Jebel Barkal, which literally means « the blessed mountain », dominates the ancient capital of Napata. This was the place where the Egyptians and their Nubian successors founded the main site for the royal cult.

Jebel Barkal

The mountain was believed to shelter the god Amon. Its rocky peak looks like the legendary cobra rebuffing the enemy and continues to impress travellers today.

It is surrounded by temples dating from the XVIII dynasty which were continuously rebuilt and expanded up until the Meroe period. Several rulers in this period even chose this holy place for their burial and are interred here in some stunning pyramids.

Not far from here, at El Kurru, you can visit the tombs of several kings and queens who founded the famous XXV dynasty.

Steps lead down to the funerary rooms which are dug into the rock. The rooms contain murals which show the deceased being accompanied by the gods to the after-life.

At Nuri, on the other side of the river, you can see pyramids (58 monuments) of the large necropolis founded by Pharaoh Taharqa (690-664 BC)

Nuri Pyramids

For further information on flight and land tours please contact:

Safari Sudan, PO Box 36, Khartoum International Airport, Khartoum 11111, Sudan
Telephone: +249 9 123 98468
Email: info@safarisudan.com