Top choice in Northern Nile Valley
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 dynasties (2125–1795 BC), the 39 upper tombs belonging to nomarchs (local governors). Only four are currently open to visitors, but they are worth the trouble of visiting for their beauty and for the insight they provide into daily life and political tensions of the period.
The rest house is occasionally open for drinks.
17.17 MILES
Tuna Al Gebel was the necropolis of Hermopolis; about 5km past the village of Tuna Al Gebel you'll find the catacombs and tombs of the residents and…
0.18 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…
21.32 MILES
You will see the ruins of Akhetaten – temples and private or administrative buildings – scattered across the plain of Tell Al Amarna, but the main sights…
1.96 MILES
If the guardian allows, you can follow a cliffside track that leads southeast for about 2.5km and then some 500m into a wadi to the rock-cut temple called…
18.32 MILES
The tomb of Panehsy, chief servant of the Aten in Akhetaten, retains the decorated facade most others have lost. Inside, scenes of the royal family,…
0.08 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…
17.14 MILES
The Tomb of Petosiris, a high priest of Thoth from the late period (between the Persian and Greek conquests), is unusual because it copies the form of…
21.67 MILES
This tomb, in the southern group, is the finest at Tell Al Amarna, with the images reflecting the importance of Ay and Tiyi. Scenes include the couple…
0.05 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…
0.08 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…
0.12 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…
0.18 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…
1.96 MILES
If the guardian allows, you can follow a cliffside track that leads southeast for about 2.5km and then some 500m into a wadi to the rock-cut temple called…
12.01 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…
13.24 MILES
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…
15.83 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…