During the 18th Dynasty of Pharaohs – around the 13th Century BC,  Akhenaten inherited the throne and decided that all the other pharaohs had got it horribly wrong and that there should only be one God – Aten – The Sun God.     So he tried and fortunately failed to destroy or deface all other gods and their temples – No mean feat !!!

He created a vast new complex and city at Armana dedicated to Aten with Temples and Tombs Galore.    His Wife Nefertiti was probably the mother of Tutankhamun.    Akhenaten only ruled for 17 years and after he popped his clogs Tutankhamun – only a boy – abandoned Armana and returned to Thebes – Karnak etc.

Little remains, though the footprints of the various temples and palaces are still clearly visible.    Akhenaten had a thing about mummified Ibises and among the many tombs scattered around the site are literally hundreds of thousands of mummified ibises – not to mention baboons in their individual sarcophagi or amphora.

Top right is a mummified Ibis next to an individual sarcophagus and a plethora of broken urns – all part of the process.

A bit of local colour including some very enthusiastic school kids who all came out to watch the small group of tourists go by,    Then back on the river to Beni Hassan – lots of steps and tombs coming up next.