Qasr al-Ghweita

Qasr al-Ghweita, the Fortress of the Beautiful Garden, is a large mudbrick fortress that probably once served as headquarters for the garrisons of Roman troops stationed in the Kharga Oasis. It is located 18 kilometres (11 miles) south of Qasr Kharga. This beautiful and picturesque fortress commands a strategic view of the entire area and was once the center of an extensive agricultural community. Many inscriptions in the tombs at Thebes attest to the excellent quality of the grapes of Ghweita. There is evidence that the site was inhabited as early as Microlithic times. Within the walls of the fortress there is a stone temple dedicated, like its sister at Hibis, to the Theban triad (Amun, Mut and Khonsu). The temple was built by Darius I and then modified with some additions by Ptolemy III, IV and X. It is a three-room temple with a courtyard, hypostyle hall and sanctuary. Within the hypostyle hall are scenes of Hapi, god of the Nile, holding symbols of ancient Egypt. There are plenty of decorations in the sanctuary, but some have been ruined by the black soot of many fires. The temple walls are decorated with reliefs dating from both the Persian and Ptolemaic periods and also have later Greek and Coptic graffiti. Although the entrance of the fortress leads directly to the temple, the temple takes up only one fifth of the fortress, the remainder serving as quarters for the garrison stationed there to guard Darb el Arbain. Around the exterior of the fortress ancient houses have been excavated(CISS Inventory 2010; Vivian, 1990).

Site coordinates: N 25 17 117 E 30 33 297

Price (years 2019-2020): 40 EGP (foreigner), 20 EGP (foreigner student), 10 EGP (Egyptian), 5 EGP (Egyptian student).