Tell Basta (Bubastis)
๐ Location: Edge of Zagazig, eastern Nile Delta ย ยท ย ๐บ Period: Old Kingdom โ Roman ย ยท ย ๐๏ธ Tickets: ~150 EGP foreign adults
Tell Basta is the modern name for Per-Bastet โ "House of Bastet" โ the great Delta city dedicated to the cat-headed goddess. Herodotus described the temple here, set on an island within encircling canals, as one of the most beautiful in Egypt. It was the cult centre of Bastet from the Old Kingdom onwards and rose to its political peak as the capital of Egypt under the 22nd Dynasty of Libyan pharaohs (c. 945โ715 BC).
The site is sprawling and ruinous, but rewarding. Visitors can pick out the foundations of Pepi I's 6th-Dynasty temple, the palace complex of Amenemhat III, a large statue of Queen Meritamun (the daughter and wife of Ramses II), and the remains of the Bastet temple with red-granite blocks scattered across the field. A cat cemetery with mummified Bastet offerings was discovered here in the 19th century. A small on-site museum holds the most fragile finds.
Highlights
- Foundations of the Temple of Bastet
- Statue of Queen Meritamun
- Old Kingdom temple of Pepi I
- Palace complex of Amenemhat III
- Cat cemetery area
- On-site museum
Visiting
- Opening hours: 9 am โ 5 pm
- Tickets: ~150 EGP foreign adults
- Best time: day trip from Cairo (~1.5 hrs each way)
- Nearby: Zagazig University Museum, the Delta cities of Tanis and Bubastis archaeological zone