Tell El Amarna and Middle Egypt

Travelling overland from Cairo to Luxor through Middle Egypt will reveal a beautiful, timeless land far removed from the modern world. This overlooked rural gem has simple hotels but is rich in archaeology and ideally suited to those seeking an off-the-beaten-track experience in Egypt.

It is possible to see Middle Egypt on one of the ‘Long Cruises’ between Cairo and Luxor, but travelling by car will enable you to spend more time at the sites and visit the secondary attractions. A day’s drive between Cairo and El Minya will bring you to the collapsed pyramid of Meidum, the extraordinary monastery of Deir al-Adhara perched on a cliff above the River Nile, and the important Middle Kingdom period tombs of Beni Hassan.

Using El Minya as a base for two or three nights permits you to explore Middle Egypt in greater depth. Akhetaten (Tell el Amarna), the Horizon of Aten, the Egyptian capital founded by the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten in the 14th century BC, is arguably the region’s greatest draw – although imagination is required to appreciate the scant remains. On the opposite bank of the Nile, near Mallawi, are the tumbled remains of Hermopolis, the City of Thoth, where the ancient Egyptians believed the sun god Ra emerged to create the world out of chaos. The city’s necropolis is more imposing, located several kilometres away in the desert at Tuna al-Gabal.

Nearby are the scant remains of Antinoopolis, the city founded by Hadrian to commemorate his favourite Antinous, who drowned here in 130 AD. Following the road upriver, you’ll arrive at Sohag where you can visit two of Egypt’s most interesting Coptic monasteries: Deir al-Abyad (White Monastery) and Deir al-Ahmar (Red Monastery), before arriving at Abydos. On this famed site, Osiris was resurrected and became the judge of the afterlife. A night in Abydos will enable you to explore the Temple of Seti I and Osireion before any day trippers arrive, then continue to Luxor via the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. Dendera and Abydos can also be visited on a day excursion from Luxor.