Sheikh Abd el-Qurna

Sheikh Abd el-Qurna is a village on the west bank of the Nile opposite Luxor, built directly above the ancient Theban necropolis — one of Egypt's most significant archaeological landscapes. From around 1550 BCE onward, New Kingdom officials, priests, and craftsmen were buried here in elaborately painted rock-cut tombs cut into the Theban hills. In the 2000s the Egyptian government relocated the village's residents to allow excavation of the graves beneath their homes, a process that drew international attention as a contentious conflict between heritage preservation and displacement. The elevated site offers broad views across the Nile valley and provides access to the surrounding tombs of the Theban Nobles.