Ancient civilisations of the Nile

The ancient civilisations of the lower Nile hardly need any introduction as they include some of the best known world heritage sites in the world.  In this category we include all the sites of ancient Egypt and Sudan between present-day Cairo and Khartoum.  There are five recognised world heritage sites, each one comprising a number of quite distinct monuments, grouped together as a ‘serial property’.  These include three Egyptian properties -  Memphis and the pyramid fields around Cairo; the main monuments at Luxor, (Ancient Thebes, home of the mighty Karnak Temple as well as the mysterious hidden underground tombs of Tutankhamun and the other Pharaonic Kings and Queens); and Abu Simbel and the other Nubian monuments that were saved from the rising waters of Lake Nasser. Across the border in Sudan the less well-known pyramids and temples that flank the Nile further south are no less impressive and include a group of monuments in the Napatan Region, centred on Gebel Barkal; and a second set of sites around the Island of Meroe with its nearby groups of pyramids.

Other key places:  Egypt, and the lower Nile region stretching into Sudan, has such a wealth of ancient Pharaonic monuments that it is difficult to see how any of them could be excluded from the world heritage list.  But in reality many fabulous temples, pyramids and other monuments dating back thousands of years are not yet listed.  This includes all the monuments that flank the Nile between Dahshur (near Cairo) and Luxor – a stretch of some 500 km; as well as those that are located between Luxor and Aswan, a further 200 km stretch that is the principal route of most Nile Cruises and includes numerous notable temples such as those at Esna and Edfu.

To read more about each of the world heritage sites featuring monuments from the ancient Pharaonic civilisations of the lower Nile, and see a slideshow of each place, follow these links: