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Dendera Temple
Dendera is located about 60 kilometers north of Luxor on the west bank of the Nile River opposite the provincial modern town of Qena. Ancient Egyptian Iunet or Tantere, known to the Greeks as Tentyris, was the capital of the 6th nome of Upper Egypt and a town of some importance. Today, we know it as Dendera, though the population of the town has, since antiquity, moved to Qena across the Nile on the east bank. Now, the ancient temple lies isolated on the desert edge. more info
Karnak Temple
The Karnak Temple is twice the size of the built-up village area, and it is the leading attraction in al-Karnak; essentially this is al-Karnak, as the term Karnak is nearly universally understood as the temple complex and not the village. The temple area is a vast open-air museum and the largest ancient religious site in the world, and is probably the second most visited historical site in Egypt, second only to the Giza Pyramids near Cairo. more info
Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple is a large Ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the east bank of the River Nile in the city today known as Luxor (ancient Thebes). Access to the temple was – and still is, for the thousands of tourists who flock there every day – from the north, where a causeway lined by sphinxes that once led all the way to Karnak begins; this road was a later addition, dating from the time of Nectanebo I in the 30th Dynasty. more info
Esna Lock and Khnum Temple
Esna is located about fifty kilometers south of Luxor. The temple now stands in the middle of the modern town at a level about nine meters below that of the surrounding grounds. However, texts mentions that it was built on the site of a temple that may have been constructed as early as the reign of Tuthmosis III. Some blocks of the earlier 18th Dynasty structure are preserved. The present structure dates to the Greek and Roman periods and is one of the latest temples to have been built by the ancient Egyptians.
Edfu Temple of Horus
Edfu is known for the major Ptolemaic temple, built between 237 BCE to 57 BCE, into the reign of Cleopatra VII. Of all the temple remains in Egypt, the Temple of Horus at Edfu is the most completely preserved. Built from sandstone blocks, the huge Ptolemaic temple was constructed over the site of a smaller New Kingdom temple, oriented east to west, facing towards the river. The later structure faces north to south and leaves the ruined remains of the older temple Pylon (architecture) to be seen on the east side of the first court. more info
Kom Ombo Temple of Two Gods
The Temple of Kom Ombo is an unusual double temple built during the rule Ptolemaic dynasty in the Egyptian town of Kom Ombo. One side of the temple is dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek, god of fertility and creator of the world. The other side is dedicated to the falcon god Haroeris, also known as Horus the Elder. The temple was started by Ptolemy VI Philometor (180-145 BC) at the beginning of his reign and added to by other Ptolemys, most notably Ptolemy XIII (47-44 BC), who built the inner and outer hypostyle halls. Much of the temple has been destroyed by the Nile, earthquakes, and later builders who used the stones for other projects. Some of the reliefs inside were defaced by Copts who once used the temple as a church. A few of the three-hundred crocodile mummies discovered in the vicinity are displayed inside the temple. more info
Aswan
Aswan, Egypt's sunniest southern city and ancient frontier town located about 81 miles south of Luxor, has a distinctively African atmosphere. Its ancient Egyptian name was Syene. Small enough to walk around and graced with the most beautiful setting on the Nile, the pace of life is slow and relaxing. Days can be spent strolling up and down the broad Corniche watching the sailboats etch the sky with their tall masts or sitting in floating restaurants listening to Nubian music and eating freshly caught fish. In Aswan the Nile is at its most beautiful, flowing through amber desert and granite rocks, round emerald islands covered in palm groves and tropical plants.
Philae
Philae is an island in the Nile River and the previous site of an Ancient Egyptian temple complex in southern Egypt. The complex is now located on the nearby island of Agilika. The most conspicuous feature of both islands was their architectural wealth. Monuments of very various eras, extending from the Pharaohs to the Caesars, occupy nearly their whole area. The principal structures, however, lay at the south end of the smaller island. The most ancient were the remains of a temple of Athor (Aphrodite), built in the reign of Nectanebus. The other ruins date for the most part from the Ptolemaic times, more especially with the reigns of Ptolemy Philadelphus, Ptolemy Epiphanes, and Ptolemy Philometor (282-145 BC), with many traces of Roman work as recent in Philae, dedicated to Ammon-Osiris, was appreached from the river through a double colonnade. more info
Valley of the Kings
The first king of the New Kingdom, Ahmose of the 18th Dynasty, built a pyramid-like structure at Abydos, which may or may not have been his original tomb. But all the remaining rulers of the period, except for the so-called Amarna interregnum, had their tombs cut into the rocks of the West Bank at Thebes, specifically at the Valley of the Kings. From Thutmose I in the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom period, all the kings, and occasionally high officials of that period, were buried in the secluded wadi, or dry gully, which today is called Valley of the Kings. more info
Necropolis of Thebes
The Theban Necropolis is an area of the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes in Egypt. It was used for ritual burials for much of Pharaonic times, especially in the New Kingdom of Egypt. more info
Thebes
The ancient name for the city the Greeks called Thebai was Waset, the Scepter nome, and it was the main city of the fourth Upper Egyptian nome. It was close to Nubia and the eastern desert, with their valuable mineral resources and trade routes. The site of Thebes includes areas on both the eastern bank of the Nile, where the temples of Karnak and Luxor stand, and the western bank, where are the large private and royal cemeteries and funerary complexes.
Kitchener Island
Kitchener's Island is one of two major islands on the Nile in vicinity of Aswan, the other one being Elephantine. Elephantine is much larger than Kitchener's Island and located between Kitchener's Island and the city of Aswan (east bank). Thus, it is hard to see the smaller Kitchener's Island from the city.
Nowadays, the island as a whole constitutes a botanical garden. It is particularly popular among the local people and tourists as a spot for weekend picnics or for a quiet afternoon away from the noise of the city. It can be reached by felucca, motorboat or one of local ferries. more info
Elephantine Island
Known to the Ancient Egyptians as Abu or Yebu, Elephantine stands at the border between Egypt and Nubia. The island was an excellent defensive site for a city and its location made it a natural transshipping point for river trade. more info
Agha Khan Mausoleum
The west bank of the nile near Aswan is mostly a huge embankment. Just uphill and visible from the water is the Mausoleum of Agha Khan - a walled estate on a barren hillside. It is modeled on a Fatimid temple, and looks like many of the mausoleums in the cemeteries in Cairo. Inside, a open court contains a marble sarcophagus for the Agha Khan III, the 48th Imam of the Isma'ili sect if Shi'ite Muslims.
St. Simeon's Monastery
Those on a fairly standard tour of Egypt that includes the Aswan area will most likely visit St. Simeon (Deir Anba Sim'an), the monastery otherwise known as Anba Hatre. It is very likely that this will also include their one substantial camel ride (about 15 minutes), which is how these ruins, located some one thousand two hundred meters from the west bank oppose the southern tip of the island of Elephantine, are usually accessed. The monastery was given the name St. Simeon by archaeologists and travelers, but earlier Arabic and Coptic sources called it Anba Hatre (Hidra, Hadri, Hadra), after an anchorite who was consecrated a bishop of Syene (now Aswan) by Patriarch Theophilus (385-412 AD). more info
Kalabsha Temple
Kalabsha Temple, originally built at Kalabsha (Talmis), was moved to its present location at New Kalabsha (Chellal) in 1970, together with other monuments from Nubia, including the Kiosk of Qertassi (Kertassi). Also nearby is Beit al-Wali. Reachable by taxi or by boat, depending on the water level, the sandstone edifice was built by the Roman Emperor Octavius Augustus (30 to 14 BC) and dedicated to the fertility and Nubian Solar deity known as Mandulis (Merwel who was the Nubian counterpart of Horus). more info
Aswan
Aswan, Egypt's sunniest southern city and ancient frontier town located about 81 miles south of Luxor, has a distinctively African atmosphere. Its ancient Egyptian name was Syene. Small enough to walk around and graced with the most beautiful setting on the Nile, the pace of life is slow and relaxing. Days can be spent strolling up and down the broad Corniche watching the sailboats etch the sky with their tall masts or sitting in floating restaurants listening to Nubian music and eating freshly caught fish. In Aswan the Nile is at its most beautiful, flowing through amber desert and granite rocks, round emerald islands covered in palm groves and tropical plants.
Kalabsha Temple, Beit el Wali, Kertassi
Kalabsha Temple, originally built at Kalabsha (Talmis), was moved to its present location at New Kalabsha (Chellal) in 1970, together with other monuments from Nubia, including the Kiosk of Qertassi (Kertassi). Also nearby is Beit al-Wali. Reachable by taxi or by boat, depending on the water level, the sandstone edifice was built by the Roman Emperor Octavius Augustus (30 to 14 BC) and dedicated to the fertility and Nubian Solar deity known as Mandulis (Merwel who was the Nubian counterpart of Horus). more info
Wadi el Seboua, Dakka, Meharakka
Wadi El Sebou Temple was built by Setau, Viceroy of Kush (Nubia) in honor of Ramses II. The name Wadi el-Seboua means the Valley of the Lions and comes from Arabic because of the sphinxes guarding the temple. It lies about 100 kilometers away from the city of Aswan and it was one of the relocated monuments during the UNESCO Rescue Operation. Only the two pylons and the rock cut part survived, and in the surroundings there are 2 colossi of Ramses, one upright, one fallen and 8 fine Sphinxes guard the temple that have the images of African and Asiatic prisoners in their bases.
The temple of Dakka, dedicated to Thoth of the Sycamore Fig, was originally located about 100 kilometers south of the Aswan High Dam in what we refer to today as Nubia, though much of that ancient land is covered by Lake Nasser. El-Dakka was known to the Egyptians as Pselqet and to the Greeks as Pselchis. Because of the impending flooding of the region as a result of the High Dam, it was moved to the site of el-Sebua, about 40 kilometers upstream, between 1962 and 1968. more info on Temple of Dakka
It should also be noted that at the modern site of the el-Dakka temple, not only do we find the temple of el-Sebua, but also the small Maharraka temple, dating from Roman times and dedicated to Serapis and Isis. Interestingly, this small temple contains the only spiral staircase in any Nubian temple. However, this temple's decorative theme was never competed. It to was moved to this location from its original site about 81 kilometers to the north.
Amada, Derr, Tomb of Penout
The Amada Temple in Nubia, though small, nevertheless contains some important historical inscriptions and is also significant as the oldest of the Lake Nasser temples. more info
The Temple of Derr, like many others in Nubia, was dismantled in 1964 in order to save it from the waters of Lake Nasser. It was moved to a new location close to that of the temple of Amada from its original site on the Nile's east bank a few miles to the south. This is another example of Ramesses II's rock hewn temples, built during about the 30th year of his reign to celebrate his Sed festival. more info
Penout was the Viceroy of Kush (Nubia) under Ramses VI about 1140 BCE. He was also a priest of Horus and his was an enchantress in the same Temple of Horus. The orginal site was Aniba, old capital of Nubia, 40 Km south. This was the only Nubian tomb saved from about 500 that were left to be covered by water. It would have amounted to a regular "Valey of the civil servants."
Kasr Ibrim
This area is located 235 KM to the south of Aswan and the area is built on high hillock overlooking the Nile opposite Aniba village.
In ancient Egyptian the area was known as PER-MIT, that became PREMIS during the Greco-Roman times and then Ibrim during the Arabs times.
The area is full of monuments that date back to various parts of history, including tombs of the Nubian rulers during the New Kingdom times; they ruled Nubian during Thutmosis III.
The citadel had a very important rule through out the ancient Egyptian history and later. During the Christian area, a church was built in there and was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The area has yielded so many artifacts that are now in display at the Nubian museum.
Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel is an archaeological site comprising two massive rock temples in southern Egypt on the western bank of Lake Nasser about 290 km southwest of Aswan. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Nubian Monuments", which run from Abu Simbel downriver to Philae (near Aswan).
The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II in the 13th century BC, as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari, to commemorate his alleged victory at the Battle of Kadesh, and to intimidate his Nubian neighbors. However, the complex was relocated in its entirety in the 1960s, on an artificial hill made from a domed structure, high above the Aswan dam reservoir. more info |
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