El Ayyat

El Ayyat (formerly Kafr al-Ayyat) is a town of roughly 47,000 people in Giza Governorate, on the west bank of the Nile south of Badrashin and north of Beni Suef's Al-Wasta district. Its district is historically significant as the location of Lisht, where Middle Kingdom pharaoh Amenemhat I built his pyramid funerary complex — including a valley temple and ascending causeway — and where his son and successor Senusret I built a companion pyramid complex nearby. Modern El Ayyat is a working agricultural and light-industrial town, with oil- and soap-processing among its local industries.

By Car / Road

El Ayyat is reached by road along the Nile Valley south of Giza.

Local taxis and microbuses serve the town and the nearby Lisht pyramid site.

The pyramid complexes of Amenemhat I and Senusret I at Lisht, in El Ayyat's district, are the main historic draw, though the site sees far fewer visitors and has less standing masonry than Giza or Saqqara.

Visit the Lisht pyramid site; otherwise El Ayyat is a working town rather than a leisure destination.

Egyptian staples typical of Nile Valley towns.

Tea and fresh juices.

Local produce and household goods.

Giza and Cairo to the north, or Beni Suef Governorate to the south.