The Ramesseum is the memorial temple of the great warrior king Ramesses II. One of the largest and best-preserved of these temples, this “Mansion of Millions of Years” contains the fallen colossus that inspired Percy Bysshe Shelleys poem, Ozymandias. Scenes from the king’s great Battle of Qadesh (in which only Ramesses II’s personal valor...
The Temple of Ptah is one of the most remarkable landmarks in ancient Egypt, dedicated to the god Ptah, the deity of craftsmen and creation. Located in the heart of Memphis, the temple served as a central religious and cultural hub, attracting pilgrims and rulers alike. Understanding the significance of the Temple not only unveils ancient Egyptian religious practices...
Tell El Amarna is the site of the short-lived city of Akhetaten (“Horizon of the Aten”), founded by the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten as his new capital. The city was central in the king’s vision to replace the traditional state religion, with Amu-Re as its chief god, by the cult of the Aten, the sun disc. At Tell El Amarna , Akhenaten and his wife, Nefertiti...
Temple of Hathor | Ankh | The large temple complex that dominates the site of Dendara was one of the principal cult centers of the goddess Hathor. It contains a large number of structures from different periods of Egyptian history, but most prominent today is the Greco-Roman Temple of Hathor, which was largely constructed between 54 and 29 BC. Visitors can wander the...
Valley of the Kings | Ankh | Nestled in the cliffs on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor, the isolated Valley of the Kings is home to the tombs of the great pharaohs of the New Kingdom (1550 – 1070 BC). They are hidden within a wadi (or valley) formed over millennia by rainfall and water runoff. The first known pharaoh known for certin to have built a tomb within the...
Karnak Temple , located on the East Bank at Thebes Luxor, is one of Egypt’s largest surviving temple precincts. Founded in the Middle Kingdom, it had become Egypt’s principal religious center by the New Kingdom. Karnak was devoted primarily to the god Amun, a local Theban god joined with the sun god Re to become king of the Egyptian pantheon. Kings from the Middle...
Hatshepsut Temple | Deir El Bahari | Ankh | The site of Deir El Bahari is located on the western bank of the Nile almost directly opposite Karnak Temple in Luxor. Sacred to the goddess Hathor, this bay of cliffs was chosen by Mentuhotep II, the king who reunited Egypt after the chaos of the Second Intermediate Period, as the site of his mortuary temple and tomb. At...
The site of Edfu contains the most complete and best-preserved temple in Egypt, the Ptolemaic Temple of Horus, or Edfu Temple This was constructed between 237 BC and 57 BC on top of the remains of earlier temples. The reliefs that cover the walls, columns, and doorways of the temple constitute an extremely important source of information about ancient Egyptian...