Al-Kab (Nekheb)

Al-Kab is ancient Nekheb, the city of the vulture goddess Nekhbet on the Nile's east bank, 80 km south of Luxor. A foreign adult ticket costs about 200 EGP and the site opens 7 am – 5 pm.

Al-Kab is today's name for Nekheb, the ancient cult centre of the vulture goddess Nekhbet and one of Upper Egypt's holiest places. Nekhbet protected the southern kingdom, and her image sat on every royal crown for 3,000 years. Across the river lies her partner city, Nekhen (Hierakonpolis), where the falcon god Horus was worshipped.

Two things stand out. The first is the huge mud-brick enclosure wall, still 11 m thick in places, which forms an almost perfect square around the old settlement and ranks among the largest Predynastic enclosures left in Egypt. Inside are the foundations of the Temple of Nekhbet and a small Ptolemaic chapel. The second is the group of rock-cut tombs in the desert cliff just beyond the walls, made for New Kingdom officials and carrying some of the most important historical texts in Egyptian archaeology. Here is the autobiography of Ahmose son of Abana, a naval officer who fought to drive the Hyksos out of Egypt around 1550 BC, alongside the tombs of Paheri and Ahmose-Pennekhbet.

Further up the desert wadi are small rock chapels of Amenhotep III and Ramses II.

What to see

• The massive mud-brick walls of the ancient town
• The tomb of Ahmose son of Abana, with the story of the Hyksos expulsion
• The tomb of Paheri, full of lively farming scenes
• The rock chapels of Amenhotep III and Setau in the desert wadi
• The view over the Nile to Hierakonpolis

Visiting

• Opening hours: 7 am – 5 pm
• Tickets: about 200 EGP for foreign adults
• Best plan: a day trip from Luxor, or a stop on a felucca trip or cruise
• Nearby: Edfu Temple, Gebel el-Silsila, Esna