Things to do in Beni Hasan
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Tomb of Amenemhat
Amenemhat was a 12th-dynasty governor of Oryx. His tomb is the largest and possibly the best at Beni Hasan and, like that of Khnumhotep, its impressive façade and interior decoration mark a clear departure from the more modest earlier ones. Entered through a columned doorway and with its six columns intact, it contains beautifully executed scenes of farming, hunting, manufacturing and offerings to the deceased, who can also be seen with his dogs.
As well as the fine paintings, the tomb has a long, faded text in which Amenemhat addresses the visitors to his chapel: 'You who love life and hate death, say: Thousands of bread and beer, thousands of cattle and wild fowl for t…
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Temple of Speos Artemidos
If the police allow it, a cliffside track leads southeast for about 2.5km from the Tomb of Khnumhotep, then some 500m into a wadi to the rock-cut Temple of Speos Artemidos. Known locally as Istabl Antar (the Stable of Antar, an Arab warrior-poet and folk hero), it deserves neither its Greek nor Arab names for it dates back to the 18th dynasty. Started by Hatshepsut (1473-58 BC) and completed by Tuthmosis III (1479-25 BC), it was dedicated to the lion-goddess Pakht.
There is a small hall with roughly hewn Hathor-headed columns and an unfinished sanctuary. On the walls are scenes of Hatshepsut making offerings and, on its upper façade, an inscription describing how she rest…
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Tomb of Baqet
Baqet was an 11th-dynasty governor of the Oryx nome (district). His rectangular tomb chapel has seven tomb shafts and some well-preserved wall paintings. They include Baqet and his wife on the left wall watching weavers and acrobats - mostly women in diaphanous dresses in flexible poses.
Further along, animals, presumably possessions of Baqet, are being counted. A hunting scene in the desert shows mythical creatures among the gazelles. The back wall shows a sequence of wrestling moves that are still used today. The right (south) wall is decorated with scenes from the nomarch's daily life, with potters, metalworkers and a flax harvest, among others.
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Beni Hasan
The necropolis of Beni Hasan occupies a range of east-bank limestone cliffs some 20km south of Minya. It is a superb and important location and has the added attraction of a new rest house, which is usually open for drinks. Most tombs date from the 11th and 12th dynasties (2125–1795 BC), the 39 upper tombs belonging to nomarchs (local governors). Many remain unfinished and only four are currently open to visitors, but they are worth the trouble of visiting for the glimpse they provide of daily life and political tensions of the period.
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Tomb of Khnumhotep
Governor in the early 12th dynasty, Khnumhotep's detailed 'autobiography' is inscribed on the base of walls that contain the most detailed painted scenes. The tomb is famous for its rich, finely rendered scenes of plant, animal and bird life. On the left wall farmers are shown tending their crops while a scribe is shown recording the harvest. Also on the left wall is a representation of a delegation bringing offerings from Asia - their clothes, faces and beards are all distinct.
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Tomb of Kheti
Kheti, Baqet's son, inherited the governorship of the Oryx nome from his father. His tomb chapel, with two of its original six papyrus columns intact, has many vivid painted scenes that show hunting, linen production, board games, metalwork, wrestling, acrobatics and dancing, most of them watched over by the nomarch. Notice the yoga-like positions on the right-hand wall, between images of wine-making and herding.
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