Ancient Egyptian village in the Valley of the Kings
Deir el-Medina
Deir el-Medina, or Dayr al-Madīnah, is an ancient Egyptian workmen's village which was home to the artisans who worked on the tombs in the Valley of the Kings during the 18th to 20th Dynasties of the New Kingdom of Egypt.
The settlement's ancient name was Set maat, and the workmen who lived there were called "Servants in the Place of Truth". During the Christian era, the temple of Hathor was converted into a Monastery of Saint Isidorus the Martyr from which the Egyptian Arabic name Deir el-Medina is derived.
How locals move
Getting around Deir el-Medina the local way
- Get inTaxis are available but, if on a budget and if you're reasonably mobile, it is a short walk to the ferry jetty from the railway station.
- Get inBy far the quickest, most authentic and romantic manner of crossing the Nile to the west is by ferry or motor launch.
- Get aroundFor a return trip to a particular site the price should not be more than LE100 for a minibus that takes up to 9 people.
- Get aroundThere are many tuk tuks as well, which charge a little less than standard taxis.
- Get aroundBicycles are available for rent at hotels (LE10-20) and beyond the ferry jetty on the West Bank (LE30-40).
- Get aroundRegular micro buses leave from the ferry to Gurna.
- Get aroundIf it is too much hassle to find transport from the ferry port area, walk the 3.5 km from there to Medinet Habu.
- Get aroundFrom the ticket office to the Valley of the Kings, you would rather use a taxi or tuk tuk.
From Wikivoyage: Luxor/West Bank, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.