Gebel el-Silsila
Gebel el-Silsila is an ancient sandstone quarry on both banks of the Nile, at a point where the river runs through a narrow passage. Its rock-cut shrines stand at the water’s edge, among the quarry faces that supplied the temples of Upper Egypt.
The stone of the Theban temples
The sandstone here was worked for many centuries, above all from the New Kingdom into Roman times. It supplied major building projects, including the temples at Karnak and Luxor. Tool marks and quarry cuts are still visible in the rock.
The rock-cut temple of Horemheb
On the west bank, the rock-cut temple known as the Speos of Horemheb was carved for the pharaoh Horemheb at the end of the 18th Dynasty. Along the river, officials of the New Kingdom cut small shrines into the cliff, and kings left commemorative stelae.
Here the Nile narrows between the very cliffs that built the temples of Thebes.
Offerings to the Nile
The site was closely linked with the worship of the Nile. Stelae of New Kingdom kings, including Ramses II, record offerings to Hapy, the god of the annual flood.
- Stone
- Sandstone
- Rock temple
- Horemheb
- Location
- Both banks
- Supplied
- Theban temples
Visit on these journeys
Offered as an optional excursion on the Ben’s Dahabeya routes between Esna and Aswan.
