Amarna or Tell El Amarna was built by Akhenaton and his wife Queen Nefertiti, the city was built to be the center of the revolutionary religion that worshiped god Aten during the Amarna Period, as Akhenaton Akhenaton wanted to change the religion of god Amen and he called for the monotheism of one god who is Aten, so he decided to abandon Thebes because of the power of the priests of Amen there and established a new City called Akhetaton which means in the ancient Egyptian language (the Horizon of Aten).
Situated around 12 kilometers to the South West of the city of Al Minya, a little remain today of this great city that once extended over a surface area of around 15 kilometers from the South to the North and contained temples, palaces, and governmental establishments.
This piece of land hosted the Great Temple of Aten which is now covered by a cemetery. The temples at Amarna are considerably different than most temples of ancient Egypt, which generally had roofed chambers and sanctuaries, while The Temples of El Amarna are solar temples, it had roofless sanctuary to allow the sun rays to enter inside the complex this was because it was constructed for the cult of the sun god, Aten.
The Tombs of Tell El Amarna:
The tombs are the most important remained monuments of the old city of Akhetaton. It contains 25 tombs, six tombs are located in the northern side, dedicated for high officials only and the other 19 tombs are located in the south.
The below Tombs are the most important and preserved tombs for the high officials in the reign of King Akhenaton.
Ay's Tomb:
Aye was the vizier during the period of King Akhenaton and he was one of the most favorite royal officials to the king and this was why his tomb is considered to be the most beautiful well preserved tomb in Tell El Amarna.
Many fascinating paintings are spread all over the inner walls of the Tomb of Aye. These include. The most important scene is showing Aye and his wife receiving the ceremonial golden collarfrom the king and Queen Nefertiti.
Huya's Tomb:
Huya was the steward of Queen Tiyi (the mother of the Akhenaton), the tomb includes some scenes for the royal family accompanied with Queen Tiyi while they were sharing some activities with the owner of the tomb.
The Tomb of Mery-Re I :
He was High rank priest of god Aten, this tomb is one of the finest decorated tombs of Tell El Amarna and it is famous for its wonderful colors that seem as if it was never created more than 3500 years in the past.
The whole city was abandoned later on, during the role of the new young Pharaoh Tutankhamun, who returned back to the old religion and the old cult center which is Thebes.