Tell El-Amarna is located 12 km southwest of Minya. It was the capital of ancient Egypt during the reign of King Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) in the 18th dynasty, New Kingdom. It was called in that time with Akhetaten.
Tell El-Amarna became the capital of ancient Egypt after King Amenhotep IV became king of Egypt and called for worshipping the god Atun (the sun disk) to be the main God of Egypt instead of the god Amun. Therefore, King Amenhotep IV decided to move the capital from Thebes to a new place, where no god was worshiped before, and called it Akhetaten (horizon of Atun). Also, he changed his name to Akhenaten. But after Akhenaten’s death, the capital returned to Thebes, and Tell el-Amarna was deserted.
Atun took the shape of the sun disk with human hands holding (Ankh) sign referring that Atun god giving life to humans.
One of the most important archaeological discoveries in the whole world was discovered in 1887 at Tell El-Amarna, as they discovered the Amarna letters. The Amarna letters are about 300 clay tablets. It is a correspondence between the King of ancient Egypt and the Kings of the Near East. It was written in the Akkadian language, the language of international correspondents at that time.
Tell El-Amarna includes many wonderful monuments, such as:
The Great Temple of Atun differed from the Egyptian temples in that it had no roof allowing the sunlight to enter the temple to show the power and glory of the Atun.
The small temple of Atun is located to the south of the Great Temple.
Hoya’s tomb is located in the northern part of Tell El-Amarna. He was the supervisor of the royal harem. The tomb is decorated with scenes of royal banquets.
The tomb of Meri Ra, the high priest of the Atun temple. His tomb is famous for its wonderful colors.
The tomb of Ay. He was the minister of Akhenaten. His tomb is considered the most beautiful in Tell El-Amarna.
you can visit Tell El-Amarna with Tell El Amarna & Beni Hassan Day Tour
