NEW! Grand Nile Journey II

Known in ancient Egypt as Caene, Qena’s situation on the banks of the Nile River has bolstered its prosperity over millennia. Merchants and travelers have long journeyed here from the Red Sea, through the valley, bringing goods from Persia and beyond. The Sheikh el-Qenawi Mosque on the main square serves as a monument to the city’s rich and all-embracing Islamic and Sufi past. Qena is mostly known as the gateway to the magnificent ruins of the Dendera Temple. Its stone gate and towering columns adorned with hieroglyphics are some of Egypt’s best-preserved structures.

Founded in the 19th century by landowner Mahmoud Pasha Hammadi, Nag Hammadi rests on the west bank of the Nile. Along the river stands Prince Youssef Kamal’s palace, an early 20th-century structure that combines European and Islamic architectural influences. The city is best known for the Nag Hammadi Library, a collection of Coptic papyrus codices that were discovered in a nearby field in 1945. These early Christian and Gnostic texts date back to the 3rd and 4th centuries and have provided valuable insight into early religious thought.