The Karnak Temple dates back from around 2055 BC to around 100 AD. It was built as a cult temple and was dedicated to the gods Amun, Mut, and khonsu. Being the largest building for religious purposes ever to be constructed, the Karnak Temple was known as the “most select of places” by ancient Egyptiansription here.

The Valley of the Kings is a royal burial ground for pharaohs from the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties (the New Kingdom of Egypt). Famous kings from this time period include Tutankhamun, Ramses II, Tuthmosis III, and Seti I, as well as powerful nobles and the wives and children of the pharaohs.

The vast Temple of Hatshepsut (at Deir el-Bahari) rivals the Pyramids as one of the great funerary monuments of the ancient world. Built into the towering cliff face which shelter the Valley of the Kings on the other side, it rises on three enormous terraces connected by ramps, each level marked with a colonnade of stark, largely unadorned square pillars.Its namesake was one of the few female pharaohs of ancient Egypt, who not unfairly called her monument “Splendor of Splendors”. However, much of the construction dated from earlier rulers, starting with Mentuhotep II in 2050 BC. Numerous sphinxes and other statues have since disappeared, making the whole structure appear even more monolithic.The cool stone interior provides welcome relief from the pitiless heat of this region, and features well-preserved wall reliefs and hieroglyphics, some in brilliant colors.

Its modern Arabic name is Kom el-Hatan but the Colossi of Memnon is better known for its Roman name, the Temple of Memnon. A hero of the Trojan War, Memnon was a king of Ethiopia who traveled with his army from Africa to Asia Minor to help defend the beleaguered city under attack but it was slain by the Achilles. Memnon’s name whose means the steadfast or resolute, was the son of Eos, known for being the goddess of dawn. Memnon was associated with the Colossi many years after its construction due to the cry at the dawn of the northern statue also known as the “Vocal Memnon.” Memnon’s eventually became known as the “Ruler of the West.”