Akhenaten Museum

Northern Nile Valley


The new Akhenaten Museum on the east bank is now complete, but no date has been set for its opening. If the Egyptian authorities can swing it, it will be home, for some months at least, to the iconic bust of Queen Nefertiti (now in Berlin) as well as treasures from the nearby Tell Al Amarna excavations.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Northern Nile Valley attractions

1. Zawiyyet Al Mayyiteen

1.43 MILES

On the east bank about 7km southeast of town, this large Muslim and Christian cemetery, called Zawiyyet Al Mayyiteen (Place of the Dead), consists of…

2. Frazer Tombs

3.2 MILES

Five kilometres south of Tihna Al Gebel, the Frazer Tombs date back to the 5th and 6th dynasties. These Old Kingdom tombs are cut into the east-bank…

3. Deir Al Adhra

9.35 MILES

The clifflike Gebel At Teir (Bird Mountain) rises east of the Nile, some 93km south of Beni Suef and 20km north of Minya. The mountain takes its name from…

4. Tomb of Amenemhat (No 2)

13.09 MILES

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…

5. Tomb of Kheti (No 17)

13.15 MILES

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…

6. Tomb of Baqet (No 15)

13.18 MILES

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…

7. Tomb of Khnumhotep (No 3)

13.2 MILES

Khnumhotep was governor during the early 12th dynasty, and his detailed ‘autobiography’ is inscribed on the base of walls that contain the most detailed…

8. Beni Hasan

13.24 MILES

The necropolis of Beni Hasan occupies a range of east-bank limestone cliffs some 20km south of Minya. Most of the superb tombs date from the 11th and 12th…