Sanctuary of the Sun God

Abu Gorab is a locality in Egypt situated 15 km south of Cairo, between Saqqarah and Al-Jīzah, about 1 km north of Abusir, on the edge of the desert plateau on the western bank of the Nile.

Photo: Wikimedia, Copyrighted free use.

Type: Ruin
Description: locality in Egypt
Also known as: “Abou Gorab”, “Abu Girâb”, “Abu Gorab”, “Abū Jirāb”, “Ma‘bad ash Shams”, “Pyramid of Righa”, and “Sanctuary of the Sun”

Places of Interest Nearby

Highlights include Sun Temple of Userkaf and Pyramid of Sahure.

Sun Temple of Userkaf

Photo: R.F.Morgan, CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Sun Temple of Userkaf was an ancient Egyptian temple dedicated to the sun god Ra built by Pharaoh Userkaf, the founder of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, at the beginning of the 25th century BCE.

The pyramid of Sahure is the funerary monument built for the Egyptian pharaoh Sahure of the Fifth Dynasty in the late 26th to 25th century BC. This initiated a period of pyramid building by Sahure's successors in Abusir, on a location earlier used by Userkaf for his sun temple. Pyramid of Sahure is situated 430 metres southeast of Sanctuary of the Sun God.

Pyramid of Neferirkare

Photo: Neithsabes, Public domain.

The pyramid of Neferirkare is the funerary monument built for the Egyptian pharaoh Neferirkare Kakai of the Fifth Dynasty in the 25th century BC. It is the tallest, highest-situated structure in the Abusir necropolis – located between Giza and Saqqara – over which it still towers. Pyramid of Neferirkare is situated 610 metres southeast of Sanctuary of the Sun God.

Places in the Area

Nearby places include Saqqara and Al-Hawamidyah.

Saqqara

Photo: Oltau, CC BY 3.0.

Saqqara is the name given both to a village 32 km to the south of the Egyptian capital of Cairo and to the extensive ancient necropolis on the plateau above the Nile Valley, the location of tombs and pyramids dating to the Predynastic, Old Kingdom, New Kingdom and Late Periods of ancient Egyptian history.

Al-Hawamidyah

Town

El Hawamdeya is a city in the Giza Governorate of Egypt. Successive census results indicate a considerable steady rise in its population: 73,298 in 1986, 91,770 in 1996, 109,314 in 2006, 149,567 in 2018 and 158,278 in 2023. Al-Hawamidyah is situated 7 km east of Sanctuary of the Sun God.