Map of Ancient Egypt
The two early kingdoms of Egypt, Red in north Egypt and White in the south, were unified by Egyptian King Menes c3200BC. Because the Nile flows from south to north, the southern part of Egypt was designated as Upper Egypt, while the north of Egypt including the Delta was called Lower Egypt. The main cities and sites of the country are shown in this map of ancient Egypt. The traditional Egyptian capital shown in this map is Memphis located in the North; nearby is the ancient religious site of Heliopolis. The later New Kingdom capital of Ancient Egypt was Thebes (modern Luxor) in the south with the Valley of the Kings across the Nile on the west bank. The map of ancient Egypt also shows the pyramid zone around Saqqara. Nubia was an important region, rich in gold and the main import trade route for rare ebony, ivory and frankincense. It was a part of the Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, governed by its own Viceroy, and is shown in the extreme south of this ancient Egypt map.

The ancient Egyptian map makers recorded their country on fragile Papyri most of which have been lost. The only significant exception is The Turin Map Papyrus (below) from the reign of Ramesses 4. It contains the oldest surviving ancient Egypt map of topographical interest. It is eight feet long and shows a ten-mile section of Wadi Hammamat in the Eastern Desert of Egypt and its geology. In Ancient Egypt Hammamat was a major quarrying area for the Nile Valley. Quarrying expeditions to the Eastern Desert are recorded from the second millennia BC. The wadi has exposed basalts, schists, bekhen ,an especially prized green sandstone used for bowls, palettes, statues, and sarcophagi, and gold containing quartz. King Senusret I sent mining expeditions there and King Seti 1 is recorded as having the first well dug to provide water for miners working in the wadi. The Turin Map Papyrus is a unique map of ancient Egypt showing gold mine access routes, distances, the location of gold deposits, types of stone and gravel beds and makes use of legends and colors. The details shown on this ancient Egyptian map papyrus have been identified in modern times and found to be astonishingly accurate, it is dated to c1150BC.