Aswan - Rock Tombs

(Local Name: Kubbet el-Hawa) Farther north of Elephantine, on the hill crowned by the little sheikh's tomb known as Kubbet el-Hawa, are the rock tombs of the princes and grandees of Elephantine. The tombs date from the end of the Old Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom i.e. from the same period as the tombs of Beni Hasan, which they resemble both in construction and in decoration. There are fine views from the hill.

From the boat landing-place a sandy path (moderate gradient, but fairly strenuous) climbs up to Tomb 31. Even more testing is the ancient staircase, consisting of two parallel flights of steps separated by a ramp up which the sarcophagi were drawn, which leads up to Tombs 25 and 26.