El Qorn ( ar, القرن lit. "the horn"), is the highest point (420 m) in the Theban Hills, located on the western bank of the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

, opposite Thebes, modern

Luxor Luxor ( ar, الأقصر, al-ʾuqṣur, lit=the palaces) is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of ''Thebes''. Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-a ...

. Its ancient name was Ta Dehent, or "the peak." It has an almost pyramidal shape when viewed from the entrance to the

Valley of the Kings The Valley of the Kings ( ar, وادي الملوك ; Late Coptic: ), also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings ( ar, وادي أبوا الملوك ), is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th ...

, and it is for this reason that some

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religiou ...

s believe the valley was chosen as the location of a royal necropolis. The area was associated with the goddess

Hathor Hathor ( egy, ḥwt-ḥr, lit=House of Horus, grc, Ἁθώρ , cop, ϩⲁⲑⲱⲣ, Meroitic: ) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sk ...

and also the cobra goddess

Meretseger Meretseger (also known as Mersegrit' or Mertseger) was a Theban cobra-goddess in ancient Egyptian religion, in charge with guarding and protecting the vast Theban Necropolis — on the west bank of the Nile, in front of Thebes — and especial ...

. Near the highest point is a plate-shaped rock formation projecting a few meters from the side of the hill. It is very easy to see as the spreading hood of a cobra. Thebes, Egypt, Al Qurn cliffs 3

The peak can be reached on foot from two directions, starting the climbing from the

or near Deir el-Medina. The climbing takes an hour to an hour and a half and the same time to get back. The Deir El Medina route is easier in that sense that 75% of the route is laid with concrete stairs, but on the other hand the rest 25% may be a bit more difficult so that at one point even hands must be used in climbing (still, no specific climbing skills are needed and it is suitable for the elderly). Two manned guarding posts (buildings) are located on the Deir El Medina route. The cobra-shaped rock formation is on the Deir El Medina route but it can easily be reached from both directions. Descriptions from El Qurn forms the introduction to Johannes V. Jensens book '' Aandens Stadier'' from

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhan ...

References

External links

A low-quality panorama video clip shot from the top
Valley of the Kings {{Egypt-geo-stub