropolis on the West Bank of the Nile, at the site of ancient Thebes (Luxor), Egypt. It is located in the northwestern outskirts of Luxor and southeast of the Valley of the Kings, opposite Karnak, just to the southwest of the modern village of At-Tarif. It is the oldest of West Thebes' necropolises. It is a small mortuary temple, and the farthest north of the Tombs of the Nobles, and contains tombs of the late First Intermediate Period, Second Intermediate Period and …