Qurna Village

Welcome to Qurna, a village that sits at the very heart of the Theban Necropolis on the West Bank of the Nile, opposite Luxor. This is perhaps one of the most uniquely situated inhabited places on earth. …

The ground beneath Qurna is essentially a honeycomb of ancient history. The Theban Necropolis served as the sacred burial ground for the elite of the New Kingdom, including pharaohs, queens, and high-ranking officials. …

No history of Qurna is complete without mentioning the Abdul Rasool family, perhaps the most famous residents of the village. Their legacy began in the 1870s when members of the family discovered a secret cache of royal mummies…

In the 1940s, the renowned Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy was commissioned to design a 'New Qurna' to house the relocated villagers. Fathy was a visionary who rejected modern concrete in favor of traditional mud-brick…

As you walk through the open areas of the village, you might witness a vibrant, rhythmic display of local culture known as 'Tahtib,' or stick fighting. This is an ancient martial art, depicted on the walls of temples from the Old…

The final major chapter in Qurna’s story occurred in the early 2000s, when the government successfully relocated most of the remaining villagers to 'New Qurna City,' a modern settlement of concrete houses two kilometers away. For…

Our journey through Qurna brings us to a quiet realization: here, the past is never truly buried. It is a village of contradictions—where mud bricks meet limestone tombs, and where the pride of discovering pharaohs clashes with…