Dr.Azmy

The Valley of the Queens is located on the western bank of Luxor city. This valley was dedicated for burying the wives of kings, who were buried in the Valley of the Kings.

This valley was discovered by Schiaparelli in 1904. It houses almost 81 tombs for queens, princes, princesses, and several members of the nobility of the new kingdom, the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties.  It was known in ancient Egyptian language with Ta-Set-Neferu, meaning “the place of beauty”.

The first queen buried in the valley was the princess Ahmose, the daughter of Queen Sitdjehuti and King Seqenenre Tao, who was killed in the wars of liberation against the Hyksos.

The main reason for choosing this place to be the Valley of Queens is unknown, but there are some opinions said that:

• Because this place is close to the Valley of the Kings, as in previous dynasties, queens were buried inside the royal complex, but in the Valley of the Queens, the tombs are separated.
• Also, it is close to Deir el-Medina or the village of workers, who work in the Valley of the Kings.
• There is a chamber dedicated to the goddess Hathor in this place.

The design of these tombs begins with a small chamber, a long narrow corridor with several side rooms, then the burial chamber at the end of the tomb. Its tombs were decorated with religious scenes and books of the other world, which are still impressively preserved.

Tomb of Queen Nefertari The tomb of Queen Nefertari or the tomb QV66 is one of the most fabulous tombs in the valley.  Nefertari was the beloved wife of Ramesses II. It was discovered by Ernesto Schiaparelli in 1904. This tomb distinguishes with its well-preserved depictions. When you visit this tomb, you will see poetry written by king Ramesses II for queen Nefertari in the burial chamber.

The tomb of the prince Khaemwaset Also, the tomb of the prince Khaemwaset is one of the most beautiful tombs in the Valley of Queens. Khaemwaset is the son of king Ramesses III. In this tomb, you will be able to notice the father’s care for his son, as king Ramesses III depicted while he is helping his son in crossing the gates and skipping the obstacles of the afterworld due to the young age of his son in front of several gods.

The temple of Kom Ombo is one of the most beautiful Egyptian temples dating back to the Greco-Roman period. It is located on the east bank as it is perched atop a picturesque bluff alongside the Nile River.

The meaning of word “Kom Ombo” Kom Ombo word is divided into two parts. The first part is (Kom), meaning in Arabic a hill, while the second part (Ombo) means gold. The word Kom Ombo means the hill of the gold.

The history of Kom Ombo Temple The temple of Kom Ombo dates back to the Ptolemaic period and its construction was completed during the Roman period. This temple was built on the ruins of an older temple dating back to the 18th dynasty, Hatshepsut reign. This old temple was called “Ber Sobek”, meaning the house of the god Sobek.

This temple distinguishes that it is the only temple dedicated to two triads. The first triad is Sobek, the crocodile god, his wife Hathor, and their son Khonsu, while the second triad is Horus, the falcon god, his wife Ta Senet Nofret, and their son Paneb Tawy.

The design of the temple The temple is built of sandstone brought from Jabal al-Silsila. As Edfu temple, this temple has the same plan of temples during the Greco-Roman period, as it consists of the traditional elements of the temple during the ancient Egyptian times, with adding some elements of the Greco-Roman time, as the mamisi (house of divine birth).

• A few stairs lead you to the gate of the temple. This gate has inscriptions depicting the Ptolemaic kings beating the enemies and giving offerings to several gods.
• After that, the pylon of the temple. It is greatly destroyed.
• Then the courtyard that surrounded by columns from three directions.
• Then the hypostyle hall. It contains depictions for the ancient Egyptian gods, Ptolemaic Kings and Roman Emperors presenting offerings for gods, and the inscriptions referring to the rituals of the construction of the temple.
• Then you will find some corridors housing depictions for Ptolemaic Kings and Roman Emperors presenting offerings for gods, but the most unique scene is the calendar.
• Then you will enter the inner part of the temple, the two sanctuaries or the Holy of Holies of the temple for the god Sobek and the god.
• Behind the sanctuary, you will find one of the most unique inscriptions in the ancient Egyptian temples. It is surgical instruments scene, that reflecting the great advances that the ancient Egyptians had made in the field of medicine. This depiction presents different medical tools as scalpels, suction caps, bone saws, and dental tools.

• Also, there is a chapel for the goddess Hathor. It is located in the North-Eastern part of the Temple. It displays three mummies of crocodiles representing the god Sobek.
• As well, you will see the Nilometer that was used to measure the level of water in the Nile River. It was built during the Roman period.
• Besides the temple, you will find the Crocodile Museum, displaying several mummies for the Egyptian crocodiles.

The Temple of Horus at Edfu is considered one of the most beautiful and preserved temples in Egypt dating back to the Greco-Roman period, as its construction started with Ptolemy IV reign.

Edfu city was named with Apollopolis Magna, as the Greeks linked between the ancient Egyptian god, Horus, and their Greek god, Apollo. This city was known as the center for worshipping a triad of gods, (Horus of Behdet – his wife Hathor – their son, Hor-Sama-Tawy).

This temple of Edfu is located on the west bank of the Nile River. This is unique in ancient Egyptian history as it is a temple for god, so it should be on the east.

This temple is consists of the traditional elements of the temple during the ancient Egyptian times, with adding some elements of the Greco-Roman time, as the mamisi (house of divine birth).

Let’s start our tour in Edfu temple

• Firstly, you will find the pylon. It is considered one of the best surviving pylons among temples in Egypt. This pylon is decorated with scenes depicting the king in a battle smiting his enemies in front of the god Horus, the main god of this temple.
• Secondly, you will enter the open courtyard. This courtyard was opened to the public, as people entered this place for giving the offering to the god Horus.
• Then, there is the Hypostyle Hall. This hall contains two rooms, the library, and the storeroom of the temple. In addition, the scenes of the construction of the temple.
• Finally, at the end of the temple, there is the Holy of Holies. It houses a niche made of granite and the dais for resting for the divine boat.

Among the important scenes in the temple, scenes are depicting the divine marriage of Hathor and Horus of Behdet. This was considered as a feast in the ancient Egyptian myths occurring twice a year, once at the Dendera Temple and the second at the Edfu Temple.

There is another scene depicting the legend of the conflict between Horus and Seth, the victory of Horus over Seth, and Horus’s coronation to rule ancient Egypt.

The Citadel of Qaitbay is considered as one of the most important defensive fortresses along the Mediterranean Sea coast. It is located on the eastern side of Pharos Island in Alexandria.

The history of Citadel of Qaitbay This citadel was constructed by Circassian Sultan Al-Ashraf Abou Anasr Saif El-Din Qaitbay El-Jerkasy Al-Zahiry in 1477 to defend the Egyptian northern borders against the Ottoman attacks, as it was used as barracks for the soldiers and armories.

Sultan Qaitbay was a Mamluk and came to Egypt when he was young. Qaitbay became the Sultan in 1468. He was one of the most prominent Mamluk Sultans.

Qaitbay Citadel was established where the place of Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Egypt was distinguishes housing two wonders of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the great pyramid of Khufu and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

This lighthouse was built during the Ptolemaic period and destroyed due to an earthquake that occurred in 1303. Some of the lighthouse stones and blocks were reused in the construction of the citadel.

Throughout history, this citadel played a vital role due to its strategic location, so the Sultans and rulers keened to maintain it continuously. The citadel continued to function during the Mameluke period, the Ottoman period, and the Modern period, but in 1882 during Orabi revolt, the citadel was bombed by the British fleet resulting that it became neglected.

The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities in 2005 started to restore it to become a unique tourist destination on the Alexandria coast.

The description of the citadel

The citadel consists of three floors:
• The first floor contains the mosque divided into a courtyard and four iwans.
• The second floor has several halls and passages, might be used store weapons and provisions.
• The third floor houses the Sultan’s hall where he observed from it the movement of ships in the harbor, grain mill, and bakery for preparing food for soldiers.

The Haramlek of Montazah Palace, the last royal palace was built during the Muhammed Ali family, is one of the most famous sightseeing in Alexandria. It is located on at the eastern edge of Alexandria on the Mediterranean Sea coast.

The history of the Montazah Palace The royal family of Muhammad Ali Pasha chose Alexandria to be one of their destinations to escape from the summer heat. The Khedive Abbas Helmy II used to ride horses near Sidi Bisher in Alexandria. He noticed the amazing views of the sea in this place, so he decided to build Montazah Palace and gardens in 1892 to be the summer residence for the royal family.

The Khedive Abbas Helmy II asked Dmitri Fabersious, one of the most famous architects at the time, to put the design of this palace. The design of this palace mixes various types of styles as Byzantine, Classic, Gothic, and Islamic.

The Egyptian revolution that occurred in 1952 led that the palace was taken away by the Egyptian government. Then this palace becomes one of the presidential palaces for hosting the president’s visitors.

The Elements of Montazah Palace This palace, like the ottoman palaces, contains the Haramlek and the Salamlek. The Haramlek and the Salamlek are Turkish words. The Haramlek means the place where women stay, while the Salamlek is the place where men meet.

The Haramlek was built by King Fouad I in 1925 to be the last royal palace founded during the Muhammed Ali family.

The Haramlek consists of three floors:

• The first floor contains many rooms, but the most important rooms are the office of the king and the meeting room.
• The second floor houses many suites of the king, the queen, the princesses, and the prince Ahmed Fouad.
• The third floor hosts a hung terrace overlooking a fabulous view of the Mediterranean Sea.

This palace has a royal elevator.

The Montazah Gardens: the palace is surrounded by lush gardens with a Victorian bridge. It is 3000 meters wide and houses a huge selection of rare trees and plants.

King Farouk Tea Kiosk: this kiosk is located in the gardens of Montazah Palace. It was opened in 2020 to the public for the first time ever, as you will be able to enjoy having your brunch as a king while seeing the sea.

The Egyptian architect Mustafa Pasha Fahmy designed this kiosk and built it in 1936. It is built in the Roman style, as there are four statues depicting women who symbolize the four seasons of the year.

Throughout ancient history, Alexandria was known as a center for learning and melting different cultures because it houses the library of Alexandria or Bibliotheca Alexandrina the most famous destination for students in the ancient world.

It is important to be referred that there are two libraries of Alexandria libraries (the ancient library of Alexandria – the modern library of Alexandria).

The ancient Bibliotheca Alexandrina During the Ptolemaic period, Ptolemy II built the ancient Alexandria Library. This library contained many books in different specialties, so it became the main destination of many science students in the ancient world. It is said that it houses about 700,000 books, as it contained books from the ancient Egyptian and Greek civilizations, as well as, the library obligated its scholars to leave a copy of their writings in the library. This led to making this library very rich with books in several specialties and from different cultures.

Some of its students were Euclid and Archimedes. This library was divided into three parts the original library or the Muses, the smaller library, and the book store.

It was a public library, in contrast to the libraries of temples at that time, which were accessed only for priests of temples.

Unfortunately, the ancient Library of Alexandria was destroyed during the attack of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra VII against Ptolemy XIII in 48 BC, where the ships in Alexandria port were burned by Caesar and this fire spread to the library.

The modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina The modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina was built on the 16th of October 2002 when Lotfy Dowidar and the Egyptian Government asked UNESCO to revive the ancient Library of Alexandria.

The library is surrounded by a great wall, decorated with the letters and signs of 120 languages, referring to the wealth of knowledge in that building.  This wall is made of the granite of Aswan.

• The Antiquities Museum
  It is considered the first archeological museum to be situated within a library. The museum collection displays the ancient history of Egypt from the ancient Egyptian civilization to the Roman period. Part of the museum collection is displayed under the water of the Mediterranean Sea.
  The museum texts are written in three languages (English, Arabic, and French).
• The Manuscripts Museum
  This museum distinguishes with housing the largest collection of digital manuscripts in the whole world. It provides digital access to more than 6,000 rare books, maps, and documents.
• The Sadat Museum
  This museum contains many personal belongings of the Egyptian president Anwar Al Sadat, as his Nobel Prize medal and his military robe stained with blood, which he wore on the day of his assassination.
• The History of Science Museum

• The Arts and Multimedia Library/li>
• The Taha Hussein Library for the visually-impaired This library is named with Taha Hussein Library because its materials are specially designed for blind and visually impaired people. These materials enable them to read books.
• The Children’s Library
• The Young People’s Library
• The Exchange and Archive Section
• The Rare Books and Special Collections Library

• The Planetarium Science Center
• Culturama: It is a patented nine-screen interactive technology created by the Egyptian Center for Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage (CULTNAT) in 2007. Culturama allows the library to inform information that could never have been displayed by traditional displaying methods. Culturama exhibits three times from Egyptian history (Ancient Egyptian Period – Highlights of Islamic Civilization – Modern Egypt).

The new library of Alexandria seeks to revive the old library approach, as it is dedicated to recapturing the spirit of openness, spreading culture, and acting as a public research center.

Pompey Pillar is one of the most famous attractions in Alexandria. It is considered the longest column in Egypt, as it is about 27 meters long. It was constructed in 292 AD by the trustee of Alexandria, Postumus.

This pillar or column is divided into 3 parts. The first part is its base that has inscriptions of names of ancient Egyptian Kings, referring to that this stone was reused. The second one is the body of the column taking a circular cylindrical shape and made of red granite from Aswan. Then the crown. Al-Maqrizi wrote about this crown that he heard the Alexandrians said that this crown allowing 22 persons to sit on it and having their food.

Different Names to This Pillar Pompey’s Pillar is a misleading name. It is believed that when the Roman General Pompey fled to Alexandria from Rome, Ptolemy XII murdered him and his head was put on the top of the column, but that is not true and this pillar has nothing to do with Pompey.

Arab called it masts pillar because they thought that it looks like the masts of the ships.

According to an inscription beside the column, the closest to the right name is Diocletian Pillar. This text refers to the trustee of Alexandria, Postumus, who built this pillar in gratitude for the Roman Emperor Diocletian as there was a famine in the city so Diocletian ordered that a portion of the wheat be sent to Rome annually be given to the Alexandrians. As well, he exempted them from paying taxes during these hard times.

Besides the pillar, there are two sphinxes and an open museum displaying what was discovered in the Serapeum, dedicated to Alexandria’s patron god, Serapis.

The Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqafa are considered the first catacombs in the whole world. It is a complex of impressively decorated tombs dating back to the Roman period. It is located in the district of Karmouz to the east of Alexandria.

The Kom el Shoqafa is its Arabic name, meaning in the English language the mound or hill of potsherds, referring to the broken dishes and plates that was found in this place. Also, the word Catacomb means a rock-cut tomb around a well.

This place is considered an open museum, as, besides tombs, there are several Roman monuments as the fountain and the bathtub.

The Catacombs of Alexandria This Catacomb was discovered by chance in 1900 when a donkey fell in the well. It is one of the most important examples referring to the fusion between ancient Egyptian art and Greco-Roman art.

The Catacomb originally belonged to a wealthy Roman family who started to use it for burial in the middle of the 2nd century AD. Later, the catacomb was expanded to be a public cemetery.

It consists of 3 floors housing rock-cut tombs in the 1st and 2nd levels, but the 3rd is completely underwater. These two levels can be accessed by a central spiral staircase to a depth of 35 meters around a well.

When you descend the catacomb, you can see a circular hall with a vaulted ceiling called the rotunda. This hall contained 5 busts (now these busts are displayed in the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria).

After that, you will move to the Triclinium hall, where the visitors of the tomb were taking some rest after descending the stairs of the tomb. This hall supports by 4 pillars and contains 3 benches, taking the shape of the letter U. It is thought that this hall was used by the visitors of the tomb for eating food.

Then there is another hall containing bones for horses. It is called Holy Horses Hall, as it is believed that these horses were used in horse racing.

Finally, there is the main shrine of this catacomb. There are 2 statues, their features combining between the ancient Egyptian and Greco-Roman arts. It is thought that these statues belonging to the original owners of the catacomb.

The Tomb of Tigrane The Tomb of Tigrane is situated a few meters away from the main catacombs. It dates back to the 1st century A.D. and was discovered in 1952. It is famous for its wall paintings executed in the Hellenistic style.

You Can enjoy a virtual tour to the Catacombs via the virtual tours of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. The Catacombs of Alexandria