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The land strip extending from the boundary
of Aswan with the Cairo South is called the Upper Egypt. The
upper Egypt North is known as the Middle Egypt. In the old
times the Upper Egypt was called Ta Shemau, meaning "the land of
reeds" and it has 22 nomes (districts). Aswan is the place where
the first nome used to be, and in the Atfih (South of the Cairo)
it was the 22 nome. Nekhen was the principal city of the Upper
Egypt in the pre-dynastic period. Nekhbet, the vulture goddess,
was the patron deity of the city. The Upper Egypt's
administrative centre in the pharaohs history was Thebes, till
the Assyrians devastation, when the city's importance become
less important. Ptolemais become the Upper Egypt's capital once
the country was ruled by the Ptolemies. The Upper Egypt
representative was Hedjet, the tall White Crown, and the lotus
flower was the symbol. Some of the most important cities in the
actual Upper Egypt are Abydos, situated at 145 kilometers from
the Luxor `s North. The city is famous for its temple of Seti I,
where is the Abydos Table, known as the Abydos King List,
showing the names of the Egypt`s pharaohs and kings. Another
city is Dendera, situated on the Nile's West bank, and known for
its Temple Complex. The complex lay on 40,000 square meters and
holds maybe the best preserved Egyptian temple: the Temple Of
Hathor. El Kab is a city with tombs and temples, such as the
Renini tomb, the Setau tomb, the Paheri tomb and the Ahmose Son
of Abana tomb, the temple of Tuthmoses IV and Amenhotep III, the
temple of Rameses II and the Chapel of Toth. Others cities in
the Upper Egypt are: Maghara, Hierakonpolis, Asyut, Medamud,
Edfu, Esna, Gebel es-Silsila. |
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