Bagawat Necropolis
One of the oldest Christian cemeteries in the world — 263 mud-brick chapels with painted biblical scenes, on a desert hill in Kharga.
A city of the dead
The necropolis of Bagawat lies on a low desert hill just north of the town of Kharga, overlooking the Temple of Hibis. It is one of the oldest and best-preserved Christian cemeteries in the world, used from the third to the seventh centuries AD, when Kharga was a place of exile and later a thriving Christian community. Its 263 funerary chapels, built of mud brick and arranged along streets like a small town, range from simple buildings to elaborate structures with domes, arches, columns and decorative façades, combining Egyptian, Roman and early Christian architectural features. A large church, possibly from the fourth or fifth century, stands among them.
The painted chapels
Some chapels preserve remarkable wall paintings, among the earliest surviving examples of Christian art. The Chapel of the Exodus has a dome painted with scenes from the Old Testament, including the Israelites' flight from Egypt led by Moses, Noah's Ark, Daniel in the lions' den, Jonah and the whale and the sacrifice of Isaac. The Chapel of Peace is decorated with allegorical figures such as Peace and Justice and scenes including Adam and Eve, Abraham and Isaac, and the Virgin Mary, painted in a style close to late Roman art. Greek and Coptic graffiti left by later visitors cover some of the walls.
Visiting
The site is one of the main attractions of the Kharga Oasis. A guardian opens the painted chapels, and paths lead through the streets of the necropolis. Nearby, on a hill to the north, stand the ruins of the monastery of Mustafa Kashif.
Exhibo editorial
From a distance, Bagawat looks like a ghost town on a desert hill: rows of small domed buildings of mud brick, arched façades, empty lanes. Then the guardian opens a chapel, and inside the dome are Noah's Ark, Moses leading his people, Daniel among the lions — painted fifteen hundred years ago in soft reds and ochres, among the earliest Christian images anywhere.
It's an extraordinary place to understand how Christianity took root in Egypt's deserts. Visit in the morning or late afternoon, take your time in the Chapels of the Exodus and of Peace, and walk up the hill for the view over the necropolis and the oasis.
Gallery
How to find it
Bagawat lies about 2 km north of central Kharga, on the hill across the road from the Temple of Hibis. From the ticket office at the foot of the hill, paths lead up through the streets of chapels; ask the guardian to open the Chapel of the Exodus and the Chapel of Peace.