The 21 Greatest Ancient Egyptian Monuments

Some of these drew Greek tourists 2,000 years ago, and a couple were only dug out of the sand in the last century.

1. 1
   Bent Pyramid

   Sneferu's pyramid at Dahshur whose sides change angle partway up.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Karnak

   Vast temple complex at Luxor built up over some 2,000 years, with the forest of columns in the Great Hypostyle Hall.
   999pts
3. 3
   Colossi of Memnon

   Two seated stone statues of Amenhotep III, about 18 metres tall, that guarded his vanished mortuary temple.
   954pts
4. 4
   Medinet Habu

   Mortuary temple of Ramesses III, carved with reliefs of his battles against the Sea Peoples.
   849pts
5. 5
   Philae

   Island temple of Isis near Aswan, taken apart and rebuilt on higher ground during the Nubian rescue campaign.
   818pts
6. 6
   Kom Ombo

   Double temple above the Nile shared by the crocodile god Sobek and the falcon god Haroeris.
   734pts
7. 7
   Temple of Hatshepsut

   Terraced temple of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut, set against the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari.
   734pts
8. 8
   Pyramid of Djoser

   Saqqara's step pyramid, the oldest of Egypt's pyramids, designed for King Djoser by Imhotep.
   734pts
9. 9
   Unfinished Obelisk

   Giant obelisk abandoned in an Aswan quarry after it cracked, still lying in the bedrock.
   734pts
10. 10
    Temple of Edfu

    Ptolemaic temple of Horus, one of the best preserved in Egypt, its roof and great pylon still standing.
    520pts
11. 11
    Tomb of Nefertari

    Tomb of Ramesses II's queen in the Valley of the Queens, its walls still bright with paint.
    520pts
12. 12
    Dendera Temple

    Temple of Hathor north of Luxor, known for its vividly restored painted ceilings.
    520pts
13. 13
    Tomb of Tutankhamun

    Tutankhamun's small tomb, found almost intact by Howard Carter in 1922.
    520pts
14. 14
    Great Sphinx of Giza

    Limestone lion with a king's head carved from the bedrock of Giza, usually dated to Khafre's reign.
    520pts
15. 15
    Pyramids of Giza

    Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure's pyramids west of Cairo; the Great Pyramid was the tallest structure on Earth for about 3,800 years.
    520pts
16. 16
    Luxor Temple

    Temple on the east bank at Luxor, linked to Karnak by an avenue lined with sphinxes.
    382pts
17. 17
    Temple of Seti I, Abydos

    Temple at Abydos with some of Egypt's finest reliefs and the Abydos King List.
    382pts
18. 18
    Red Pyramid

    Sneferu's second pyramid at Dahshur, the first to be finished with smooth sides.
    382pts
19. 19
    Ramesseum

    Mortuary temple of Ramesses II whose fallen colossus is linked to Shelley's poem Ozymandias.
    382pts
20. 20
    Abu Simbel

    Two temples of Ramesses II cut into a Nubian cliff and moved uphill in the 1960s to escape Lake Nasser.
    0pts
21. 21
    Valley of the Kings

    Royal burial valley on the west bank at Luxor, with more than 60 tombs.
    0pts

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