Qasr El-Ghueita

Qasr el-Ghueita stands on a low ridge above the Kharga depression, a sandstone temple of Amun, Mut and Khonsu begun under the Twenty-Fifth and Twenty-Sixth Dynasties and decorated by Ptolemy III and his successors, enclosed within a massive mud-brick fortress wall about ten metres high that gives the site its name, the castle of the small garden. The position is the point: from the walls the whole depression opens out, and the temple watched over the Darb el-Arbain caravan road running south toward Sudan. Inside, the hypostyle hall and sanctuary survive with reliefs, and the enclosure holds the remains of the settlement that supported it. A companion site, Qasr el-Zayyan, lies a few kilometres further south.

The main sights

• Ten-metre mud-brick walls - the fortress enclosing the temple.
• The ridge-top view - the whole Kharga depression from the walls.
• Ptolemaic reliefs - decoration in the hypostyle hall and sanctuary.
• The caravan road below - the Darb el-Arbain running south.

When to go

October to April. One hour, usually combined with Qasr el-Zayyan and the drive south toward Baris. Late afternoon for light on the walls and the long view.

Before you go

The site is fenced and depends on a guard with a key. There is a short climb to the ridge with no shade. Signage is minimal. The road south from Kharga is quiet and there are no services along it.

Nearby

Qasr el-Zayyan is a few kilometres south; Kharga town is north.