Temple of Alexander the Great, Bahariya
The only temple in Egypt known to bear the name of Alexander the Great, in the Bahariya Oasis.
Alexander in the oasis
The Temple of Alexander the Great stands on the edge of the Bahariya Oasis, south-west of the town of Bawiti, near the area known as Qasr al-Megysbeh. It was discovered in 1938 by the Egyptian archaeologist Ahmed Fakhry, the great explorer of the Western Desert oases. It is famous as the only temple in Egypt on which the name of Alexander the Great appears in a cartouche, as pharaoh, in reliefs showing him making offerings to Amun and other gods — a reminder that the Macedonian conqueror was crowned in Egypt and honoured as a son of Amun after his visit to the oracle at Siwa.
The site
The temple consisted of a sanctuary of stone surrounded by mud-brick rooms that served as storerooms, priests' quarters and offices, forming a large complex. Much of it is now ruined, and its reliefs have weathered heavily, though traces of carving and inscriptions can still be seen. The temple may have been linked to the caravan trade that passed through Bahariya, which was an important stop on the routes from the Nile valley to Siwa and Libya.
In the oasis
The temple is one of several ancient sites in and around Bawiti, together with the museum of the Golden Mummies, the painted tombs of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty and the remains of temples of the Late Period. It is visited on the Bahariya antiquities ticket.
Exhibo editorial
It's a modest ruin — low walls of stone and mud brick on the edge of the desert, the reliefs worn almost smooth. But it carries a remarkable claim: this is the only temple in Egypt where Alexander the Great appears with his name in a pharaoh's cartouche, offering to the gods of the land he had just conquered.
Combine it with the Golden Mummies and the painted tombs in Bawiti, and come in the late afternoon, when the low light brings out what's left of the carving. It's a small, evocative stop on the road to the White Desert.
How to find it
The temple lies on the edge of the oasis a few kilometres south-west of Bawiti, reached by car or 4x4 along a desert track; ask at the antiquities ticket office in Bawiti, where the combined ticket is sold, or arrange the visit with a local guide.
