Southern Upper Egypt

Southern Upper Egypt – the region between Thebes and Aswan – was the most southerly area of Egypt proper , before Nubia and the regions of the south .

Here the Nile Valley narrows considerably between encroaching cliffs , and the rocky outcroppings of the region provided much of the stone used to build Egypt's temples .

Sandstone predominates here so that many of the temples of this area have fared well , unlike limestone-built monuments in other regions whose stone was taken to be burnt for lime .

The region has a long history and was not only the home of Montu , the early god of the Theban region , and of other deities for whom a number of important temples of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods were built , but also the location of the most ancient sites of Nekheb and Nekhen ( el-Kab and Kom el-Ahmar ) , perhaps the earliest of all Egypt's temple sites .