The Bent Pyramid was built for Pharaoh Sneferu around 2600 BCE. During its construction, architects discovered the stones cracking about halfway up, forcing them to change the angle of the pyramid's ascent, giving it the iconic "bent" look that it is named for. Standing 330 feet tall, the Bent Pyramid is located in the royal necropolis of Dahshur a few miles south of Cairo.

The Temple at Kom Ombo is unique among the landmarks of ancient Egypt because it's a double temple. The northern half of the complex is dedicated to the falcon god Horus, while the southern half is dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek, one of the creators of the world. Located a few miles north of Aswan, the area around Kom Ombo was once infested with massive Nile crocodiles.

Some historians consider Imhotep to be the world's first architect. The vizier and chief minister to Pharaoh Djoser, Imhotep designed the king's Step Pyramid and forever changed Egyptian construction. Upon his death around 2600 BCE, Djoser was honored with statues, some of which grant him titles like "Chief of the Sculptors" and "Chief of the Seers.”

Located opposite the city of Luxor is a mortuary temple built in the 1400s BCE during the reign of the legendary Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut, one of the most powerful women in Egyptian history. Modeled after the temple of Mentuhotep II, Hatshepsut's structure was built on a much grander scale. The temple has three levels of granite, limestone, and sandstone and is covered with dozens of columns, statues, and reliefs.

Abu Simbel are two massive rock-cut temples in Upper Egypt near the border with Sudan. In the 1960s, construction on the nearby Aswan High Dam was set to completely submerge the location upon its completion, so an enormous relocation project was undertaken. The relics, statues, and buildings of the ancient site, dating to the 13th century BCE, were all moved onto an artificial hill above the newly formed reservoir.

The Lighthouse of Alexandria stood 350 feet high and was built around 300 BCE to guide ships in the Mediterranean Sea. Now, however, this Wonder of the Ancient World is just a memory. Throughout the centuries, many earthquakes damaged the lighthouse, and it eventually disappeared from the historical record in the 14th century. Even Pharos, the island on which it was constructed, has sunk below the surface of the sea.

The Great Pyramid of Giza was built around 2570 BCE during the reign of Pharaoh Khufu. The structure was built to serve as Khufu's burial place and was the tallest human-made structure on Earth for more than 3,000 years. The pyramid is the last remaining of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The Great Sphinx of Egypt was built around 2500 BCE and still stands as one of Egypt's most recognizable landmarks. The statue has the face of Pharaoh Khafre with the body of a seated lion, complete with a long tail curled around the rear. With a height of 66 feet and a length of 240 feet, the Sphinx is one of the largest statues in the world.

Once known as the Great Necropolis of Millions of Years of Pharaoh, Egypt's Valley of the Kings is also located near the modern city of Luxor and stands on the west bank of the Nile. The tombs of pharaohs Ramses VII, Ramses IV, Merneptah, Akhenaten, and King Tutankhamen are all located here.

The ruins of the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes are found in the modern city of Luxor, located about 420 miles south of Cairo. Thebes straddled both sides of the Nile river as a thriving city from around 2000 BCE until 663 BCE, when it was conquered by Assyrian raiders. With such extensive ancient ruins, Luxor has been called the “largest open-air museum in the world.”