15 Ancient Egyptian Monuments You Can Visit: From Giza Pyramids to Temple of Seti I
The monumental structures of the Nile Valley draw millions of visitors, encompassing 15 ancient Egyptian locations. The Great Pyramid of Giza, erected by Khufu circa 2566 BC, reaches a height of 139 meters and was completed by 100,000 laborers using more than 2.3 million stone blocks. Alongside it are the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure, forming the Giza trio. The Great Sphinx, which may have been sculpted by Khafre, gazes toward the sun; its nose was likely destroyed by Muslims in the late 1300s. Carved by Ramesses the Great in the 13th century BC, Abu Simbel was moved by UNESCO from 1964 to 1968. The Valley of the Kings houses Tutankhamun's tomb, found by Howard Carter in 1922, along with other significant sites like Djoser's Step Pyramid, Luxor Temple, and the Temple of Seti I at Abydos.
Key facts
- The Great Pyramid of Giza, built by Khufu c. 2566 BC, is 139 meters tall and the only surviving Seven Wonder.
- The Great Sphinx's nose was likely removed by Muslims in the late 1300s, not Napoleon's soldiers.
- Abu Simbel was relocated 200 meters back and 65 meters higher between 1964 and 1968 by UNESCO to avoid Lake Nasser.
- The Colossi of Memnon are two 20-meter statues of Amenhotep III, carved from single quartzite blocks transported over 400 miles.
- King Tutankhamun's tomb was found intact by Howard Carter in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings.
- The Temple of Philae's last hieroglyphic inscription, the Graffito of Esmet-Akhom, dates to August 24, AD 394.
- Dendara Temple's circular sky map was removed to the Louvre in 1821.
- The Abydos King List in the Temple of Seti I names 76 pharaohs but omits Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, and Hatshepsut.
Entities
Artists
- Khufu
- Cheops
- Khafre
- Menkaure
- Ramesses the Great
- Ramesses II
- Amenhotep III
- Memnon
- Septimius Severus
- Tutankhamun
- Howard Carter
- Horemheb
- Alexander the Great
- Cleopatra
- Djoser
- Imhotep
- Sneferu
- Hatshepsut
- Senenmut
- Akhenaten
- Justinian
- Seti I
- Menes
- Napoleon
Institutions
- UNESCO
- Louvre
Locations
- Giza
- Egypt
- Cairo
- Abu Simbel
- Nubia
- Luxor
- Thebes
- Valley of the Kings
- Edfu
- Saqqara
- Dahshur
- Deir el Bahari
- Karnak
- Philae
- Agilkia Island
- Aswan
- Dendara
- Qena
- Kom Ombo
- Abydos
- Paris
- France
- Place de la Concorde
- Lake Nasser
- Nile
- Mediterranean