Kurna
Encyclopedia
Kurna are various spelling for a group of three closely related villages (New Qurna, Qurna and Sheikh ‘Adb el-Qurna
) located on the West Bank of the River Nile
opposite the modern city of Luxor
in Egypt
near the Theban Hills.
New Qurna was designed and built in the late 1940s and early 1950s by Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy
to house people living in Qurna which is now uninhabited. New Qurna was added to the 2010 World Monuments Watch List of Most Endangered Sites
to bring attention to the site's importance to modern town planning and vernacular architecture
due to the loss of much of the original form of the village since it was built.
Gourna is first mentioned by Protais and Charles François d'Orléans, two Capuchin
missionary brothers travelling in Upper Egypt
in 1668. Protais’ writing about their travel was published by Melchisédech Thévenot
(Relations de divers voyages curieux, 1670s-1696 editions) and Johann Michael Vansleb
(The Present State of Egypt, 1678).
References to Qurna, Gurna, Kournou, Gourna, El-Ckoor’neh, Gourne, el Abouab, El-Goor’neh or many other variants in pre-1940s literature refers to a spread out urban sprawl of housings stretching from approximately the Ramesseum
(Mortuary Temple of Ramesses II) to the Mortuary Temple of Seti I
on the east side of the Theban Hills, including the current place names of Sheikh ‘Adb el-Qurna, el-Assasif
, el-Khokha
, Dra ’Abu el-Nage’ and Qurna.
During the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, visitors and travelers to the area are rarely consistent in their use of the name and anything between Medinet Habu
and the tombs of el-Tarif
can at times be found referred to as part of a Qurna community.
A reference to the "Temple of Gourna" or similar, is in most cases a reference to the Ramesseum, to a lesser degree the Temple of Seti I and rarely it is a reference to the all but destroyed Mortuary temples of Ramesses IV, Thutmose III or Thutmose IV.
midway between the Colossi of Memnon
and el-Gezira on the Nile on the main road to the Theban Necropolis
to house the residents of the Qurna. The design, which combined traditional materials and techniques with modern principles was never completed and much of the fabric of the village has since been lost; all what remains today of the original New Qurna is the mosque, market and a few houses. UNESCO
World Heritage conservation wishes to safeguard this important architectural site. The World Monuments Fund
included New Qurna in the 2010 World Monuments Watch List of Most Endangered Sites
.
Qurna is an abandoned village about 100m to the east of the Temple of Seti I. Until the early 19th century the community included at least parts of the Temple of Seti I. Several travellers, including Richard Pococke
or Sonnini de Manoncourt
even name a Sheikh
of Qurna. Edward William Lane
relates in 1825 that the village was abandoned and not a single inhabitant lived there. Comments by Isabella Frances Romer suggests that the resettling started in the late 1840s. New Qurna was built in the 1940s and early 1950 to house the then residents who strongly resisted the move.
.
Edward William Lane relates that the residents moved into these grottoes from the village of Qurna, which they abandoned, when the Mamluk
s retreated thought the area, following their defeat by Muhammad 'Alī
's forces in the early 19th century.
Sheikh Abd el-Qurna
The necropolis of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna is located on the West Bank at Thebes, Egypt.Named after the doomed tomb of the local saint. This is the most frequently visited cemetery on the Theban west bank, with the largest concentration of private tombs....
) located on the West Bank of the River Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
opposite the modern city of Luxor
Luxor
Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate. The population numbers 487,896 , with an area of approximately . As the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum", as the ruins of the temple...
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
near the Theban Hills.
New Qurna was designed and built in the late 1940s and early 1950s by Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy
Hassan Fathy
Hassan Fathy was a noted Egyptian architect who pioneered appropriate technology for building in Egypt, especially by working to re-establish the use of mud brick and traditional as opposed to western building designs and lay-outs...
to house people living in Qurna which is now uninhabited. New Qurna was added to the 2010 World Monuments Watch List of Most Endangered Sites
2010 World Monuments Watch List of Most Endangered Sites
The World Monuments Watch is a flagship advocacy program of the New York-based private non-profit organization World Monuments Fund that calls international attention to cultural heritage around the world that is threatened by neglect, vandalism, conflict, or disaster.-Selection process:Every two...
to bring attention to the site's importance to modern town planning and vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
due to the loss of much of the original form of the village since it was built.
Historical use of the name Qurna
The name Kurna signifies "a promontory" or "a point of a mountain".Gourna is first mentioned by Protais and Charles François d'Orléans, two Capuchin
Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...
missionary brothers travelling in Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur . The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt...
in 1668. Protais’ writing about their travel was published by Melchisédech Thévenot
Melchisédech Thévenot
Melchisédech Thévenot was a French author, scientist, traveler, cartographer, orientalist, inventor, and diplomat...
(Relations de divers voyages curieux, 1670s-1696 editions) and Johann Michael Vansleb
Johann Michael Vansleb
Johann Michael Vansleb was a German theologian, linguist and Egypt traveller. He converted to Catholicism and was a member of the Dominican Order from 1666....
(The Present State of Egypt, 1678).
References to Qurna, Gurna, Kournou, Gourna, El-Ckoor’neh, Gourne, el Abouab, El-Goor’neh or many other variants in pre-1940s literature refers to a spread out urban sprawl of housings stretching from approximately the Ramesseum
Ramesseum
The Ramesseum is the memorial temple of Pharaoh Ramesses II . It is located in the Theban necropolis in Upper Egypt, across the River Nile from the modern city of Luxor...
(Mortuary Temple of Ramesses II) to the Mortuary Temple of Seti I
Mortuary Temple of Seti I
The Mortuary Temple of Seti I is the memorial temple of Pharaoh Seti I. It is located in the Theban necropolis in Upper Egypt, across the River Nile from the modern city of Luxor, near to the modern town of Qurna.-Construction:...
on the east side of the Theban Hills, including the current place names of Sheikh ‘Adb el-Qurna, el-Assasif
El-Assasif
The necropolis of el-Assasif is located on the West Bank at Thebes, Egypt, in the dry bay that leads up to Deir el-Bahri, and south of the necropolis of Dra' Abu el-Naga'.It contains burials of 18th Dynasty and the 25th and 26th Dynasties.- 26th Dynasty :...
, el-Khokha
El-Khokha
The necropolis of El-Khokha is located on the West Bank at Thebes, Egypt. The necropolis is based around a hill, and has five Old Kingdom tombs and over 50 tombs from the 18th, 19th, and , 20th dynasties as well as some form the first intermediate period and the late period...
, Dra ’Abu el-Nage’ and Qurna.
During the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, visitors and travelers to the area are rarely consistent in their use of the name and anything between Medinet Habu
Medinet Habu (location)
Medinet Habu is an archaeological locality situated near the foot of the Theban Hills on the West Bank of the River Nile opposite the modern city of Luxor, Egypt...
and the tombs of el-Tarif
El-Tarif
The necropolis of El-Tarif is located on the West Bank of the Nile at Thebes, Egypt. It is the farthest north of the Tombs of the Nobles, and contains tombs of the late First Intermediate Period, Second Intermediate Period and early Middle Kingdom....
can at times be found referred to as part of a Qurna community.
A reference to the "Temple of Gourna" or similar, is in most cases a reference to the Ramesseum, to a lesser degree the Temple of Seti I and rarely it is a reference to the all but destroyed Mortuary temples of Ramesses IV, Thutmose III or Thutmose IV.
New Qurna (or New Gourna)
New Qurna was built between 1946 and 1952 by Egyptian architect Hassan FathyHassan Fathy
Hassan Fathy was a noted Egyptian architect who pioneered appropriate technology for building in Egypt, especially by working to re-establish the use of mud brick and traditional as opposed to western building designs and lay-outs...
midway between the Colossi of Memnon
Colossi of Memnon
The Colossi of Memnon are two massive stone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. For the past 3400 years they have stood in the Theban necropolis, across the River Nile from the modern city of Luxor.-Description:The twin statues depict Amenhotep III The Colossi of Memnon (known to locals as...
and el-Gezira on the Nile on the main road to the Theban Necropolis
Theban Necropolis
The Theban Necropolis is an area of the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes in Egypt. It was used for ritual burials for much of Pharaonic times, especially in the New Kingdom of Egypt.-Mortuary Temples:* Deir el-Bahri** Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut...
to house the residents of the Qurna. The design, which combined traditional materials and techniques with modern principles was never completed and much of the fabric of the village has since been lost; all what remains today of the original New Qurna is the mosque, market and a few houses. UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage conservation wishes to safeguard this important architectural site. The World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training....
included New Qurna in the 2010 World Monuments Watch List of Most Endangered Sites
2010 World Monuments Watch List of Most Endangered Sites
The World Monuments Watch is a flagship advocacy program of the New York-based private non-profit organization World Monuments Fund that calls international attention to cultural heritage around the world that is threatened by neglect, vandalism, conflict, or disaster.-Selection process:Every two...
.
Qurna (or Old Gourna)
Richard Pococke
Richard Pococke was an English prelate and anthropologist. He was Protestant Bishop of Ossory and Meath , both dioceses of the Church of Ireland...
or Sonnini de Manoncourt
Charles-Nicolas-Sigisbert Sonnini de Manoncourt
Charles-Nicolas-Sigisbert Sonnini de Manoncourt was a French naturalist. Between 1799 to 1808 he wrote 127 volumes of the Histoire naturelle. Noteworthy among these, especially for herpetologists, is Histoire naturelle des Reptiles, avec figures desinées d'après nature, in four volumes, which he...
even name a Sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
of Qurna. Edward William Lane
Edward William Lane
Edward William Lane was a British Orientalist, translator and lexicographer....
relates in 1825 that the village was abandoned and not a single inhabitant lived there. Comments by Isabella Frances Romer suggests that the resettling started in the late 1840s. New Qurna was built in the 1940s and early 1950 to house the then residents who strongly resisted the move.
Sheikh ‘Adb el-Qurna
A series of housing built in and around the mountain grottoes located about 200m north of the Ramesseum at Sheikh ‘Adb el-Qurna. The stretch of land has been the bitter battlefield between the original owners and the Egyptian government for the last 60 years, because it lay on top of an archeologically area, part of the Tombs of the NoblesTombs of the Nobles (Luxor)
Located in the Theban Necropolis, near Luxor, the Tombs of the Nobles are the burial places of some of the powerful courtiers and persons of the ancient city.-See also:* List of Theban Tombs...
.
Edward William Lane relates that the residents moved into these grottoes from the village of Qurna, which they abandoned, when the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s retreated thought the area, following their defeat by Muhammad 'Alī
Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha was a commander in the Ottoman army, who became Wāli, and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan...
's forces in the early 19th century.