Egypt Attractions

Abu Simbel is the location of two towering sets of temples built by Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 B.C.E.) where he wished to demonstrate his power and his divine nature. Four colossal (65 feet/20 metres high) statues of him sit in pairs flanking the entrance. The head and torso of the statue to the left of the entrance fell during ancient times, probably the result of an earthquake. Perhaps after the Giza pyramids, or coincident with them, the great temple of Abu Simbel presents the most familiar image of ancient Egypt to the modern traveler and reader. When the conservation efforts to preserve the temple from the soon-to be built High Aswan Dam and its rising waters were begun in the 1960s, images of the colossal statues filled newspapers and books. The temples were dismantled and relocated in 1968 on the desert plateau, 200 feet above and 600 feet west of their original loca...

The Karnak Temple Complex comprises a vast conglomeration of ruined temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings, most notably the Great Temple of Amen and a huge structure by Pharaoh Ramses II (ca. 1391–1351 BC). An ancient sacred lake is also part of the Karnak complex. The Karnak temple complex is located near Luxor.

Deir El Bahari (meaning the the 'Northern Monastry') is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor, Egypt. The mortuary temple complex is most motable for 3 temples; Queen Hatshepsut, King Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II and Thutmost III.

The Pyramids of Giza stand on the Giza Plateau on the outskirts of Cairo. This complex of ancient monuments includes three giant pyramids, the most famous of the three is known as the Great Pyramid (the pyramid for the Pharoah Khufu) which is the last remaining of the 'Seven Wonders of the Ancient World'. There are also a number of small pyramids and other tombs on the site. The Giza complex also contains a large sculpture known as the Great Sphinx. There are two ticket offices: the first is near the main entrance, the second is near the Sphinx, in the E part of the Plateau. The pyramids can be explored from the outside and inside. However, the interior of the pyramids is hot, humid and somewhat claustrophobic, with the passages steep, dusty and hard to move through, and those with any physical disabilities or heart / lung issues will want to avoid this experience. For those w...

The Great Sphinx is a colossal, recumbent human-headed lion which was conceived of by the ancient Egyptians as the sun god Re-Horakhty "Horus of the horizon". The Egyptians call it Abu el-Hol, the "Father of Terror", and even the Greek name Sphinx has the less than pleasant meaning "Strangler". The Great Sphinx is 45m long, 22m wide, and carved from a single giant block of sandstone. The Sphinx itself is considerably smaller than the Pyramids around it and is in a poor state despite careful restoration attempts. The missing nose of the Sphinx is blamed on target practice by bored Napoleon's troops in 1798, but 18th-century drawings showing the nose already missing, pointing the finger towards the occupying Turks of the time.

The Valley of the Kings is an Egyptian archaeological locality in the hills immediately behind the W Bank of Luxor. For nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom (the 18th to the 20th Dynasties of Ancient Egypt). As such, it is one of the most remarkable archaeological destinations in the world - the burial place of most of the pharaohs of the New Kingdom of Egypt. Visitors can purchase tickets to visit the tombs which are displayed in detail with engraved metal signs detailing the history, architecture and decoration of each tomb, together with detailed plans and diagrams. Each tomb is given a KV number (standing for 'Kings Valley') which make the navigaton process easier. In order to get the best idea of the tombs within the Valley of the Kings, it is advisable to visit at least one tomb...

The Valley of the Queens is where the wives of Pharaohs were buried in ancient times. It was known as ‘the place of the Children of the Pharaoh’, because along with the Queens of the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties (1550–1070 BCE) many princes and princesses were also buried with various members of nobility. The tombs of these individuals were maintained by mortuary priests who performed rituals and provided offerings and prayers for the deceased nobility. The valley is located near the better known Valley of the Kings, on the W bank of the Nile across from Luxor . This barren area in the western hills was chosen due to its relative isolation and proximity to the capital. The kings of the 18th dynasty, instead of the traditional building of pyramids as burial chambers (perhaps because of their vulnerability to tomb robbers), now chose to be buried in rock-cut ...

The Egyptian Museum (officially, the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities) located on the N edge of Midan Tahrir is one of the world's best museums. An extensive building and massive collection of Egyptian antiquities, the Museum (also commonly referred to as the "Cairo Museum") is a truly incredible experience. Housing the world' most valuable artifact, The Funeral Mask of Tutankamun and with more than 125,000 items on display (and hundreds of thousands of additional items out of sight in the museum's basement storerooms), the museum is one of Egypt's premier attractions. The museum is actually an outgrowth of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, established by the Egyptian government in 1835 in an attempt to limit the looting of antiquities sites and artefacts. The museum first opened in 1858 in an annex of the Bulaq palace of Ismail Pasha in Giza, the museum moved in 19...

One of the icons of the city at a beautiful location, the fortress overlooks the Mediterranean Sea and the city itself. Built by Mameluke Sultan Abdul-Nasser Qa'it Bay in 1477 AD but razed and reconstructed twice since.This citadel was built in 1480 by Sultan Qaitbay on the site of the Pharos Lighthouse, to protect the city from the crusaders who used to attack the city by sea. The Citadel is situated at the entrance of the eastern harbor on the eastern point of the Pharos Island. It was erected on the exact site of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria. The lighthouse continued to function until the time of the Arab conquest, then several disasters occurred and the shape of lighthouse was changed to some extent, but it still continued to function. During the 11thcentury an earthquake destroyed the top of the lighthouse and the bottom was used as a watchtower. A small ...

Kom el-Shouqafa is the Arab translation of the ancient Greek name, Lofus Kiramaikos, meaning "mound of shards" or "potsherds." Its actual ancient Egyptian name was Ra-Qedillies, and it lies on the site where the village and fishing port of Rhakotis, the oldest part of Alexandria that predates Alexander the Great, was located. The underground tunnels of the catacombs lie in the densely populated district of Karmouz to the east of Alexandria. The catacombs were most probably used as a private tomb, for a single wealthy family, and later converted to a public cemetery. They are composed of a ground level construction that probably served as a funerary chapel, a deep spiral stairway and three underground levels for the funerary ritual and entombment. The catacombs are unique both for their plan and for their decoration, which represents an integration ...

Built in the 2nd century AD, this Roman amphitheater has 13 semicircular tiers made of white and gray marble, with marble seats for up to 800 spectators, galleries and sections of mosaic-flooring. In Ptolemaic times this area was the Park of Pan, a pleasure garden surrounded by Roman villas and baths.

Pompey's Pillar is a Roman triumphal column in Alexandria, Egypt, and the largest of its type constructed outside of the imperial capitals of Rome and Constantinople. The only known free-standing column in Roman Egypt which was not composed of drums, it is one of the largest ancient monoliths and one of the largest monolithic columns ever erected. The monolithic column shaft measures 20.46 m in height with a diameter of 2.71 m at its base. The weight of the single piece of red Aswan granite is estimated at 285t. The column is 26.85 m high including its base and capital. Other authors give slightly deviating dimensions. Erroneously dated to the time of Pompey, the Corinthian column was actually built in 297 AD, commemorating the victory of Roman emperor Diocletian over an Alexandrinian revolt

The Alexandria National Museum (ANM) in Egypt was inaugurated the 31st of December, 2003 by Hosni Mubarak and it's located in a restored Italian style palace in Tariq Al-Horreya Street (former Rue Fouad), near the center of the city.. It contains about 1.800 artifacts that narrate the story of Alexandria and Egypt. Most of these pieces came from other Egyptian museums. 1st Floor: Pharaonic time. Mummies are shown in a special underground chamber (basement) 2nd Floor: Graeco-Roman time. Including archeological underwater excavations in Alexandria. 3rd Floor: Coptic, Islamic and Modern eras. The museum is housed in the old Al-Saad Bassili Pasha Palace, who was one of the wealthiest wood merchants in Alexandria. Construction on the site was first undertaken in 1926.

The International Museum of Nubia / The Nubian Museum is located in Aswan on an area of 50,000 square meters, 7000 of which are excluded to building, while the rest designed to be the yard of the museum. The building has three floors for displaying and housing, in addition to a library and information center. The largest part of the museum is occupied by the monumental pieces, reflecting phases of the development of the Nubian culture and civilization. Three thousands pieces of antiquities, representing various ages; Geological, Pharaonic, Roman, Coptic and Islamic, were registered. The open-door exhibition includes 90 rare monumental pieces, while the internal halls contain 50 invaluable pieces dating back to the pre-history times, 503 pieces belong to Pharaonic time, 52 of Coptic era, 103 of Islamic age, 140 of Nubian time, in addition to 360 pieces having the tang of As...

The unfinished obelisk is the largest known ancient obelisk, located in the northern region of the stone quarries of ancient Egypt in Aswan (Assuan), Egypt. It is unknown which pharaoh created this structure. It is nearly one third larger than any ancient Egyptian obelisk ever erected. If finished it would have measured around 42 m (approximately 137 feet) and would have weighed nearly 1,200 tons. Archeologists speculate that it was intended to complement the so-called Lateran Obelisk which was originally at Karnak and is now outside the Lateran Palace in Rome. (Thutmose III obelisk in Lateran, Rome: 105 ft) The obelisk's creators began to carve it directly out of bedrock, but cracks appeared in the granite and the project was abandoned. Originally it was thought that the stone had an undetected flaw but it is also possible that the quarrying process allowed the cracking to dev...

The Tombs of the Nobles (Qubbet el-Hawa) is a site of a group of rock cut tombs known as the Princes's Tomb on the west side of the Nile, opposite Aswan. These tombs date mainly from the Old Kingdom which provide important details of the lives of officials at this time (including the tomb of Harkhuf). There are a few later tombs, from the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom. The 6th Dynasty tombs, some of which form linked family complexes, contain important biographical texts. Inside, the tombs are decorated with vivid wall paintings showing scenes of everyday life, hieroglyphic biographies and inscriptions telling of the noblemen's journeys into Africa.

Built to honor Isis, this was the last ancient temple built in the the classical Egyptian architectural style. Construction began in approx 690 BC. It was moved from its original location on Philae Island, to its new location on Agilkia Island, after the flooding of Lake Nasser. A major multinational UNESCO team relocated Philae, and a number of other temples that now dot the shores of Lake Nasser. You can see the submerged original island a short distance away, punctuated by the steel columns used in the moving process. Don't miss the Sound and Light show at night, see picture to the right, the least cheesy of the Sound and Light "extravaganzas". On your feet, look out for the extremely creative guards who will do all in their power to get in your photos, or to point out the hieroglpyhs that you can quite clearly see yourself, all for some baksheesh(tip)! Note ...

The Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Ţūlūn is located in Cairo, Egypt. It is arguably the oldest mosque in the city surviving in its original form, and is the largest mosque in Cairo in terms of land area. The mosque was commissioned by Ahmad ibn Ţūlūn, the Abbassid governor of Egypt from 868–884 whose rule was characterized by de facto independence. The historian al-Maqrizi lists the mosque's construction start date as 876 AD, and the mosque's original inscription slab identifies the date of completion as 265 AH, or 879 AD. The mosque was constructed on a small hill called Gebel Yashkur, "The Hill of Thanksgiving."

The Coptic Museum is a museum in Coptic Cairo, Egypt with the largest collection of Egyptian Christian artifacts in the world. It was founded by Marcus Simaika Pasha in 1910 to house Coptic antiquities. The museum traces the history of Christianity in Egypt from its beginnings to the present day. It was erected on 8,000 square meters offered by the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria under the guardianship of Pope Cyril V. The Coptic museum houses the world's most important examples of Coptic art.

The Blue Hole is a submarine sinkhole (a kind of cave), around 130 metres deep and is located on E of Sinai, a few kilometres N of Dahab, Egypt on the coast of the Red Sea. The site is a very popular scuba dive site but is also one of the most dangerous dive sites in the world. There is a shallow opening around 6 m deep, known as 'the saddle', opening out to the sea, and a 26 m long tunnel, known as the arch, the top of which lies at a depth of 56 m. The hole itself and the surrounding area has an abundance of coral and reef fish. Accidents are frequently caused when divers attempt to find the tunnel through the reef (known as "The Arch") connecting the Blue Hole and open water at about 52 m depth. This is beyond the PADI maximum recreational diving limit of 40m and the effect of nitrogen narcosis is significant at this depth. Divers who miss the tunnel someti...

The Pyramids of Giza stand on the Giza Plateau on the outskirts of Cairo. This complex of ancient monuments includes three giant pyramids, the most famous of the three is known as the Great Pyramid (the pyramid for the Pharoah Khufu) which is the last remaining of the 'Seven Wonders of the Ancient World'. There are also a number of small pyramids and other tombs on the site. The Giza complex also contains a large sculpture known as the Great Sphinx. There are two ticket offices: the first is near the main entrance, the second is near the Sphinx, in the E part of the Plateau. The pyramids can be explored from the outside and inside. However, the interior of the pyramids is hot, humid and somewhat claustrophobic, with the passages steep, dusty and hard to move through, and those with any physical disabilities or heart / lung issues will want to avoid this experience. For those w...

The Great Sphinx is a colossal, recumbent human-headed lion which was conceived of by the ancient Egyptians as the sun god Re-Horakhty "Horus of the horizon". The Egyptians call it Abu el-Hol, the "Father of Terror", and even the Greek name Sphinx has the less than pleasant meaning "Strangler". The Great Sphinx is 45m long, 22m wide, and carved from a single giant block of sandstone. The Sphinx itself is considerably smaller than the Pyramids around it and is in a poor state despite careful restoration attempts. The missing nose of the Sphinx is blamed on target practice by bored Napoleon's troops in 1798, but 18th-century drawings showing the nose already missing, pointing the finger towards the occupying Turks of the time.