El-Kab (Ancient Nekheb)
The city of the vulture goddess Nekhbet — rock tombs with the autobiography of a soldier who fought the Hyksos.
The city of the vulture goddess
El-Kab, ancient Nekheb, lies on the east bank of the Nile between Esna and Edfu. It was one of the oldest and most important towns of Upper Egypt, the cult centre of the vulture goddess Nekhbet, protector of Upper Egypt and of the king, who appears on royal crowns beside the cobra goddess Wadjet of Lower Egypt. Facing it across the river stood Nekhen (Hierakonpolis), one of the cradles of the Egyptian state. Today the site is marked by the enormous mud-brick walls of the ancient town enclosure, among the largest in Egypt, which surround the remains of temples to Nekhbet and Thoth.
The tombs of El-Kab
In the hillside to the north-east lie the rock tombs of the town's officials, mostly from the early New Kingdom. The tomb of Ahmose son of Ebana, an admiral and soldier, preserves on its walls one of the most important historical texts of ancient Egypt: his autobiography, describing the war of liberation against the Hyksos under King Ahmose, including the siege of their capital Avaris, and later campaigns into Nubia and Syria. The tomb of Paheri, mayor of Nekheb and tutor of a royal prince, is decorated with detailed and lively scenes of agriculture, wine-making, fishing and family life. The tombs of Setau and Renni complete the group.
In the desert
Further into the wadi stand small desert temples, including a chapel of Amenhotep III dedicated to Hathor and Nekhbet, and a rock temple of the Ptolemaic period. El-Kab has been excavated by Belgian missions for decades. It receives few visitors and is often combined with Esna and Edfu on the road between Luxor and Aswan.
Exhibo editorial
El-Kab is one of those places where history speaks in the first person. In the tomb of Ahmose son of Ebana, a soldier tells you — in hieroglyphs carved beside his own image — how he fought on the king's ship, killed enemies at Avaris and was rewarded with gold for valour. It is the war that founded the New Kingdom, told by a man who was there.
Next door, Paheri's tomb shows the peaceful side of the same world: ploughing, harvesting, grapes being trodden, a whole household at work. Come on the drive between Luxor and Aswan, and you will probably have the hillside to yourself.
Gallery
How to find it
El-Kab lies beside the east-bank road between Esna and Edfu, about 30 km north of Edfu; a car is needed. From the ticket office by the road, a path leads up the hillside to the rock tombs; the great mud-brick town walls lie on the other side of the road, towards the Nile, and the desert temples further east along the wadi.