Once called the Great Necropolis of Millions of Years of Pharaoh, or the Place of Truth, the Valley of the Kings has 63 magnificent royal tombs from the New Kingdom period (1550–1069 BC), all very different from each other. The west bank had been the site of royal burials from the First Intermediate Period (2160–2025 BC) onwards.
The Quay of Amun was the dock where the large boats carrying the statues of the gods moored during the festivals. From tomb paintings such as those in the Tomb of Nakht we know that there were palaces to the north of the quay surrounded by lush gardens.
The tombs in this area are some of the best, but least visited, attractions on the west bank. Nestled in the foothills opposite the Ramesseum, there are more than 400 tombs belonging to nobles from the 6th dynasty to the Graeco-Roman period.
Largely built by the New Kingdom pharaohs Amenhotep III (1390–1352 BC) and Ramses II (1279–1213 BC), this temple is a strikingly graceful monument in the heart of the modern town. Visit early when the temple opens, before the crowds arrive, or later at sunset when the stones glow.
At Deir al-Bahri, the eyes first focus on the dramatic rugged limestone cliffs that rise nearly 300m above the desert plain, a monument made by nature, only to realise that at the foot of all this immense beauty lies a man-made monument even more extraordinary, the dazzling Temple of Hatshepsut.
There are at least 75 tombs in the Valley of the Queens. They belonged to queens of the 19th and 20th dynasties and other members of the royal families, including princesses and the Ramesside princes. Only two were open at the time of writing, and the Tomb of Nefertari is closed for the foreseeable future but a replica will be built.
This wonderful museum has a beautifully displayed collection, from the end of the Old Kingdom right through to the Mamluk period, mostly gathered from the Theban temples and necropolis.
Ramses III’s magnificent memorial temple of Medinat Habu is perhaps one of the most underrated sites on the west bank. With the Theban mountains as a backdrop and the sleepy village of Kom Lolah in front, it is a wonderful place to spend a few hours late afternoon. The site was one of the first places in Thebes to be closely associated with the local god Amun.
The two faceless Colossi of Memnon that rise majestically about 18m from the plain are the first monuments tourists see when they visit the west bank.
Ramses II called his massive memorial temple ‘the Temple of Millions of Years of User-Maat-Ra’; classical visitors called it the Tomb of Ozymandias; and Jean-François Champollion, who deciphered hieroglyphics, called it the Ramesseum. Like other memorial temples it was part of Ramses II’s funerary complex.
About 1km off the road to the Valley of the Queens and up a short, steep paved road is Deir al-Medina, named after a temple that was occupied by early Christian monks.
More than a temple, Karnak is an extraordinary complex of sanctuaries, kiosks, pylons and obelisks dedicated to the Theban gods and the greater glory of pharaohs. Everything is on a gigantic scale: the site covers over 2 sq km, large enough to contain about 10 cathedrals, while its main structure, the Temple of Amun, is the largest religious building ever built.
At the northern end of the Theban necropolis lies the Temple of Seti I. Seti I, who also built the superbly decorated temple at Abydos and Karnak’s magnificent hypostyle hall, died before this memorial temple was finished, so it was completed by his son Ramses II.
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