Qubbet EL-Hawa | Dome of the Wind

• 16 / 5 / 2023

The tomb of Hirjuf is located at Qubbet el-Hawa, also known as the Valley of the Princes, a rocky location across Aswan. There are tombs from the Middle and New Empires as well as the Old Empire, which offer valuable insights into the lives of prominent officials.

The Dome of the Wind is a rocky mountain with a height of about 130 m. It is located on the west bank of the Nile near Aswan. The reason for the popularity of this mountain is that it contains tombs of priests, nobles, and governors of Aswan throughout the different ages, such as:
The era of the Old Kingdom (Sixth Dynasty).
The Middle Kingdom (for the Twelfth Dynasty).
They also recently discovered tombs belonging to the modern state and the late era.

The reason for naming the air dome by this name
There is a tomb on the southern summit of the mountain belonging to one of the righteous saints and he is called “Sidi Ali Abu Al-Hawa”. It is a different and distinctive tomb, as its dome is painted white, and it is prominent so that you can see it from afar. The tomb is also distinguished by the fact that it was built on the ruins of a Coptic monastery (St. George). Tomb of Sidi Ali Abu Al-Hawa.

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Description of the tombs
It contains about 85 tombs, in addition to 10 tombs that were discovered recently.
It consists of rooms carved into the mountain, and the rooms differ from each other in terms of size, shape, and design.
The walls of the tombs are decorated with many drawings, such as slaughtering cows, fishing, playing music, and others.
It has many molds that the ancients used to cast copper and gold to make statues.

Stages of discovering the tombs of Qubbet al-Hawa
In the year 1819 AD, the German traveler “Burkart” wrote about him in his book Travels in Nubia.
In the year 1885-1886, the British researcher, Sir Francis Grenfell, discovered a group of graves.
In 1892 AD, the Italian researcher, Ernesto Schiaparelli, carried out several excavations.
In 1894 A.D., Schiaparelli discovered the Hor Khuf cemetery, and Jacques de Morgan discovered several other tombs.
In 1946 AD, Labib Habashi (an Egyptian archaeologist) carried out several excavations that continued until 1951 AD.
Then the University of Bonn in Germany sent a mission to excavate the tombs.

The most famous of the tombs of Qubbat al-Hawa

Micho Cemetery
The size of the tomb is about 150 square meters, and it contains the main room and a room for worship.
The tomb contains a main false door on the back side of the worship room.
There is a granite offering table in the main room and it also contains 4 other false doors.
Mikho's title (Nazir of strange countries - Prince and heir - the only friend) and he made many campaigns in Nubia and was killed in the desert while he was on a mission to the country of Wawat and his son Sapni performed his funeral ceremonies.

Sapne Cemetery
The second largest cemetery in the tombs of Qubbet al-Hawa, after the tomb of his father Mikho.
His tomb is about 120 square meters, and it has a hall containing 14 columns arranged in two rows.
Sapni's title (Prince and Bearer of the King's Seals - Governor of the South Country - Priest of Ceremonies).
It contains one of the most beautiful dome drawings of Sapni and his daughters hunting birds and fish.

Tomb of Sobekhotep
Tomb No. 29 covers an area of ​​15 square meters and includes a large room with a column blocking the view from the room.
The manuscripts on the walls of the room are not in good condition, but they tell about the owner of the tomb.
They found in the cemetery about 55 flasks containing manuscripts as well.
It belongs to the sixth dynasty of the reign of King Pepi II.

Tomb of Sarenbot I
Cemetery No. 36, and one of the large tombs in the dome, where there is a room containing 6 columns, behind which there are 6 small rooms, three on each side.
It also contains a funeral room and a room for offerings.
It belongs to the Middle Ages, during the era of King Senusret I.

This tomb, as well as many other beautiful rock-cut burials of famous Pharaohs, can be explored shortly through Luxor day tours also if you can board the train for a couple of hours north you can also cover it during Aswan day tours or even our 2 days tour to Luxor from Aswan there are a lot of Egypt day tours that go to Luxor from the various Egyptian cities like Hurghada day tours by land to Luxor or if you come for a leisurely holiday in Sharm you can take the plane for one day during Sharm El Sheikh excursions to explore all of the historical city.

If you are planning to visit Egypt, I recommend you to visit this amazing place, you will enjoy the natural beauty and the unique Egyptian culture.