See the Valley of the Queens, where queens and princesses of the New Kingdom were buried

The Temple of Ramesses III is some 150 m (490 ft) temple long, is of orthodox design, and closely resembles the Ramesseum. It is well preserved and surrounded by a massive mud-brick enclosure, which may have been fortified. The original entrance is through a fortified gatehouse, known as a middle (resembling an Asiatic fortress). Just inside the enclosure, to the south, are chapels of Amenirdis I, Shepenupet II, and Nitiqret, all of whom had the title of Divine Adoratrice of Amun. The first pylon leads into an open courtyard lined with colossal statues of Ramesses III as Osiris on one side and uncarved columns on the other. The second pylon leads into a peristyle hall, again featuring columns of Ramses III. This hall leads up a ramp (through a columned portico) to the third pylon and then into the large hypostyle hall (which has lost its roof). In Coptic times, there was a church inside the temple structure, but it has since been removed.

Deir El-Medina is the modern Arabic name for the worker’s village which was home to the artisans and craftsmen of Thebes who built and decorated the royal tombs in the nearby Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. The ancient inhabitants called the village Pa Demi (“the village”) but it was referred to in official correspondence as Set-Ma’at (“The Place of Truth”) because the workers there were thought to be inspired by the gods in creating the eternal homes of the deceased kings and their families. Early in the Christian era the village, then deserted, was occupied by monks who took over the Temple of Hathor for use as a cloister. The temple was referred to as Deir el-Medina (“Monastery of the Town”) and this name finally came to be applied to the entire site.